Caballero handles overmatched Yordan -- ESPN

By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Celestino Caballero, one of the top boxers in the world, had sought an opportunity to fight on the big stage of HBO for the past couple years, and looking to impress when he got it.

He got his opportunity on Saturday night and indeed impressed.

The junior featherweight titleholder moved up to featherweight and pounded his way past Daud Yordan for a lopsided unanimous decision at the BankAtlantic Center in the co-featured bout on the Andre Berto-Carlos Quintana card.

You name it and Caballero nailed Indonesia's Yordan with it. He stayed busy with his jab, landed hard right uppercuts and worked the 22-year-old over with a withering body assault.

All the while the hard-headed Yordan kept coming forward, but with only occasional success. He landed some hard left hands, but they came only one at a time while Caballero threw punches in bunches all night.

In the end, Caballero landed 325 of 1,248 punches (26 percent), according to CompuBox statistics. That's the third-most punches ever thrown in a featherweight fight tracked by CompuBox over 25 years.

Yordan could muster landing only 105 of 379 shots (28 percent).

The disparity showed on the scorecards, which read 120-107, 119-108 and 118-108 for Caballero. ESPN.com also had it for Caballero, 118-109.

In the first round, Panama's Caballero, 33, threw 111 punches, 77 of which were jabs, and never stopped firing.

As the fight wore on, Yordan's face began to swell, his flanks were red from the body attack and he got a bloody nose in the sixth round.

Caballero (34-2, 23 KOs), whose nickname of "Towering Inferno" speaks to his 5-foot-11 frame -- huge for the weight class -- won a 122-pound title in 2006 and made eight defenses, including unify belts when he knocked out Steve Molitor in the fourth round in 2008 in Molitor's native Canada.

But without any big fights at junior featherweight, Caballero, who is trained by Jeff Mayweather, made the move to the 126-pound division and rolled past Yordan (25-1,19 KOs), who had looked good in a March 2009 fight with Robert Guerrero in a junior lightweight bout on HBO. Yordan was giving the heavily favored Guerrero fits through the first round-plus until an accidental head butt opened a cut over Guerrero's right eye and he elected not to continue, forcing the fight to be ruled a no decision.

Before Saturday's fight, there was talk among Caballero's handlers, Top Rank and HBO about matching him with featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa on July 24. Now that Caballero is safely through the fight with Yordan, expect that talk to heat up. However, money could be an issue. According to Sampson Lewkowicz, Caballero's co-promoter, they are far apart on the money.

Although Gamboa is the fight being prominently discussed, there was a small section of fans in the crowd chanting, "Juanma! Juanma!" in reference to their desire to see Caballero fight featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Lopez, a former junior featherweight titlist who left the division without facing Caballero, who had called him out for the past year to no avail.

Smith scores body-shot knockout

Miami welterweight prospect Antwone Smith (18-1, 9 KOs) destroyed Franklin Gonzalez (13-6, 9 KOs) of the Dominican Republic by brutalizing his body before knocking him out with a crushing left hook to the ribs in the third round.

Smith, grunting like Monica Seles with every punch he threw, was dominating the fight when he ripped a wide open Gonzalez with the fight-ending shot. Gonzalez went down in obviously pain, was counted out by Tommy Kimmons at 2:40 and was down for several minutes while the ringside doctor examined him.

The victory could propel Smith into an HBO fight against fellow prospect Mike Jones on June 5 on the Yuri Foreman-Miguel Cotto undercard at Yankee Stadium. Jones, who has to win a fight next week on the Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Martinez undercard, is being discussed by HBO and Top Rank for the opening bout on the June 5 card with Smith in the mix to face him.

• Junior middleweight Yudel Jhonson (6-0, 4 KOs), a 2004 Cuban Olympic silver medalist who defected with teammates Guillermo Rigondeaux and Yordanis Despaigne in 2007, blew out Chris Grays (9-20, 2 KOs), dropping him twice in the first round for a knockout at 2 minutes, 4 seconds.

Jhonson, 28, dropped Grays early in the first with a straight left and then finished with another straight left that deposited him on his butt and unable to beat the count.

• Former Cuban amateur standout Yunier Dorticos (4-0, 4 KOs), 24, blasted out Zack Ziegler (3-1, 2 KOs) in the first round of a cruiserweight fight. Dorticos, who defected last year with other Cuban amateurs, stopped Ziegler with a left to the body at 1:24.

• Ithaca, N.Y., middleweight prospect Willie Monroe Jr. (8-0, 3 KOs), the son of former middleweight contender Willie "The Worm" Monroe Sr., shut out Miami's Ibaheim King (7-2, 2 KOs), easily outboxing him for the lopsided decision. All three judges had it 60-54.

• Middleweight Jonathan Cepeda (8-0, 7 KOs) of West Palm Beach knocked out Shadrack Kipruto (18-16-2, 10 KOs) of Canal Point, Fla., at 2:31 of the second round of a scheduled eight-rounder.

