Written by Brendan Allen.
Twitter @hooksphat Vasily Lomachenko demonstrated he still has a command over the ring with a dominating 12 round victory over Richard Commey. Pre fight, Twitter was rife with suggestion that Loma was not the man he was and that Commey was the fighter to stop him post Lopez but what we saw in the early hours of Saturday night was anything but. From the opening round the footwork of Lomachenko forced Commey into positions he wished not to be and Loma started to land his jab at will. Commey was always game and threw back with interest but Loma was either countering the shot or simply not there. He was Masterful. The victory over Lomachenko by Teafimo Lopez forced many to question Lomas ability in the ring but seeing Lopez suffer defeat at the hands of George Kambosos has made some realise that the championship rounds mean more to a fighter together than the sum of all parts. Loma tonight showed he has the start, middle and finale as he took Commey apart. Loma dropped Commey in round seven with a left hook that Commey is still looking for and bizarrely called upon the opposition corner to stop the fight, as dazed as Commey looked, he wasn’t finished and Loma perhaps would look a little silly as he was drawn to the full 12. Loma would say he saw “the situation” that his opponent was in but ultimately, that situation wasn’t enough to end the fight. What did shine through was the ring craft of Lomachenko. He never looked in danger, landing and moving and making Commey look out of sorts for the Majority of the rounds and honestly, not in the league of the four horseman currently ruling the division. Lomachenko would say he is ready to travel far and wide in the division to re-establish his name, aiming for new title holder Kambosos but with a queue forming he may need to take on the lesser to earn the better. Either way, Loma has shown his defeat has only spurred him on and a potential fight down under with Kombosas could be on the cards in the future.
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Whilst a lot of Closet Classics are from a by gone era, and none of the fighters involved in them are still active, today's bout is one where both men are still in the sport, and one where they both came out looking like they were going to make an impact on the sport. The bout was one of the very best WBC Youth title bouts and is one that now, more than 6 years later, still stands the test of time as a truly sensational war. This is, for some, a bout that put the winner on the map, but in reality proved both men had guts, toughness and determination. It is a truly fantastic bout, and one that every fan owes themselves 20 minutes to sit down and enjoy all it's beautifully brutal action. Daigo Higa (6-0, 6) vs Kongfah CP Freshmart (14-0, 10) For the bout we travel back to the summer of 2015 and head over to Bangkok for a WBC Flyweight title bout between two unbeaten youngsters. In one corner was 20 year old Thai local Kongfah CP Freshmart, also known as Jakkrawut Majoogoen. He had claimed the WBC Youth Light Flyweight title in just his second professional bout and defended it twice before moving up in weight, heading to Flyweight. Up to this point his competition had been lacking, though he had earned a good win over Filipino fighter Cris Alfante, the most notable name on his record by far. Although he's not that well known now Kongfah was seen as one of the big hopes in Thai boxing at the time and seemed to be following the tried and tested route to the top in the country. Fight a lot at a young age, build up ring experience, build a close affiliation with a world title body and ride that through his career, eventually getting a world title fight. At this point he was looking talented, and was developing fight by fight into a decent prospect, but was still a long, long way from a world title fight. In the other corner was 19 year old Daigo Higa, a rising Japanese youngster who was being groomed for success by former Light Flyweight world champion Yoko Gushiken. He had been a decent amateur at local level, but lacked top level domestic success when he turned professional in 2014. Despite not having much buzz about him he had quickly generated some buzz with a string of early wins, and was 6-0 (6) less than a year after his debut. Not only was he quietly creating some buzz, but he had notched a win overseas, stopping Pongpayu Chaiyonggym in South Korea, and had also stopped Cris Alfante, the fighter who had also been Kongfah's best win. Despite looking destructive and impressive through his first 6 bouts there was a lot of questions left for Higa to answer. What was his chin like? What would happen when a fighter didn't buckle under his pressure? Did he have a gas tank? His 6 combined bouts up to this point had lasted just 11 combined rounds, he had never gone beyond 4 rounds, and had only gone beyond 2 rounds once. On paper he was stepping up, and was going to have to answer some very serious questions about his potential. Going in we had huge expectations for this bout, but it easily out did those expectations, delivering in a huge way! From the off we were seeing Higa coming forward and Kongfah trying to fight off the ropes. It wasn't the typical feeling out round we are so accustomed too and instead it was an exciting start to the bout, with the two men really not messing about. Although neither of the youngsters hurt the other in the first round, it was exciting and set the stage for what was to come, which was a high paced and exciting war. In round 2 the pace increased again, with both men landing some solid shots in the middle of the ring. Sadly for Kongfah he was finding himself being backed up regularly but the fluid offense and combination punching of Higa. To his credit however the Thai fought well off the ropes and landing some solid counters through the round, testing Higa's chin and making the Japanese fighter pay for over-committing to his offensive work. Just 2 rounds in it was clear we were getting something very special and the action only got better in round 3, a low key Asian round of the year that saw several swings in momentum and some some relentless work from both. This was amazing action, a phone booth war and intense none stop thrill a minute stuff from men with a combined 20 bouts between them. We won't ruin any more of the bout, but if you like phone booth wars, non stop action and seeing a future world champion in their first serious test this is well worth of 20 minutes of any ones time. This really is something very special, very enjoyable, and showed how damn good boxing in Thailand was in 2015. This might be a newer classic, but it was an instant classic! By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Devin Haney retains the WBC lightweight title with unanimous decision over Joseph Diaz -Anthony Yarde gets revenge as he knocks out Lyndon Arthur in four rounds to win the Commonwealth light heavyweight title -Kevin Lejarraga knocks out Jack Flatley in European welterweight title defence -In heavyweight action Michael Hunter and Jerry Forrest fight to a draw, Filip Hrgovic gets a win and Lucas Brown revives his career with kayo of Faiga Opetu World Title/Major Shows Atlantic City, NJ, USA: Super Feather: Christian Tapia (13-0 W TKO 10 Iron Alvarez (14-1). Welter: Anthony Young (23-2) W PTS 8 Luis Sanchez (9-2). Light: Nestor Bravo (20-0) W KO 3 Vitor Jones (16-6). Tapia vs. Alvarez Tapia scores stoppage of Alvarez in the tenth. Alvarez was 5” taller than Tapia and his jab was his best weapon but Tapia was able to bob and weave his way inside and batter Alvarez with hooks and uppercuts. Tapia was relentless and although Alvarez scored with some hard counters he was usually found against the ropes covering up under a barrage of punches from Tapia. By the eighth Alvarez had little left and Tapia was connecting with clubbing shots with very little coming back from Alvarez. In the ninth Alvarez was shaken by straight rights from Tapia. Alvarez still had some spirit remaining in the tenth but when Tapia drove him into a corner and landed a couple of heavy punches the referee stopped the fight. Seventh inside the distance victory in a row Puerto Rican Tapia who had knocked out experienced Mason Menard in July. Alvarez was going up to ten rounds for the first time but could not match Tapia's work rate or his power. Young vs. Sanchez Young extends his winning streak to twelve as he edges past Puerto Rican Sanchez on a split decision. No scores available. Bravo vs. Jones Fourteen is the number for Bravo as the Puerto Rican gets win No 14 by KO/TKO with knockout of Brazilian Jones in three rounds. Only the second fight in two years for Bravo. Jones is 0-5 in fights outside of Brazil. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Light: Devin Haney (27-0) W PTS 12 Joseph Diaz (32-2-1). Super Light: Montana Love (17-0-1) W TKO 3 Carlos Diaz (29-2). Super Light: Jessica McCaskill (11-2) W TKO 7 Kandi Wyatt (10-4). Heavy: Filip Hrgovic (14-0) W TKO 3 Emir Ahmatovic (10-1). Fly: Ricardo Sandoval W TKO 3 (20-1) W Carlos Buitrago (32-7-1). Haney vs. Diaz Haney remains WBC champion as he takes unanimous decision over Diaz. Round 1 Good opening round for Haney. With his longer reach and hand speed he was able to score on Diaz with jabs and also connected with some rights. Diaz was following Haney around just hiding behind a guard and hardly threw a punch. Score: 10-9 Haney Round 2 Lovely boxing from Haney. He was using his left to slot home jabs but also to stop Diaz setting himself for an attack. He also put together a couple of useful combinations. Diaz was much more active than in the first and managed to force Haney to the ropes a couple of times and landed with hooks but Haney scored consistently and drove hooks to Diaz’s body Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 20-18 Round 3 Haney was circling Diaz and then stepping in with quick burst of punches. Diaz was not having much success in cutting the ring off and so most of the action was in the centre of the ring where Haney’s movement and hand speed gave him the edge Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 30-27 Round 4 Diaz did a much better job of closing Haney down. He was coming forward much quicker and connecting with hooks to the body even out jabbing Haney at times. At one point Diaz lifted Haney of his feet and tossed him to the floor and was warned by the referee. Score: 10-9 Diaz Haney 39-37 Round 5 Haney was back in control. He was finding gaps in Diaz’s high guard for jabs and firing rights to the body. Diaz managed to land some to the body but Haney kept the action to the centre of the ring and picked Diaz off with long rights. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 49-46 Round 6 Another round for Haney. He was threading jabs through Diaz’s high guard and then firing straight rights through the same gaps. Diaz managed to get home with some hooks to the body but mostly he was tracking Haney but not able to close Haney down. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 59-55 Round 7 A closer round because Haney chose to stand in front of Diaz instead of moving. That allowed Diaz to get home hooks to the body and he cracked Haney with a left hook to the head. He was also doing a better job of blocking Haney’s punches. Haney was still finding gaps but some of his body punches had been going low in every round. Score: 10-9 Diaz Haney 68-65 Round 8 Haney went back to constant movement being too quick for Diaz to cut off the ring. Haney was banging home jabs and lightning quick rights and then tying Diaz up inside. He was still landing low with an occasional rights but getting plenty on target too. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 78-74 Round 9 Haney used lots of movement circling Diaz and jolting him with rapier-like jabs and fast rights. Diaz was too often static in front of Haney allowing Haney to pick his spots and he also caught Diaz with some punishing counters. Diaz plugged away but with little success. Haney was finally warned for low punches. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 88-83 Round 10 This one could have been scored either way. For much of the round Haney stayed in front of Diaz giving Diaz the chance to do some useful scoring. He sent home some right hooks and a good left to the head. Late in the round Haney put together some crisp combinations but Diaz just had the edge. Score: 10-9 Diaz Haney 97-93 Round 11 Movement and hand speed won this one for Haney. Diaz just could not hunt him down and meanwhile Haney was doubling up on his left hooks banging home straight rights and uppercuts and outscoring Diaz Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 107-102 Round 12 Diaz was on fire for the first half of the round driving Haney back and landing hooks from both hands with Haney seeming content to just get through the round. That then changed with Haney taking charge and Diaz being driven back as Haney connected with punch after punch to take the round. