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ANYWHERE, ANYTIME,
ANYPLACE

West Philly Road Warrior Dhafir "No Fear" Smith finds himself in an unusual place for his fight this Saturday - at home. This time out Smith won't be fighting in his opponent's backyard as he usually is forced to do. Instead he'll answer the bell just a stone's throw from the James Shuler Memorial Boxing Gym where he began his rocky career and still trains today. Boxing scribe Gary Purfield caught up with the throwback pro with the deceiving record to discuss his upcoming bout and his future in the sport that believes a fighter with a 24-22-7 record has no future. But Dhafir Smith has "No Fear"... (STORY)

CRAZY HORSE
JESSE SMITH PASSES

We received the sad news that former Philadelphia middleweight star Jesse Smith passed away Sunday, January 22 in Chester, PA. Smith, nicknamed "Crazy Horse", was 79 years old.

Jesse Smith had a memorable boxing career that spanned 13 years (1953-1966) and produced an excellent record of 46-12-5 with 33 KOs. He faced an impressive list of opponents and was an extremely popular attraction especially in Philadelphia and Chicago, where he fought 30 and 21 bouts respectively.

In 1960, after going 29-6-3, Smith faced the rising Henry Hank at Chicago Stadium. Hank, 45-11-1, was closing in on a title shot and was heavily favored to beat the relatively unknown Smith, but Jesse took the fight to... (MORE)

JENNINGS WINS
PA STATE TITLE

North Philly's Bryant Jennings defeated South Philly's Maurice Byarm by 10-round unanimous decision Saturday night at the Asylum Arena in a battle for the Pennsylvania State Heavyweight Championship. The two rising undefeated boxers answered a last-minute call to fight less than one week before another match was intended to launch the brand new NBC Sports Network nationally televised boxing series. But this bout exceeded expectations for even the originally scheduled fight between Eddie Chambers and Sergei Liakhovich... (MORE)

GRADUATION DAY FOR GABY

Gaby Rosado scored the best win of his six-year pro career at South Philly's Asylum Arena when he trounced Jesus Soto Karass for a 5th round TKO. No one had ever stopped the tough Mexican before Rosado managed the trick in a bloody and brutal beat down that left the tough measuring stick reeling after referee Steve Smoger halted the bout at 2:06 of the round. The fight could have ended in the round before had the bell not sounded in the nick of time to save Karass. But the temporary respite only set up the out-gunned veteran for more punishment, which Rosado gladly resumed the second round five began. It was a beautiful and passionate victory for a fighter who has patiently travelled... (MORE)

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

The Hall of Fame Room at the Wells Fargo center was like a morgue. The occasion was the final pre-fight press conference for the Main Events-promoted, Peltz-matched and NBC Sports Network-televised fight card scheduled for the Asylum Arena on Saturday night. You could feel the stress and the fatigue in the room. Clearly the people who put this boxing show together had suffered a very difficult week, and the wear and tear was palpable.

Last Friday the news trickled out that the show's scheduled headliner, Philly's Fast Eddie Chambers was injured and could not fight his anticipated bout with former WBO champ Sergei Liakhovich. The ten-rounder had the air of a big-time battle of heavyweight contenders, and Main Events and the fledgling NBC Sports Network were clearly hanging their hats on the bout as the showcase for the event. So much... (MORE)

ROSADO OUT TO MAKE STATEMENT ON NBC SPORTS

"Almost every step of the way Rosado has taken the hard road in his career. He takes the road less traveled in today’s boxing world. Willing to fight anyone, anywhere, anytime he has taken his lumps but is better off for it in the ring. He has developed and matured into a more experienced and more skilled fighter due to his ups and downs."

Boxing  scribe Gary Purfield profiles Gabriel Rosado as the North Philly boxer approaches the biggest fight of his career, a nationally televised shot on the NBC Sports Network.             (MORE)

ENNIS RETURNS WITH PREDICTABLE KO

Philly's Farah Ennis returned to the ring Friday night with a breezy fifth round TKO of Memphis southpaw Grover Young in the scheduled six round main event at the National Guard Armory. Ennis hadn't fought since suffering his first pro setback in April. but Young, now 5-5-1, with 2 KOs, couldn't match Ennis' skill, power or record, making this an easy comeback win for the 29 year old Philadelphian.

The bout was originally slated for eight rounds, but was cut to six by the PA commission on the day of the fight due to the disparity of the combatants' records. Ennis raised his mark to 18-1 with 10 KOs.... (MORE)

OPEN THE FLOODGATES!
2012 Philly Boxing to Start With a Bang

The new year does not look like it will be another famine of local fights like 2011 was. In fact it appears that it may be just the opposite and exactly what boxing fans want. There can be no dispute that the 2011 local fight scene was an extremely slow one when it came to the number of fights staged in Philadelphia. A measly seven fight cards came off in the past twelve months offering just 46 in-Philly bouts. Thank goodness for the support we received from nearby Atlantic City and Chester. Luckily it appears the drought is over and 2012 will at least start with an onslaught of action. The schedule for 2012 is already looking like a winner with four cards already planned for the first quarter of the year. That is more than half of all those staged last year. What's better, these four cards are supported by... (MORE)

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