Pavlik, The New Breed of Boxer, Defeats Taylor

It was not just another glorious night of boxing at the  Gardens. Kelly Pavlik (33-0-0-29 KOs) proved to be the victor against Jermaine Taylor (27-2-1-17 KOs) in front of a sold-out crowd of energetic boxing fans. Taylor, who has a four-inch reach on Pavlik, looked good in rounds 2-5, but Pavlik, who got the drop on him in round one, came back in the rounds 5-11. Pavlik was the aggressor, continuously leading with a left jab, followed by a right. Although Taylor looked stronger and worked hard on breaking down Pavlik with left hooks to the body and an overhand right, he couldn’t quite get through Pavlik’s defenses. At the end of round 12, both fighters hugged each other in good sportsmanship.

Michael Buffer then announced the judges’ scorecards starting with Patricia Morse Jarman who had it 115-113 for Pavlik, Dave Moretti scored 117-111 for Taylor, Glen Trowbridge had it 116-112 for Pavlik, giving Pavlik a win by unanimous decision.

“I put pressure on him,” said Pavlik, adding, “As for being satisfied, there is nothing as satisfied as the first win when I got the title.”

Taylor then stated: “I thought it was close. I thought he won the fight. He caught me with a good one at the end.”

According to Compubox punch stats, 144 jabs were thrown by Pavlik, compared to 132 by Taylor. Pavlik’s total punches thrown were 484, compared Taylor’s 292. In power punches, Pavlik threw 361 to Taylor’s 164, connecting 123 of those power punches to Taylor’s 76.

At this point, Pavlik said he is ready to fight anyone in the middleweight division. Taylor said he’ll go back to the drawing board. He said he’ll come back stronger.

Bette Midler Shines at Caesars Coliseum

The star of Broadway, film and television, the Divine Miss. M, otherwise characterized as Ms. Las Vegas, in “The Showgirl Must Go On,” sold the crowd on her song styles and her beautiful bevy of showgirls on opening night at the Coliseum at Caesars Palace.

Bette Midler’s engagement has her performing 100 shows per year in the 4,000-seat theater.

“Nobody got hurt, and nobody died,” she said. “It was a wonderful kickoff.”

When asked about the production of the show, she said, “I’ve got some gorgeous dancers who dance their butts off.”

The 20 female dancers about which she spoke are choreographed under the direction of longtime Midler choreographer Toni Basil. Midler revises some of her popular characters, such as Delores Delago, the Wheelchair-bound Mermaid, and Soph, the oldest living showgirl in Las Vegas. Midler is joined by the Harlettes, a 13-piece band, which includes a six-piece horn section from Las Vegas. They are known as The Fat City Horns.

Promoter John Meglan of AEG Concerts West stated, while on the red carpet, that the production showcases of Bette’s performances are her absolute best, and the fans love it. Bob Arum head of Top Rank Boxing, who was one of the VIPs along with his wife, said the opening of Midler’s showcase confirms her as an all-around performer.

Bette was accompanied by her husband, Martin von Haselberg, and their daughter, Sophie Haselberg.

Reyes Family Passion For Recipes

Two young brothers, Steven Reyes and Ernesto Reyes, along with their mother, Graciela Reyes, welcome patrons to their new restaurant, La Cocina Reyes. The family serves authentic Mexican cuisine, perhaps unlike any Mexican food you’ve tasted. Steven, who is an executive with the In-N-Out Burger chain, got his training in gourmet Mexican cuisine at Bob Flays Mesa Grill, a national chain of restaurants with one located in Las Vegas. Ernesto has been in food business for 20 years. And together, the two brothers with their dynamic personalities and the recipes of the mother are getting rave reviews.

Some of the dishes served that I can attest to are the Carne Asada. This consists of a grilled rib-eye steak smothered with sautéed bell peppers and onions topped with a seared queso Oaxaca. Served on the side is grilled corn on the cob with roasted red potatoes—all for a mere $21.99. Another popular dish is the Mahi Mahi, served in a bowl with delectable spicy sauces bursting with the flavors of the Mexican Riviera. For those of you who want a light bite, La Cocina Reyes has wonderful soups. Albondigas is prepared with ground beef blended with rice, onions, zucchini, carrots and tomatoes. Everything there is prepared to order, made from scratch. There is no question that Steven and Ernesto Reyes are excited and passionate about their cuisine. In addition to heartily greeting the customers themselves, welcoming them to their festive atmosphere, the service is excellent. To complement the fine cuisine, La Cocinca Reyes has a full-service cocktail bar with over 50 Margaritas, one of the most notable being the Apple Rita. For connoisseurs of fine tequila—without all the concoctions that go into a blended Margarita using standard tequila—sip the Don Julio 1942, one of the exquisite smooth tequilas.

