Tom Schreck’s “The Vegas Knockout” just the latest

It’s his fourth Duffy Dombroski mystery novel and will likely be the one that makes latecomers go out and buy the others. Amazon.com has “The Vegas Knockout” ranked #5 in “hot new releases” and 15th in “hardboiled mysteries.”

Albany’s Tom Schreck is the real deal, folks.

In case you’ve misssed his hysterically good books, Dombroski is a social worker by day and professional sparring partner at night. A wide amalgam of interests like that practically guarantees a story, and so far Schreck has given us four: Out Cold, TKO, On the Ropes, and now The Vegas Knockout, where Dombroski goes to Las Vegas as the chief sparring partner for Boris Rosakov, a top Russian contender.

The trouble is, Rosakov has a life that’s rather, uh… complicated, involving the Russian mafia, murder, and other things a simple social worker from upstate New York should avoid. But not Dombroski.

At least he’s not alone but gets to bring Al, his contrarious basset hound, who sleeps with all four paws in the air. Once again, Schreck gives us a great story and a lot of laughs.

Read about Tom and The Vegas Knockout in my Thursday Troy Record column.

Tough weekend in the boxing world

While I was still staring into empty space over the loss of legend Johnny Tapia and the devastating injury to Paul Williams, Will King wrote about them here.

This has been a tough weekend in boxing.

Coming soon

Hi, folks – Just  a heads-up on what’s coming in the next couple of weeks.

In my next Troy Record column (June 7), I’ll be writing about Tom Schreck. If you don’t know who Tom is, you will soon. My hunch is he’s about to become famous. Besides being a solid professional boxing judge and the Director of Communications for Wildwood School, Tom is a respected author. His latest book, “The Vegas Knockout,” is now #5 in Amazon.com’s “hot new hard-boiled releases” and number 15 overall.

Also coming, in this space, my Albany Times Union blog and my Troy Record column, is ARES IX at The EGG (June 16). That will deserve a ton of ink. I’ll be writing about Mike Faragon, Markus Williams, Javy Martinez, Kimdo Bethel, and more.

So stay tuned. Things are about to get interesting… – MR

ARES Fight Night IX – June 16

How about this for a solid fight card…

• Mikey Faragon
• Shawn Miller
• Javy Martinez
• Sarah Kuhn
• Kimdo Bethel
• Markus Williams

…and more.

Stay tuned for lots more details.

Box office opens Friday at noon (527-2331) or go to www.aresboxing.com.
(Sponsorship and VIP tables are available!)

For ESPN2 Friday Night Fight Talk…

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make Friday night’s ESPN2 Star Boxing card at the Times Union Center.

However, my buddy in boxing (BIB?) Kevin Marshall will be blogging live from the event as well as writing about it later that night or Saturday morning.

You can find him at http://www.kevinmarshallonline.com

Be sure to check out my Troy Record column tomorrow morning (Thursday) for some reasons why you should go there in person.

But if you can’t, Kevin will be the next best thing:) – MR

ESPN2 comes to the Times Union Center THIS Friday, May 18

“Last February, the key words were ‘Don’t blink,’” said promoter Joe DeGuardia about Star Boxing’s first visit to the Times Union Center. The card was such that a knockout was always just a nanosecond away. “This time you might say it’s ‘Flip a coin.’” And he’s right. The fighters are that evenly matched.

Check out my Troy Record column this Thursday morning and read why.

(Just an FYI: Sadly, the Kevin Rooney, Jr – Nick Castaldi fight is off. Nick broke a rib while sparring last Friday. Nick’s been replaced by Newark, NJ’s Anthony Jones [1-0-1])

You really need to flip enough coins to get a ticket to this show. It’s going to be HOT. – MR

Marlen Esparza: A Dream Fulfilled

I wrote this about Marlen Esparza a while ago. It’s fun to read it now, since her Olympic dream has just become a reality. I also included a short accompanying piece about her trainer, Rudy Silva. – MR

________________________________

Marlen Esparza: Re-Writing the Script
by Michael Rivest

PHOTO: Houston Chronicle/Karen Warren

David Esparza used to box when he was young and he wanted his two boys to do it, too. His eldest was already at it when his youngest turned nine and ready for his start. So when Dad asked 11-year-old Marlen to walk little brother to the Elite Boxing Club in Houston, TX’s tough east side, she was only supposed to support the tradition, not redefine it.

