By Eric Armit
Scoring and ratings are two of the moist contentious matters in boxing today. I will leave the subject to scoring for the present. As far as ratings are concerned the whole approach is a hotchpotch of 18 divisions with four sanctioning bodies doing their own version and with super, secondary, interim and gold titles we now have 86 boxers claiming to hold a title loosely labelled as “world”. Ring Magazine can rightfully take the credit for the introducing boxing ratings with their first being published in 1924. That was not straight forward as having the Ring editor or staff compiling the ratings. Hall of Fame writer Nigel Collins wrote in a Ring article in 1987 when introducing the system of world-wide panel/voting that those first ratings were largely compiled by promoter Tex Rickard and when Rickard died it was Jack Dempsey who took over the task before being replaced by Madison Square Garden matchmaker Tom McCardle. A bit like Bob Arum followed by Anthony Joshua then Brad Goodman. Ring lost its way under the Editorship of Nat Loubet with a ratings scandal leading to the TV companies turning to the sanctioning bodies for ratings. Nigel brought Ring back to its premier position with the panel/voting system but the sanctioning bodies already had their foot in the door by then. I took a random look back at the Ring ratings in February 1955 when there were only eight divisions and eight genuine world champions and only ten fighters rated in each division. The champions heaviest to lightest being Rocky Marciano, Archie Moore, Sugar Ray Robinson, Carmen Basilio, Wallace (Bud) Smith, Sandy Sadler, Robert Cohen and Pascual Perez. With only eight divisions unlike the eighteen of today life really was tough at the top with so many talented boxers chasing so few positions. That prompted me to look at the situation today but through the prism of only eight divisions. It would be tough being a welterweight vying with Manny Pacquiao, Errol Spence, Terence Crawford, Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, Mikey Garcia and perhaps current super welterweights Jermell Charlo and Erislandy Lara also in the welterweights. How about a lightweight division with Teo Lopez, Devon Haney, Gervonta Davis, Vasyl Lomachenko, Ryan Garcia with Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez down from the current super lights and Oscar Valdez and Shakur Stevenson up from the super featherweights? Bantamweights? How about Naoya Inoue, Nonito Donaire, John Riel Casimero. Nordine Oubaali plus Juan Francisco Estrada, Roman Gonzalez, Srisaket, Jerwin Ancajas and Kazuto Ioka all competing for just ten ratings places and just one title. A super fight a week/month almost guaranteed as the best would have no alternative but to meet the best. The Chavez clan are preparing for a family outing. In June in Guadalajara the patriarch Julio Cesar Chaves will face Hector Camacho Jr. in an exhibition, Julio Cesar Jr. will face UFC star Anderson Silva and in a real fight between two members of the royalty of Mexican boxing Omar Chavez will face Ramon Alvarez the brother of Saul, Rigoberto and Ricardo Alvarez. A couple of bumps in the road for Top Rank with Gilberto Ramirez leaving and their losing the purse bidding for Teo Lopez vs. Geroge Kambosos Jr title fight. Triller bid almost 2 ½ times the Top Rank bid and $2.5 more than the next higher bid from Eddie Hearn. That would worry me if I had shares in Triller as Bob Arum and Eddie Hearn have the depth of experience to know what a fight is worth so Triller’s bid strikes me as a loss leader with no guarantee of carry on opportunities to cover what they seem certain to lose on Lopez vs. Kambosos. The fight will be in Miami on 5 June. Australia has been having a bad run in world title fights so Kambosos will be looking to change that. Ramirez is hoping to land a fight with Dimity Bivol the holder of the secondary WBA light heavyweight belt but too often that secondary title can be a blind alley. Former WBO super welterweight champion Jaime Munguia is scheduled to return to action on April 24. No venue but Shane Mosley Jr is being talked about as his opponent. Munguia’s aim is a crack at Gennady Golovkin’s IBF middleweight title which would be an interesting match unlike Golovkin vs. German Patrick Wojcicki. With No’s 1 and 2 vacant Wojcicki is in No 3 one spot above Munguia. Wojcicki can’t go to one of those vacant spots because he has never beaten a rated fight-but is rated for winning the IBF Inter-Continental title. Golovkin vs. Wojcicki would be the IBF’s version of Alvarez vs. Yildirim. The top two spots in the IBF super lightweights are also vacant. The plan is for two eliminators Lewis Ritson (No 6) vs. Jeremias Ponce (No 5) and Subriel Matias (No 7) vs. Batyrzhan Jukembayev (No 8) with no mention of No 3 Liam Paro and Shohjahon Ergashev (No 4) needless to say-but I will-none of these fighters are No 1 or No 2 as they have not beaten any rated fighters. It looks as though Mikey Garcia has drawn the winning ticket in the lottery to fight Manny Pacquiao. There are two schools of thought. One says Manny should go for Errol Spence or Terence Crawford and one that says Garcia is a good pick. At 43 and without a fight since July 2019 Spence and Crawford I think would be too tough for Manny at this late stage of his career. Losing to either would not seriously tarnish his position as one of the all time greats in our sport but it would be a pity to see him go out on a loss. Garcia is ten years younger and a four-division champion with a 40-1 record with the loss to Errol Spence his only defeat in his 6-1 record in world title fights. OK he is not Spence or Crawford and it is a fight that would have been better five years ago but it makes a sensible and less threatening fight to go out on so beat Garcia and hang up your gloves Congressman. Any last fight in fact any fight except Conor McGregor is a plus. With eight fights in 30 months Russian Evgeny Tischenko has hardly been super busy or whizzed through the ratings. He is currently No 15 with the WBC but on 27 March in Ekaterinburg he tackles the WBC No 1 Thabiso Mchunu for the WBC Silver title. The 6’5” southpaw, now 29, won gold medals at European Youth, European Under-23, European Championships, World Championships and the 2016 Olympics so a full hand now he needs to get past Mchunu and then WBC champion Ilunga Makabu to turn gold and silver into a world title. It was a case of working overtime for Brandun Lee and Brian Norman Jr last night (Wednesday) in Uncasville. Super lightweight Lee knocked out Samuel Teah in three rounds and welterweight Norman stopped unbeaten Benjamin Whitaker in five rounds. Going in Lee had won 19 of his 21 fights by KO/TKO including 11 first round victories with his 21 wins taking less than 38 rounds and Norman ended 15 of his 18 fights by KO/TKO, including 10 first round finishes and less than 42 rounds for his 16 victories. Just as well they are not paid by the round. This weekend it is Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Roman Gonzalez in Dallas a great match and on the same card Hiroto Kyoguchi defending the WBA light flyweight title against Axel Aragon Vega and in Uncasville David Benavidez vs. Ronald Ellis with Benavidez carrying a faint hope of a fight with Saul Alvarez down the line-but don’t hold your breath David. On 19 March in Bolton Karim Guerfi defends the Europe bantam title against unbeaten Lee McGregor. On 20 March Artur Beterbiev puts the IBF and WBC light heavyweight titles up against Adam Deines, Lawrence Okolie and Krzys Glowacki contest the vacant WBO cruiser title in London and in Texas Vergil Ortiz faces a hard night against Maurice Hooker. Going back to the champions in 1955 it is nonsense to attempt to compare boxers from different eras. When Archie Moore won the light heavyweight title in December 1952 he had already packed 160 fights into 17 years before getting a title shot. Sandy Saddler won the featherweight title on 29 October 1948 having already had 94 fights (Willie Pep who he beat was 134-1-1before losing the Saddler fight) and Sadler fitted in four more non-title fights over November and December. Different times. Not better-not worse but very different.
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By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Rio gold medal winner Tony Yoka collects the vacant European Union heavyweight title with last round stoppage of Joel Tambwe Djeko -Brandon Adams comes from behind to stop Serhii Bohachuk and snap the Ukrainian’s run of 18 consecutive inside the distance victories -Puerto Rican Danielito Zorrilla extends his record to 16-0 with technical decision over Ruslan Madiev after a punch to the back of the head renders Zorrilla unable to continue -Liam Paro remains at the front of the queue for a fight against the winner of Josh Taylor vs. Jose Ramirez as he goes to 21-0 with victory over Terry Tzouramanis -Firat Arslan (50) knocks out Gusmyr Perdomo (43) in battle of the ages 4 March Guaynabo, Puerto Rico: Super Welter: Brandon Adams (23-3) W TKO 8 Serhii Bohachuk (18-1): Super Light: Danielito Zorrilla (15-0) W TEC DEC 8 Ruslan Madiev (13-2). Feather: Bryan Chevalier (15-1-1) W KO 3 Carlos Zambrano (26-2). Middle: Fernando Vargas Jr (2-0) W TKO 1 Salome Flores Torres (0-3). Adams vs. Bohachuk Facing defeat “Cannon” Adams explodes in the eighth to stop unbeaten Bohachuk. With all of his wins coming inside the distance a confident Bohachuk took the fight to Adams immediately applying lots of pressure. Adams countered well and scored with hooks to the body and looked to have edged the opening round. Adams was giving away height and reach to Bohachuk so he took the fight inside in the second but Bohachuk was matching him. Adams had landed a few belt-line punches and when he strayed low in the third that cost him a one point deduction. Bohachuk slowly took control of the fight from the fourth and by the seventh Adams was starting to tire and his punch output dropped and he slipped to the canvas three times. Going into the eighth Bohachuk was in front on scores of 68-64 twice and 69-63 and a stoppage looked on the cards. He was working Adams over on the ropes when Adams connected with a left hook. Bohachuk backed off badly rocked and a left uppercut dropped him heavily. Bohachuk struggled to his feet but wobbled and the fight was stopped. Adams, 31, came to the fore when he won the 5th series of The Contenders. He lost a wide points decision against Jermall Charlo for the WBC middleweight title in June 19 and was rated No 7 middleweight by the WBC. Ukrainian Bohachuk had never gone past the sixth round and his 18 consecutive inside the distance wins had seen him rated WBC 7/IBF 9 at super welterweight. Zorrilla vs. Madiev Zorrilla wins technical decision after being unable to continue after a punch to the back of the head from Madiev. Madiev was rolling forward in the first getting past the longer reach of Zorrilla and working to the body. Zorrilla countered well in the second to even things up. Madiev continued to dig in body punches with Zorrilla doing his scoring with sharp jabs and hooks when forced to stand and trade. The rounds were close and hard to score but the referee deducted a point from Madiev for a punch to the back of the head in the fifth. Madiev continued to press but was warned again in the sixth for a shot to the back of the head a round which Zorrilla won making it a 10-8 round. The seventh was another close round but Zorrilla was finding it hard to keep Madiev out. In the eighth Madiev was relentless but connected with another illegal punch to the back of Zorrilla’s head. Zorrilla went down on his knees and it was five minutes before he was raised to sit on a stool. He was unable to continue so the fight was decided on the judge's cards with two having it 77-75 and 76-75 for Zorrilla and the other 76-73 for Madiev. Zorrilla was taken to a local hospital as a precaution. Zorrilla wins the vacant WBO NABO belt. Kazak Madiev was in his first fight for 20 months. His other loss came on a technical decision against Pablo Cano. Chevalier vs. Zambrano Chevalier disposes of Zambrano in three rounds. Chevalier scored a dubious knockdown in the first from a light punch to the back of Zambrano’s