They also have a wonderful selection of martinis. Incidentally, one of the reasons La Cocina’s margaritas are so good, in addition to making them fresh, is their new water reverse osmosis process that’s means they start with cleaner, fresher tasting water for ice.

To top off the dining journey, enjoy the Crepas con Cajeta, delicious crepes topped with caramel sauce with all-natural vanilla ice cream.

For reservations, call (702) 384-4444. La Cocina is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thurs and 11 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The CSN rating for La Cocina is a top 10 points.

Quintana Strips Williams of WBO Title

The HBO After Dark fight card promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions was well received on Sat., Feb. 8, at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif. It certainly turned into a surprising evening of boxing after then-WBO Welterweight Champion Paul “The Punisher” Williams entered the ring all smiles ready to fight Carlos “El Indio” Quintana.

Williams (34-1-24 KOs) of Augusta, Ga., started out slow and appeared not to be in full rhythm, as Quintana (25-1-19 KOs) of Puerto Rico was slipping in overhand lefts and rights while fighting inside Williams.

It was a battle of two southpaws; kind of like watching mirror reflections as they swung at each other. However, there was no question on the judges’ scorecards that Quintana had effectively scored throughout the earlier and later rounds.

According to CompuBox punch stats—Williams had thrown 799 punches to Quintana’s 596, landing 157 to Quintana’s 203. Williams’ jabs weren’t too effective against Quintana; they were 323 to 227 for Quintana, connecting only 53 to Quintana’s 60.

In the power punch category Williams threw 476 to Quintana’s 369, connecting 104 to Quintana’s 143.

During the press conference, Williams gave all the credit to Quintana for wining the fight fair and square.

“I couldn’t get into the rhythm,” stated Williams. When asked it he overlooked Quintana, he concluded, “I never overlooked Quintana. I just couldn’t get into my rhythm, and he got the shots off first. He was a better man than [me] tonight.”

Lou DiBella, manager for Quintana, thought that Williams was a great fighter, but he would be better fighting as a middleweight. Although Williams said he had no problem making weight at 147, the 6-foot fighter, too many boxing fans, would rather see him fight middleweight.

Now that Quintana has a WBO welterweight title, there is a question as to how long a layoff he will take, and if the possibility of fighting a De la Hoya or a Mayweather will be in the cards.

As for Williams, he’s going to “take a long vacation” and decide whether to stay in his current weight class or move up. After all, this is Williams’ first loss.

The semi-main event on the Williams-Quintana card had a very powerful Andre Berto (21-0-18 KOs) or Winterhaven, Fla., punished Michael Trabant (44-3-1- 19 KOs) of Berlin, Germany, in a 10-round welterweight bout. Berto delivered consistent power punches, along with some powerful uppercuts, to the point that the referee stopped the fight in the sixth round.

In the heavyweight division, there was a special 10-round attraction featuring Cristoval “The Nightmare” Arreola (23-0-21 KOs) of Riverside, Calif., overtaking Cliff Couser (27-15-2-14 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nev. Arreola overpowered Couser, knocking him out in round one.

Arreola, who is managed by Al Hamin and Lou DiBella, says he looks forward to fighting David Tua and other well-known heavyweights.

When Arreola was asked if thinks he’s a true heavyweight, he commented, “I never thought about my weight, I just fight like I was a middleweight, when I was younger. I’ve been fighting since I was eight years old. So, I just consider myself a fast fighter.”

Other undercards included Omri Lowther (10-1, 8 KOs) of Atlanta, Ga., fighting a six-round welterweight fight, beating out Braulio Lopez (7-7, 12 KOs) of Tualitin, Mexico. Lopez, incidentally, showed a lot a heart even though he threw a lot of wild punches.

