Top lightweight contender Angel “El Diablo” Manfredy isn’t lacking confidence. Or a willingness to express it loudly.
After he scored a seventh-round technical knockout of Luis Lizarraga (29-15-1) at the Ramada O’Hare Hotel on Wednesday night, Manfredy (28-3-1) made not one, but two, bold vows about his future:
He will defeat champion Stevie Johnston Aug. 14 and thereby take the World Boxing Council lightweight title. Then, he added, “I’m bringing the world title back to Chicago and my first defense will be here.”
Johnston (26-1) will have something to say about Manfredy’s first prediction. The second will be decided ultimately by promoters and cable network HBO, which has a contract to televise Manfredy’s major fights.
The Aug. 14 HBO telecast will be from Foxwoods Casino in Mashantuckett, Conn., although Manfredy says he prefers Atlantic City. Ex-champ Arturo Gatti (29-4) will fight Reyes Munoz (21-3) on the same card.
Gatti, the brawler who made Manfredy famous, is attempting a comeback from devastating losses to Manfredy and Ivan Robinson, who was subsequently mauled by Manfredy.
On Wednesday night’s card–which included victories by ex-light-heavyweight champion Montell Griffin, super-bantamweight Luis Perez and junior-middleweight Fernando Hernandez–Lizarraga was competitive in the early rounds. He caught Manfredy with an effective flurry in the second and showed a rock-solid chin against power punches. But when Manfredy went to the body, the end was near. He dropped Lizarraga with a left and a chopping right to the head after bending him against the ropes with body shots.
After talking seriously about moving to Las Vegas, Manfredy says he wants to live and train (and, of course, defend that expected title) in the Chicago area. Putting his money where his mouth is, he has bought a home in Hobart, Ind.
But he shows a flamboyance fit for Las Vegas. Adding strobe-and-smoke theatrics, he prolonged his ring entrance Wednesday night in a devil’s mask and trunks adorned with angel wings.
Just call me “opponent”: The Griffin and Manfredy co-feature on promoter Bobby Hitz’s card Wednesday is a sign of improvement in Chicago-area boxing shows. The same can be said for a July 10 card at Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, co-promoted by Chicagoan Dominic Pesoli, featuring talented fighters Goyo Vargas and Hector Camacho Jr. in separate 12-round fights for lesser titles. But there also are lingering problems with local shows.
Too many opponents are unknown, let alone underskilled. Too many are substitutes for earlier-announced opponents, when they step in against the Chicago fighters promoters use to attract local fans.
Credit Hitz with finding a tough opponent for Manfredy in Lizzaraga, probably tougher than the originally announced Juan Torres. But Tim Cooper (7-23-1) was on shaky ground from the opening bell against Griffin (38-2), who dropped and finished him with a left hook in the third round. Griffin is basically keeping active, hoping to fight Michael Nunn for another title opportunity. But Cooper was a bad mismatch.
On the other side of the coin is Chicago junior-welterweight Rocky Martinez, who opted not to fight Camacho Jr. on Pesoli’s card. Instead, Martinez (31-3) will face Alexis Perez (21-12-3). That bout might not even make the two-hour telecast on Telemundo, the Spanish-language network that gets strong boxing ratings.
Tyson teasers: There’s now buzz about Mike Tyson fighting Axel Schulz in August as a tuneup for . . . are you ready? . . . Chicagoan Andrew Golota in December.
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As the ex-heavyweight champ works himself back into shape after his third unwanted hiatus from boxing this decade, one of his prime-target opponents, Brian Nielsen, has suffered an embarrassing defeat.
Nielsen, the “Great Dane,” had built his record to 49-0 before Dickie Ryan (51-4) made pastry of him in a 10th-round knockout June 18 in Denmark. There are no signs that Ryan has made Tyson’s list. They share the distinction of having lost to Buster Douglas. But in Ryan’s case, Douglas was a rare noteworthy opponent.