head. Chevalier used his long reach to outscore Zambrano in the second and then put Zambrano down twice in the third with body punches with Zambrano being counted out on the second knockdown. The 5’11” 26-year-old Puerto Rican has 12 wins by KO/TKO and has useful wins over 16-0 Luis Lebron and 17-2 Yeison Vargas. Peruvian Zambrano, a former holder of the interim WBA feather title, was having his first fight since being flattened inside a round by Claudio Marrero in a fight for the WBA interim and vacant IBO feather titles. Vargas vs. Flores Vargas blows away poor Flores inside a round. A low left from Vargas sent Flores down early in the first. Flores was given time to recover and then started throwing wild punches until a straight left dropped him. He beat the count and tried to punch with Vargas but a series of head shots floored him again and the referee just waived the fight over. The tall 24-year-old southpaw is the son of Fernando Snr. the former holder of the IBF and secondary WBA super welterweight titles and has won both of his fights by KO/TKO. Flores has lost all three of his fights in the first round. Melbourne, Australia: Light: Kieran Cronin (6-2-1) W PTS 10 Gaige Ireland (7-4-3). Heavy: Willis Meehan (10-0) W TKO 1 Hunter Sam (11-15-3). Cronin vs. Ireland Queensland’s Cronin shows youth does not always have to be served as the decisions national title holder Ireland. Cronin made a slow start but picked up the pace from the third and dominated after that. Scores 98-92 twice and 97-93. The 39-year-old was No 12 in the Australian ratings so something of an upset. Local southpaw Ireland, 27, was making the second defence of the title. Meehan vs. Sam In his first fight for 18 months Meehan too big and punches too hard for Sam. Meehan put Sam down twice and the fight was halted after just 87 seconds. Eight wins by KO/TKO for Meehan son of former WBO title challenger Kali. He splits his time between boxing and the day job as a professional rugby league player. Former Australian champion Sam is on a steep down slope as he is 0-12-1in his last 13 fights. Delray Beach, FL, USA: Light Heavy: Steve Geffrard (18-2) W PTS 8 Denis Grachev (20-12-1).Light Heavy: Robin Sirwan Safar (11-0) W TKO 8 Demetrius Banks (10-10-1,1ND). Geffrard vs. Grachev After periods of inactivity Geffrard returns to the ring and registers his eighteenth win in a row as he takes unanimous decision over seasoned Russian pro Grachev. Geffrard, 30, lost his first two pro fights against poor opponents and did not fight in 2017, 2019 or 2020. Fifth loss in his last six fights for 38-year-old Grachev. Safar vs. Banks Las Vegas-based Swede Safar gets his fifth inside the distance victory in a row as he halts Detroit oldie Banks. Safar was Swedish amateur champion at both 81kg and super heavyweight. Banks, 40, has managed only one win in his last twelve fights Biloxi, MS, USA: Middle: John Vera (20-1) W KO 1 Cleotis Pendarvis (21-8-2). Vera gets a win but on an injury. The fight was hardly started when Pendarvis threw a right jab to the body of Vera. Pendarvis turned away holding his right arm and retreated to the ropes and went down on his knee still holding his right arm. He was in quite a bit of pain and was counted out just as he made it to his feet. Vera’s lone defeat was on points against Michele Soro in March 2018 but he had rebounded with a points win over 17-1 Ravshan Hudaynazarov in August 2019. Fourth defeat in a row for Pendarvis but he was unlucky with the injury here. 5 March Nantes, France: Heavy: Tony Yoka (10-0) W TKO 12 Joel Tambwe Djeko (17-3-1). Yoka marches on with a late stoppage of Djeko. A slow first round saw both fighters cautious with Djeko just edging it. Yoka bossed the second. He was finding gaps for his jab and then stepping in and scoring with heavy rights with Djeko hardly moving from the ropes and throwing few punches. Djeko stood and traded jabs with Yoka at the beginning of the third but when Yoka’s jabs started to jolt Djeko’s head he went on the retreat and Yoka was connecting with heavy rights. It was a similar pattern in the fourth and fifth with Djeko lively at the start but then having no answer to Yoka’s jab. Yoka was following the jab with solid rights with Djeko too often caught against the ropes and throwing little in return. Yoka’s output dropped in the sixth and Djeko fired a couple of bursts of punches. Yoka was back in charge in the seventh and eighth controlling the fight with his jab and connecting with left hooks to the body and rights to the head on a constantly retreating Djeko. The Belgian had a growing bump over his left eye that threatened to become a problem but over the ninth and tenth apart from an occasional clubbing right he looked to be focusing on survival. Djeko now had a swelling under his right eye and the eye was almost closed but he was a bit more competitive in the eleventh although Yoka had him under heavy pressure at the bell. Yoke ended it in the twelfth. He trapped Djeko in a corner and kept unloading punches until Djeko turned his back leaning over the ropes and the fight was stopped. Yoka wins the vacant European Union title with his eighth inside the distance victory. The 6’7” Rio gold medallist wins his first pro title. He is showing steady improvement and his jabbing was impressive here. He has come though reasonable tests against Alex Dimitrenko, Johann Duhaupas and Christian Hammer but he still tends to come forward in a straight line with very little head movement. He is rated IBF 8(7)/WBC 13 and could be ready for a title shot in 2022. “Big Joe” Djeko had won his last eight fights but suffers his first inside the distance loss and perhaps next time he won’t be stupid enough to aim a slap his opponent at the weigh-in. Culiacan, Mexico: Super Feather: Eliot Chavez (9-3-1) W TKO 10 Rodolfo Bustamante (16-1-1). Outsider Chavez wins the vacant NABF title with late stoppage of unbeaten Bustamante. For most of the fight the superior skills of “Elegant” Bustamante frustrated the ever aggressive Chavez. He was slotting jabs through Chavez guard and stopping Chavez in his attacks with straight rights and left hooks. Chavez just kept coming with Bustamante being forced to stand and exchange shots. In the tenth Chavez drove a tiring Bustamante into a corner and froze him with a devastating right to the chin. Bustamante dropped his hands and started to slip to the canvas and Chavez landed another right before the referee could leap in to save Bustamante who collapsed to the canvas. The fight was immediately stopped so that Bustamante could receive medical assistance and he was eventually taken from the ring on a stretcher. No update on his condition at this time. Chavez gets his third inside the distance victory on the trot. Kissimmee, FL, USA: Super Light: Yomar Alamo (19-0-1) W PTS 10 Jesus Beltran (17-4-2). Alamo vs. Beltran Alamo adds another win as he has too much skill for a limited Beltran. Hand speed, good use of his longer reach and plenty of movement saw Alamo capture the first two rounds. Beltran got into the fight in the third as his pressure began to pay off but Alamo continued to slot punches home and countered Beltran’s aggression with crisp left hooks. By the fifth Beltran was marking up under his right eye as part of the price of trying to walk through Alamo’s punches. Alamo outworked Beltran over the seventh and eighth but Beltran put in a big effort in the ninth although he was now marked under his right eye. Alamo took no chances in the last as he boxed his way to the bell. Scores 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 for Alamo. The 25-year-old Puerto Rican was lucky to keep his unbeaten streak going in a split draw against Antonio Moran in October 2019 but was back on track when beating 17-0 Keno Castaneda in February last year. He wins the vacant WBO Latino title and is rated No 8 by them. After an early loss Mexican Beltran had put together a 15-0-2 run but has now lost three consecutive fights all to unbeaten boxers. Brisbane, Australia: Super Light: Liam Paro (20-0) W RTD 7 Terry Tzouramanis (23-5-3). Super Light: Justin Frost (12-1-1) W TKO 10 Waylon Law (12-9). Paro vs. Tzouramanis Paro puts his name at the head of the queue to face the winner on the Josh Taylor vs. Jose Ramirez unifier with win over Tzouramanis. Impressive display from Paro as he outboxed and outpunched useful Tzouramanis. Paro never allowed Tzouramanis to get a toe-hold in the fight he was too quick and too accurate with his punches for the slower Tzouramanis. Paro won every round flooring Tzouramanis with a left to the body in the sixth. He handing out steady punishment in the seventh and Tzouramanis was pulled out of the fight at the end of the round. Thirteenth inside the distance win for Paro. He is rated No 2 by the WBO and with positions 1 and 2 vacant is the highest rated fighter at No 3 by the IBF and yet he has not faced a single rated opponent so largely untested but he was defending the WBO Global and IBF International titles which explains his rating. Tzouramanis, 35, was coming off a good domestic win over Brandon Ogilvie in October 2019. Frost vs. Law Frost moves 2-1 ahead in his series of fights with Law with a late stoppage. It looked like an early finish when Frost floored Law twice with rights to the head in the second but Law saw out the round. Frost won almost every round but a tough Law made him fight hard making it an entertaining scrap. After nine rounds Frost was in front 89-80 on two cards and 87-83 on the third. It looked as though this one was going the distance until Frost pinned Law to the ropes and battered him with a series of punches until the referee stepped in and stopped the contest with just 25 seconds left before the final bell. Law wins the IBF Asia Oceania title. In two Australian title fights with Law he lost on a split decision and then won on a majority decision but this was much more decisive. Third time Law has been stopped. Pinamar, Argentina: Super Bantam: Ernesto Franzolini (12-11-2) W PTS 10 Lucas Baez (36-20-5). Franzolini wins the vacant Argentinian title with unanimous verdict over Baez. Great start for home town fighter Franzolini as he put Baez on the canvas with a right just 28 seconds into the fight. Baez bounced up and then outfought Franzolini for the rest of the round. It turned into a fast-paced scrap with Franzolini’s left jab and left hooks giving him the edge over the wilder attacks from Baez. Franzolini looked to be flagging over the seventh and eighth but had a strong ninth and handed out a beating to Baez in the tenth flooring him with a burst of punches. Baez managed to get to his feet and hung on to the bell. Scores 98-92, 97-91, 96 ½ -92 ½ all for Franzolini. The former South American title challenger gets his fourth win in his last five outings. Second unsuccessful shot at the national title for Baez 6 March Goeppingen, Germany: Cruiser: Firat Arslan (48-9-3) W KO 3 Gusmyr Perdomo (26-10). Heavy: Ali Kiydin (13-1) W KO 1 Pablo Magrini (19-7). Cruiser: Huseyin Cinkara (15-0) W TKO 3 Francisco Benitez (16-8). Arslan vs. Perdomo Fighting in his own gymnasium Arslan wins with third round count out of fellow-southpaw Perdomo. After two slow rounds Perdomo came out firing and connected with a couple of body punches. Arslan then landed a wicked left hook to the body of his own. Perdomo went down rolled over and took the full count on his hands and knees. First fight for 50-year-old Arslan since sixth round stoppage defeat against Kevin Lerena for the IBO title in February last year. Third inside the route loss for Perdomo, 43, and third fight in over two years. Kiydin vs. Magrini Kiydin disposes of an obese Argentinian Magrini inside a round in a terrible example of matchmaking. This one was never going to last long and Kiydin caught up with Magrini late in the opening round putting him down with a short left hook to the jaw. Magrini started to rise then pitched forward on his face. He finally managed to make it to his feet and staggered to the ropes leaning on them to hold himself up but the referee insisted on counting to eight before waving the fight over. German Kiydin, 29, a Arslan-look-alike, gets his ninth first round win. Magrini, 42, 5’9 ½” and 250lbs, which tells you all you need to know about his conditioning, has lost his last five contests by KO/TKO. Cinkara vs. Benitez German Cinkara beats up another Argentinian oldie as he halts poor Benitez in three rounds. Cinkara floored Benitez and although the visitor made it to the vertical he was in no condition to continue. The former undefeated German International champion makes 8 wins by KO/TKO in his last 9 fights. Benitez, 40, was having his first fight for three years and all eight of his losses have come inside the distance and he is really just a fattened super middle. Accra, Ghana: Light: Michael Ansah (20-10-2) W TKO 5 Sherrif Quaye (19-3-1). Feather: Alfred Lamptey (8-0) W TKO 4 George Krampah (14-5). 