A four-round junior middleweight bout had Raymond Biggs Jr. (7-0, 6 KOs) of Jersey City, N.J., knockout Bryan Mullis (5-3-1, 2 KOs) of Charlotte, N.C.

Grammy Awards Brings New Action

The Grammy Awards, was held at the Staples Convention Center in Los Angeles, had mixed reviews as a show. But let’s remember that this 50-year-old awards show covers a wide range of genres. It also is about popularity and marketability of songs. After all, downloaded ring tones of favorite artists’ songs are downloaded mainly by teens and college-age students. So anyone can download music from the Internet today; however, there will always be loyal fans supporting their favorite recording group.

And that brings me to Tina Turner. Here’s a woman, who at 68 years old, keeps getting better and has stood the test of time. Her performance, accompanied by Beyonce Knowles, stole the show. It just goes to show you what a positive attitude, great talent and great marketability can do for you.

Another performer who added to the show was the outstanding Morris Day. So if someone says to you, “was that really music? Or, “There was too much rap.” Or, “There was not enough country,” and so forth. Remember that music is like people. It comes in all sizes, shapes and forms. So, it’s not just about rap, but the Grammy Awards covers everything that sells.

And then there was Amy Winehouse, the “no-rehab” protestor herself, who took away four Grammy’s.

Miss America Judges

When the stakes are high, and pageant producers have a lot of pressure on them on ratings, it’s always a point that celebrity judges are a part of the pageant. Seven celebs determined the 2008 winner.

The 2008 Miss America Pageant, which was held at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, had just that. Speaking of competition, one celebrity judge, Jack Joyner Kersey now working in the field of community service, is considered one of the great athletes of all time. She is the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic Gold Medals in the seven disciplined events heptathlons.

She is also the first woman to score 7,000 points in the event, and her world record of 7,291 points remains unbroken. She is also the first American woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the long jump, all accomplished on her way to wining six golds in four consecutive Olympic games.

It is those persistent, yet talented, individuals, such as Joyner-Kersey, who make the world renowned pageant, such as Miss America, one of the most respected pageants in the Universe. Kersey, who is giving back to her community by spearheading fundraising efforts, has collected more than $12 million to build a safe haven for young people. The JJK Center in East St. Louis, Ill., provides services the thousands of families in the surrounding areas. It offers a variety of educational and recreational activities, including tutoring, youth sports leagues, nutrition, health education, character-leader workshops and fitness for seniors. The famed athlete currently travels as a motivational speaker and the author of, “A Woman’s Place is Everywhere,” and her autobiography, “A Kind of Grace.”

“No matter what you do in life, it’s the persistence that’s going to get you there,” Joyner Kersey said in press conference at the recent event.

Robin Meade, one of the other judges, is the lead news anchor for CNN’s “Headline News” early morning segment is another outstanding personality. She also serves as co-host with Dr. Sanjay Gupta for Turner’s closed-circuit network, Accent Health, which delivers consumer-related health programming directly to physicians’ waiting rooms.

Meade competed in the Miss America Pageant 1992. She is the recipient of two regional Emmy Awards and in 2005 was inducted into the Ohio Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

From the field of talent, Jason La Padura, is a casting executive behind Disney Channel’s phenomena, “High School Musical.” He is currently casting NBC’s hit ‘Heroes,” and CBC’s “Cane.” La Padura received the Media Access award from the State of California for his work promoting the profile of performers with disability. He was nominated for Emmy awards for “High School Musical” and the NBC series, “American Dreams.”

Other pageant judges included Sarah Ivens, editor-in-chief of OK! magazine, a leading celebrity news publication; Kim Lyons, star of NBC’s “Biggest Loser,” and James Arthur Ray, president and CEO of James Ray International, a multi-million dollar company dedicated to teaching people how to create wealth. And Trace Ayala, international fashion designer, was also a judge.

This year’s winner of the pageant was Kirsten Haglund of Minnesota.

Howie Mandel Knuckles-Up

Everyone who remembers Howie Mandel from St Elsewhere knows how funny he is. What they dont know about Howie, is his fear of germs. Mandel never shakes hands with anyone. Instead, he knuckles up. When I hung out with Howie at The National Association of Television Producers(NATPE) he also informed me that if not for his wife, he would not have taken the job for Deal or No Deal.