But the boys soon hung up their gloves and Marlen Esparza, now 21, is a five-time national champion and hasn’t been defeated in the U.S. in eight years. A member of the U.S. National Team and winner of Silver and Bronze in world competitions, many see her as one of the U.S.’s best chances for Olympic Gold in 2012.

“I just got to the gym that first day with my brother, looked around, and noticed there weren’t any girls. But I didn’t care,” Esparza said. “I decided I was going to do this.” Since then, she’s been utterly relentless. “Boxing is like a new life,” she said. “It wants all of you.”

And all of her is what it gets. Marlen is driven. “It’s like there’s something inside of her, pushing her forward,” said trainer, Rudy Silva. Not even her pre-med studies at the University of Houston distract her. That’s just something she does; boxing is who she is. “She’s all about it, 24/7,” said Dad. “Other than taking a day off after a big tournament, she trains seven days a week. And when she’s not training, she’s thinking about training, or her diet, or ways to get better,” he continued. More about that drive in a bit.

“It was hard for me to accept her as woman boxer at first,” Dad said, “I had a fixed idea and there were no other patterns to follow back then. It just seemed strange to me.” Esparza’s not alone, of course. It’s a sentiment once shared by most people, and by many still to this very day. Needless to say, he could be no prouder than he is right now. “My Dad has been my biggest support throughout my career,” Marlen quickly noted. “He’s always been there for me.”

Silva remembers little Marlen walking into his gym that first day. “She came right up and asked me to train her. ‘I don’t train girls’, I told her. But instead of walking out, she starts punching a bag.” If you’re not yet thinking of a certain Clint Eastwood movie, keep reading.

“The next day, she not only comes back, but she asks me again, and I said ‘no’ again.” Silva didn’t need to be persuaded by Morgan Freeman. “This time I watched her work the bag and saw something. She just looked, I don’t know, different, the way she moved. I told her I’d train her but only if I could train her like a man, because I still didn’t train girls.” (Pass the popcorn.) Turns out, she has more drive than any boxer I’ve ever worked with. It just comes from inside of her somewhere.”

It wasn’t long before the awards started coming in, and not Academy Awards, but real live boxing ones. Within a year she won her first regional Golden Gloves championship, then another, then more after that, until the national and world ones started happening.

“She’s totally focused,” said Christina Cruz, one of the best women boxers in the nation.

But here’s where a conversation with Esparza gets deep. She must be so proud of these accomplishments. “Well, yes,” said the small uncertain voice. After persistent questioning over the course of a few days, came the following, almost reluctant admission: “If I win a national tournament and, back in the gym, a guy wins a state championship, I feel like it’s the same.” You mean you feel that it’s perceived the same by others. “Uh…no, I feel like it’s the same.”

“My Dad’s always mad at me for not taking care of my medals. They mean a lot, just not that much, not yet anyway.”

There seems to be a script on Esparza’s heart, written in the ink of tradition, that says: “Not as good as a man.” But unlike the countless other young women who walked into a boxing gym, looked around at only men, then walked out again, Esparza entered Elite Boxing and went to the other extreme. She caught fire.

What will re-write the script? “The Gold in London,” came the answer; no reluctance this time, but a reaction as fast as a right hand counter over a lazy jab.

Shortly after the good news arrived that the 2012 London Games would, for the first time, include women, came the sobering follow-up: only three weight divisions could play: 112, 132, and 165-pounds. Since Esparza’s entire career had been spent at 106, she would have to come up, something boxers never like to do. It sacrifices strength and power. “It also means fighting people who’ll be come down from 119,” said Silva. Like the great Christina Cruz, for instance.

