Entertainment

The Premiere Boxing Championship in Las Vegas

Published

10 years ago

March 11, 2015

Las Vegas, the mecca for boxing, hosted the first series of fights in the Premier Boxing Championship (PBC) boxing series this past weekend at the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena.

The fight was the first of the PBC series, which was broadcast on NBC Sports and Spike TV.

The first bout in the series is designed to give boxing a larger viewership on a bigger stage, rather than the pay-per-view bouts that have come to dominate boxing over the last decade.

Boxing has become more of a niche sport, which was not the case in the 1960s through the 80s, when the sport had a much bigger stage. Boxing officials hope the PBC series, broadcast to the general public, will bring more people into the sport.

In the first co-headliner, Adrian Broner defeated John Molina by a unanimous decision in the Junior Welterweight 12-round bout.

It was a fight of many contrasts with Broner, the smooth and gifted boxer from the streets of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the mold of a younger Floyd Mayweather, and Molina, the brawler from Covina, California, with the big punch.

Early in the bout, Molina tried to corner Broner, using his bigger stature to bully Broner into the corners. But Broner used his superior speed to hit and run, outlasting Molina in the ring and tiring him out.

As the fight moved on, Broner used his speed to rattle, stick and move Molina several times, but late into the fight, he couldn’t get the knock down.

“I had to be careful with him because he can punch,” said Broner after the fight. “He wanted me to sit there to bang it out there with him. But why would I do that when God gave me some many gifts that can help me win?”

Broner won on the judge’s cards: 120-108, 120-108, and 118-110. This victory moved his record to 30-1 with 22 knockouts, while Molina’s record dropped to 27-6.

The next headliner, Robert “the Ghost” Guerrero from Gilroy, took on Keith “One Time” Thurmon from Clearwater, Florida, in a Welterweight bout. Unlike the Broner vs. Molina fight that was a bore, the Guerrero vs. Thurmon fight was action-packed.

Thurmon is a swift heavy hitter, while Guerrero is a defensive fighter with a chin and a punch.

In the first round, they came out hard and fast against each other. Thurmon was the faster outside boxer, while Guerrero was more of the inside boxer.

The first two rounds could have gone either way, as the two studied each other, but Thurmon won these rounds as he forced the action.

In the third round, as a result of an inadvertent head-butt by Guerrero, a knot surfaced on Thurmon’s head, protruding like a fist. But Guerrero didn’t capitalize on this.

Instead, he stuck to his inside fight game, which Thurmon exploited, hitting him from the outside and moving away from Guerrero’s jabs. While he was in control of the fight, Thurmon’s power shots began to get to Guerrero.

Late in the ninth round, Thurmon rocked Guerrero with a hook to the ear, knocking him down.

“That shot behind my head kind of buzzed me,” said Guerrero. “It was a shot, but I was able to recover and weather the storm.”

After sitting down for the count up to five, Guerrero bounced up and lasted the rest of the round. The knockdown must have ignited something. Guerrero came back with a vengeance getting Thurmon on the ropes and attacking his body and head as the crowd came to its feet.

“I put the pressure on Thurmon and I got inside and I just went to work,” said Guerrero.

In the eleventh and twelfth rounds, the two boxers traded vicious punches, but it was clear that Thurmon was set to win.

In a unanimous decision, Thurmon won the fight on the judge’s cards: 120-107, 118-109, and 118-108. This win put him at a record of 25-0, while Guerrero’s record is 32-3-1.

“I didn’t win the fight, but I think I won the hearts of America,” said Guerrero after the fight. “He came and did his job. Thurmon landed some good shots on me.”

“Thurmon has a lot of power and he is one of the hardest hitters I have faced,” he continued.

The PBC series also included a featherweight division bout as Abner Mares defeated Arturo Reyes.

Over 11,000 people attended the fight with 3.4 million viewers on NBC, a ratings success. The PBC boxing series will continue with 20 fights over the next year.

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Black History

Ashleigh Johnson: Pioneering the Way in Water Polo

Ashleigh Johnson attended Princeton University, where she played for the Tigers and dominated collegiate water polo. During her time at Princeton, she became the program’s all-time leader in saves and was recognized for her extraordinary ability to anticipate plays and block shots. She was a three-time All-American and was pivotal in leading her team to multiple victories. Balancing rigorous academics and athletics, she graduated with a degree in Psychology, showcasing her determination both in and out of the pool.

Published

4 hours ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Ashleigh Johnson Photo: collegiatewaterpolo.org

By Tamara Shiloh

Ashleigh Johnson has become a household name in the world of water polo, not only for her incredible athleticism and skill but also for breaking barriers as the first Black woman to represent the United States in the sport at the Olympic level. Her journey begins as a determined young athlete to a record-breaking goalkeeper.

Born on September 12, 1994, in Miami, Florida, Ashleigh grew up in a family that valued sports and academics. She attended Ransom Everglades School, where she was introduced to water polo. Despite water polo being a niche sport in her community, she quickly stood out for her remarkable agility, intelligence, and reflexes. Her unique skill set made her a natural fit for the demanding role of a goalkeeper.