11 Ansah lives up to his nickname of “One Bullet” and his prediction to stop Quaye inside the distance in this Commonwealth Boxing Council final eliminator. Quaye was the better boxer and worked well with his jab to keep the slower Ansah out. Ansah kept pressing but was coming up short with his punches and being caught with counters. Quaye had built a lead by the end of the fourth but at the start of the fifth Ansah hurt him with a left hook. Quaye tried to steady himself but a leaping left hook sent him crashing to the floor. He made it to his fe3t but his legs were wobbling and after the eight count the referee stopped the fight. Ansah retains the National title and goes in front 2-1 in his series of fights with Quaye with his two wins in the series both being stoppages. The earlier loss to Ansah was Quaye’s only defeat in his last nine fights Lamptey vs. Krampah Lamptey batters Krampah to defeat in four rounds. Lamptey was able to catch the smaller Krampah with counters as he came forward. Krampah kept trying to walk through the punches but without much success. A left had Krampah badly shaken at the start of the fourth. Krampah was unsteady but kept trying to take the fight to Lamptey but was staggered time and again before finally stepping away and going down on his knees with the fight being stopped. Lamptey, 18, showed good skills and put his punches together well as he wins the vacant West African Boxing Union title. Krampah was in only his third fight in five years. Aizawl, India: Super Feather: Lalrinsanga Tlau (5-0) W PTS 8 Eric Quarm (4-2). Professional boxing in India gets a boost as prospect Tlau wins the vacant WBC Youth title. He was giving away height and reach to the tall Ghanaian but he outworked and outboxed Quarm and won clearly. Scores 80-72 on the judge's cards for the 21-year-old “Sangtea” . Quarm had gone ten rounds in an unsuccessful challenge for the West African title in his last fight Miami, FL, USA: Cruiser: Anthony Martinez (9-1) W TKO 3 Evert Bravo (26-14-1). Martinez vs. Bravo “White Chocolate” Martinez breaks down experienced Bravo and ends things in the third. Martinez put Bravo under pressure from the first bell with a focused body attack. Bravo was already showing signs of fading in the second and Martinez dropped him in the third leading to the stoppage. The 22-year-old 6’4” son of Cuban emigrants wins the vacant WBO Latino title with his eighth quick win. Only 2 wins in his last 9 outings for Colombian Bravo. Mexicali, Mexico: Light: Cristian Bielma (16-3-1) W PTS 10 Osvaldo Maldonado (10-1). Bielma takes unanimous verdict over Maldonado to win the vacant NABF title as he goes 6-1-1 in his last 8 fights. Maldonado. 21, was going ten rounds for the first time. Rangsit, Thailand: Super Fly: Kongfah CP Freshmart (36-1-1) W PTS 10 Samartlek (34-16-1). Kongfah picks up the WBC Asian Boxing Council belt with unanimous decision over veteran Samartlek. Kongfah (Jakkrawut Majoogoen), 25, was just too young and too strong for Samartlek (Wittawas Basapean). Kongfah is 22-0-1 since losing to Daigo Higa in 2015 but his opposition has been pitiful with nine of his opponents never having won a fight and the draw in last year was with someone who had a 0-1 record! Samartlek, 36, has been unsuccessful in shots at the WBC and IBF light flyweight titles but those halcyon days are far behind him now and he won only one of his last twelve fights. Kiev, Ukraine: Heavy: Vladyslav Sirenko (16-0) W PTS 8 Kamil Sokolowski (10-21-2). Feather: Oleg Malinovski (27-0) W KO 5 Giorgi Gachechiladze (16-38-1). Sirenko vs. Sokolowski Sirenko gets routine points victory over Sokolowski. Sirenko was able to use his height and reach to score on the outside in a slow-paced contest. The Ukrainian shook Sokolowski with big rights in the second and third but Sokolowski is an experienced and durable campaigner. By the sixth Sokolowski was bleeding heavily from the nose and had a bump under his left eye but did enough to stay in the fight. Sirenko continued to land clubbing head shots in the seventh and eighth but never looked likely to stop the tough Pole. Scores 80-72 for Sirenko from the three judges. Only the third time Sirenko, 26, has been taken the distance but still no real tests. UK-based Sokolowski falls to 2-6 in his last 8 contests. Malinovski vs. Gachechiladze Kiev southpaw Malinovski pads out his record with fifth round stoppage of poor Georgian Gachechiladze. Eighth inside the distance win for Malinovski but at 32 and after nine years as a pro he does not seem to be going anywhere. With 21 inside the distance losses and just one win in his last thirteen fights Gachechiladze needs to stick to his day job. Fight of the week (Significance): Tony Yoka’s win over Joel Tambwe Djeko shows he can be a threat at heavyweight Fight of the week (Entertainment): Nothing to set the pulses racing Fighter of the week: Brandon Adams for his fight-saving late stoppage of 18-1 Serhii Bohachuk Punch of the week: The left hook from Michael Ansah that put Sherrif Quaye down was a beauty with honourable mentions to left hooks to the body from Bryan Chevalier that finished Carlos Zambrano and Firat Arslan which left Gusmyr Perdomo writhing in agony Upset of the week: Eliot Chavez (8-3-1) was meant to be just another victim for 16-0-1 Rodolfo Bustamante but ended up the winner Prospect watch: None stood out Observations A fall off in activity from last week but it will pick up again next weekend with Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Roman Gonzalez and David Benavidez vs. Ronald Ellis looking the pick. Boxing a young man’s sport! We had Firat Arslan 50, Diego Juncos 46, Gusmyr Perdomo 43, Pablo Magrini 42, Rad Rashid 41, Ricardo Ramirez 40 and Francisco Benitez 40 all on the Firat Arslan show in Germany. In the cases of Argentineans Juncos, Magrini, Ramirez, and Benitez I have this vision of a bus stopping outside a care home in Buenos Aires asking if any of the residents fancied a little holiday in Germany. It was a awful show as ten of the eleven fights were over early six in the first round and the others inside three rounds. I guess no one would fancy asking Firat for their money back. Not making weight for a fight is rarely forgivable but perhaps a pound or two is not too bad. Australian Hayden Wright went a bit too far he came in 44lbs over!! A few months ago in this series we looked at a man controversially retaining his title, with a technically decision win that should, probably, have been a technical knockout loss. Today we look at another bout involving the man who won that bout, taking on someone who was flawed and limited, but made for a fantastic contender with his strength and power making up for his technical limitations. Katsunari Takayama (30-7-0-1, 12) Vs Jose Argumedo (16-3-1, 9) That man we mentioned a few months ago is Katsunari Takayama, who of course get very lucky when he retained the IBF Minimumweight title with his win over Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr by technical decision. Although Takayama deserved to be up on the score-cards, something we don't think anyone would deny, his fight ending cut seemed to come from punches and not an accidental foul. It would have been a harsh way to lose the IBF world title, but sometimes harsh is fair, and a rematch between the two should have been the order of the day. Takayama's face held up fairly well when he returned to the ring to defeat Ryuji Hara 5 months later before he took on Jose Argumedo on the final day of 2015. Mexican challenger Jose Argumedo was one of those fighters who had done little to deserve a world title shot, if we're being honest, but was someone who looked like he was always going to be a nightmare to fight. He was slow, a bit wild, a bit crude, and often threw shots off balance. But he was stupidly strong, incredibly tough, with solid power. He took a shot well, and was awkward enough to use his physical strength and size in a way that really was a nightmare to come up against. He looked much bigger than Takayama, who was typically the speedier fighter, but one who liked a tear up, a tactic that was likely to be an issue against someone like Argumedo. The bout started, like so many Takayama bouts this one began with the "Lighting Kid" using his feet, bouncing around range and trying to get his distance. Unlike most of his bouts however he was in there with someone who was happy to have raiding attacks, coming forward and launching shots from weird angles, leading with his head and make things ugly. Around 2 minutes into the round the size of Argumedo seemed to make Takayama realise he shouldn't look to toe to toe too much, but by then the men had already clashed heads once, with another head clash coming soon afterwards. Whilst it was messy at times it was also packed with intense exchanges and you could feel that, even in the first round, this was going to be a fun fight. Then again it was a Takayama fight, of course it was going to be fun. The action continued to be a mix of mess up close, intense exchanges, Takayama trying to fight at mid range and Argumedo swinging with little concern of what was coming back at him. At times Argumedo looked crude and wild, sending himself off balance with some of his offense, whilst at other points he was landing really solid shots. Midway through the round Takayama's eye was already a mess. This time the referee made it clear, this was from a clash of heads. The cut was a bad one at such an early point in the fight, with Hiroaki Nakade going to work on it in the corner. Despite the cut Takayama seemed to have a very good third round, picking his moments better and using his foot work, speed and skill to get in and out. Although Argumedo had his moments, a big one about 2 minutes into the round, it seemed a much better round for Takayama over the 3 minute duration. Takayama also seemed to have a very good round 4, with Argumedo having moments, but being out worked and out landed. Once again Argumedo's head played a role in the action before Takayama was taken over the doctor for the first inspection of the eye. Later in the round Argumendo seemed to be hurt as Takayama turned it on and it felt like the Mexican was starting to feel the pace and tempo of the champion. Takayama's success grew. Argumedo. who had looked so strong and tough in the first 2 rounds, was starting to back off and he looked much less effective on the back foot. He was the one wanting space and Takayama refused to let him have it. Argumedo again had moments, but was again out worked, out landed, and was clearly the man who was struggling with the tempo and style of the fight. To his credit Argumedo got back to what had been working in round 6. Throwing wild shots. They had less sting on them than earlier and were much less consistent than they had been in the early stages of the bout, but were there. What was also there was Takayama's body attack, which continued to slow Argumedo and caught the eye whilst forcing Argumedo on to the back foot once again. As we went into round 7 it seemed the momentum was with the champion. Yes he was cut, yes he was the smaller man, yes he had taken some very solid shots, but he was out working the challenger, landing the shots, seemingly in control, of the action, making Argumedo look clumsy, landing good counters, and even rocking Argumedo at times. The Mexican looked frustrated, realising his power wasn't going to take out Takayama. He looked like his confidence had been chipped away at, and that he was tiring. Once again he had been wobbled and hurt. Takayama's eye however had worsened. Having fought with it since round 