“I didn’t care,” said Esparza. “My strength is my speed. Those coming from 119 aren’t used to me.” So far, she’s right. Esparza defeated Cruz at the 2010 U.S. Nationals and then upset reigning world champion Kim Ok Hyang from South Korea at the 2010 Women’s World Championships in Barbados. Only a heartbreaking two-point loss to Thailand’s Peamwilai Laopeam stopped her quest for Gold.

No worries. Esparza was back in the gym shortly after getting off the plane in Houston. There was training to do, and that new script to work on.

_______________

Meet Rudy Silva…

From the looks of it, Houston’s Elite Boxing Gym is like a lot of others, just a former warehouse put to different use. But inside, to the soundtrack of cars and trucks flying down nearby Interstate 10, young lives are changing for the better.

Rudy Silva knows something about that. He’s been the head trainer there since the gym opened in 2001. Silva is a police officer with the Houston PD. “I asked to work in Jefferson Davis High School. It’s in a gang infested area,” he said.

“Lots of the kids who come to this gym have nowhere else to go,” he continued. “Boxing gives them a higher purpose, something to strive for.” So when he’s not at work, he’s still at work. “But I love what I do.”

Like most coaches, Silva came to boxing early, winning 45 amateur fights and four back-to-back regional Golden Gloves titles before changing life directions. At 19-years-old he went to college and turned away from boxing, suddenly and completely. “I had a full throttle coach and I just got burned out,” he said. “And you know how it is in boxing; you’re either all the way in, or all the way out. I didn’t even watch it on TV.”

“Then a kid asked me to train him and before you know it, I had six kids. In that first year, five of them won the regional Golden Gloves.” Silva was back – all the way in – again.

So he opened Elite Boxing and, on its first business day, an eleven-year old girl came in with her little brother.

Marlen Esparza Qualifies for the 2012 Olympic Games while Underwood Suffers One-point Loss

The National Governing Body for Olympic-Style Boxing

USA BOXING NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: May 14, 2012

CONTACT: Julie Goldsticker (719-440-1050) or julie@goldstickerpr.com

Marlen Esparza Qualifies for the 2012 Olympic Games while Underwood Suffers One-point Loss

(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Team USA endured another roller coaster day on Tuesday at the 2012 Women’s World Championships in Qinhuangdao, China as Olympic hopeful Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas) won her second bout of the tournament to become the first American female boxer to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games. Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.) dropped a one-point decision in her third contest of the tournament, dashing her hopes of qualifying for London at the 2012 World Championships. She will now await the decision of the Tripartite Commission to see if she is granted a spot. Bantamweight Christina Cruz (New York, N.Y.) won her third bout of the event to advance in a non-Olympic weight division.

Esparza faced Vietnam’s Luu Thi Duyen in second round action on Tuesday, and the American flyweight wasted no time getting started in the bout. She kept her offensive output high, taking a 6-4 lead after one round. She continued to let her hands fly in the second, moving out to a 14-7 edge at the halfway point. The second half of the bout told a similar story with Esparza enjoying a 19-11 lead with one round remaining. She added another nine points over the final round to win a 28-13 final decision. As Esparza is the highest finishing flyweight from the Americas, the victory fulfilled the 22-year-old’s Olympic dreams by earning her a spot in London.

Underwood took on Norway’s Ingrid Egner in third round action, looking to keep her hopes at the lone Olympic spot from the American continent alive. She fell behind in the first round, trailing by a 6-4 margin after one. Egner pushed her lead to a 14-9 advantage after four minutes of boxing and following a tied third round, Underwood trailed 20-15 as the bell for the final round rang. Underwood didn’t roll over despite her deficit, launching a strong comeback over the final two minutes, but she fell just short, dropping a 26-25 final decision. As Underwood needed a first place finish in the Americas to qualify for London, she will not do so at the World Championships. She will now await the decision from the Tripartite Commission to learn if she is granted the one additional lightweight spot in the Americas for London.