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 117-111 Official Scores: Judge Dave Moretti 117-111 Haney, Judge Tim Cheatham 116-112 Haney, Judge Max DeLuca 117-111 Haney. Third title defence for the 23-year-old “The Dream”. He had beaten Yuriorkis Gamboa and Jorge Linares in his other two defences and looked better here than when he made hard work of beating Linares. Naturally unification is on his mind. Former IBF super featherweight champion Diaz has had weight problems in the past. After losing to Gary Russell in a challenge for the WBC featherweight title he beat WBA featherweight title holder Jesus Rojas but could not win the title as he came in over weight. He also lost his IBF super feather when he did not make the weight for his first defence. He moved up to lightweight and won the interim WBC title in July with a victory over Javier Fortuna. Love vs. Diaz Love stops Diaz in three rounds. Love made a strong start and landed some savage body punches in the first. Love floored Diaz early in the second with a hard left and an accurate right. Diaz managed to get up but was put down again seconds later. He was up and did not look too badly shaken but was put down by an uppercut-and there was still a minutes remaining in the round. Despite the knockdowns Diaz fought back hard and was still standing at the bell. A series of punches from Love in the third brought the referee’s intervention over protests from Diaz. Love, 26, had beaten Ivan Baranchyk on a seventh retirement in August so could turn out to be a force in an already crowded super lightweight division. Diaz was knocked out in five rounds by Jose Zepeda in 2018. McCaskill vs. Wyatt McCaskill retains her five titles with inside the distance victory over Wyatt. McCaskill tried to blow Wyatt away with a fierce attack in the first which had Wyatt reeling. McCaskill left herself open for counters as she continued to attack in the second and Wyatt managed to get through with some good shots of her own. McCaskill continued to land heavily over the next three rounds with Wyatt doing enough to stay in the fight but was taking punishment. A series of head and body punches in the sixth had Wyatt in trouble. The referee had warned at the end of the sixth round he would stop the fight if Wyatt continued to take a beating and he did so after a flurry of punches from McCaskill in the seventh. The 37-year-old from Chicago holds five titles the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC and WBO. She lost to Katie Taylor in 2017 and beat Cecilia Braekhus in 2020. Canadian Wyatt suffers her third loss in a row. Hrgovic vs. Ahmatovic Hrgovic stops substitute Ahmatovic after three one-sided rounds. Hrgovic had height and weight over Ahmatovic and in the first used powerful jabs to land at distance and rocked Ahmatovic with clubbing head shots. Hrgovic scored with thudding right in the second and when Ahmatovic tried to trade punches he was sent down under a under a bundle of rights. He was up at eight but went down again and when he arose the bell went. Hrgovic clubbed Ahmatovic to the canvas in the third and the referee waived the fight over. Hrgovic was defending the IBF International belt and gets his twelfth inside the distance victory. He has power but is cumbersome and one of these days he is going to be disqualified as he has a propensity to treat the back of an opponent’s head a legitimate target. Serbian-born German Ahmatovic lacked the experience to be a match for Hrgovic. e was up at eight but driven to his knees. He arose and the bell went. Sandoval vs. Buitrago Sandoval stops Buitrago in the seventh. Sandoval was quicker, busier and more accurate than the experienced Nicaraguan. Sandoval was able to use his height and long reach to score well with his jab and to keep Buitrago on the back foot. Sandoval switched guard at times and in the third was adding neck-snapping uppercuts to the diet of jabs and straight rights he was feeding Buitrago. When Sandoval stood inside it gave Buitrago a chance to connect with some hooks but he was taking steady punishment. Sandoval landed series of heavy rights in the fifth and Buitrago showed signs of wilting. It was one-way traffic in the sixth with a tiring Buitrago just trying to survive and the referee indicated unless things improved for Buitrago he would stop them fight. Early in the seventh as Sandoval bombed Buitrago with punches the referee did as he threatened and stepped in to save Buitrago. Sandoval’s kayo of Jay Harris in June lifted him into the No 1 spot with the IBF and he accepted this fight at short notice to stay busy as he waits for a date for a title shot at Sunny Edwards. Buitrago also took the fight without a lot of time to prepare as he had not had a fight since October 2020. Buitrago has had four title shots but his recent form shows him as 2-5 with three of the losses in title fights. December 2 New York, NY, USA: Heavy: Jerry Forrest (26-4-2) DREW 10 Michael Hunter (20-1-2). Heavy: George Arias (17-0) W PTS 10 Cassius Chaney (21-1) W George Arias (17-0) W PTS 10. Heavy: Mike Balogun (18-0) W TKO 1Trey Lippe (18-1). Forrest vs. Hunter Hunter looks fortunate to get away with a majority draw against Forrest. Hunter made the more positive start firing shots looking to blow Forrest away. He shook Forrest a couple of times but Forrest settled into the fight coming forward behind a high guard and making Hunter work hard in every round. As the fight progressed Forrest began to eat into the lead Hunter had established with his early aggression. By the end of the eighth Hunter had run out of gas and only just managed to make it though those last two rounds with Forrest looking to have done enough to take the decision. Scores 96-94 Forrest, 96-94 Hunter and 95-95. In Forrest’s last fight in February he was down in each of the first three rounds but battled back to earn a draw. This was a huge result for Forrest who was trying to get revenge for a loss to Hunter way back in 2014. Forrest was unrated and Hunter was WBA No 2 now the WBA has to make a decision on what you when an unrated fighter leaves you with egg on your face. A draw with Alexander Povetkin and wins over Martin Bakole, Sergey Kuzmin, and Mike Wilson had seen Hunter flying high now his No 2 spot has to be at risk. Arias vs. Chaney Arias wins split decision over Chaney in a clash of unbeaten heavyweights. Chaney at 6’6” was 6” taller than Arias but Arias chose to box on the outside early which suited Chaney who collected those rounds. Arias came into the fight in the third rocking Chaney with a left. The pace was slow in this fight and there was not a lot of action over the middle rounds. Chaney seemed reluctant to take any risks and his output dropped with Arias by no means busy but busier than Chaney and that was enough to give him the edge in some very strange scoring of 99-91 and 97-93 for Arias and 96-94 for Chaney. Only five inside the distance victories for Dominican Arias and at 6’0” he is small for today’s heavyweights. He was giving away 24lbs to Chaney. For Chaney this is a big setback as at 32 time is not on his side. Balogun vs. Lippe Balogun wipes out Lippe in one round. Balogun was on target early and dropped Lippe. He managed to get up and come forward punching but was down again from a combination of punches. Lippe made it to his feet but was wobbling and the referee stopped the fight. Balogun, 38, gets his ninth first round win and Lippe, the son of Tommy Morrison, gets a taste of reality. December 3 Bilbao, Spain: Super Welter: Kevin Lejarraga (34-2) W KO 9 Jack Flatley (17-2-1). Super Middle: Damian Biacho (12-0) W RTD 7 Guillermo Rivero (8-1-1). Super Light: Jonathan Alonso (21-1) W PTS 8 Mohamed El Marcouchi (28-3). Super Fly: Samuel Carmona (6-0) W TKO 1 Luis Villa (13-3-2). Super Light: Campbell Hatton (5-0) W KO 2 Attila Csereklye (10-25). Lejarraga vs. Flatley Lejarraga knocks out Flatley in European title defence. It looked as though this one might be over in the first three minutes as Lejarraga landed some good body punches then dropped Flatley with a left. Flatley recovered and had a good second round and used his longer breach to score with some good counters through Lejarraga’s leaky defence. From the fifth Lejarraga continued to take the fight to Flatley and the Englishman survived with some nifty movement and good defensive work but he was being weakened by some hurtful body punches. The end was near after Flatley was floored in the eighth and Lejarraga ended it in the ninth. He connected with a left to the body and a thundering short right to the head. Flatley went down heavily on his back and the referee waived the fight over. The “Revolver” was defending the title he won in September with a technical decision over Frenchman Dylan Charrat and a return with Charrat may be next for Lejarraga. Former English champion Flatley had at best tenuous rights to a title shot but he was competitive until the heavier punching from Lejarraga wore him down. Biacho vs. Rivero Biacho wins the vacant Spanish title with victory over local fighter Rivero. This was Rivero’s first fight since March 2019 and he was never able to get a foothold in the fight. Biacho softened Rivero up with body punches before dropping him in the third and twice more in the sixth with the bell saving Rivero. Biacho scored another knockdown in the seventh and Rivero did not come out for the eighth. Biacho was defending the national title. Alonso vs. El Marcouchi “Maravilla” Alonso impresses as he outboxes Belgian El Marcouchi. The visitor did what he could to hustle, bustle and rough up Alonso but to no effect as Alonso was in charge from bell to bell and all three judges scored it 80-72 for the Dominican-born Spaniard. Alonso was out for 19 months before returning with a win in July. Alonso, who reportedly won 98 of 110 amateur fights, suffered his only pro defeat when he lost to Alberto Puello for the interim WBA super light title in July 2019 when all three judges gave it to Puello 115-113- so as close as it gets. El Marcouchi had lost only one of his last 27 fights but showed nothing here. Carmona vs. Villa Olympian Carmona gets his fourth inside the distance victory as he stops Villa in ninety seconds. Carmona was an outstanding amateur and is a significant addition to the flyweight ranks in Europe. Third consecutive loss for Mexican Villa. Hatton vs. Csereklye Hatton, 20, gets his first inside the distance victory as he floors Csereklye twice in the first round and again in the second. Hutton is the son of Ricky Hatton. Ninth loss in a row for Hungarian Csereklye. London, England: Feather: Luis Lopez (24-2) W KO 7 Isaac Lowe (21-1-3)).Bantam: Charlie Edwards (17-1) W TKO 2 Jacob Barreto (13-4). Lopez vs. Lowe Mexican Lopez wins IBF final eliminator with kayo of Lowe. Lopez showed his power within the first few seconds of the fight as he floored Lowe with a left hook. Lowe beat the count and fought back hard in an exciting opening round. The danger was not past and a right from Lopez put Lowe down again in the second. In a repeat of the earlier action Lowe got up and stood and traded punches with Lopez to the bell. Being four points behind after two rounds may have affected Lowe’s approach as he too often allowed himself to be dragged into exchanging punches instead of boxing and was rocked again at the end of the third. Despite that Lowe was working hard and connecting with some good shots. Lopez was not as accurate but still dangerous and clearly the harder puncher. Lopez upped his pace in the seventh launching a fierce attack and landing a series of punches that had Lowe reeling and a left to the body sent him down and he just failed to beat the count. Position 1 and 2 are vacant in the IBF ratings and since neither Lopez (No 5) nor Lowe (No 8) had beaten an IBF ranked boxer so neither could go to 1 or 2 but with both ranked this win will make Lopez the mandatory challenger for Kiko Martinez. Mexican Lopez, 28, was 11-1 in his last twelve fights with wins over Andy Vences and Gabriel Flores Jr with the loss coming against Ruben Villa. Former Commonwealth and WBC International champion Lowe had won his last seven fights and at 27 can come back stronger. Edwards vs. Barreto No problems for former undefeated WBC flyweight champion Edwards. A left hook dumped Barreto in a corner and the fight was over with the referee seeing Spaniard Barreto was unable to continue. An easy night’s work for Edwards. Barreto a lamb to the slaughter. Ilsenburg, Germany: Middle: Denis Radovan (15-0-1) W RTD 7 Brian Rose (32-8-1). Super Welter: Abass Baraou (11-1) W PTS 10 Meriton Karaxha (29-6-3). Middle: Patrick Wojcicki (15-0-1) W KO 6 Alexander Pavlov (12-3). Super Middle: Christina Hammer (27-1,1ND) W TKO 1 Daniele Bastieri (3-2). Light Heavy: Leon Bunn (16-0) W PTS 8 Iago Kiziria (5-3). Radovan vs. Rose Radovan retains the IBF European belt as Rose retires after seven rounds due to a swelling affecting his vision. After a couple of even rounds Radovan began to exert plenty of pressure but Rose was countering well. Both scored with good shots in the fourth but by the end of the round there was swelling around the left eye of Rose. The Englishman put in a big effort in the fifth but Radovan was taking control. Left jabs from Radovan increased the swelling in the sixth as they swapped hard punches with Rose’s output dropping. Rose was deducted a point in the seventh for a low punch and with his vision affected by the swelling around his eye Rose did not come out for the eighth. Second defence of the IBF European belt for Radovan. Rose had lost on points to Sergio Martinez in September. Baraou vs. Karaxha Baraou takes unanimous verdict over Karaxha. Baraou controlled much of the fight with hard accurate jabs and some powerful rights. Karaxha was under constant pressure but competed well. Baraou was firing some impressive combinations and built a substantial lead but Karaxha fought strongly over the seventh and eighth before Baraou finished put in a big effort over the ninth and tenth to emerge the winner on all three cards. Scores 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93 for Baraou who gets his second win since losing a split decision against Jack Culcay in August last year. He remains a big threat in this division. Belgian-based Albanian Karaxha had gone 11-0-2 in his previous 13 fights. Wojcicki vs. Pavlov Wojcicki returns after more than two years out of the ring and disposes of Pavlov in six rounds. Wojcicki had no trouble outboxing the inexperienced Pavlov. He got in some valuable ring time before ending it in the sixth. He drove Pavlov to the ropes and put him down and out with a couple of head punches. Only the IBF knows why with the first two positions in their middleweight ratings vacant why Wojcicki who has never faced a rated fighter and has been inactive for two years is their highest rated fighter at No 3. Pavlov lacked the skill and experience to compete against Wojcicki Hammer vs. Bastieri Unfortunate ending in this one as Bastieri is unable to continue after suffering an injury. Southpaw Bastieri missed with a punch and then turned away in pain having dislocated her right shoulder. Hammer had spent 2021 trying to qualify for the Olympic Games but failed to get through to Tokyo. Her only loss came against Claressa Shields in April 2019. Brazilian Bastieri lost in nine rounds against Savannah Marshall in August 2019 Bunn vs. Kiziria Disappointing performance from Bunn in his first fight for 14 months as he struggles to majority verdict over Georgian neophyte Kiziria. Scores 77-75 twice and 76-76. Domestic wins over Leon Harth and Enrico Koelling have seen Bunn rated WBO 6/WBC 9 but on this performance his No 11 with the EBU looks more realistic. Kiziria had shown well in losing only on a split verdict against 27-1 Wanik Awdijan but then lost to a fighter with a 3-0 record Turin, Italy: Feather: Davide Tassi (13-0) W PTS 10 Jacopo Lusci (6-9-1). Super Feather: Daniele Limon (18-8-1) W PTS 10 Hassan Nourdine (13-6). 4 Tassi vs. Lusci Tassi wins a wide unanimous verdict over Lusci in a national title defence. Southpaw Tassi was just too quick and too clever for Lusci who was never really able to exert enough pressure on the constantly moving champion. Tassi was down in the eighth but it was a slip. There was concern as Tassi seemed to have injured himself in the slip but was given a little recovery time and was able to continue and boxed his way to victory. Scores 99-91 twice and 99-92 for Tassi who is in his second reign as champion. Lusci, 33, had lost in a shot at the super bantamweight title in 2019 Limon vs. Nourdine Limon is Italian champion again as he outpoints champion Nourdine. Limon looked to use his skill and movement to blunt the attacks of the aggressive Nourdine. Limon worked well with his jab scoring at distance and building a slight lead over the first half of the fight but Nourdine did some good work when he was able to get inside. Limon built on that with a good sixth but his legs were unhinged by a right in the seventh. Limon recovered and the closing rounds were close. Scores 97-94 twice and 97-93 for Limon. He is a former featherweight champion and has also lost in shots at this same super featherweight title and three times at the super bantamweight. Moroccan-born Nourdine loses his title in his first defence. Panama City, Panama: Minimum: Oscar Collazo (4-0) W TKO 3 Pedro Villegas (13-2). Fly: Gilberto Pedraza (19-8-2) W PTS 8 Gabriel Ramirez (10-23-1). Collazo vs. Villegas Outstanding Puerto Rican prospect Collazo wins a title in only his fourth pro fight. He ended this one with three knockdowns in the third round and took the vacant WBO NABO title. He is 24 and a former Pan American Games gold medallist so one to follow. After eight wins Ecuadorian Villegas is 1-2 in his last three bouts. Pedraza vs. Ramirez Pedraza snaps a five-bout losing streak as he floors and decisions Ramirez. Pedraza put Ramirez down in the second and won on scores of 80-71 on the three cards. Mexican Ramirez has lost 7 of his last 8. Villa Maria, Argentina: Middle: Gerardo Vergara (15-0) W PTS 10 Diego Ramirez (24-6-1). Vergara retains the Argentinian title as he outpoints Ramirez. The fight started badly for Vergara as a punch from Ramirez busted his nose open and he continued to bleed form the nose throughout the fight. The taller Ramirez took the first two rounds but Vergara battled black and repaid Ramirez bringing blood from Ramirez’s nose in the third. Vergara’s strength and harder punch began to tell and he won the late rounds forcing Ramirez to the ropes and handing out steady punishment. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 ½ although Vergara looked a clearer winner than the scores indicate. First defence of the national title for Vergara. Ramirez was having his second shot at the title. December 4 London, England: Light Heavy: Anthony Yarde (22-2) KO 4 Lyndon Arthur (19-1). Super Welter: Hamzah Sheeraz (14-0) W TKO 9 Bradley Skeete (29-4). Light Sam Noakes (8-0) W TKO 9 Shaun Cooper (11-3). Yarde vs. Arthur Yarde gets his revenge as he kayos Arthur in the fourth round. For the first three rounds this followed the pattern of their first fight. Arthur was boxing on the retreat using his longer reach to spear the advancing Yarde with jabs and then smothering Yarde’s work by holding on the inside. Yarde started with plenty of fire but Arthur’s tactics had him frustrated and Arthur scored with two heavy rights at the end of the third round. After Arthur landed another right in the fourth Yarde launched a furious attack. He drove Arthur along with ropes firing punches until two rights dropped Arthur and he was counted out. Sweet revenge for Yarde who had lost a split decision to Arthur in December. Yarde wins the Commonwealth and WBO Inter-Continental titles. Arthur was No 1 with the WBO and with Frank Warren having a good working relationship with the WBO Yarde could be fighting for the WBO title early next year. A huge blow for Arthur who was making the third defence of the Commonwealth title. Sheeraz vs. Skeete Sheeraz gets controversial win over Skeete. From the start Skeete was boxing quite brilliantly. He was constantly moving, changing direction, changing guard and slotting punches through the guard of Sheeraz. Although Sheeraz was much the bigger man with the longer reach he just could not pin Skeete down and it was Skeete who was piling up the points. Sheeraz managed to land some heavy punches but never had Skeete in any trouble and Skeete looked to have won the early rounds. Sheeraz finally hunted Skeete down in the eighth and landed two heavy rights. He caught Skeete with a glancing blow as Skeete went down but then landed two substantial punches when Skeete was clearly on the floor. Instead of disqualifying Sheeraz the referee chose to give Skeete ample time to recover. Skeete was not surprisingly reluctant to get up and box on but he did. Sheeraz closed on Skeete in the ninth and connected with two rights that saw Skeete drop to one knee. He watched the referee’s count and made it to his feet but had been counted out. The incident of the punches landed when Skeete was on the floor in the eighth are subject to a review by the BBB of C but as it stands Sheeraz is the winner and retains the WBO European belt. Two second round losses suffered by Skeete had knocked the former British and Commonwealth title off track but he was boxing with real skill in this one so an unfortunate ending. Noakes vs. Cooper Noakes maintains 100% record of inside the distance wins as he stops Cooper in the ninth round. This was an entertaining scrap between two good young fighters. From the outset Noakes was his usual aggressive self putting Cooper under constant pressure and connecting with hooks and uppercuts. Cooper showed a very useful left jab and lots of clever defensive moves whilst landing some good shots of his own. Noakes was being made to work hard as he tried to hunt Cooper down. He was investing in some choice body punches but Cooper kept coming right back at him. Noakes had never been past the fifth round before and the pace slowed a little in the sixth before Noakes picked it up again in the seventh. He was busier than Cooper but Cooper was moving and countering. In the ninth a left hook to the head put Cooper down. He beat the count and boxed well. The crisis looked to have passed but Noakes landed heavily again and when a right to the temple rocked Cooper the referee stopped the fight. Cooper protested strongly and it looked a bit early but Noakes had landed some powerful head punches just before the stoppage. Excellent learning fight for Noakes who had taken less than eighteen rounds for his seven previous wins. He lifts the vacant WBC International Silver title. Cooper played his part in making it tough for Noakes and providing plenty of action. Brisbane, Australia: Cruiser: Floyd Masson (11-0) W PTS 10 Mark Flanagan (25-9). Super Welter: Luke Woods (8-4) W PTS 10 Tysinn Best (14-2). Masson vs. Flanagan Masson gets off the floor to outpoint champion Flanagan to win the Australian title. It looked as though “Bang Bang” Flanagan was going to live up to his nickname as he floored Masson in the opening round. The punch did not land flush and Masson was up immediately. After the count he showed some nifty footwork and he was standing and trading with Flanagan at the end of the round. Flanagan forced the fight but Masson showed some clever movement and good hand speed. He alternated between stabbing jabs, darting in with quick lefts and choosing his moment to go toe-to-toe. Flanagan did his best work inside and always looked dangerous with his rights but Masson’s mobility gave him the edge. Scores 96-92 twice for Masson and 94-94. Flanagan constituted a huge step-up in the quality of his opposition for New Zealand-born Masson but he won impressively. Flanagan had lost big fights against Arsen Goulamirian, David Light and Jai Opetaia before winning the Australian title in June. Woods vs. Best Tasmanian southpaw Woods too good for local lad Best on the night and successfully defends the national title with a unanimous points victory. Relentless pressure from Woods was just too much for Best. Scores 99-92, 98-92 and 97-93 for Woods. Former welterweight champion Best had moved up to super welter after losing his welterweight title. Brisbane, Australia: Heavy: Lucas Browne (30-3) W KO 7 Faiga Opetu (14-3-1) W. Welter: Andrew Hunt (8-0-1) W PTS 10 Ben Kite (18-6-1). Middle: Isaac Hardman (12-0) W TKO 4 Adam Stowe (6-2-2,1ND). Super Feather: Dana Coolwell (7-1) W KO 10 Miles Zalewski (9-2). Cruiser: Jai Opetaia (21-0) W TKO 3 Daniel Russell (7-3-2). Browne vs. Opetu Browne lifts his career out of the dustbin with kayo of young Samoan-born Opetu. Browne had looked awful in losing to Paul Gallen in April and he looked on his way to losing this one as well. Opetu won the early rounds with Browne just too slow. Browne was landing and landing hard when he did. Those punches finally started to catch up with Opetu in the seventh and with Opetu pinned to the ropes a series of punches ending with a left hook dropped him on his face on the canvas and he was counted out. Browne wins the vacant WBA Oceania title. A career saver for Browne but at 42 he has a very limited shelf life now. Former Australian champion Opetu lost his national title when he was stopped in seven rounds by Justis Huni in October last year in what was Huni’s first pro fight. Hunt vs. Kite Hunt and Kite could probably fight each other a dozen times as the result would always be close. When they met in April Hunt lifted Kite’s Australian title with paper-thin unanimous decision. There was no difference in this fight. Southpaw Hunt was able to use his longer reach to connect at range but is no power puncher so Kite was able to get inside and do some good work. The score were even closer this time with Hunt retaining the title on a majority decision on scores of 96-94 twice and 95-95. Hardman vs. Stowe Hardman wore down and stopped Stowe in four rounds-and saved himself a bundle of money. A confident Hardman had said he would buy everyone in the place a beer if Stowe lasted more than five rounds. He floored Stowe with a right in the second and with a body punch in the third. Erich time Stowe got up and stood and punched with Hardman. In the fourth Hardman trapped Stowe in a corner and as he landed a sickening right hook to start Stowe on the way down the towel came in from Stowe’s team. Tenth win by KO/TKO for Hardman and the third defence of the Australian title. Brave display from Stowe who was having his first fight since February 2020. Coolwell vs. Zalewski Coolwell wins the vacant Australian title with last round kayo of Zalewski. Coolwell looked on his way to an inside the distance win when he had Zalewski in trouble in the sixth round but the bell saved Zalewski-a bell went 59 seconds early! Coolwell finally ended the fight with a left hook in the tenth round which put Zalewski down on his back as his corner threw in the towel. Fifth inside the distance finish for Coolwell. Zalewski is a former Australian lightweight champion. Opetaia vs. Russell Opetaia stops Russell in three. After taking the first round Opetaia put Russell down in the second. A series of head punches sent Russell down on one knee at the start of the third and when a three-punch series saw Russell drop to one knee later in the round the fight was stopped. Now 17 wins by KO/TKO for Opetaia. He is the second highest rated Cruiser with the IBF so a title shot should come in 2022. First fight for Russell since being stopped in one round by Jason Whateley for the Australian title in December 2019. This was a catchweight fight at 95kg (209lbs). Cologne, Germany: Cruiser: Firat Arslan (50-9-3) W TKO 4 Alejandro Berrio (39-10). Heavy: Edi Delibaltaoglu (8-5) W TKO 5 Sami Enbom (19-8). Cruiser: Huseyin Cinkara (17-0) W TKO 2 Gusmyr Perdomo (27-12). Cruiser: Yakup Saglam (45-7) W TKO 1 Andy Hoeschier (9-1). Arslan vs. Berrio Arslan continues his campaign for another title shot with stoppage of Berrio. As usual over the first two rounds Arslan walked forward behind a high guard just letting Berrio throw punches most of which Arslan blocked and with Arslan throwing an occasional counter. It was going the same way in the third until Arslan floored Berrio but failed to finish the job. In the fourth Arslan connected with body punches and sent Berrio down twice and the fight was stopped. Arslan is 16-1-1 in his last 18 fights but the only real opponent he has faced in that run is Kevin Lerena who stopped him in six rounds. Despite this the 51-year-old Arslan is No 6 with the WBA so could land the title shot he is chasing. Colombian Berrio, 41, won the IBF super middleweight title in 2007 but lost it in his first defence against Lucien Bute and has put on quite a bit of weight since then. Delibaltaoglu vs. Enbom Fourth consecutive win for Turkish-born Delibaltaoglu as Finn Enbom retires after four rounds. Delibaltaoglu collects the WBFederation Inter-Continental belt. Sixth inside the distance defeat in his last seven bouts for Enbom. Cinkara vs. Perdomo Another meaningless win for Cinkara. After tracking the retreating Perdomo in the first Cinkara landed series of punches in the second that saw Perdomo pitch forward and put his glove on the canvas to avoid going down. He was given a count and when Cinkara chased him to a corner and belted him a couple of times the referee came in as Perdomo was dropping to the floor and stopped the fight. Ten wins by KO/TKO in his last eleven contests for Cinkara and not a genuine test on his record. Perdomo, 44, had his best days as a super middle-a long time ago. Saglam vs. Hoeschier Oldie Saglam finishes Hoeschier in the first round. Saglam had done his fighting at heavyweight but took off more than 20lbs for this fight. He shook Hoeschier early and then put him down and the fight was all over. The 44-year-old Turkish-born Saglam wins the vacant German title with win No 41 by KO/TKO. Hoeschier had won all of his fights by KO/TKO taking less than 18 rounds in total for the wins. His opposition had been poor but even so this was a shock result. Tokyo, Japan: Welter: Ryota Toyoshima (15-2-1) W PTS 12 Shoki Sakai (26-13-2). Toyoshima defends the OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific titles with a points victory over Saki. Toyoshima made the body his target from the outset with Sakai mixing his attack more with head and body shots. Sakai was competitive but Toyoshima was stronger and quicker. After five rounds Toyoshima was in front on the three cards at 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47 which looked a bit too generous to Sakai. The challenger tried hard to turn the fight his way but Toyoshima outscored Sakai over the middle rounds and then chose to coast over the last couple of rounds with Sakai finishing strongly but never likely to overturn Toyoshima’s lead. Scores 116-112 twice and 117-111 for Toyoshima who registers his eight win in a row. Sakai turned pro in Mexico and fought extensively in the USA. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico: Bantam: Karina Fernandez (17-6-1) W PTS 10 Jacqueline Mucio (7-10-1). Welter: Marcos Gonzalez (21-2) W PTS 10 Dunis Linan (25-48-6). Fernandez vs. Mucio Home town fighter “La Bella” Fernandez gets unanimous decision over Mucio but it seems the judges were the only ones who felt Fernandez was the winner. Coming in as a substitute Mucio was more than ready to swop punches with Fernandez so they started at a fast pace. Mucio seemed to get the better of the exchanges with Fernandez often pinned to the ropes as Mucino unloaded on her. Fernandez had her moments but Mucino looked a clear winner. The judges scored it 97-93 twice and 96-94 for Fernandez who reportedly wins the belt from a newly constituted World Professional Boxing Federation (WPBF). Gonzalez vs. Linan Gonzalez also looked to get the benefit of some home town support as he is given a questionable decision over Linan. Gonzalez was shaken in the first and under fire for most of the second. Linan eventually slowed letting Gonzalez into the fight but at the end Linan looked to have done enough to cause an upset. Gonzalez was the unanimous selection by the three judges (no scores available) which moved him to 9-1 in his last 10 fights with the loss being a disqualification. Colombian Linan, 40, is used to losing as he is now 1-18-2 in his last 21 bouts. Leon, Mexico: Atom: Montserrat Alarcon (17-4-2) W PTS 10 Silvia Torres (20-3-2).Feather: Sergio Chirino (17-1) W PTS 10 Alie Laurel (18-6-1). Alarcon vs. Torres Alarcon wins the vacant WBC Fecarbox Female title as she scores majority decision over Torres. This was one of those great fights if you just ignore the scores. Alarcon was busier at the start but despite being out of the ring for two years Torres boxed well and scored with accurate single shots. The rounds were close and the fight swung back and forth with Alarcon busy, busy and Torres cool and picking her punches well. The pace picked up as war broke out over the second half of the fight and they stood and traded punches. In the end Alarcon just seemed to have done enough and she got the decision on scores of 99-91 and 98-92 which were not a fair reflection of how close Torres made this with the third judge scoring it 95-95. Although the WBA Atom champion Alarcon’s title was not on the line. Torres is a former WBA interim champion who had fought a draw for the IBF Female light flyweight title and her inactivity might well have been a factor in this fight. Chirino vs. Laurel Now eight wins in a row for Chirino as he outboxes Filipino southpaw Laurel. Chirino was in top form and Laurel was never really a threat but also never really in any trouble. The judges all gave Chirino every round with scores of 100-90. Chirino’s only loss was a second round retirement in 2018 against Mauricio Lara who crushed Josh Warrington in London in February. Laurel was 5-1-1 going in. Manila, Philippines: Super Bantam: Carl Martin (18-0) W PTS 12 Mark Geraldo (38-10-3). Super Feather: Charly Suarez (9-0) W PTS 10 Delmar Pellio (9-1). Super Bantam: Michael Dasmarinas (30-3-2) Tec Daw 2 Ernesto Saulong (22-7-3). Geraldo vs. Martin “Wonder Boy” Martin passes his biggest test to date as he takes unanimous decision over experienced fellow-southpaw Geraldo. Despite having won 12 of his last 13 fights inside the distance Martin displayed growing maturity as he curbed any instinct to go toe-to-toe with Geraldo but instead boxed cleverly using his longer reach to pick up the points. Geraldo had the strength and experience to be a consistent threat and in the end Martin only just squeezed past Geraldo to win the Philippines title on scores of 115-113 twice and 117-111. The 22-year-old Martin is No 14 (12) with the IBF and will now be looking for some international fights to boost his ratings. Geraldo had won his last four fights and is the only man to have beaten IBF champion Jerwin Ancajas. Suarez vs. Pellio “King’s Warrior” Suarez continues his winning start to his belated pro career with a points win over an unbeaten but much less experienced Pellio. Suarez had Pellio down twice but the young southpaw stuck it out to the final bell. Scores 99-89 twice and 100-88. At 33 Suarez needs to make a move soon. Pellio was going ten rounds for the first time. Dasmarinas vs. Saulong If Dasmarinas was aiming for some extended ring time he was disappointed. He had taken the opening round but when heads banged together in the second Saulong suffered a bad cut on his left eyelid and the fight was halted and ruled a technical draw. First outing for Dasmarinas since his third round kayo loss against Naoya Inoue for the IBF and WBA belts in June. Second technical draw in his last five fights for Saulong. Kempton Park, South Africa: Super Welter: Roarke Knapp (13-1-1) W RTD 5 Cristiano Ndombassy (12-6). Super Welter: Shervantaigh Koopman (8-0) W PTS 10 Henriques Lando (6-3). Knapp vs. Ndombassy Plenty of drama and controversy over this fight as Knapp climbs off the floor three times in a dramatic third round then battles back with Ndombassy retiring after the end of the fourth. Facing a late substitute Knapp made a confident start and looked to be on his way to a win when he connected with some hard body punches in the second. In the third Ndombassy, who had won nine of his fights inside the distance, shook Knapp with a couple of punches and then landed a fearsome right that sent Knapp down heavily. Knapp somehow dragged himself upright but was unsteady and went down from another right. He was up again and after going down from a slip a right put him on the canvas for the third time. It was a case of true grit as Knapp arose and made it to the bell. The situation changed dramatically again in the fourth. Ndombassy looked to have exhausted himself in his effort to finish the fight in the third and Knapp had shaken off the effects of those knockdowns. Now it was Knapp landing heavy rights and driving Ndombassy back with a storm of punches that had Ndombassy reeling and on the point of going down. Before the start of the fifth Ndombassy got up from his stool crossed the ring to say something to Knapp and then went back to his corner and the fight was over. Knapp showed tremendous guts to survive that third round and come back so strongly in the fourth. However this fight was for the vacant WBA Pan African title and was fought under WBA rules with the three knockdown rule in force so the fight should have been stopped in the third round and Ndombassy declared the winner. The result is in doubt as Ndombassy’s team have lodged a protest and Hall of Fame inductee Stanley Christodoulou who administers the Pan African activity for the WBA was supervisor at the fight so a decision one way or the other should be made very quickly. Knapp had been looking to get revenge for a knockout loss against Brandon Thysse in 2019 but Thysse tested positive for COVID-19 and Ndombassy replaced him. Koopmans vs. Lando South African champion Koopmans collected the vacant IBF Continental Africa title with unanimous decision over Angolan Lando. Scores 98-91, 97-92 and 96-93 for Koopmans. Durban, South Africa: Bantam: Sharadene Fortuin (12-1-1) W Melissa Miller (5-11-3) Fortuin holds on to her national title with a split decision over past foe Miller. Scores 98-93 and 96-94 for Fortuin and 96-95 for Miller. These two have met three times now with Fortuin winning all three. When they met in August Fortuin took a majority decision. She is undefeated in eleven fights going back to 2013. Miller herself is a former South African champion at bantam. Basel, Switzerland: Middle: Faton Vukshinaj (13-0-2) W TKO 2 Florin Cardos (21-3). Fighting in his home city “Vulcan” Vukshinaj puts away useful Romanian Cardos in two rounds. After a round where the boxers were feeling each other out things heated up considerably in the second. Vukshinaj fired a series of punches punctuated by a right hook to the head that floored Cardos. The visitor got up but was put down for a second time. He again climbed to the vertical but was still dazed and the referee rightly stopped the fight. Vukshinaj wins the vacant WBC Francophone title with his eighth inside the distance finish. Former EU champion Cardos was having only his second fight in two years. Pont-Sainte-Maxence, France: Light Heavy: Daniel Bienda Dos Santos (18-1) W PTS 8 Tomasz Bezvoda (11-17). Dos Santos gets through an easy night as he wins every round against Czech Bezvoda. The referee scored it 80-72. Third win for Dos Santos since losing in May against Joshua Buatsi. What Bezvoda lacks in skill he makes up for with durability with only two inside the distance losses. Fight of the week (Significance): Devin Haney’s win over Joseph Diaz keeps the pot boiling in the hot lightweight division Fight of the week (Entertainment): Good mix of styles helped make Haney vs. Diaz a good fight to watch. Fighter of the week: Haney for his win mover Diaz Punch of the week: The short right from Kevin Lejarraga that floored Jack Flatley was a thunderbolt with honourable mention to the fight finishing Left hook from Lucas Browne that finished Faiga Opetu Upset of the week: Jerry Forrest’s draw with Michael Hunter was a surprise Prospect watch: Only 4-0 but Puerto Rican minimumweight Oscar Collazo looks good Observations Rosette: Big cards in Australia and Germany giving fighters work Red Card No real horrors this week There were two very controversial incidents at the weekend both involving referees. In the fight in South Africa between Roarke Knapp and Cristiano Ndombassy Knapp made a miraculous recovery from being knocked down three times in the third round to winning the fight when Ndombassy retired at the end of the fourth nrio9und. However this was for a WBA Regional title under WBA rules including the three knockdown rule so Ndombassy should have won on a third round stoppage. In London when Hamzah Sheeraz twice landed hard punches to Bradley Skeete when Skeete was clearly on the floor should have led to instant disqualification. Both results are being reviewed. Both referees are star level referees and have to make instant divisions in a highly charged atmosphere. They really are at the sharp end and I don’t envy them their roles. There is a wide differing cultural approach towards nicknames between male and female fighters. This week we had Karina “La Bella” Fernandez and Susy Kandy “The Ruby” Sandoval and on the other hand Isaac “Headsplitter” Hardman. I am not suggesting there is anything wrong with this but a bit of crossover would not hurt in these flexible gender days. We could have Primrose “I’ll Moider de Bum” Smith and Rocky “lacy knickers” Brown. Nah doesn’t work for me! It must have been quiet in the old folk’s home this week. Out and about were Firat Arslan 51,Alejandro Berrio 45, Yakup Saglam 44, Gusmyr Perdomo 44,Lucas Browne 42, Kassim Ouma 42 and Dunis Linan 40…………….where have all the young men gone…………… I don’t know how he gets away with it but in every fight I have seen for Filip Hrgovic he consistently lands punches to the back of his opponents head. These are not the tip-tap punches you see in clinches but full blooded clubbing shots. An accident waiting to happen! On the same subject Devin Haney was landing below the belt shots in every round but at least he did eventually get a warning. During this series we have featured a lot of Japanese domestic bouts, but not too many other domestic bouts from through out Asia. Part of that is due to how easy it is to get access to TV quality Japanese action, something that's not all that easy in Thailand, Korea Indonesia and the Philippines. Second is the level of match ups in Japan tend to be, for the most part, more interesting than we get from through the rest of Asia. Despite that we do come across some great bouts from the rest of the continent, and today we bring you a modern day Thai fight that's worthy of attention. It pitted two young novices against each other and they delivered a thrilling bout and both would quickly become among the more exciting Thai prospects that emerged over the following year or two. Thananchai Charunphak (1-0, 1) vs Phongsaphon Panyakum (1-1) In one corner was the unbeaten Thananchai Charunphak who had made his debut in July 2018, with a blow out win. He had, reportedly, been a well regarded amateur and was tipped for success when he turned professional, but at this point he was just an 18 year old professional with less than 3 minutes of pro experience under his belt. In the opposite corner was fellow 18 year old Phongsaphon Panyakum, who had made his debut in 2017, losing to Kai Ishizawa in Japan, before returning to the ring 13 months later to pick up a win at home against Phormsan Chanla. Incidentally his win came on the same show that Thananchai made his debut on. Coming in to this both men seemed to feel like they had a point to prove. A win was great, but it wasn't going to be enough. They had to do more than just win. They had to look good, they had to put on a show, and make fans sit up and take note. Both men seemed to go in with that shared mentality, and it made for something truly brilliant. With a brilliant and lively atmosphere filling the Workpoint Studio in Bang Phun, it felt like a big occasion. Yes these two men were novices, yes these were both kids, but the bout felt big, it felt important and it felt meaningful before a punch was even thrown. From the off Phongsaphon, in the blue and black shorts, looked to press forward whilst Thahanchai looked to box, move, use his straight punches and rely on his boxing skills. They styles gelled almost immediately with Phongsaphon landing clean single shots and Phongsaphon walking through them to press and land his own shots. It was an opening round that matched volume against quality and although it had sloppy moments it had taken less than 3 minutes to feel like a special fight. At the bell both men played to fans, feeling they had done enough to take the round. The high tempo action moved up a gear in round 2 as Thananchai started the round fast, unloading big head shots from the opening seconds. Phongsaphon seemed in real trouble, but rode out the storm, recovered his bearings and came back strong in the final moments of a pulsating round that deserved a much bigger audience. Notably the tempo seemed to be taking it's toll on Thananchai who twice lost his gum shield in round 2. In round 3 we again saw Phongsaphon forcing the tempo, as he did in the first round, whilst Thananchai tried to rely on his slick skills and movement. This was a big round for Phongsaphon who looked like a man on a mission and refused to back away from the clearly tiring Thananchai. This left everything to play for in the final round, which was again a sensational round. We won't ruin, or the outcome. If you want to see a thrilling bout from Thailand, with a great atmosphere, intense and brilliant action, and two men putting it all on the line this is ideal and it really is a bout that everyone deserves to watch. If you've seen it, watch it again! If you've not seen it, put 20 minutes aside and enjoy a fantastic little war between two tremendously talented Thai teens. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -George Kambosos springs gigantic surprise as he outpoints Teo Lopez to win the IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight titles -Stephen Fulton unifies the WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles with decision over Brandon Figueroa -Kenichi Ogawa floors Azinga Fuzile three times and takes a unanimous decision to collect the vacant IBF super featherweight title. -Ohara Davies, Muhammad Waseem, Badou Jack and Ricky Fielding score wins in Dubai -Ra’eese Aleem and Gary Antonio Russell close in on world title shots with wins. - Mexican light flyweight Hector Floes surprises with knockout of Jay Harris in six rounds World Title/Major Shows November 27 New York, NY, USA: Light: George Kambosos (20-0) W PTS 12 Teo Lopez (16-1). Super Feather: Kenichi Ogawa (26-1-1) W PTS 12 Azinga Fuzile (15-2). Feather: Ray Ford (10-0-1) W TKO 8 Felix Caraballo (13-4-2). Heavy: Zhilei Zhang (23-0-1 W TKO 2 Craig Lewis (14-5-1,1ND). 