2 that was no surprise, and the left side of his face was becoming a bloody mess as we went into round 8. The cut however wasn't affecting his control and he again seemed to simply have too much for the challenger who was again backed up, out landed, and looked like a man who was really struggling for any consistent success. Very early in round 9 Takayama's face was again a bloody mess. By now the cuts were beginning to look like they were potentially fight ending. The doctor and referee chatted about them, and it appeared that the bout was about to be stopped. Surprisingly, given how long the discussion was, the bout was allowed to continue. When the bout retsrated Argumedo got even more sloppy. He slipped seconds into the restart, repeatedly over-balanced, and struggled to get much on his shots. Takayama didn't managed much consistent success on the restart, as he took began to look tired, with blood now streaming over both eyes. It seemed he was punching through a mist of blood which was getting worse due to the incidental headclashes. With Takayama's face a total mess the bout was stopped at the end of round 9 as we went to the score cards. It seemed as it Takayama had done enough to retain his titles. He hadn;t dominated the fight, but had clearly done enough for at at least 5 rounds from the 9 completed. At least that was how it seemed. The judges however felt otherwise, with two judges scoring scoring 84-87 to Argumedo, whilst the third judge had it 86-85 to Takayama. It was a decision that seemed to surprise Argumedo's team. Following the bout Takayama accepted defeat, though it seemed a very harsh one. Then again this could also have been boxing karma in play given the nature of his controversial win over Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr just 7 months earlier. Interestingly would return 8 months after this bout to reclaim the WBO title, that he had once vacated, with a technical decision against Riku Kano. Argumedo on the other hand would defend the belt 3 times before returning to Japan and losing it to Hiroto Kyoguchi in 2017. With all the headclashes, some questionable scoring this is a controversy, though not a total robbery. What it is, however, is a fun, action fight with drama, and it certainly deserves a watch. During this series there has been some consistencies. These include our love of come forward Korean tough guys, and more exactly seeing them meet their match, facing someone who comes forward at them. The fact two guys come forward with amazing toughness, amazing work rate, and an all action style The Fight Young Kyun Park (19-1-1, 11) Vs Eloy Rojas (22-0, 21) A few weeks ago in one of these we focused on Young Kyun Park's brilliant bout with Seiji Asakawa. Just before that bout Park fought in the first of 3 bouts with talented Venezuelan Eloy Rojas, with Park looking to defend the WBA Featherweight title. For those that saw Park's but with Asakawa they should know what to expect from him. Rojas on the other hand was looking like a monster at this point in time, and would be a major player on the Featherweight rankings into the mid 90's. For those that didn't see Park's bout with Asakawa, the Korean was very much in the mould of what we expect Korean fighters to be like. He was crude, he was technically raw, he was unpolished, but he was hyper aggressive, super tough, incredibly strong, and someone who set a high tempo from the off. He was dubbed the "Bulldozer" in the Korean press and that sort of sums him up quite well. When watching his fights don't expect smart boxing, incredible defensive nous and ring IQ. Instead his fights resembled a man who would take a sledgehammer to a walnut. His entire mentality was come forward, throw punches, and if he had to eat one so be it. He was just relentless. Up to this point Rojas had mostly fought limited competition, but had travelled all over the place. He had began his career in Venezuela, before travelling away from home, going to Holland, Curaçao, Japan and then to South Korea for this bout. On paper he looked like a monster, with 21 stoppages in 22 bouts, and in fact all 21 one of those stoppages had come in a row following a decision in his 1986 debut. Despite his record this was regarded as a massive step up. He really hadn't faced anyone of any note, but was clearly to be regarded as a danger man. So coming in we had a man known as a "bulldozer" taking on a man who had a 95% knock out rate. This looked like it could be explosive! When going up against a relatively unknown dangerous looking fighter we expected a little bit of restraint from anyone. Park on the other hand had a different logic. Straight from the bell he was pressing forward, showing a surprising amount of upper body movement whilst coming forward. Rojas tried to box, using his jab, but Park wasn't playing ball and kept coming forward, even eating a huge right hand for his trouble. He took like a freak and fired back, dropping Rojas just moments later. Rojas bout the count, but Park was now in hyper aggression mode and looked for the finish. Credit needs to go to Rojas for smothering, holding, wrestling and surviving this torrid opening round. It really was a case of surviving from the challenger who looked like he was in with a perpetual punching machine. Rojas responded early in round 2 but went to the canvas again, in what was ruled a slip. It took the little bit of momentum he had began to build and let the Korean come back at him, again fighting like a man who's main defense was offense. As the bout went on Park began to tire, not a surprise, and this allowed Rojas more opportunities to counter off the ropes. Park was pinning the challenger to the edges of the ring and Rojas was holding his own at times in the middle rounds. This added a sense of drama. Could Park keep up his incredible intensity. Could Rojas really hit as hard as his record suggest? If so could a tired Park take it? Whilst this isn't the best bout in their series, it was still a sensational fight, and of course we will be featuring more of this rivalry in future Closet Classics. This is brutal, thrilling, and features one of the most exciting Korean fighters of all time. And that isn't us exaggerating, Park really is that much fun to watch! By Eric Armit
As I write I am waiting for the details of the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight to be announced. Bob Arum has said that it is a done deal and will be signed sealed and revealed shortly. It could be the most expensive fight in the history of boxing certainly in heavyweight boxing and it will be between two British heavyweights-you know about British heavyweights don’t you? That’s the ones that the American press at one time labelled “The Horizontal Heavyweights” but now if you were listing the top ten active heavyweights in the world Deontay Wilder is the only American who would be in the list and Charles Martin and Michael Hunter would just about make it into the top 20. I feel that perhaps boxing has completed a three hundred year cycle as according to the Ring Record Book and Encyclopaedia it was Englishman James Figg who was the first to be looked upon as heavyweight champion back in 1719 (at that time we had some colonies somewhere to the West as I recall) so once again Britain is the centre of the world of heavyweight boxing. Obviously the aim will be to have the largest live gate possible and I just hope it is in Britain or the USA and not sold off to some Emirate with no boxing tradition. As seems to be a growing trend it appears there will be a return clause in the contract before the result of the first fight is even known ( I thought return clause contracts were banned?) but as long as we get a controversy free fight worthy of the occasion I will be happy. We will then have a unified heavyweight division-until a sanctioning body strips the new champion. The poor showing by Avni Yildirim came as no surprise to anybody and Mauricio Sulaiman says he is going to investigate the process for nominating mandatory challengers. Well it is a bit too late to shut the gate now as the horse bolted a long time ago. In August the WBC ordered Saul Alvarez to meet Yildirim and yet in September they dropped Yildirim to No 2 (two positions above Anthony Dirrell who had beaten Yildirim in Yildirim’s last fight in February 2019) but he remained the mandatory challenger even though he had not won a fight since September 2018. Ratings are subjective Boxing is not like other individual sports such as golf or tennis. In those sports where there is a recognised world body the best from across the world constantly face the best on a weekly basis making it easy to operate a points system to arrive at No 1. In boxing a top level boxer will fight 5 or 6 times a year at the most and rarely against any of the other top boxers renders any points system meaningless and with four major sanctioning bodies who almost always exclude from their ratings any mandatory challenger from another body the search for a worthy mandatory is further limited. Another factor complicating the selection of a suitable mandatory challenger is the strength of the champion. Yildirim might have seemed a reasonable choice as a mandatory challenger for Caleb Plant or Billy Joe Saunders but not Alvarez so do you factor that in when deciding to nominate a mandatory challenger. It is not easy. I did world ratings for Boxing News magazine on my own for many years and can honestly say I was never really happy even with my own ratings. Luckily I only had oversight from Ron Olver the assistant Editor and then later Harry Mullan the Editor but no lobbying. Sanctioning bodies are lobbied constantly by promoters and managers doing their job and sanctioning bodies-all sanctioning bodies-have to work with promoters which is another factor. The sanctioning bodies have also bastardised the very principle of ratings by rewarding positions in their ratings based on a fighter winning one of their minor tiles irrespective of the opponent faced. Usually the sanctioning body provides no oversight except to make sure the sanctioning fee is received. A promoter can pick his fighter’s opponent so the promoter knows how much it will cost him to get his fighter rated but no one seems to look at it that way. Many years ago Bobby Lee Snr then the President of the IBF got caught selling spots in their ratings. As a result the IBF was put under court supervision and its rules re-written. If you look at the IBF ratings today you will often see the No 1 and No 2 positions vacant. This is due to one of the rules introduced during the supervision period. The rule states: For a boxer to be rated in the number one (1) or number (2) position, he must be rated in one of the top five (5) available positions and beat another boxer rated in one of the top five (5) available positions. Boxers competing in bouts not scheduled for 12 round IBF Eliminators will not eligible for ranking above number three (3). It is so commonsensical that you wonder it needs to be written into a rule. How could you get to No 1 without ever beating someone in the top 5-well Yildirim did it and other fighters do it every month. The WBA have a very complex set of tables covering every rated position and how it is arrived at and perhaps one day will realise it is being used to level out the legs of the table around which the Ratings Committee meet and it will see the light of day again. The sanctioning bodies are driven by sanctioning fees and there will be many more “Yildirim vs. Alvarez” episodes-it’s the nature of the beast. Quite a switch in the venue for the return fight between Alexander Povetkin and Dillian Whyte with travel restrictions meaning it will now take place in Eddie Hearn’s back garden in August instead of Gibraltar. Not rock on but rock off. Great to see that the business has been done to put together the Josh Taylor vs. Jose Ramirez fight for 22 May in Las Vegas. As it stands the winner will be the only fighter holding all four versions of a title in a division. The log jam seems to be breaking on European title fights as restrictions are eased. Lee McGregor will challenge Kamil Guerfi for the bantamweight title in Bolton on 19 March and 26 March in Barcelona will see Andoni Gago defend the featherweight title