Cruz boxed in early action as well, taking on Norway’s Shora Razaiz Jahroni in the bantamweight contest. After a slow first round, Cruz claimed a 5-1 lead after two rounds. Jahroni pulled the bout to a 9-8 contest after three but Cruz held on over the final two minutes to win a 14-10 decision.

Light flyweight Alex Love (Monroe, Wash.) will see her first action in a contest with Nazym Kyzaybay of Kazakhstan while light welterweight Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles, Calif.) takes on New Zealand’s Laura Matthews in her tournament opener in afternoon action.

USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

Underwood, Brown, Crews Advance @ 2012 World Championships

The National Governing Body for Olympic-Style Boxing

USA BOXING NEWS

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: May 14, 2012

CONTACT: Julie Goldsticker (719-440-1050) or julie@goldstickerpr.com.

 

Underwood, Brown and Crews Advance at the 2012 World Championships While Shields Suffers Her First Loss

(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.)  Lightweight Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.) moved one step closer to a berth in the 2012 Olympic Games with a convincing victory in her second bout of the 2012 World Championships on Monday in Qinhuangdao, China. Seventeen-year-old middleweight Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.) suffered the first loss of six-year boxing career, but due to AIBA’s qualifying procedures, she could still have a shot at the Olympic Games. Featherweight Tiara Brown (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) and light heavyweight Franchon Crews (Baltimore, Md.) each won their opening bouts on Monday to advance in the tournament.

 

Underwood faced Zealand’s Alexis Pritchard in the second round bout and took early control of the bout. She more than doubled Pritchard’s point total in the first, taking a 5-2 lead after one and showcased more of the same in the second round. Underwood held a 12-5 lead after one but she poured it on in the third, scoring 10 points while holding Pritchard to only two in the round. The five-time U.S. national champion enjoyed a 22-7 lead as the final round began and went on to win a 28-9 final decision to advance to Tuesday’s action. She will face Norway’s Ingrid Egner on Tuesday. Under AIBA’s altered selection process, Underwood must be the number one finisher in the Americas to punch her ticket for London. The only other boxer from the Americas remaining in action is Brazil’s Adriana Araujo, who recently won the 2012 Women’s Continental Championships.

Shields entered the 2012 Women’s World Championships undefeated in her career but that streak ended on Sunday as she fell to reigning World silver medalistSavannah Marshall of England. Shields and Marshall boxed to a 2-2 tie after the first round but Marshall took the lead in the second round and didn’t let it go through the remainder of the bout. The British boxer held a 7-4 lead after one and extended it to an 11-7 advantage with one round remaining. She held on over the final two minutes to defeat Shields by a 14-8 margin. As all of the middleweight boxers from the Americas have now been eliminated, Shields could still end the tournament as one of the top two finishers based upon Marshall’s finish.

 

Brown faced off with India’s Mandakini Chanu Kangabam in her first bout of the tournament on Monday. The score was extremely close in the first three rounds with the two boxers tied at 7-7 at the halfway point. Brown entered the final round up one but left nothing to chance, outscoring her opponent by four points to win a 21-16 final decision. She moves on to a bout on Wednesday with China’s Jian Qin.

Veteran Franchon Crews (Baltimore, Md.) took on France’s Sabrina Delarue in light heavyweight action on Monday in her first bout of the event.  Crews got off to a quick start, claiming a 4-1 lead after one and continued to build on her lead throughout the four rounds of action. She took a 16-6 advantage after three rounds and claimed a dominating 22-8 final decision in the bout. She will return to action on Wednesday in a contest with Dariga Shakimova of Kazakhstan.

 

Five U.S. boxers will highlight Tuesday’s competition in China with Olympic hopefuls Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas) and Underwood facing Vietnam’s Luu Thi Duyen and Norway’s Ingrid Egner respectively. Light flyweight Alex Love (Monroe, Wash.) will see her first action in a contest with Nazym Kyzaybay of Kazakhstan while light welterweight Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles, Calif.) takes on New Zealand’s Laura Matthews in her tournament opener. BantamweightChristina Cruz (New York, N.Y.) will challenge Norway’s Shora Razaiz Jahroni in her second bout of the tournament.