• Junior welterweight Joe Elegele (6-0, 4 KO), who is tight with Berto, stopped Mario Hayes (4-6, 0 KOs) at 2:51 of the third round. Elegele dropped Hayes twice, including a picture-perfect straight left hand to finish him.

Source: sports.espn.go.com

Berto strives to be back on radar -- Miami Herald

By SANTOS A. PEREZ, The Miami Herald

Andre Berto recognizes his title fight against Carlos Quintana on Saturday night is between the bookend bouts involving boxing's top welterweights.

A Miami native, Berto will fight Quintana at the BankAtlantic Center following Manny Pacquiao's lopsided win against Joshua Clottey on March 13 and before Floyd Mayweather Jr. faces Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.

``People will be paying attention, especially since I have been away for a while,'' Berto said. ``This is a deep division, but there are a few of us who are in the top right now. In due time, everything is going to come.''

The backdrop of HBO televising Saturday's fight also could elevate Berto's profile. A victory over the battle-tested, ex-welterweight champion Quintana not only would reward Berto with the fourth successful defense of his World Boxing Council welterweight title but also place him closer to coveted matches against Pacquiao, Mayweather or Mosley.

``This is a big fight in a big stage,'' Berto said. ``I am going to go out and try to put on a great performance.''

Berto was scheduled to face Mosley on Jan. 30 but withdrew after the earthquake that struck his parents' native Haiti on Jan. 12. Berto has not fought since defeating Juan Urango on May 30 at the Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood.

``Everything happens for a reason,'' Berto said. ``Everybody's been reading and hearing what has been happening to me for months.''

Berto (25-0, 19 KOs) said the tragedy in Haiti affected him greatly but won't carry over into his bout against Quintana (27-2, 21 KOs).

``It's a situation you are never going to forget, it's always going to be part of you,'' Berto said. ``But I am completely motivated for this fight. We've had a tremendous training camp and we are ready to go.

``Quintana is a slick southpaw fighter. He knows how to capitalize on your mistakes. You just have to stick to your game plan and go to work.''

After spending most of his career as a welterweight, Quintana, 33, moved up to the junior-middleweight division. But Quintana immediately took on the opportunity to face Berto.

``Berto is a very talented fighter, and he is the favorite,'' Quintana said. ``But I enjoy being the underdog. It will give me more motivation to win the fight.''

Saturday's fight will headline a 10-bout card, which also will feature Celestino Caballero's first fight as a featherweight after a three-year run as super-bantamweight world champion. A Panama native, Caballero (33-2, 23 KOs) will face Indonesia's Daud Yordan (25-0, 19 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round bout.

South Florida based-fighters Antowne Smith and Jonathan Cepeda are scheduled to appear in undercard bouts. Cuba's Yudel Johnson, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist, also is on the undercard.

sperez@MiamiHerald.com

Source: miamiherald.com

Daud Yordan to Enter World Ring in Sunshine Showdown -- Jakarta Globe

By Wimbo Satwiko, Jakarta Globe

After a long wait, Daud “Cino” Yordan gets his chance to make a name in the world boxing scene.

Daud will fight Celestino Cabalerro for the interim World Boxing Association featherweight title in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday. The bout is part of the undercard for the World Boxing Council welterweight title fight between champion Andre Berto and Carlos Quintana.

Daud, the interim holder of the World Boxing Organization featherweight crown, has been waiting for his big break and is eager to show his best in Florida.

“I’ve been dreaming of such a fight, and it has finally come true. I’ll never let this chance slip from my grasp,” Daud told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday.

“Cabalerro is a tough fighter. He may be the toughest opponent I’ve faced in my career, but I’m not afraid and I won’t take a step back. I am confident.”

The 22-year-old Indonesian earned the WBO Asia-Pacific Youth featherweight title when he knocked out Reman Salim in 2007.

Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions saw Daud’s potential and signed him to a five-year contract in 2008. He made his Las Vegas debut soon after, turning heads when he defeated Antonio Mezza by unanimous decision.

Last year, Daud took the interim WBO Oriental featherweight crown after knocking out Robert Allanic in two rounds. He was scheduled to fight Oscar Larios for the WBO featherweight title, but the bout was called off after Larios lost to Takahiro Aoh.

Daud, who defended his WBO Oriental crown against Ricky Sismundo in August, is scheduled to leave for Florida today with trainer Damianus Yordan and manager Pino Bahari.

He has a 25-0-0 career record with 19 KOs, while the 35-year-old Cabalerro is 33-2-0 with 23 KOs.

In other news, Fernando David Saucedo of Argentina has been confirmed as Chris John’s next opponent, Chris’s assistant manager Tony Priyatna said.

Saucedo (38-4-3) will travel to Bali for the May 22 bout, in which Chris (43-0-2) will defend his WBA world featherweight title.

Source: thejakartaglobe.com