against Gavin McDonnell and Sandro Martin defend the super lightweight title against Kay Prospere. Tonight (5 March) in Nantes Tony Yoka has a good test as he faces the strong Belgian Joan Tambwe Djeko for the vacant EU heavyweight title and in theory the parties for the mandatory defence of the European heavy title by Joe Joyce against Marco Huck are “in the negotiation period” but it is not certain it is a fight that will interests Joyce. Gonzalo Basile is rated No 333 in the World’s heavyweight listing by Box Rec but at 46 he is still fighting and still winning-occasionally. He won a fight in Brazil last month collecting the UBO International and American Boxing Federation West belts. That was fight No 91 for the 46-year-old Argentinian so he might make it 100 fights and I can’t remember the last time a heavyweight had 100 fights. Still on heavyweights it will be interesting to see how the new slimmer Andy Ruiz fares against Chris Arreola on 24 April. Ruiz was 268lbs when he beat Anthony Joshua and 283lbs when he lost to him so I guess we just wait and see. It could be that Dubai will be painted green on 3 April as Michael Conlan and Tyrone McKenna are both aiming to appear on the undercard to the rescheduled Jamal Herring’s WBO super featherweight title defence against Carl Frampton They are doing a good job of guiding Tim Tszyu. Jeff Brubaker, Jeff Horn and Bowyn Morgan have all been reasonable test and now he will face former WBO title challenger Dennis Hogan who lost on a majority decision to Jamie Munguia in 2019. Tszyu is No 2 with the WBO so if he gets past Hogan he will get a shot at Brian Castano for the title. Two shows planned this month as boxing gets back into its stride in South Africa. Rowan Campbell will put his South African super middleweight title on the line against experienced Ryno Liebenberg on Rodney Berman’s show on March 14 at Emperors Palace and Joyce Kungwane is targeting 20 March for a show featuring the return of Hekkie Budler and Xolisani Ndongeni. Can’t say I am happy about talk of Chris Eubank Jr vs. Kell Brook as Kell has been in some tough battles and this may be a fight too far. Not too keen either on Marcos Maidana threatening to return to the ring to fight Adrien Broner. Maidana is running a strong promotion team in Argentina so stick to the day job Marcos. Return fights are nothing new for Felix Trinidad and he is in one again now. In his legal dispute with the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico a judge ruled that the Bank had to pay Trinidad $1,184,000 but they are appealing the decision in the Supreme Court. You are ahead on points Felix so hang in there. By Eric Armit:
Highlights: -Saul Alvarez savages Avni Yildirim in three rounds to retain WBC and WBA super middle titles -McWilliams Arroyo halts substitute Abraham Rodriguez to win interim WBC flyweight title -Rene Mark Cuarto outpoints champion Pedro Taduran to win the IBF Minimumweight title in an all-Filipino clash -Joseph Parker takes unanimous decision over Junior Fa -Anthony Dirrell and Kyrone Davis fight to a draw - Heavyweight Jerry Forrest climbs off the canvas three times to get a draw against unbeaten Zhilei Zhang World Title/Major Shows 27 February Miami, FL, USA: Super Middle: Saul Alvarez (55-1-2) W RTD 3 Avni Yildirim (21-3). Fly: McWilliams Arroyo (21-4) W TKO 5 Abraham Rodriguez (27-3).Heavy: Zhilei Zhang (22-0-1) DREW 10 Jerry) Forrest (26-4-1). Super Middle: Diego Pacheco (11-0) W PTS 8 Rodolfo Gomez (14-5-1). Light: Keyshawn Davis (1-0) W TKO 2 Lester Brown (4-3-3). Alvarez vs. Yildirim Alvarez gets the job done as he floors Yildirim and after three one-sided forces Yildirim to retire. Round 1 Alvarez was immediately on the mark with his left hooks to the body. He was warned for a low punch but was soon digging in more left hooks as well as rights to the body. Yildirim was hiding behind a high guard and only probing with his jab. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Round 2 Alvarez rocked Yildirim at the start of the round with a right uppercut. Yildirim was still behind a high guard but Alvarez was hooking around his guard with lefts to the body. Yildirim kept rolling forward but Alvarez was picking his spots and finding the target with hooks and uppercuts. Yildirim was more adventurous trying some left hooks and right of his own Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 20-18 Round 3 Again Yildirim was trundling forward but being caught with counters. He had a little success with hooks inside but was then sent crashing to the floor by a right cross. Yildirim was up quickly but took a solid beating for the rest of the round as Alvarez landed clubbing punches to head and body. Score: 10-8 Alvarez Alvarez 30-26 In the interval there was no sign at first that Yildirim was pulling out. His corner was giving him advice, administering water and greasing-up his face and then suddenly it all stopped and they called the referee over and said their man was retiring, Alvarez retains the WBA and WBC titles and moves on to a unification match with WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders on May 8. As expected Yildirim was in way over his head and showed nothing before being pulled out. Another sanctioning body “gift” to boxing in the shape of a fight that should never have happened as Yildirim had never beaten a rated fighter. Arroyo vs. Rodriguez Arroyo wins the interim WBC title with stoppage of very short notice substitute Rodriguez. Arroyo opened well behind a strong jab with Rodriguez on the back foot looking to leap in with his punches but swinging wildly. Arroyo began to find the target in the second connecting with left hooks to the body and overhand rights with Rodriguez sloppy with his attempts to attack. The third was all Arroyo as he was digging in his hooks and chasing down Rodriguez who just kept circling the perimeter of the ring but doing little else. Arroyo managed to trap Rodriguez against the ropes in the fourth and a series of hooks and uppercuts saw Rodriguez drop to one knee. He made it to his feet and although under heavy fire he survived to the bell. Arroyo continued to score heavily in the fifth and with nothing coming back from Rodriguez the doctor climbed onto the ring apron waiving for the fight to be stopped. Arroyo was to have challenged Julio Cesar Martinez for the WBC title but Martinez injured his hand after weighing in. Arroyo, whose brother McJoe is a former IBF super flyweight champion, had lost in previous shots at the WBC and IBF titles. Rodriguez had been knocked out in two rounds by Angel Acosta in a challenge for the WBO light flyweight title and was 106lbs for his last fight so was on a loser from the start and showed little. Zhang vs. Forrest Forrest gets off the canvas three times in the first three rounds to fight his way to a majority draw against unbeaten Zhang. In this clash of southpaws Forrest made a confident start in the opener catching the slow Zhang with rights to the head but with less than ten seconds remaining in the round a short left hook deposited him on his rump. He was up quickly and did not look too shaken and the bell went before there could be any further action. Forrest was giving away lots of height and reach to the 6’6” Chinese fighter but was more mobile and had quicker hands. Zhang had the power and after twice shaking Forrest with lefts in the second he landed a right hook to the temple which saw Forrest tumble to the canvas on his back. Forrest was up quickly and was willing to mix it with Zhang to the bell. It looked all over for Forrest as a two rights to the head from Zhang just ten seconds into the third round turned his legs to rubber and sent him falling forwards to the canvas. Forrest was able to continue after the count and they both landed some heavy shots. Having survived three knockdowns and being six points behind after just three rounds Forrest had to work hard to get into the fight. He was able to use his slightly better mobility and quicker hands to claw back the lost points and a clash of heads opened a vertical cut over the right eye of Zhang. By the eighth both fighters were so exhausted that it was a question of who would collapse first. Neither did but Zhang was deducted a point in the ninth for leaning all over Forrest which helped cancel out the Chinese fighter’s early advantage. Scores 93-93 twice and 95-93 for Forrest. Losses to Jermaine Franklin and Carlos Takam had stymied Forrest’s progress but with Zhang rated a very flattering No 8 by the WBO it looks a good result on paper for Forrest. Zhang’s flaws have been known and this fight just illustrated them again. He is big and dangerous but about as agile as a three-legged hippo. At 37 he has gone as far as he is going-barring a lucky punch. Pacheco vs. Gomez Pacheco goes eight rounds for the first time to outpoint Gomez in a gruelling contest. Pacheco used a sharp jab to put Gomez on the back foot in a feeling-out first. Gomez just could not get on the front foot and Pacheco was starting to find the target with rights in the second. Gomez was more positive in the third and they traded hard shots. Pacheco settled behind his jab in the fourth and rattled Gomez with a crisp left hook before shaking him badly with two rights in the fifth. Pacheco outboxed Gomez in the sixth and seventh and two tired boxers slugged their way through the eighth. Scores 79-73 for Pacheco on all three cards. Good learning fight for the 6’4” 19-year-old prospect. Fifth loss for Gomez but all on points. Davis vs. Brown Another top notch amateur star moves over to the pros as Davis has too much of everything for Brown. Although supposedly a southpaw Davis was quickly into his stride from an orthodox guard ramming home rights to the body and by the end of the first Brown was covering up under fire. Davis began putting his punches together in the second and floored Brown with a right to the head. Brown beat the count but Davis was unloading on him on the ropes when the referee came in to save Brown. The 22-year-old “southpaw” Davis won gold medals at the US Elite National Championships in 2017 and 2018, was National Police Athletic League champion in 2013 and 2014, National Golden Gloves winner in 2017 a silver medals in 2019 at the World Championship and the Pan American Games in and won the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials so has great credentials. Bahamian Brown is now 3-2 in his last 5 fights. General Santos City, Philippines: Minimum: Rene Cuarto (19-2-2) W PTS 12 Pedro Taduran (14-3-1). Cuarto vs. Taduran Cuarto wins the IBF minimumweight title with unanimous decision over champion Taduran in an all-Filipino clash which sees Cuarto build a good lead and then just survive a strong finish from Taduran in a fast-paced contest. At its most basic level it was Pedro the puncher against Rene Mark the mover. Cuarto surrender the centre of the ring to Taduran. Cuarto was circling the perimeter of the then darting in to score with a quick burst of punches and dipping out before Taduran could counter. Cuarto’s excellent footwork left Taduran struggling to cut off the ring. Taduran was working with left hooks to the body when he got the chance but too often was being speared by jabs from Cuarto and clipped by quick left uppercuts. The third was a big round for Taduran. He was rocked early by a right but then did a much better job of cutting down the ring and was able to pound Cuarto with body punches. Taduran continued to press hard over the next three rounds but Cuarto was getting his punches off first landing left hooks and uppercuts and slipping and sliding away from the champion’s attacks. Taduran had a good seventh. Cuarto looked to be slowing and was taking punishment to the body a right to the head saw him dip at the knees and almost go down. Taduran was coming on stringer with each round and he shook Cuarto with heavy shots in the eighth and ninth. Taduran also had the better of the action in the tenth. A tiring Cuarto twice slipped to the floor and then pitched forward into Taduran sending them both down heavily. Cuarto needed a round and he had a good eleventh up on his toes with lots of movement and scoring and diving out of the way of Taduran’s attacks. Taduran attacked hard in the last. At one point a retreating