 

More information on the qualification process for Shields following her loss will be available tomorrow.

 

U.S. Results
125 lbs: Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres,Fla./USA dec. Mandakini Chanu Kangabam, IND, 21-16
132 lbs: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash./USA dec. Alexis Pritchard, NZL, 28-9
165 lbs: Savannah Marshall, ENG, dec. Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich./USA, 14-8
178 lbs: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md./USA dec. Sabrina Delarue, FRA, 22-8

 

USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

 

Fight Night in Kingston sparkled with amateur talent

It was a great night of amateur boxing Saturday at the Billy Costello Gymnasium (Mid-Town Community Center) in Kingston. I really mean it. This PAL benefit show has become one of my  favorite ones in the entire Adirondack region.  First of all, there’s the venue which offers two kinds of seating: great and greater. So the 500 or so people who turned out were happy with the view.

Then there’s the history. Billy Costello, who left us way too soon on June 29, 2011, fought so many of his big fights there – Leroy Haley, Saoul Mamby, Ronnie Shields. He could have fought these guys anywhere, but felt he owed to his Kingston fans to bring the big lights home. And he did. Those of us old enough remember cables spread out in ways they’d never been spread out before. For us, the excitement is in the walls of that place.

Where else can you go to an amateur show and wind up spending half an hour talking to Renaldo Snipes (39-8-1, 22 KOs), a friend of Billy’s who came Saturday night in his honor. Snipes, who fought Larry Holmes for the title and dropped him good in the 7th round, was there just passing the time with anybody who cared to do so with a real star. I may talk to him like I know him, but I’m enough of a fan to have had my picture taken with him (again).

But then there’s the reason everybody came: the amateur talent that comes to these Kingston shows is just the best. But before sharing the results, proper congratulations must be given. First to organizer, Al Nace, who nails it every time. But Al has also told me to make sure I include his thanks to the following folks. So here are some well-deserved credits:

• Aaron Fitzgerald PAL President
• Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo
• Kevin Gilfeather, Director of Recreation
• Kristy Nickerson, Pat McCooey: front office
• Demetrius “Big Foot” Johnson, Security Chief
• Tom Gordon (Kingston Nissan)
• Chris Silva (Ulster Performing Arts Center)
• Scott Herrington (Save-On Party Supplies)
• Nino’s Big-Bites Catering
• Rich Cahill, Ring Announcer
• DJ Greg Gateane (WDST)
• …and all of the volunteers

To the fights… A special congratulations to each of the brave warriors listed below. There were no losers in the ring last Saturday night. A special shout out to Raphael Edwards, Sam Capriotti, and Shane Harris for bringing home the victories to Kingston. Billy was watching, and was he proud.

1. 132-pounds: Sam Capriatti (Kingston) over Sam Tate (Lorenzo’s)
2. 165-pounds: Kendo Anderson (Schenectady) over Alexander Rodriguez (Elite)
3. 141-pounds: Joe Gbolo (Schott’s) over Richard Bonds (Newburgh)
4. 145-pounds: Mikiah Kreps (Niagara Falls) over Robbie Cook (Standing Rock)
5. 201+pounds: Ezra Scott (Niagara Falls) over Corey Klob (Sweeney’s)
6. 165 pounds: Shane Harris (Kingston) over Jayson Taylor (Schenectady)
7. 141-pounds: Zeb Mikula (Alpha) over Paul Maley (Precision)
8. 152-pounds: Mike Black (Hudson) over Ronnie Robideau (Standing Rock)
9. 170-pounds: Eric George (Niagara Falls) over David Tomaso (Hudson)
10. 152-pounds: Ralphael Edwards (Kingston) over Daniel Fitzgerald (Lee)
11. 82-pounds Dion Laurel (Old School) over Matthew Maloney (Elite)