24 Lopez vs. Kambosos Kambosos pulls off a huge upset as he survives a late knockdown and then sweeps the last two rounds to take a split decision over Lopez to win the IBF, WBA and WBO titles. Round 1 Lopez came out going straight after Kambosos trying to catch him cold. Kambosos retreated and Lopez threw a punch after they were told to break and was given a stern warning. Lopez continued to come forward throwing punches with Kambosos staying cool and landing some good counters. Kambosos stumbled after a Lopez left hook then landed a goods left hook of his own. Kambosos was standing and punching with Lopez and as Lopez threw a lazy left Kambosos came over the top with a wide swinging shot to the head that had Lopez dropping and putting a glove on the canvas to avoid going all the way down and was given a count. Lopez was up early and when Kambosos came after Lopez Kambosos slipped to the canvas but no punch so no count. Score: 10-8 Kambosos Round 2 Lopez came forward throughout the round. Kambosos was on the back foot and then picking his moments to dart forward and when he did they were both throwing and landing fast, hard punches. Lopez worked solidly with his jab and that just gave him the edge and Kambosos had heavy bruising under his right eye. Score: 10-9 Lopez Kambosos 19-18 Round 3 The pace slowed a little in this one. Both fighters were holding there left at hip level and shooting punches from there. Both also used slick upper body movement to dodge punches. Kambosos scored well in bursts but Lopez outworked him and landed the better punches. Score: 10-9 Lopez TIED 28-28 Round 4 Kambosos made more use of his jab in this one and landed a heavy overhand right early in the round. Lopez was waiting too long to lets his hands go and Kambosos was darting in and scoring and then getting out. A fire fight broke out at the end of the round as they both scored with real power. Lopez had bruising by his right eye. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 38-37 Official Scores: Judge Glenn Feldman 40-36 Kambosos, Judge Frank Lombardi 39-36* Kambosos, Judge Don Trella 39-37, *Only Judge Lombardi scored the first round 10-8 for Kambosos Round 5 Some clever work from Kambosos. He was circling the perimeter of the ring sticking Lopez with jabs and then firing quick combinations. In the early rounds he would have stood and traded punches but now he was getting in scoring and getting out and Lopez could not pin him down. Lopez was bruised under both eyes and Kambosos had a little blood from under his right eye and a cut over his left. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 48-46 Round 6 Another round for Kambosos. He was just too quick for Lopez and was able to get his punches off first. Lopez was too slow to counter just pacing after Kambosos. By the end of the round Kambosos was confident enough to be wind milling his right taunting Lopez Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 58-55 Round 7 Lopez needed to win a round and he took this one although it was close. Lopez was closing Kambosos down quicker and he was the one scoring inside. Kambosos just did not work hard enough until the last ten seconds when he matched Lopez as they traded fiercely. Score: 10-9 Lopez Kambosos 67-65 Round 8 Once again the hand speed and footwork of Kambosos made the difference. Lopez was stalking but Kambosos was working his jab and firing little bunches of punches and not getting involved in any toe-to-toe stuff. There was a burst of punching from both at the end of the round with Lopez just getting the better of the exchanges but Kambosos’ early work giving him the round. Lopez was bleeding steadily from the nose Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 77-74 Official Scores: Glenn Feldman 79-73 Kambosos, Frank Lombardi 78-73 Kambosos, Don Trella 78-75 Kambosos, Round 9 The action was fairly even with Lopez just having the edge as he moved forward quicker closing Kambosos down. Over the last minute Lopez attacked hard sending Kambosos back with a series of head punches. Score: 10-9 Lopez Kambosos 86-84 Round 10 Two heavy rights from Lopez drove Kambosos to the canvas. He was up at four and after the count Lopez was throwing bombs trying to end the fight. Kambosos looked unsteady as he bobbed about trying to avoid Lopez’s shots. He threw an occasional punch but mainly survived due to movement and holding and Lopez let the chance of victory pass. Score: 10-8 Lopez TIED 94-94 Round 11 Lopez landed a couple of good rights early but Kambosos was jabbing and moving. Jabs from Kambosos had blood running from the cut over Lopez’s left eye and the referee stopped the fight so that a doctor could examine the cut. The fight continued and Kambosos staged a strong finish to the round connecting with hard rights. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 104-103 Round 12 A clear round for Kambosos. He was stabbing Lopez with jabs and landing quick combinations. The blood was now streaming down Lopez’s face. He just could not match the speed and output of Kambosos who finished the fight with a cluster of punches as Lopez tried desperately to land the big punch he needed. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 114-112 Official Scores: Judge Glenn Feldman 115-11 Kambosos, Judge Frank Lombardi 115-111, Judge Don Trella 114-113 Lopez The tactics of Kambosos were perfect and he stuck to the game plan and boxed with speed and precision. In his last fight he had only got past Lee Selby on a split decision but here he was a clear winner despite the scores being split. Lopez was a disappointment . He will want a return but they are queuing up to get a shot at Kambosos who will have three sanctioning bodies to serve. The queue of challengers is already forming. but Kambosos has made it clear that whoever he fights will have to come to Australia to do so. In the meantime he can enjoy pulling off a huge upset. Lopez has said he is not interested in a return match and intends to move up to super lightweight to try to land a shot at Josh Taylor. Ogawa vs. Fuzile Ogawa wins the vacant IBF title with unanimous verdict over Fuzile. Ogawa was the aggressor throughout the fight. He was walking down Fuzile the whole way. Fuzile showed plenty of defensive skills and whilst lacking power he found gaps in Ogawa’s defence. Ogawa scored a knockdown in the fifth with a straight right that sent Fuzile staggering back and then going down on one knee. Fuzile made it to his feet but there was blood pouring from a damaged nose. He saw out the round and fought back. A cut opened over Fuzile’s right eye in the tenth but after an inspection by the doctor he was allowed to continue. The exam fired Fuzile up and he connected with a series of lefts later to take the round. Fuzile was cut over his left eye in the eleventh with the blood from both cut and his injured nose he looked a sorry sight at the start of the twelfth. Things got worse as a right sent Fuzile down and after he beat the count he was down again from another right. He arose and the bell went before another punch could be thrown. Ogawa won on scores of 115-110, 115-110, and 114-111. To show how close this one was you have to take account of a 10-8 in the fifth and a 10-7 in the last without which it would have made it a majority draw. Ogawa regains the title he held very briefly in 2017 when he beat Tevin Farmer but was then stripped of the title for testing positive for a banned substance. Fuzile’s previous loss came against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in 2019 but he had bounced back with a stoppage of 24-1-2 Martin Ward in May. Ford vs. Caraballo Southpaw prospect Ford stops Caraballo in eight rounds. Caraballo made things interesting for Ford from the start coming forward putting Ford under heavy pressure. Ford showed plenty of skill and fired flashing combinations at the advancing Puerto Rican. There was not a lot of power in Ford punches so Caraballo was able to walk through them and he landed heavily at the end of the third. Ford was quick and accurate with his right jabs and a swelling gradually blossomed by Caraballo’s right eye. He was examined by the doctor at the start of the seventh round but was allowed to continue. He attacked Ford hard but Ford fed him multi-punch combinations for the rest of the round and a series of punches in the eighth saw the referee step in to save Caraballo. Former National Golden Cloves champion Ford has impressive skills and hand speed but his lack of power is a drawback. Caraballo was coming off consecutive losses against Shakur Stevenson and Robeisy Ramirez. Zhang vs. Lewis These two big guys took a while to come out of hibernation and apart from a solid right from Zhang there was very little action in the first round. Zhang ended it ended it in the second. He floored Lewis early in the round and although Lewis beat the count he was wobbly and when a right sent Lewis down again the fight was stopped. Eighteenth inside the distance for the 38-year-old Chinese southpaw. He showed in a majority draw with Jerry Forrest that he is no threat to the top heavyweights. Lewis was having his first fight in two years and is 1-5 in his last six contests. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Bantam: Stephen Fulton (20-0) W PTS 12 Brandon Figueroa (22-1-1 W. Super Bantam: Reese Aleem (19-0) W PTS 10 Eduardo Baez (20-2-2). Bantam: Gary Antonio Russell (19-0,1ND) W PTS 10 Alexandro Santiago (24-3-5). Super Light: Kevin Johnson (20-2) W TKO 9 Rock Dodler Myrthil (17-1). Super Bantam: Aaron Alameda (26-2) W RTD 4 Angel Contreras (12-5-2). Fulton vs. Figueroa Fulton unifies the WBC and WBO titles with majority decision over Figueroa Round 1 Figueroa was coming forward throughout the round. Fulton was moving quickly on the back foot spearing Figueroa with jabs scoring at distance and tying Figueroa up inside not letting him work. Figueroa was warned twice for blows to the back of the head. Fulton just did enough to take the round. Score: 10-9 Fulton Round 2 Fulton showed a bit more aggression in this round but Figueroa was soon coming forward again. He was pumping out punches but without much accuracy. Fulton was slotting home jabs and rights as Figueroa came forward and again holding inside. Figueroa did some good work inside and it was his round. Score: 10-9 Figueroa TIED 19-19 Round 3 Fulton was again picking Figueroa off at distance and then smothering Figueroa’s work inside. Fulton was leaning forward and forcing Figueroa to the ropes with neither landing much. Late in the round there was less holding and they traded punches inside. Figueroa was letting his punches fly but was leaving himself open and Fulton landed the better quality shots but he should have been warned for holding in each of the rounds. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 29-28 Round 4 A much more entertaining round. Fulton was scoring well with hooks as he stood and traded with Figueroa in the centre of the ring. Figueroa was piling forward focusing on the body. Much of the action took place inside and there Fulton was blocking most of Figueroa’s work and connecting with hooks and uppercuts. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 39-37 Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 39-37 Fulton, Judge Dave Moretti 39-37 Fulton, Judge David Sutherland 38-38 TIED, Round 5 A closer round. It was quality vs. quantity. Figueroa had a tremendous output attacking hard to the body but Fulton was both defending and attacking so again blocking many of Figueroa’s punches scoring with jabs at distance and hooks and uppercuts inside. There was much less holding and it was becoming an entertaining battle of attrition. Score: 10-9 Fulton 49-46 Round 6 Much better round for Figueroa. His punch output was tremendous and the sheer quantity of his punches threatened to overwhelm Fulton who was being outlanded at distance and out punched inside. Score: 10-9 Figueroa ` Fulton 58-56 Round 7 A closer round. Figueroa continued to march forward throwing punches. Fulton punched with him early but Figueroa was getting the better of the exchanges. Fulton then moved inside where he was able to deny Figueroa the leverage he needed for his longer arms and again his accuracy gave him a slight edge. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 68-65 Round 8 A clear round for Figueroa. He just pilled forward throwing punches. He had to walk through some hooks and uppercuts from Fulton but eventually his attacks shut down Fulton’s counters and for the last thirty second of the round Fulton was trapped in a corner just try to defend himself under the onslaught from Figueroa. Score: 10-9 Figueroa Fulton 77-75 Official Scores: Tim Cheatham 78-75 Fulton, Dave Moretti 77-75 Fulton, Judge David Sutherland 77-75 Fulton Round 9 Once again the output from Figueroa had Fulton concentrating on defence. Figueroa was forcing Fulton back and firing hooks and uppercuts and landing scorching body punches. Fulton had some success at the end of the round but not enough. Score: 10-9 Figueroa Fulton 86-85 Round 10 A great round. Fulton put in a huge effort early to try and take charge again. Figueroa just kept firing punches and again it seemed the sheer volume might overwhelm Fulton who was drive back into a corner just trying to ride out the storm. Score: 10-9 Figueroa TIED 95-95 Round 11 A change of tactics worked for Fulton. He was circling on the outside sticking Figueroa with jabs and straight rights staying off the ropes and no longer looking to trade punches. Figueroa managed to trap Fulton on the ropes for a short spell and scored well but then Fulton returned to his jabbing and moving. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 105-104 Round 12 Fulton moved and boxed over the early part of the round like a fighter who thought he had the fight won and his clever counters gave him the edge. Over the middle and end of the round Figueroa attacked relentlessly and outscored a defensively minded Fulton and did enough to take the round. Score: 10-9 Figueroa 114-114 Official Scores: Judge Ted Cheatham 116-112 Fulton, Judge Dave Moretti 116-112 Fulton, Judge David Sutherland 114-114 Having unified the WBC and WBO titles hopefully Fulton will move forward to face Murodjon Akhmadaliev who holds the WBA and IBF versions to result in a single title holder. Figueroa was strongly protesting that he was robbed. At just 24 he has time to put this behind him and will almost certainly be fighting for a title again in 2022. Aleem vs. Baez Aleem gets past tough Mexican Baez on a majority decision. This came down to the speed and skill of Aleem against a less flashy but stronger Baez. Aleem constantly switched guards and focused on effective body punching. Baez whilst not as busy scored regularly and made his strength tell. Most rounds were close and Baez fought from the sixth with a cut over his left eye. Aleem looked to have swu8ng the verdict his way when he staggered Baez in an impressive ninth but in the last Aleem was forced to hold to see out the round. Scores98-92and 96-94 for Aleem and 95-95. With this win Aleem protects his No 1 rating with the WBA but of course called out the new WBC/WBO champion Stephen Fulton. Baez had won his last nine fights but against modest opposition however he will have heightened his profile with the showing. Russell vs. Santiago Russell gets a majority decision over Santiago to remain undefeated. Russell was a big favourite and it looked as through the fight was going to be a fairly routine victory for him. Russell was quicker and more accurate than Santiago who had decided his only chance was to roll forward and keep rolling forward with a focused body attack . Santiago coming forward suited Russell over the first half of the fight as he found plenty of gaps for counters but the sheer pressure from Santiago was dragging Russell into going toe-to-toe which suited Santiago and he was cutting into Russell’s early lead. They fought desperately over the last two rounds with the result in the balance and it was Russell who got the decision on scores of 96-94 twice for Russell and 95-95. It really could have gone either way and many saw Santiago as the winner. Russell is No 2 with the WBA so will probably land a title shot early next