Cuarto when avoiding Taduran’s punches went half way through the ropes sitting on the middle one and then pitched onto the canvas on his hands and knees. It could have counted as a knockdown but he had been avoiding a punch and not put there by a punch so no count-which was critical. Taduran kept chasing down Cuarto who got a needed breather when the tape on his glove came loose and had to be redone. Taduran won the round but not the fight. Scores 115-113 for Cuarto from all three judges. For me Taduran deserved at least a draw but Cuarto is the new title holder and Taduran is an ex-champion. Auckland, New Zealand: Heavy: Joseph Parker (28-2) W PTS 12 Junior Fa (19-1). Cruiser: Panuve Helu (13-2-1, 1 ND) W PTS 6 Nikolas Charalampous (19-4).Heavy: Hemi Ahio (17-0) W K0 7 Julius Long (18-25-1,1ND). Cruiser: David Nyika (1-0) W KO 1 Jesse Maio (3-1). Light Heavy: Jerome Pampellone (3-0) W KO 1 Antz Amouta (0-1) Parker vs. Fa Parker takes unanimous decision over Fa in a disappointing scrappy contest. In the first Parker was coming in behind his jab and scoring to the body but Fa then landed a hard right that stung Parker and did enough to edge the round. In the second and third scoring heavily when he had Fa against the ropes. Parker continued to take the fight to Fa in the fourth and what little clean work was being done was being done by Parker with Fa holding every time Parker got inside. Fa was sharper in the fifth using his longer reach to keep his jab in Parker’s face and connecting with a solid right to the chin. Fa took the sixth. He was more positive with his jab and mixing in some rights but the fight was being spoiled by the continual clinching by Fa. Parker had a good seventh connecting with his jab, some rights and a swinging left before being dragged into clinch after clinch by Fa. Parker also outscored Fa in the eighth with piercing jabs and punching to the body with Fa only looking to hold. A flying elbow from Parker opened a cut over Fa’s left eye in the ninth and Parker took the round with some sharp jabs and clubbing rights. The cut was still dripping blood at the start of the tenth and Fa’s face was soon smeared all over with blood but luckily the blood was trickling down the side of his face and not into his eye. Despite the injury Fa did what clean scoring there was. Parker took the eleventh he was connecting with his jab and working to the body with Fa just looking to hold and doing very little work. Fa seemed to have just a little bit more left than Parker as they wrestled their way to the final bell. Scores 119-109, 117-111 and 115-113 all for Parker. The first score looked too harsh on Fa and the last too generous with Parker a deserving winner in a contest without highlights with too little clean work and too much clinching. Parker wins the WBO Orient belt and is 3-2 up in fights with Fa as they were 2-2- as amateurs. Parker was No 3 with the WBO and Fa No 5 so the former WBO champion will now almost certainly go on to fight Dereck Chisora in an eliminator. Fa did too much holding and too little punching. He can come again but is unlikely to threaten Joshua, Fury or Wilder. Charalampous vs. Helu Helu pulls off a surprise as he outpoints more experienced Charalampous. Little Tongan Helu rocked Charalampous in the opener and Charalampous had to hold to survive. The fight became untidy with Helu throwing less but dangerous and Charalampous never quite able to subdued the Tongan and it did not help that he lost a point for a low punch. Helu faded over the last two rounds in what was a hard fight to score but did enough to win the decision. Scores 58-56 and 57-56 for Helu and 57-56 for Charalampous the third 57-57. Going into this one Helu was 10-1 in his 11 most recent fights. Ahio vs. Long Local fighter Ahio climbs off the canvas to kayo Long. Ahio at 6’0” was 13 “inches shorter than the 7’1” Long and 97lbs lighter. He was frustrated early by his inability to reach high enough to do any real damage to the Michigan giant. Long’s “tactics” were just to lean on the ropes or in a corner and let Ahio do what he pleased then push Ahio back and wait for Ahio to come back and do the same again. Ahio was so busy beating on the corpulent body of Long that he forgot to defend himself and he was put down by a right. The referee sent long across the ring to the other corner which was the furthest that Long trod in the fight. Ahio was up quickly and went back to work. The tape from the wrapping of both boxers gloves came loose in the fifth and Ahio’s was loose again in the sixth (There are solutions to this guys). In the seventh Ahio was connecting with left hooks until an exhausted Long pushed him away and then fell to the canvas on his back and was counted out. Ahio, 30, had outpointed Long in 2019. Based in New Zealand since 2013 Long, 43, is 0-5-1 in his last six outings. Nyika vs. Maio Brief first pro fight for Nyika one of the most promising young New Zealand fighters to come out of the amateur ranks in recent years. A right to the head put Maio down and he was counted out after just 29 seconds although complaining with some justification that the finishing punch landed on the back of his head. The 25-year-old 6’6” Nyika won gold medals at both the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games and will make a big impact as a pro. Maio out of his class, outweighed and too small. Pampellone vs. Amouta Another of New Zealand’s former top amateurs gets a quick win as Pampellone knocks out Amouta in the first round. The 24-year-old London-born Pampellone was New Zealand amateur champion in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and a quarter-finalist at the 2019 World Amateur Championships. One to follow. Poor Amouta out of his depth. Los Angeles, CA, USA: Super Middle: Anthony Dirrell (33-2-2) DREW 12 Kyrone Davis (15-2-1). Super Light: Michael Rivera (20-0) W KO 8 Anthony Mercado (13-5). Welter: Jesus Ramos (15-0) W KO 2 Jesus Bojorquez (24-3). Dirrell vs. Davis Dirrell and Davis fight to a split draw over twelve forgettable rounds. Dirrell was livelier at the outset but neither fighter really threw much. A couple of punches were enough to give Dirrell the first two rounds with Davis not letting his hands go. Dirrell also took a more competitive third with Davis coming awake late in the round. Davis finally got into the fight from the fourth and he picked up his pace over the fifth and sixth to rebound from his slow start but the activity level remained low. Davis looked to have moved ahead over the seventh and eighth but then faded. Dirrell’s greater experience came into play and he staged the stronger finish but so many rounds were close it really was a difficult to score and that was reflected on the cards. Scores 115-113 for Dirrell, 115-113 for Davis and 114-114. First outing for Dirrell since being stopped in nine rounds by David Benavidez in September 2019 in a fight that cost him his WBC super middle tile. At 36 the most Dirrell can hope for is one more big payday but he will have to wait to see what the division looks like at the end of the year after Saul Alvarez’s efforts to unify the four titles. Creditable performance by Davis whose last two fights were over four and six rounds against very modest opposition. Rivera vs. Mercado Rivera too quick, slick and powerful for Mercado. A short hook inside in the second knocked Mercado off balance and he touched the canvas with both gloves. He recovered but then needed more recovery time after a low punch from Rivera in the third. Rivera handed out steady punishment over the fourth and fifth with Mercado stating to wilt. He went down on one knee under a fierce attack in the sixth but beat the count and then absorbed a savage left hook to the head. Rivera tried hard to end it in the seventh but Mercado made it through the round. Rivera was battering Mercado around the ring in the eighth and after Mercado slumped to the canvas in a corner the referee stopped the fight with just 34 seconds remaining. Dominican Rivera already has useful wins over Fidel Maldonado and Ladarius Miller and is developing well. Puerto Rican Mercado just lacked the power to match Rivera and suffers loss No 3 by KO/TKO. Ramos vs. Bojorquez Another impressive performance for teenage southpaw Ramos. He found the target repeatedly in the first over a slower Bojorquez. In the second a fast right hook put Bojorquez down heavily. Bojorquez made it to his feet at eight but Ramos took him to the ropes and connected with lefts and right and with Bojorquez not fighting back the referee stopped the contest. Fourteen inside the distance wins for the 19-year-old from Arizona. Bojorquez was out of the ring for seven years before returning in 2019 and had scored four wins since then. 26 February Milan, Italy: Super Middle: Daniele Scardina (19-0) W TKO 8 Cesar Nunez (17-3-1). Welter: Maxim Prodan (19-0-1) W TKO 10 Nicola Cristofori (11-3-2). Welter: Nicholas Esposito (14-0) W PTS 10 Tobia Giuseppe Loriga (32-9-3). Super Welter: Mirko Natalizi (10-0) W TKO 4 Islam Teffahi (22-9-2). Scardina vs. Nunez Scardina overcomes early struggles to stop Nunez and win the vacant European Union title. As expected Spaniard Nunez took the fight to Scardina rumbling forward throwing hooks from all angles. Initially Scardina stood his ground and traded punches which suited Nunez. A left hook shook Scardina in the fourth but later in the round he began to get the better of the exchanges. Scardina was rocked by a right cross in the sixth but Nunez was fading badly. In the eighth a right uppercut had Nunez hurt and when he went down under a series of punches the referee stopped the fight. The Miami-based Scardina has 15 victories by KO/TKO but some of his flaws showed here as he struggled early. Being over-ambitious has seen Nunez stopped by Vincent Feigenbutz and Edgar Berlanga so now 3 inside the distance losses in his last 4 fights. Prodan vs. Cristofori Prodan gets late stoppage but plenty of questions over the ending. Prodan made a strong start connecting with strong hooks in the first. Southpaw Cristofori settled down in the second and was finding the target with jabs and rights and using clever movement to frustrate Prodan’s attacks. Prodan kept coming and floored Cristofori heavily with a left hook in the fifth. Cristofori recovered and was boxing with real skill and outboxing a crude Prodan all the way. Going into the tenth Cristofori looked to have built a winning lead. A left from Prodan forced Cristofori to the ropes. For some reason Cristofori turned towards the referee seemingly indicating towards the canvas as if his gumshield had been dislodged and Prodan quite rightly continued and landed two more heavy blows and the referee stopped the fight. In fact Cristofori had not lost his gumshield so it could have been that he thought he had seen Prodan lose his but he should never have let himself be distracted. Additionally the stoppage looked premature. Ukrainian-born Prodan retains the IBF International title. Former Italian champion Cristofori looked unlucky. Loriga vs. Esposito Esposito wins the Italian title with unanimous decision over veteran champion Loriga in a hard fought, thrilling contest. Over the opening two rounds Esposito found it difficult to sort out a response to Loriga’s unorthodox style. Esposito gradually came up with a solution and began to work inside connecting with hooks and uppercuts. Loriga kept finding gaps for counters and was competitive all the way as evidenced by the cut by Esposito’s right eye and swollen left cheek. The pressure from the young challenger slowly wore Loriga down and after a frantic ninth Esposito boxed his way to victory. Scores 97-93 for Esposito by all three judges. The 26-year-old “Good Boy” performed well in his first ten round match. Loriga at 43 is still a force and able to give anyone a good fight. Natalizi vs. Teffahi Natalizi gets another inside the distance win but not an impressive showing. Tunisian southpaw Teffahi is no puncher but he is experienced and crafty. Natalizi pressed hard but looked crude and unbalanced at times and took more punches than he should. His power saw him through as he overwhelmed Teffahi in the fourth staggering him with a right and then putting him down with another one with the fight being stopped. Fourth