Ashleigh attended Princeton University, where she played for the Tigers and dominated collegiate water polo. During her time at Princeton, she became the program’s all-time leader in saves and was recognized for her extraordinary ability to anticipate plays and block shots. She was a three-time All-American and was pivotal in leading her team to multiple victories. Balancing rigorous academics and athletics, she graduated with a degree in Psychology, showcasing her determination both in and out of the pool.

In 2016, Ashleigh made history as the first Black woman to be selected for the U.S. Olympic Water Polo Team. Representing her country at the Rio Olympics, she played a crucial role in helping Team USA secure the gold medal. Her stellar performances earned her the distinction of being named the tournament’s top goalkeeper, further cementing her status as one of the best players in the sport’s history.

Ashleigh didn’t just stop at one Olympic appearance. She continued her dominance in water polo, playing a key role in Team USA’s gold medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Her ability to remain composed under pressure and deliver outstanding saves in crucial moments made her an irreplaceable member of the team.

At the age of 29, Johnson appeared in her third Olympiad in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Their first match was against Greece and the US team won easily and Johnson only gave up 4 points. U.S. Olympic head coach Adam Krikorian shared, “She’s an incredible athlete. She’s got great hand-eye coordination, great reflexes and reactions. And then she’s fiercely competitive – fiercely. And you would never know it by her demeanor or by the huge smile on her face. But to us, on the inside, we know how driven she is to be one of the best ever to do it.”

Team USA Women’s Water Polo ended their Olympic season in fourth place after a 10 – 11 loss to the Netherlands. Johnson only allowed 37 percent of the shots from the Netherlands.

Beyond her achievements in the pool, Ashleigh has used her platform to advocate for diversity in water polo and sports in general. As a trailblazer, she recognizes the importance of representation and works to encourage young athletes, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, to pursue their dreams.

Ashleigh has spoken about the challenges she faced as a Black woman in a predominantly white sport and how she turned those obstacles into opportunities for growth.

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Arts and Culture

In ‘Affrilachia: Testimonies,’ Puts Blacks in Appalacia on the Map

Published

2 days ago

December 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Author Chris Aluka. Photo courtesy of Chris Aluka.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

An average oak tree is bigger around than two people together can reach.

That mighty tree starts out with an acorn the size of a nickel, ultimately growing to some 80 feet tall, with a canopy of a hundred feet or more across.

And like the new book, “Affrilachia” by Chris Aluka Berry (with Kelly Elaine Navies and Maia A. Surdam), its roots spread wide and wider.

Affriclachia is a term a Kentucky poet coined in the 1990s referring to the Black communities in Appalachia who are similarly referred to as Affrilachians.

In 2016, “on a foggy Sunday morning in March,” Berry visited Affrilachia for the first time by going the Mount Zion AME Zion Church in Cullowhee, North Carolina. The congregation was tiny; just a handful of people were there that day, but a pair of siblings stood out to him.

According to Berry, Ann Rogers and Mae Louise Allen lived on opposite sides of town, and neither had a driver’s license. He surmised that church was the only time the elderly sisters were together then, but their devotion to one another was clear.

As the service ended, he asked Allen if he could visit her. Was she willing to talk about her life in the Appalachians, her parents, her town?

She was, and arrangements were made, but before Barry could get back to Cullowhee, he learned that Allen had died. Saddened, he wondered how many stories are lost each day in mountain communities where African Americans have lived for more than a century.

“I couldn’t make photographs of the past,” he says, “but I could document the people and places living now.”

In doing so he also offers photographs that he collected from people he met in ‘Affrilachia,’ in North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, at a rustic “camp” that was likely created by enslaved people, at churches, and in modest houses along highways.

The people he interviewed recalled family tales and community stories of support, hardship, and home.

Says coauthor Navies, “These images shout without making a sound.”

If it’s true what they say about a picture being worth 1,000 words, then “Affrilachia,” as packed with photos as it is, is worth a million.

With that in mind, there’s not a lot of narrative inside this book, just a few poems, a small number of very brief interviews, a handful of memories passed down, and some background stories from author Berry and his co-authors. The tales are interesting but scant.

For most readers, though, that lack of narrative isn’t going to matter much. The photographs are the reason why you’d have this book.

Here are pictures of life as it was 50 years or a century ago: group photos, pictures taken of proud moments, worn pews, and happy children. Some of the modern pictures may make you wonder why they’re included, but they set a tone and tell a tale.

This is the kind of book you’ll take off the shelf, and notice something different every time you do. “Affrilachia” doesn’t contain a lot of words, but it’s a good choice when it’s time to branch out in your reading.

“Affrilachia: Testimonies,” by Chris Aluka Berry with Kelly Elaine Navies and Maia A. Surdam

c.2024, University of Kentucky Press, $50.00.