consecutive early finish for the “Terminator” from Rome but a long way from his best form. Seven losses by KO/TKO for 38-year-old Teffahi Talpa de Allende, Mexico: Super Fly: Francisco Rodriguez Jr (34-4-1) W PTS 10 Martin Tecuapetla (15-13-4,1ND). Rodriguez takes a majority verdict after ten gruelling all-action rounds. Tecuapetia was busier at the start putting Rodriguez on the back foot and outworking him in the first round. In the second Rodriguez was connecting with left hooks and uppercuts to the body but with Tecuapetia firing back in the third. From the fourth the heavier punching from Rodriguez put him in front. Tecuapetia kept marching forward but Rodriguez constantly switched guards and continued to drive body punches through Tecuapetla’s guard. Tecuapetia walked through the punishment scoring with hooks and uppercuts of his own and forcing Rodriguez to fight hard to the last bell in an exciting scrap. Rodriguez looked a good winner but the judges came up with a majority decision with scores of 97-93 and 97-95 for Rodriguez and 98-95 for Tecuapetia. Very tough test for the former WBO and IBF minimumweight champion who gets his fifteenth consecutive win. He is well placed in the flyweight division being rated WBO 2/WBA 4/IBF 5(3) so has a good chance of a title shot this year. Former IBF light fly title challenger Tecuapetla has won only 2 of his last 11 fights but against strong opposition including four past/present world champions. Hurlingham, Argentina: Light: Juan De Leon (13-3) W KO 6 Jose Acevedo (13-1-1). Light Heavy: Hernan Perez (7-3) W TKO 8 Walter Sequeira (23-8). De Leon vs. Acevedo Mild surprise as De Leon scores sixth round kayo over champion Acevedo to win the Argentinian title. Acevedo lead over four forgettable rounds but De Leon then took over. He connected with a series of body punches in the sixth and then a right to the head had Acevedo holding on to De Leon as he slid to the canvas and was counted out. “El Titan” De Leon, the Argentinian No 5 makes in nine victories in a row and gets his fourth inside the distance victory. Acevedo was making the third defence of the title. Perez vs. Sequeira Perez comes off the floor to stop Sequeira. With his greater experience Sequeira dominated early in this one. He put Perez down in the fourth and looked on his way to victory but then suffered a fierce attack of cramp that cut his mobility. Perez took over and in the eighth he had Sequeira trapped on the ropes and was unloading with heavy punches. Sequeira tried to respond but had no mobility and dropped to the floor. The referee started the count and Sequeira tried to rise but clearly in pain dropped again and the referee stopped the fight. Perez wins the vacant South American title with his third inside the distance finish. Fifth inside the distance loss for Sequeira. Cancun, Mexico: Feather: Sakaria Lukas (24-1) W TKO 2 Mario Macias (28-23,1ND). Namibian Lukas takes an easy outing in Mexico to keep busy and destroys poor Macias in two rounds. Lukas had Macias down late in the first and then supplied a crushing ending in the second. With Macias pinned to the ropes Lukas landed a couple of thudding rights to the head that sent Macias tumbling to the canvas. Macias was badly hurt and the referee immediately stopped the fight looking for assistance for Macias. Lukas looked to be in line for a title shot after winning his first 23 fights but blew that when losing on points to Isaac Avelar in December. First fight since July 2017 for Macias and with 16 losses inside the distance and only two wins in his last 12 fights he needs to finally put the gloves away. Mexico City, Mexico: Light: Jair Valtierra (14-0) W PTS 10 Jerson Aguilar (10-6). Prospect Valtierra lifts his first title in his first ten round contest as he outpoints Aguilar to lift the WBA Latino belt. Valtierra controlled this one both a distance and inside with his quicker and more accurate punches. Aguilar never stopped coming forward but focusing on a body attack but Valtierra was willing to stand and trade and was winning the exchanges although the pressure from Aguilar made him fight hard in an entertaining contest. Scores 99-91twice and 98-91 for 19-year-old Valtierra. First fight in almost two years for Aguilar. Managua, Nicaragua: Light: Freddy Fonseca (29-5-1,1ND) W TKO 3 Eusebio Osejo (31-27-3,1ND). Fly: Wilmer Blas (8-16-6) W TEC DEC 6 Ernesto Irias (15-4-1). Super Bantam: Jose Gonzalez (15-0-2) W PTS 8 Luis Millan (17-4-0). Fonseca vs. Osejo Fonseca stops Osejo. Southpaw Osejo is a much better fighter than his record shows and he took the fight to Fonseca from the opening bell. Luckily he is no puncher and although he rattled Fonseca a few times he did not have the power to build on that. They were exchanging punches in the third when a left hook from Fonseca open a bad cut on the bridge of Oseja’s nose and the fight was stopped due to the injury. Southpaw Fonseca, the older brother of Francesco who fought a draw for the IBO title against Alex Dilmaghani, is rebuilding after going 1-3 in fights in 2019 including a seventh round stoppage by Joseph Diaz. The Fonseca’s must have something against poor Osejo as he was knocked out in one round by Francesco in August. Blas vs. Irias Blas wins technical decision over Irias. Not a great deal of skill on show here but plenty of action as they punched away wildly. Irias could have used his height and reach to make this easier for himself but he choose to just stand and trade punches with Blas leaving himself wide open to counters from the smaller man. Blas was getting the better of the exchanges until a clash of heads in the sixth saw him cut over his right eye which brought the fight to the end with all three judges having Blas 58-56 in front. Unexpected win for Blas who had been 2-5-1 before this fight. Irias had lost only one of his last 13 fights and had had fought a draw in Germany for the vacant WBC Silver fly title in 2019. Gonzalez vs. Millan New York southpaw Gonzalez boxes his way to a unanimous verdict over Venezuelan Millan. Gonzalez was too skilful for the limited Millan. Gonzalez was comfortable boxing on the back foot and found gaps for his right jab and strong straight lefts. Millan kept coming forward trying to apply pressure and that suited Gonzalez who was always in charge although never really having Millan in trouble. Scores 79-72 on the three judge's cards for 24-year-old Gonzalez in his first fight outside of the USA. Millan’s record is typical of so many padded Venezuelan records with his 17 victims having just 7 wins between them. Moscow, Russia: Welter: Karen Chukhadzhyan (17-1) W PTS 8 Aleksei Evchenko (19-14-2). Super Welter: Mirzakamol Nematov (4-0) W KO 1 Marat Khuzeev (20-18-1). 7 Chukhadzhyan vs. Evchenko Routine win for German-based Ukrainian Chukhadzhyan ( I wonder if I can convince him to use the ring name of Chuck. typing Chukhadzhyan and spelling it correctly is a stretch for my poor old brain). Scores 80-73 twice and 80-72. After losing his first fight Chukhadzhyan has now won 17 on the bounce. Survivor Evchenko has only lost once inside the distance. Nematov vs. Khuzeev This was supposed to test whether Nematov’s was ready for ten rounds but he scotched that by flattening poor Khuzeev in just 42 seconds. On to the next victim for the 23-year-old Uzbek southpaw. Russian Khuzeev, 40, should find a nail for his gloves as he has lost his last ten fights all inside the distance and all inside three rounds 27 February Berlin. Germany: Super Middle: William Scull (16-0) W PTS 12 Gino Kanters (8-4-2). Middle: Vincenzo Gualtieri (16-0-1) W PTS 12 Sofiane Khati (10-1). Super Welter: Haro Matevosyan (12-0,1ND) W KO 4 Stefano Castellucci (33-10). Middle: Thomas Piccirillo (8-0-2) W KO 9 Adam Amkhadov (7-2). Super Welter: Jama Saidi (18-2) W PTS 10 Tomi Silvennoinen (9-3). Light Heavy: Fabian Thiemke (6-0) W PTS 8 Taras Oleksiyenko (8-6). Scull vs. Kanters Cuban Scull comfortably outpoints Dutchman Kanters. Scull was quicker with higher level skills. Despite being in control from the start he never really managed put a stubborn Kanters in any deep trouble but also never allowed Kanters a toe-hold in the fight. Scores 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 for Scull. The 28-year-old Scull collects the IBO Continental belt. Former kickboxing champion Kanters is now 4-2-2 in his last eight fights. Gualtieri vs. Khati In another IBO Continental title fight German Gualtieri outpoints Frenchman Khati. Gualtieri boxed well at distance taking no chances. He had the better jab and better mobility. Khati was occasionally dangerous but Gualtieri countered well with accuracy and just outworked Khati who tired late but remained competitive all the way. Scores 117-111, 117-112 and 116-112 for Gualtieri who returns to the winning column after fighting a draw with Thomas Piccirillo for the German title in August. This was the first fight for Khati in which he went past the sixth round so some good experience for him. Matevosyan vs. Castellucci Matevosyan brutalises Italian veteran Castellucci. The Armenian-born southpaw floored Castellucci in the first, twice more in the second and again in the third before getting the knockout in the fourth. Matevosyan collects the vacant IBF Inter-Continental title with his seventh victory by KO/TKO and the 39-year-old Castellucci suffers his fifth loss that way. Piccirillo vs. Ankhadov Italian-born Piccirillo wins the German title at the second attempt as he scores a brutal kayo of Russian-born Ankhadov a stable mate of Piccirillo. The fight was one-sided with Piccirillo clearly outboxing Ankhadov and finding the target with rights over Amkhadov’s too low guard. Ankhadov only just survived the seventh then took more punishment in the eighth. Piccirillo ended it in the ninth. With a badly weakened Amkhadov trying to come forward off the ropes Piccirillo landed a booming right to the head that saw Amkhadov pitch forward and finish up hitting the canvas head first and he was needlessly counted out. The unbeaten Piccirillo had outpointed Amkhadov in June and then drawn with Gualtieri in a challenge for the German title in August with Gualtieri then relinquishing the title. Amkhadov was taken to the hospital but later released. Saidi vs. Silvennoinen Saidi wins the vacant German International title with unanimous verdict over Silvennoinen. It was an even contest over the early rounds but then Saidi’s fast accurate jabbing gave him the edge from the fifth. He tightened his guard against Silvennoinen’s uppercuts which had been a danger in the opening rounds and the boxed his way to victory. Saidi’s losses have come over twelve rounds against top level opposition in Jack Culcay and Vincent Feigenbutz. Silvennoinen was a good test having won 5 of his previous 6 outings. Thiemke vs. Oleksiyenko Light heavyweight hope Thiemke gets in some useful work as he goes eight rounds for the first time in decisioning strong Ukrainian Oleksiyenko. Thiemke boxed cleverly on the back foot taking no chances against the bigger man and won a wide unanimous decision. Still only 20 “The German Dream” was German Under-17 and Under-18 champion from 75kgs up to 91kgs and won European gold medals at Schoolboy and Junior level. Fifth consecutive loss for Oleksiyenko. Berazategui, Argentina: Super Welter: Alejandro Silva (14-0-1) W DISQ 3 Gabriel Diaz (10-2). Super Welter: Diego Ramirez (22-4-1) DRAW 10 Nicolas Palacios (12-7-1). Super Welter: Jonathan Wilson Sanchez (18-4-1) W PTS 10 Nahuel Galesi (13-7-1). Silva vs. Diaz In the quarter-finals of the Miguel Angel Castellini tournament Silva gets win over Diaz who is disqualified for biting. The first two rounds were entertaining as they traded punches. Silva was getting the better of the exchanges working on the inside on the taller Diaz and hurting him with hooks. In the third as Diaz came forward he ducked and his head ended under the left arm of Silva who had his forearm trapping Diaz’s head in place. Just before the referee separated them Silva pulled away clutching his left arm and indicating to the referee he had been bitten. The teeth marks were clearly visible and Diaz was disqualified. Silva defending the national title and extends his winning streak to 12. Diaz, the Argentinian No 6, had scored victories in each of his last six fights. Ramirez vs. Palacios Southpaw Ramirez was a big favourite in this Tournament quarter-final but his recent form has been disappointing and he struggled here with a draw a fair result. Scores 97-95 ½ for Ramirez, 96- 95 ½ for Palacios, 95 ½-95 ½. Ramirez was rated No 2 and Palacios No 4 so Ramirez progresses to the semi-finals on the basis of his higher rating. Tough on Palacios but those are the rules of the tournament Sanchez vs. Galesi Sanchez eased his way into the semi-finals with a comfortable points win over Galesi. Scores 98-91, 98 ½-92, 97-92. Six wins in his last seven fights for former national middleweight title challenger Sanchez. At 5’3” Galesi was just too small to match the bigger Sanchez who is No 3 in the Argentinian middleweight rankings Sao Paulo, Brazil: Heavy: Gonzalo Basile (76-14,1ND) W KO 1 Gilberto Matheus Domingos (22-13). Cruiser: Isaac Rodrigues (26-3) W KO 2 Jonathan Santos de Souza (3-8). Basile vs. Matheus Basile got this farce over quickly. After measuring the obese little Matheus with some left jabs Basile knocked him over with a left hook. Matheus got up but another left hook put him face down on the canvas and he was counted out. The 46-year-old 6’6” Basile, a walking tattoo parlour, wins the vacant UBO International and American Boxing Federation American West belts. Matheus was terrible and to give you some idea of how obese Matheus was it was a major achievement for him to throw a jab that reached out beyond his paunch. Rodrigues vs. Santos Rodrigues floors Santos twice for kayo. After tracking the taller Santos in the first round Rodrigues connected with an uppercut and a right to the head that staggered Santos and put him down. Santos just beat the count but was floored by two more punches. The referee seemed to believe that the downed fighter did not needed to know the count as he tolled it behind the fighters back with his hands pointing to the ring lights. It made no real difference as Santos failed to beat the count. First fight since August 2018 for 36-year-old Rodrigues and his 21st win by KO/TKO. Five inside the distance losses in a row for Santos Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic: Light: Michal Dufek (30-22-2) W TKO 5 Szilveszter Ajtal (13-17-1). Super Light: Erik Agateljan (7-0) W PTS 10 Josef Zahradnik (12-5). Super Middle: Lukas Konecny (52-5) W TKO 5 Pavel Albrecht (6-9). Heavy: Tomas Salek W TKO 1 Alain Banongo (3-2). Dufek vs. Berna Veteran Dufek wins the vacant Czech title with stoppage of Hungarian substitute Ajtal. Dufek, 37, had Ajtal down five times before the fight was stopped in the fifth. Win No 5 in a row for Dufek and to stick with the “5’s” the fifth different opponent he was supposed to face with the corona virus messing up his plans. Now six defeats in a row for Ajtai. Agateljan vs. Zahradnik First pro title for promising Agateljan as he outpoints Zahradnik. Over the first five rounds Zahradnik fought hard and was competitive. From then the talented Agateljan took control and emerged a clear winner. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 99-93. Armenian-born Agateljan 25, a former Czech Youth and Senior champion, won quote a few international tournaments. His brother Viktor won the Czech middleweight title in September and they are both good prospects. Zahradnik has been given some tough tasks losing decisions on the road against Jason Easton, Conor Benn and Eduard Troyanovsky. Konecny vs. Albrecht You could be excused for thinking that Konecny simply is boxing in the Czech Republic and you would be pretty well right. The 42-year-old former EBU and interim WBO champion promoted this show which featured 17 bouts and pulled his gloves on again to record a win. Fellow-Czech Albrecht did his best but was no match for Konecny and was stopped in the fifth round. Konecny “retired” after his last fight in December 2018 and has said he is retiring again-but never say never although he might decide to focus on helping his daughter who scored a win in an amateur fight on the show and wants to follow in his footsteps. Salek vs. Banongo In an all-Czech clash young heavyweight hope Salek halted Banongo in the first round. A huge right from Salek sent Banongo down heavily. He managed to get up but was reluctant to come forward when asked to by the referee who then stopped the fight. Now 6 wins in his last 7 fights for the 22-year-old Salek another former Czech Youth and Senior champion. First fight in two years for Banongo. Beziers, France: Light: Jaouad Belmehdi (11-0-3) W TKO 1 Sabri Sediri (13-2-1). Belmehdi delights his home supports as he blows away Sediri inside a round to win the vacant French title. Sediri came out throwing hooks from both hands. Belmehdi remained cool and less than a minute into the fight he connected with a right uppercut and a left hook which floored Sediri. He was badly shaken but made it to his feet. Belmehdi bombarded Sediri with punches putting him down twice more and the fight was over. Sixth quick win for the 22-year-old new champion. It was a case of the biter bitten as Tunisian-born Sediri had won his last two fights in the first round. He had also floored unbeaten British hope Sam Maxwell twice before losing on a late stoppage so a god scalp for Belmehdi. Almaty, Kazakhstan: Light: Nurtas Azhbenov (11-0) W PTS 10 Evgeny Smirnov (13-2-3). Cruiser: Kamshybek Kunkabayev (3-0) W RTD 6 Server Emurlaiev (23-2). Welter: Talgat Shayken (4-0) W PTS 8 Evgeny Pavko (18-4-1). Azhbenov vs. Smirnov Azhbenov outboxes Smirnov over ten rounds. Tall southpaw Azhbenov was able to use his edges in height and reach to box on the outside. Smirnov tried to get inside but counters from Azhbenov made him pay a price for his aggression. Smirnov too often just tracked Azhbenov around the ring being frustrated by the speedy movement and clever defensive work from Azhbenov. Smirnov chased hard all the way having occasional success when he managed to catch up with Azhbenov but did that too rarely as Azhbenov skipped his way to victory. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and 96-94 for Azhbenov. He wins the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council belt. He has oodles of skill but a lack of power may be a drawback. Smirnov did a bit better than the scores indicate but he is now 0-1-3 in his last four outings. Kunkabayev vs. Emurlaiev Easy night’s work for Kunkabayev. He never really had to get out of second gear against Emurlaiev who in his second fight in a week was just looking to survive; Kunkabayev seemed content to get in a few rounds of work before getting serious in the fifth connecting with some strong southpaw lefts. A big right hook late in the sixth had Emurlaiev badly shaken and three lefts to the head before the bell were enough for Emurlaiev whom did not come out for the seventh round. The 29-year-old Kunkabayev won a silver medal at both the 2017 and 2019 World Championships. Emurlaiev was out of the ring for eight years before returning with a first round stoppage win last week Shayken vs. Pavko Shayken (Shaiken on his shorts) outboxes Pavko. With some good amateur credentials behind him Shayken already looks a bright prospect in the paid ranks. Pavko staggered Shayken with a punch within the first twenty seconds of the fight but Shayken quickly recovered and did enough to win the round. Shayken had edges in skill and speed and controlled the fight from the second. He also showed power as he rocked Pavko a few times with straight lefts but just could not put the tough Russian away. Scores 80-72 twice and 79-73 for Shayken. The 20-year-old Kazak is a former World Youth Olympics silver medal winner. Second loss in a row for Pavko who was outpointed by unbeaten Michael McKinson in his previous fight in July 2019. Windhoek, Namibia: Feather: Nathanael Kakololo (12-1-1) W TKO 8 Tinashe Mwadziwana (17-13). Middle: Lukas Ndafoluma (19-3,1ND) W KO 1 Simon Tchetha (10-4-1). Kakololo vs. Mwadziwana Kakololo floors and halts Zimbabwean Mwadziwana. Kakololo establish an early lead with his longer reach. Mwadziwana fought hard and managed to get past Kakololo’s jab and score to the body. Kakololo had a big fourth connecting with hard shots and Mwadziwana only just got through the round. The Zimbabwean recovered over the fifth and sixth but was shaken again in the seventh and floored by a series of punches in the eighth. He made it to his feet but was in no condition to continue and the fight was stopped. Kakololo retains the ABU title with his eighth consecutive victory. Mwadziwana had won his last five fights. Ndafoluma vs. Tchetha Ndafoluma crushes a seriously overmatched Tchetha inside a round. After just 20 seconds Ndafoluma drove Tchetha to the floor with two right crosses. Tchetha made it to his feet but was on rubber legs. Despite that the referee allowed him to continue and a right to the body from Ndafoluma put him down again and he took the full count kneeling in a corner. Ten wins by KO/TKO for the 35-year-old “Demolisher” who picks up the WBO African title. Malawian Tchetha never in with a chance. London. England: Super Fly: Ijaz Ahmed (8-2) W PTS 10 Quaise Khademi (8-1). Middle: Nathan Heaney (11-0) W PTS 10 Ryan Oliver (7-3). Ahmed vs. Khademi Ahmed takes Khademi’s unbeaten record with a narrow majority decision over ten entertaining rounds. With Khademi taller with a longer reach each fighter’s tactics were governed by the physical difference. The 5’1” Ahmed was on fire over the first two rounds hunting Khademi down and scoring to the body. Over the third and fourth Khademi created some space with strong jabbing and evened the score. Ahmed upped his pace and outworked Khademi in the fifth and sixth but then seemed to fade and again Khademi took the next two rounds. It came down to the last two rounds and they fought their heart out with the decision undecided to the last. The judges were given a hard task but scored it 96-94 and 96-95 for Ahmed and 95-95. The 27-year-old from Birmingham wins the WBO European title from Khademi and the vacant IBF European title. In his last fight in November 2019 Ahmed had been beaten on points by Harvey Horn for the vacant WBO flyweight title. Afghan-born Khademi was making the first defence of the WBO title. Heaney vs. Oliver Heaney keeps his 100% record with points win over Oliver. Heaney was always just that bit better and he floored Oliver in the fifth with the referee scoring the match 97-92 for Heaney who will probably be looking to go for the English title next. Second loss in a row for Oliver. Fight of the week (Significance): Saul Alvarez beating Avni Yildirim sets up Alvarez for unifying all four versions of the super middleweight title by the end of the year Fight of the week (Entertainment): Francisco Rodriguez vs. Martin Tecuapetla was a war all the way. With honourable mention to Nicholas Esposito vs. Tobia Giuseppe Loriga providing plenty to enjoy in their Italian title fight. Fighter of the week: Saul Alvarez as he marches on in his quest to unify the super middleweight division Punch of the week: The right to the head from Thomas Piccirillo that put that put Adam Ankhadov face down on the canvas was brutal. Upset of the week: Rene Mark Cuarto was an outsider against Pedro Taduran but won a close decision and the IBF minimumweight title Prospect watch: Only one pro fight but I am going with lightweight Keyshawn Davis who oozed class against Lester Brown Observations Not a good weekend for the big fights. Alvarez vs. Yildirim was as expected a mismatch. Julio Cesar Martinez vs. McWilliams Arroyo looked a reasonable match but with Martinez pulling out with an injury instead Arroyo easily beat late substitute Abraham Rodriguez and both Joseph Parker vs. Junior Fa and Anthony Dirrell vs. Kyrone Davis lacked any entertainment value. The line between professional and amateur is permanently blurred now. Keyshawn Davis has won his first pro fight but he also won the US Olympic trials so will be aiming to go for gold in Tokyo and New Zealand‘s Jerome Pampellone turned professional on 19 December 2020 and won the New Zealand amateur title on 23 January 2021. Boxing is emerging from the pandemic. Over Friday and Saturday there were 36 shows in 24 countries. |
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