year. Mexican Santiago was unbeaten in his last 21 fights with 18 wins and 3 draws. Johnson vs. Myrthil Second good win in a row for Johnson as he snaps the unbeaten streak of Myrthil. After scoring heavily in the first Johnson dominated the fight from there. He floored Myrthil with a left hook in the fourth and shook him with punches in the fifth. Johnson landed some big punches in the eighth as he continued to walk Myrthil down. A booming right had Myrthil retreating in the ninth with Johnson chasing him down and the towel came in from Myrthil’s corner. That’s just twelve fights in almost five years as a pro for Johnson but in his last outing he stopped unbeaten 15-0 Luis Salazar in eight rounds. Haitian-born Myrthil just could not handle the strength and aggression of Johnson. Alameda vs. Contreras Alameda starts his rebuilding project after back–to-back losses against Luis Nery for the vacant WBC super bantam title and Angelo Leo. Contreras was busy early throwing lots of punches and getting through with some straight nights. He lacked power and Alameda was landing less but harder punches. Contreras continued to take the fight to Alameda landing more but the quantity was having less effect than the power of Alameda’s shots. That power had swelling closing the right eye of Contreras in the fourth and the doctor ruled Contreras was unable to continue. Southpaw Alameda gets win No 14 by KO/TKO. Contreras is now 1-3-1 in his most recent contests. November 26 Dubai, UAE: Super Light: Ohara Davies (23-2) W PTS 10 Nicolas Mwangi (10-4-1). Fly: Muhammad Waseem (12-1) W PTS 12 Rober Barrera (23-4). Super Middle: Rocky Fielding (29-2) W RTD 2 Emmanuel Danso (32-7). Cruiser: Badou Jack (25-3-3) W TKO 2 Samuel Crossed (11-2-1). Davies vs. Mwangi Davies decisions late substitute Kenyan Mwangi. The Kenyan actually put up an unexpectedly competitive effort in the early rounds although being outboxed by Davies. Solid jabbing and some well executed body punches were winning the rounds for Davies but he never had Mwangi in any real trouble. Over the second half of the fight Mwangi faded badly with his work rate dropping. That just made it an easier job for Davies and he eased his way to a victory on points. Scores 99-91 for Davies on the judge’s cards. Davies wins the vacant WBA Gold title but it was not an impressive performance as he should have been able to beat a fighter such as was Mwangi inside the distance. Mwangi had won his last five fight against opponents with 17 wins between them-and ten of those wins were scored by one fighter Waseem vs. Barrera Waseem given a torrid time by experienced Colombian Barrera. The fight started badly for Waseem as he was cut over his left eye in the first round. He had a good second round forcing the fight. They clashed heads and in the interval it seemed Barrera might not continue. He did but he did only to be under relentless pressure from Waseem in the next three rounds. Barrera was trying to fight on the outside and did a little better until in the ninth Waseem suddenly showed signs of exhaustion. He could hardly keep his gloves up in the tenth with Barrera eating into Waseem’s early lead and Waseem struggling. Waseem recovered and fought hard in the last but it was close. Scores 117-111, 115-113 and 115-114 for Waseem. He lost a narrow verdict against Moruti Mthalane for the IBF title in 2018 and had not really done much in his three fights since then but this was said to be a WBA eliminator so he could face title holder Artem Dalakian next year and Waseem also won the vacant WBC International title. Barrera was stopped in eleven rounds by Luis Concepcion in a fight for the now defunct WBA interim title in February last year. Fielding vs. Danso In his first fight for two years Fielding beat Ghanaian Danso who retired after two rounds. Danso was giving away lots of height and reach and drove forward in the first trying to get in range. He was wild with his attacks and Fielding made him pay with some fierce counters. In the second Danso was down twice with neither knockdown looking very convincing and also lost a point for a punch to the back of Fielding’s head. He did not come out for the third round. Now based in Dubai this is only the second fight for the former WBA secondary super middleweight title holder since his loss to Saul Alvarez in December 2018. Sixth loss by KO/TKO for Danso. Jack vs. Crossed Jack dismantles overmatched Crossed in two rounds. Jack scored with some hurtful body shots in the first and then ended the contest with three knockdowns in the second. Jack won the WBC super middle title and the secondary WBA light heavy title and now at 38 is giving the cruiserweight ranks a try. He will have to face better opposition than Crossed before we can assess his chances in this division. Crossed, the “Vanilla Gorilla” was ranked No 246 by Box Rec. Moscow, Russia: Super Middle: Pavel Silyagin (9-0) W PTS 12 Isaac Chilemba (26-8-3). Light: Alexander Devyatov (12-0) W TKO 1 Adam Lazaro (10-3). Super Bantam: Vladimir Nikitin (6-1-1) W RTD 3 Tello Dithebe (21-14-1). Silyagin vs. Chilemba Silyagin gets important win over the ever competitive Chilemba. The Russian is a clever technical boxer and he was too quick for Chilemba over the early rounds with accurate jabs and a higher work rate. Chilemba had some success over the middle rounds as Silyagin slowed his pace. He may have been pacing himself due to his lack of experience in long fights and he picked the pace up again later and eased his way to victory. Scores 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 which indicate how well controlled the fight. Silyagin won bronze medals at the European Games and World Championships and defeated Joshua Buatsi in the World Boxing Series so he has strong credentials. No 33 Chilemba has lost in shots at the WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Devyatov vs. Lazaro Devyatov obliterates over matched Lazaro in 86 seconds. The Tanzanian tried to punch with Devyatov but was dropped by a series of punches. He made it to his feet but Devyatov was unloading on him when the referee stopped the fight. Now ten win by KO/TKO for Devyatov in his eleven fights. He wins the WBA Asian title for beating an African! First fight outside Tanzania for Lazaro. Nikitin vs. Dithebe Olympian Nikitin overwhelms South African Dithebe. Nikitin had Dithebe on the back foot and under fire from the start. Dithebe never stood a chance and after three rounds of incessant pressure from Nikitin he did not come out for the fourth round. Nikitin has been less than stellar as a pro and lost to Michael Conlan who he had scored a hotly dispute decision over in Rio. Only one win in his last nine fights for Dithebe. Moscow, Russia: Heavy: Sergey Kuzmin (16-2,1ND) W TKO 10 Igor Macedo da Silva (10-1). Kuzmin gets very late win over Brazilian da Silva. It looked as though this one was all over when Kuzmin floored da Silva in the sixth. The Brazilian proved tougher than expected and not only beat the count but took the fight to Kuzmin and was giving the home fighter plenty of trouble. Just when it seemed this fight was going the distance Kuzmin landed a fierce right in the last minute that put da Silva down. Again he beat the count but was in no condition to continue. Kuzmin needed a win after consecutive losses to Michael Hunter and Martin Bakole. Da Silva had won all of his ten fights by KO/TKO. Bolton, England: Cruiser: Jack Massey (19-1) W TKO 3 Bilal Laggoune (25-3-2). Feather: Nathaniel Collins (9-0) W KO 9 Thembani Mbangatha (11-1).Super Middle: Mark Jeffers (14-0) W PTS 10 Michel Garcia (16-1). Massey vs. Laggoune Massey halts Laggoune in three rounds to win the vacant IBO title. Things started badly for Laggoune when he needed a couple of attempts to make the weight and went downhill from there. Massey boxed confidently in the opening two rounds with both fighters feeling each other out before Massey exploded in the third. A booming left hook put Laggoune down. He was able to get up but Massey forced him to a corner and unloaded punches until Laggoune dropped to his knees and the fight was stopped. Impressive display from Massey. His only loss is a very narrow defeat against Richard Riakporhe for the vacant British title in December 2019 and this is his third win since then. Belgian Laggoune lost a majority decision to Tommy McCarthy for the European title in October last year. Collins vs. Mbangatha Collins makes a successful defence of the Commonwealth title with kayo of South African Mbangatha. The unbeaten South African was expected to give Collins a tough night but Collins took charge of the fight early and bossed the action all the way. He was too quick and too skilful for Mbangatha and had the challenger under pressure with stiff jabs and flashing combinations. After building a big lead Collins floored Mbangatha in the eighth and again in the ninth with the South African counted out on that second knockdown. First defence of the Commonwealth title for Collins which he won with a three round stoppage of Felix Williams in July. Jeffers vs. Garcia Jeffers wins the vacant WBO Global belt with points win over Garcia. Jeffers was always in control against a willing but limited opponent. Jeffers took the fight to Garcia who proved to be resilient and defied Jeffers’ attempts to end things early. The Belgian tired over the closing rounds as most of his fights have been four or six rounds He was deducted a point for losing his gumshield a couple of times in the eighth. Despite that he made it to the final bell. Scores 100-89 twice and 98-91 Jeffers. The Global belt will probably see Jeffers suddenly appear high in the WBO ratings for beating Garcia who Box Rec list as No 201 in the world which makes a farce of the whole principle which ratings are supposed to represent. Cardiff, Wales: Light Fly: Hector Flores (19-0-4,1ND) W KO 6 Jay Harris (18-3). Super Light: Akeem Ennis-Brown (15-1) W PTS 10 Daniel Combi (9-5). Feather: Jacob Robinson (9-0) W PTS 10 Angelo Dragone (5-3). Flores vs. Harris Flores beats Harris in six rounds. Harris was trying a move `down to light flyweight but it turned into a disaster. Being the bigger man Harris started aggressively forcing Flores to the ropes and keeping him under pressure. Flores was unperturbed and landed some useful counters. Harris kept up the pressure with Flores countering with some good body punches and shaking Harris with a left hook in the fourth. Harris had a good fifth connecting with a series of hooks. In the sixth a left hook to the body put Harris down on his knees. He got up but a right to the body put him down for the second time and he was counted out. Huge shock for Harris and huge win for Flores. Most of the Mexican’s opposition had been reasonable level in four and six round fights with Flores never being in a ten round fight so Harris, rated No 3 light flyweight by the WBA, was a huge step –up for Flores who wins the WBA Inter-Continental belt and will be certain to cash in on this result. For Harris it is a case of where he goes from here as he suffers his second inside the distance loss in a row. Ennis-Brown vs. Combi Ennis-Brown gets back into the winner’s ranks as he takes decision over Argentinian Combi. Ennis-Brown was able to use his longer reach and better skills to boss this one. Combi did his best but he was nowhere near good enough. Ennis-Brown outboxed the limited Combi who never worked how to deal with the very individualistic style of Ennis-Brown and apart from a cut over his right which was opened in the fifth round it was a comfortable night for Ennis-Brown. Scores 98-92 twice and 99-91 for Ennis-Brown. Having lost his Commonwealth and British titles to Sam Maxwell in August Ennis-Brown picked up the prestigious WBC International title with this win. Combi lacked the skill and experience to test Ennis-Brown. Robinson vs. Dragone Cardiff southpaw Robinson wins the vacant Welsh Area title with a very narrow one point win over Dragone. There was never much between them from bell to bell. Dragone was cut over his right eye and Robinson was deducted a point for holding in the sixth. The decisive round was the eighth in which Robinson floored Dragone. That 10-8 round off-set the point deduction from the sixth and gave Robinson a one point advantage which he held on to in winning 95-94 on the referee’s card. First ten round fight for Robinson. Dragone was having his second shot at the Welsh title. Berlin, Germany: Middle: Vincenzo Gualtieri (18-0-1) W PTS 12 Billi Godoy (38-7). Super Welter: Jama Saidi (20-2) W Fouad El Massoudi (17-14-1). Super Middle: William Scull (18-0) W KO 2 Deneb Diaz (16-2,1ND). Middle: Bjoern Schicke (18-1-1) W KO 2 Joel Julio (39-9). Gualtieri vs. Godoy Gualtieri wins the vacant IBF Inter-Continental belt with wide unanimous verdict over seasoned veteran Godoy. Gualtieri dominated the fight with his superior skills outboxing Godoy and flooring him in the ninth. Godoy fought hard but never came close to being a threat as Gualtieri won on scores of 120-106, 120-108 and 119-108. Gualtieri is progressing well but needs tougher tests. Godoy was 26-0 at the start of his career but higher level opposition has found him out. Saidi vs. El Massoudi Saidi retains the European Union title with points victory over El Massoudi. Scores 117-111 twice and 119-110 for Saidi. Fourth win in a row for Saidi whose losses have come in overly ambitious clashes with Jack Culcay and Vincent Feigenbutz. Former French champion El Massoudi lost on points to Sergio Garcia for the European title in December 2019. Times have been tough for him and he is 3-7-1 in his last 11 fights Scull vs. Diaz Cuban Scull racks up another inside the distance win. After a close opening round a right from Scull put Diaz down and out. Ninth inside the distance victory for Scull who wins the International Boxing Federation Latino belt. Diaz’s statistics look good but his home opposition has been pathetic and he is now 0-2 in fights outside Colombia. Schicke vs. Julio Schicke disposes of experienced Colombian Julio in two rounds. Julio looked a reasonable test for Schicke after a loss last year but he was floored heavily in the second. He made it to his feet was put down again and was counted out. Schicke, 33, had gone from 15-0 to 1-1-1 but has recovered with two quick wins this year. Julio, 36, challenged for the WBO super welterweight title in 2008 but this is now his fifth loss in a row. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Feather: Erika Cruz (14-1) W PTS 10 Melissa Esquivel (12-2-1). Light: Angel Fierro (19-1-1) W TKO 4 Cristian Bielma (18-4-1). Welter: Christian Gomez (22-2-1) W TKO 3 Javier Franco (35-22-6). Cruz vs. Esquivel In an all-Mexican scarp Cruz outpoints Esquivel in the first defence of the WBA Female title. Southpaw Cruz took the split decision in what was a close bout with the judges coming up with some quite different scores and Cruz herself admitted it was close and although she felt she won she would not have been unhappy with a draw. Scores 98-92 and 97-93 for Cruz and 97-93 for Esquivel. Fierro vs. Bielma Fifteen wins by KO/TKO for Fierro as he halts Bielma in four rounds. He was 16-0-1 before losing to Alex Martin on a majority decision last year but has rebounded knocking out former WBA secondary title holder Alberto Machado in March. Bielma was in reasonable form being 8-1-1 going in. Gomez vs. Franco Gomez’s fights rarely go the distance and this was no exception as he halted experienced Franco in three rounds. He has now scored 20 inside the distance wins and one of his two losses ended the same way. After nine victories in a row Franco is 2-3-1 in his last six fights. Radomsko, Poland: Super Middle: Robert Parzeczewski (28-2) W PTS 10 Taras Golovashchenko (6-5). Middle: Damian Jonak (41-1-2) DREW 8 Andrew Robinson (25-5-2). Parzeczewski vs. Golovashchenko Parzeczewski gets points win mover Golovashchenko but struggles winning a majority decision. Parzeczewski had Golovashchenko in some pain with a body shot in the first but did not follow up on that success. He did enough to get his nose in front but Golovashchenko shook Parzeczewski in the ninth and finished strongly. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Parzeczewski and 95-95. One loss in his last 22 fights for Parzeczewski as he retains the Polish International title but not a good performance although he later said he had been ill and injured. Ukrainian Golovashchenko very ordinary and should not have been a problem for Parzeczewski. Jonak vs. Robinson Jonak had suffered an upset loss to Robinson in 2019 so he wanted to get revenge. It did not work out that way as Robinson came away with a deserved majority draw. Scores 76-76 twice and 77-75 for Jonak. Jonak has settled for a no risk career and at 38 is going nowhere. Robinson was knocked out by Liam Williams in a fight for the British title in October last year so a good result for him. November 27 Villaneuve sur Lot, France: Super Feather: Samir Ziani (33-3-1) W RTD 9 Serif Gurdijeljac (21-6). Ziani wins the vacant IBF Inter-Continental title. Fighting in his home town Ziani was well on his way to a wide points win when Serb Gurdijeljac retired at the end of the ninth round apparently having suffered a fracture to his right hand. The former undefeated European champion extends his current unbeaten run to eleven bouts. Gurdijeljac had lost only one of his last 15 outings. Laval, France: Welter: Jordy Weiss (28-0) W PTS 10 Aitor Nieto (25-7-1). Weiss collects the WBA and IBO International belts with majority verdict over Nieto. The judges all saw a different fight with scores of 98-92 and 96-94 for Weiss and 95-95. These two had fought back in 2018 with Weiss getting the unanimous decision in a contest for the European Union title. Weiss is the official next mandatory challenger for the winner of David Avanesyan vs. Liam Taylor. Ferrara, Italy: Super Light: Arblin Kaba (13-2-1) W PTS 10Daniele Zagatti (9-2-1). Kaba survives a sixth round crisis to retain the national title with points victory over Zagatti. The champion made a confident start and looked to be cruising to victory as he swept up the early rounds and was credited with a knockdown in the fifth. That changed when a left from Zagatti had Kaba badly shaken and in serious trouble in the sixth. Zagatti threw plenty of punches trying to force the stoppage but Kaba survived and steadied himself and was back on top over the remaining rounds. Scores 98-92, 98-93 and 96-93 for Kaba. The Albanian-born champion had hit a bad patch going 0-2-1 when only drawing with Luciano Randazzo to retain his title and losing twice inside the distance in non-title fights. Home town fighter Zagatti had won his last five fights but had not gone ten rounds before. Tokyo, Japan: Feather: Hinata Maruta (11-1-1) W PTS 10 Ryo Hino (14-3-2). Maruta floors Hino twice but in the end has to fight hard to retain his national title. Hino, an awkward southpaw, gave Maruta some problems in the first two rounds and moved in front but Maruta floored Hino with a right in the third and with a right hook in the fifth. After five rounds Murata was in front 48-45 on two cards and 49-44 on the third. Hino fought hard over the second half of the fight attacking fiercely with Murata looking for an inside the distance win countering with savage counters. Hino scored well in the eighth rocking Maruta and he looked to have shaken Murata in the tenth. Scores 97-91 twice and 96-93 for Murata. This was Maruta’s first defence and Hino’s second attempt to win the title. Ostroleka, Poland: Super Welter: Przemyslaw Zysk (18-0) W PTS 10 Juan Ruiz (27-6). Light Heavy: Pawel Stepien (16-0-1) W PTS 8 Hernan Perez (8-5). Middle: Kamil Szeremeta (21-2-1) DREW 8 Nizar Trimech (9-2-1). Zysk vs. Ruiz Zysk continues unbeaten with a good win over Ruiz in an entertaining contest. Zysk opened the first using his longer reach to score with some good jabs but Ruiz connected with a sharp right counter. They both landed well in the second with Zysk then boxing skilfully to edge the next three rounds but they were all close. Zysk had a big seventh but Ruiz rocked Zysk with rights in the eighth and Zysk banged back to finish strongly. Scores 98-92 twice and 97-93 for Zysk. First ten round fight for the 29-year-old local. Venezuelan Ruiz has slipped from the time he was 21-0 but he fought better than the scores indicate here. Stepien vs. Perez Stepien wins unanimous decision over Argentinian Perez. Stepien never really shifted from second gear being far too casual. He always had things in hand but he was allowing Perez too much room and almost gifting him a couple of rounds. He had Perez hurt a couple of times but did not press his advantage and surfed his way to a win. Scores 78-74 twice and 79-73. After the fight Stepien indicated he had injured a hand and had not been well during his preparations for the fight. South American champion Perez was halted in nine rounds by Anthony Sims in nine rounds in August. Szeremeta vs. Trimech Szeremeta has to finish strongly to get a majority draw in what was supposed to be a just a keep busy fight. Trimech scored with some well-timed rights in the first and second. Szeremeta settled and edged the third but Trimech was a danger again in the fourth. The fifth was close and Szeremeta upped his pace in the sixth trying to subdue Trimech and continued that aggression into the seventh as Trimech looked to be flagging. Both threw everything into the last with neither really dominating. Scores 76-76 twice and 77-75 for Szeremeta. Not a very good performance from Szeremeta who in the last twelve months had been in with both Gennady Golovkin and Jaime Munguia. Trimech proved a surprise as he is just a four and six round prelim fighter. East London, South Africa: Minimum: Ayanda Ndulani (12-2-1) W PTS 10 Siphamandla Baleni (18-4-2). Bantam: Gideon Buthelezi (23-5) W PTS 10 Jonas Matheus (14-4-1). Ndulani vs. Baleni Ndulani gains revenge as he decisions Baleni to win the vacant IBO title. This was a poor fight with too much holding and wrestling and too little boxing and one very strange score. Two judges had Ndulani winning 117-111 and 116-112 and the third gave it to Baleni 118-114. When they met for the vacant WBO African title in 2019 Baleni took the unanimous win. Now 7 wins in his last 8 bouts for Ndulani who knocked out former IBF champion Nkosinathi Joyi in four rounds in May. South African light fly champion Baleni was No 5 with the WBO. Buthelezi vs. Matheus In a much better fight Buthelezi took a split decision over Namibian Matheus. The fight swayed back and forth with both having periods of dominance and with Matheus close to a stoppage in the last round. Scores 96-94 twice for Buthelezi and 96-94 for Matheus. Both were on good form with Buthelezi having won his last eight fights and Matheus 9 of his last 10. Jonkoping, Sweden: Super Welter: Patricia Berghult (15-0) W PTS 10 Olivia Belkacem (10-3). Berghult wins the vacant WBC Female title with a unanimous decision over Belkacem. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 for the Swede who was previously the WBC interim title holder. Swiss Belkacem has lost in shots at WBFederation, Women’s International Boxing Association and European titles Swansea, Wales: Light: Gavin Gwynne (14-2) W PTS 12 Jack O’Keeffe (10-1). Gwynne retains the Commonwealth title as he breezes past O’Keeffe. It took Gywnne a few rounds to really get into his stride but after that he dominated the fight. When he chose to box he was totally in charge but at times he let himself be drawn into a scrap by O’Keeffe. The challenger was always busy but not to any great effect and with a bit more effort Gywnne might have handed O’Keefe his first inside the distance loss but the Midlander was made of sterner stuff and Gwynne had to go the distance. Scores 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 for Gwynn. He was making the first defence of the Commonwealth title and is aiming at the British title next. O’Keefe fought hard but lacked the power to be a threat. Birmingham, England: Super Welter: Sam Gilley (13-1) W KO 4 Evaldas Korsakas (10-8-3). Londoner Gilley wins the vacant English title with early kayo victory over Lithuanian Korsakas. Gilley finished the fight in the fourth putting Korsakas down with a left hook to the body and Korsakas was unable to beat the count. Gilley was moving up to super welter after winning the WBC International Silver title at welter. Korsakas is based in England and has done all of his fighting there. Springfield, MA, USA: Super Middle: Mike Guy (13-7-1) W TKO 9 Kendrick Ball (17-2-2) W. Feather: Shelly Vincent (27-2) W PTS 8 Shelly Barnett (5-5-2). Guy vs. Ball Minor upset as Guy wears down and stops local hope Ball in nine rounds. With Ball standing 6’2” and Guy 5’8” the tactics were obvious. Ball would use his height and reach to spear Guy with jabs at distance and Guy would rumble forward trying to get inside to attack Ball’s body. Ball’s plan worked-but for less than three minutes as Guy got past Ball’s guard and put him down with a right in the first round. Ball came though that crisis and was able to use his jab to fight his way back into contention. By the ninth it looked as though Ball’s tactics might work but Guy staggered Ball and then rained punches on him until the referee stepped in to save Ball. Guy, 40, had lost three tough fights in a row against Demond Nicholson, John Ryder and Jesse Hart so was due a win. He collects the WBC United States belt. Ball has an eight-bout winning streak snapped. Vincent vs. Barnett Even at 40 Guy was not the oldest winner on the card. In her first fight since August 2019 42-year-old Vincent came back with a win as she outpointed Canadian Barnett 80-72 on the three cards. Vincent lost to Heather Hardy for the WBO title in 2018 so will be hoping to work her way back to another title shot. Barnett now 1-6-1 in her last 8 fights. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Welter: Paul Kroll (9-0) W PTS 8 Mark Dawson (9-1-1). Philadelphian Kroll gets another win under his belt. Kroll floored Dawson in the first and then outboxed him the rest of the way. Scores 79-72 twice and 80-71. Kroll won the US Olympic Trials for Rio but lost out in the Americas Qualifier. Kroll was to have fought Dawson at the US Trials but Dawson was disqualified on medical grounds. Fight of the week (Significance): Kambosos win mover Lopez has shaken up the lightweight division and there is the prospect of some exciting fights Fight of the week (Entertainment): Fulton vs. Figueroa. After some early rounds spoiled by too much holding it developed into an exciting, close battle. Fighter of the week: George Kambosos Punch of the week: The booming left hook from Jack Massey that put Bilal Laggoune down Upset of the week: Kambosos’ victory over Lopez Prospect watch: Russian super middleweight Pavel Silyagin 9-0 looked good in outpointing experienced Isaac Chilemba. Observations Rosette: Some good match making in Las Vegas as the leading fights Fulton vs. Figueroa, Aleem vs. Baez and Russell vs. Santiago were all decided on majority decision and a six round prelim was decided on a split decision. Red Card: One of the fights I intended to cover was the WBC interim Female title fight between Kenia Enriquez and Gabriel Sanchez which was scheduled but did not take place. It would have shown the farce that the sanction bodies heap on us. Enriquez was to make the fifth defence of the “interim” title which she has held since 2017. An interim title for four years and five defences that is some interim-give them up WBC ! I find it a bit discomforting that the IBF were happy to have Kenichi Ogawa fight for their super featherweight title. He beat Tevin Farmer for that title in 2017 but was stripped off the title when testing positive for a banned substance. The Japanese Boxing Commission handed Ogawa suspension and he was out for fourteen months so served his punishment . He then came back had one fight against a guy with a 12-6-1 record and the IBF immediately slotted him into their ratings as the third highest ranked fighter in the division so it seems they see cheating as nothing to get too excited about. Can’t let the WBA go unnoticed. Tanzanian Adam Lazaro lost to Russian Alexander Devyatov for the WBA Asian title. It would take earth’s tectonic plates millions of years to move Tanzania from Africa to Asia but the WBA can do it in the flash of a sanction fee! Whilst this series has had it's share of big fights and big name fighters we also want to shine a light on the lesser known fights and fighters and for today's Closet Classic we certainly go into the lesser known action for a Japanese A Class tournament final from 1986. Neither of the men involved is well known now, more than 35 years on, but together they made for a brilliant tournament final in a bout that saw to men landing bombs. Kenji Iizumi (11-1, 9) vs Masahiro Takagi (19-6-3, 9) In the blue corner was 19 year old Kenji Iizumi. Iizumi had debuted in 1984 and despite a loss in his second bout had proven to be an aggressive, exciting fighter with a a fast starting mentality. From his first 12 bouts he had scored 9 stoppages, with 4 coming in the first round and 7 coming in the first 4 rounds. They had included a notable win over a then 7-0 Mark Horikoshi, who would later become a Japanese champion, and a win over Speedy Kikuchi, avenging his sole professional defeat. Coming in to the bout Masahiro Takagi was a 26 year old who had challenged for the Japanese Featherweight title just over 2 years earlier, when he lost a decision to Eijiro Kuruma. Although less explosive and exciting than Iizumi he was certainly more experienced, and had proven to be a tough guy, who had only been stopped once, in his third bout, maturing from there and becoming a Japanese level title contender. As well as being an A class tournament final the bout essentially served as a Japanese title eliminator, meaning there was a lot at stake here, and the two fighters knew it. Despite that it wasn't a bout hindered by pressure. Instead it was a bout that turned into a thriller. From the off the hard hitting left was pressing Takagi and applying pressure, but Takagi, to credit, was managing to use his feet well to avoid a war from the very sadly. The pressure from Iizumi kept building though and after around 2 minutes of the opening round he was starting to make Takagi work harder to create space. It wasn't the most thrilling of opening rounds but set the stage well, with Iizumi's pressure and aggression going up against Takagi's movement and footwork. Through round 2 we began to see the pace picking up, with Iizumi getting closer, and Takagi needing to respond to the pressure more. The go to gameplan of Izumi was to hold, but that only bought him a second or two of respite and Iizumi wasn't going to be discouraged that easily. By the end of round 2 we were starting to get a war as Iizumi's pressure began to get it's desired effect. The exciting ending to round 2 set the stage for what we would get in round 3, as the two men began to exchange heavy leather. Takagi, realising he was going to need to respond, began to land some heavy hooks, but failed to dissuade Iizumi who kept marching forward. This ended up giving us the early stages of a thrilling war, with Iizumi relentlessly pursuing Takagi. As we headed in to round 4 it was starting to feel like we were about to get something very, very special and it would just take Takagi to play his part for the fight to deliver. Part way through the round he was put down, and it was then clear he would have to turn things around, and quickly as Iizumi began to hunt a finish. To his credit Takagi saw out the storm through the rest of the round, but by now it was clear he needed to change his gameplan. He needed to respond and did so in round 5, loading up on his own shots and countering the aggressive Iizumi with some very solid head shots. We'll leave the bout at this point, so you all get the chance to witness some of the drama unfolding but this is real fun. The style and aggression of Iizumi making the fight, the heart and toughness of Takagi keeping him in it, the atmosphere of the intimate Korakuen Hall adding to things. This isn't one of the all time great bouts, but is still a hidden gem of aggression will power, power against toughness. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Terence Crawford comes from behind to stop Shawn Porter in the tenth round in WBO welterweight title defence -Demetrius Andrade stops Jason Quigley in two rounds to retain the WBO middleweight title -The WBC flyweight title fight between champion Julio Cesar Martinez and McWilliams Arroyo ends in No Decision after two rounds when Arroyo is unable to continue due to a cut -Murodjon Akhmadaliev outpoints Jose Velasquez in WBA super bantamweight title defence -Artem Dalakian retains the WBA flyweight title with ninth round stoppage of Luis Concepcion -Esquiva Falcao gets technical decision over Patrice Volny in IBF middleweight eliminator -In Female title fights Kali Reis retains IBF and WBA super lightweight titles and wins the vacant WBO belt with split decision over Jessica Camara, Segolene Lefebvre collects the vacant WBO super bantamweight title and Debora Dionicius outpoints Marcela Acuna for interim WBO featherweight title -Former title holders IBF cruiserweight Yunier Dorticos and WBO super bantamweight Isaac Dogboe score wins -Tim Tszyu moves closer to a world title shot as he outpoints Takeshi Inoue World Title/Major Shows November 19 Manchester, NH, USA: Super Bantam: Murodjon Akhmadaliev (10-0) W PTS 12 Jose Velasquez (29-7-2). Fly: Julio Cesar Martinez (18-1,2ND) ND McWilliams Arroyo (21-4,1ND). Middle: Demetrius Andrade (31-0) W TKO 2 Jason Quigley (19-2). Super Light: Kali Reis (19-7-1) W PTS 10 Jessica Camara (8-3). Heavy: Dempsey McKean (20-0) W TKO 6 Don Haynesworth (16-8-1). Akhmadaliev vs. Velasquez Akhmadaliev outscores Velasquez by a large margin but the gutsy little Chilean makes Akhmadaliev fight hard in every round. Akhmadaliev was looking to get this one over in the first and he bombarded Velasquez with punches hardly even letting him out of his corner. Velasquez saw out the storm. At 5’ 2 ½” Velasquez is used to giving away height and reach but has never failed to last the distance. Akhmadaliev was using his longer reach to spear Velasquez with right jabs and following with straight lefts and was able to easily step back out of range as Velasquez had to stretch to get within distance. Velasquez did well in the third storming forward connecting with some short hooks and wide looping punches. Velasquez had no choice but to rumble forward and Akhmadaliev was finding the target with individual punches and fast combinations. Velasquez just soaked up the punishment and kept walking forward and the sheer volume of his punches had Akhmadaliev struggling to contain him. Akhmadaliev handed out serious punishment in the ninth and tenth and Velasquez finally looked to tire over the last two rounds-but after the bell did two somersaults and some press-up! Scores 119-111 for Akhmadaliev from the three judges as he makes a successful second defence of the IBF and WBA titles. Velasquez earned his title shot with wins over wins over 21-0 Melvin Lopez 16-0-1 Ariel Lopez. Martinez vs. Arroyo Martinez retains the WBC title in a disappointing ending. Both fighters were down in the first and Arroyo down again in the second but a clash of heads had opened a deep cut over Arroyo’s right eye and he was unable to come out for the third round and the fight was declared a No Decision. It had been short and explosive so it was a pity it ended so quickly. Andrade vs. Quigley Andre wipes out Quigley in two rounds. After a period of tentative pawing from both fighters Quigley launched a couple of attacks without landing any clean punches. Andrade sprang to life exploding on Quigley with a right hook and followed with a sequence of punches that sent Quigley down on his hands knees. Quigley got up and after the eight count Andrade piled forward throwing punches. He had Quigley hurt again but pushed Quigley to the floor which gave Quigley a smattering of recovery time and with the bell only seconds away Quigley survived. Quigley tried to box on the outside in the second but late in the round a fast straight left dropped Quigley on his rear. He was up and did not look too badly shaken. Andrade then chased him along the ropes and drove Quigley down with a volley of punches and the referee stopped the fight. Fifth defence of the WBO title and nineteenth win by KO/TKO for Andrade. He is still seeking a career defining fight but at 33 time is running out and it is difficult to see where the defining fight could come from at middleweight as Saul Alvarez has deserted the division, Gennady Golovkin has a unification fight lined up with Ryota Murata and the WBO No 1 Jaime Munguia has shown no interest in pressing for a title shot and the WBC is pushing him towards their title. Quigley had shown nothing since losing on a fifth round retirement against Tureano Johnson in July 2019 and was out of his depth here. Reis vs. Camara Reis now has three of the four titles at super light after outscoring Camara in a brutal scrap. This was a close fight all the way. Reis surprised by starting as a southpaw but switched to orthodox in the second. She took the centre of the ring with Camara circling and choosing her moment to dart inside with short punches. These tactics looked to move her in front but Reis upped her pace in the fourth and both were heavily marked as they connected with hard shots. The fight swung one way and then the other as they went toe-to-toe. Reis had a big last round that probably clinched the decision for her. The referee asked the doctor to look at a cut on Camara’s left eyelid and then Reis connected with a series of rights that had Camara staggering but she fought back to last to the bell. Scores 97-93 and 95-94 for Reis and 97-93 for Camara. Reis was defending the IBF and WBA titles and won the vacant WBO belt. Camara was short on experience but the Canadian proved to be a real battler. McKean vs. Haynesworth McQueen gets a win in his first fight in the USA as he stops Haynesworth is six rounds. McQueen had height and reach advantages and was able to work at distance with his jab on the plodding slow-paced Haynesworth who provided plenty of target practice but very little else. Demsey looked close to ending the fight with a sustained attack at the end of the fourth a bit more quality and a bit less quantity might have achieved that. A burst of punches from McQueen at the start of the sixth saw the referee stop the fight. Haynesworth was no test for McQueen and the quality of McQueen’s opposition has been less than mediocre with his last three opponents ranked 41,109 and now 206 by BoxRec. In fairness to McQueen he took this fight at fairly short notice but I can’t see him making much of an impact. All you need to know about 39-year-old Haynesworth’s value as a test is that although three inches shorter than McQueen at 293lbs he was 50lbs heavier. November 20 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Welter: Terence Crawford (38-0) W TKO 10 Shawn Porter (31-4-1). Middle: Esquiva Falcao (29-0) W TEC DEC 6 Patrice Volny (16-1). Middle: Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (11-0) W TKO 8 Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (38-6). Feather: Isaac Dogboe (23-2) W PTS 10 Christopher Diaz (26-4). Light: Ray Muratalla (13-0) W TKO 5 Elias Araujo (21-4). Feather: Adam Lopez (15-3-1) TEC DRAW 2 Adan Ochoa (12-2-1). Super Feather: Carlos Balderas (11-1) W TKO 4 Julio Cortez (15-1). Welter: Delante Johnson (0-0) W TKO 4 Antonius Grable (3-1-1). Crawford vs. Porter After a slow start Crawford comes on strong over the second half of a close battle to stop Porter and retain the WBO title. Round 1 A very positive start from Porter. He was showing plenty of quick movement throwing plenty of jabs and moving in behind them trying to connect with hooks. Crawford was on the back foot and defended well but hardly threw a punch. Score: 10-9 Porter Round 2 Once again Porter was the more active. He was getting through with jabs and landed a straight right. Crawford was a little livelier than in the first two rounds and connected with some strong left hand counters to make the round close Score: 10-9 Porter Porter 20-18 Round 3 Another close round. Crawford was now on the front foot tracking Porter but Porter used classy movement and when he was trapped in a corner cleverly slipped out and turned so that Crawford was in the corner. The best punch of the fight so far was a lovely left uppercut inside from Porter which snapped Crawford’s head back. Porter was down at the end of the round but from a push and he was showing a cut over his left eye. Score: 10 9 Porter Porter 30-27 Round 4 A better round for Crawford. He was anticipating Porter’s rushing attacks and either countering with a left or dancing back out of distance. Porter was a bit wild with his punches and tumbled head first into a corner after missing with a punch. Score: 10-9 Crawford Porter 39-37 Round 5 Porter was circling Crawford for much of the round and Crawford showed his edge in strength by pushing Porter out whenever he came inside. Porter twice stormed forward late in the round throwing hooks and uppercuts forcing Crawford to cover up but Crawford was the one landing punches at the bell. Porter’s early work gave him the round but it was ominous in that Crawford landed so well at the end. Score: 10-9 Porter Porter 49-46 Round 6 Crawford was more in control in this round. He was jabbing strongly with his right and bringing his left into play more often. Porter’s attacks now resembled wild lunges rather than planned attacks and Crawford was tying him up inside refusing to let Porter work. A clash of heads brought a temporary stoppage with Crawford pawing at his head looking to see if he was cut. Score: 10- Crawford Porter 58-56 Round 7 A less frantic round. Porter was still bouncing on his toes and still relying on lunging attacks. Crawford did what clean work there was. He was spearing Porter with jabs and left counters and smothering Porter’s work inside Score: 10-9 Crawford Porter 67-66 Round 8 Porter was still leaping forward but it was a case of head down and swing. He did land a couple of good head shots but Crawford outlanded him. He was more accurate and was starting to put together some flashing combinations. Score: 10-9 Crawford TIED 76-76 Round 9 Porter was noticeably tiring. He was no longer bouncing on his toes and when he did drive forward he was slower. Crawford was slotting home jabs and using his left hooks to score as Porter advanced. Crawford had swept the last three rounds and this round showed Porter had No Plan B to turn things around. Crawford banged home a couple of hooks to the body at the bell. Score: 10-9 Crawford Crawford 86-85 Round 10 As Porter tried to move inside at the start of the round Crawford countered him with a right and a left that dropped Porter on his rump. Porter was up at four and after the count again tried to get inside but Crawford met him with a six-punch series that put Porter down again. He beat the canvas with his fists in frustration but got up and was looked ready to continue but his father/trainer Kenny Porter was on the ring apron waiving for the fight to be stopped. Crawford was defending the WBO title for the fifth time. A three-division title holder Crawford is now 16-0 in title fights and has won his last nine fights by KO/TKO. A fight with Errol Spence would be huge and would unify the IBF, WBC and WBO titles. Let’s hope it happens. Porter announced his retirement. A former holder of the IBF and WBC welterweight titles his other three losses were in title fights against Kell Brook, Keith Thurman and a split decision against Errol Spence. Falcao vs. Volny Falcao edges Volny on a split technical decision after the fight is stopped after six rounds. Falcao made a fast start crowding Volny and throwing bunches of punches with Volny having difficulty dealing with Falcao’s output. Falcao continued his relentless pressure in the second but Volny was dealing with the pressure better. Falcao took the fight inside again in the third forcing Volny to the ropes and had some success with rights. Volny was able to land some crisp counters but Falcao’s higher work rate was winning him the rounds. Volny had a better fourth as he seemed to have settled into the fight after being under so much pressure at the start. Falcao outscored Volny over the first two minutes of the fifth although Volny closed the round landing some clean shots. Falcao landed a hurtful uppercut in the sixth but as they moved inside their heads banged together and Falcao suffered a bad cut on his head above his left eye brow and was unable to continue. It was decided on the scorecards which came out as 58-56 and 58-57 for Falcao and 58-56 for Volny. The Brazilian southpaw wins an IBF eliminator. Positions 1 and 2 in the IBF rankings are vacant and No 3 Patrick Wojcicki has not beaten a rated fighter so can’t move to one or two. Falcao was rated No 4 and Volny No 5 so by beating a rated opponent Falcao can leap into one of the vacant slots and become the mandatory challenger to Gennady Golovkin. Volny will be trying to find a way into another eliminator. Alimkhanuly vs. N’Jikam Alimkhanuly just too strong for an aging N’Jikam. Alimkhanuly landed a right early in the first that had N’Jikam retreating and dominated then fight from there. N’Jikam was circling the ring trying to stay out of trouble and did better in the second with some efficient jabbing. A sustained attack from Alimkhanuly in third saw N’Jikam going down and taking a count. Alimkhanuly scored heavily again in the fourth as N’Jikam was already slowing and a couple of heavy uppercuts from Alimkhanuly in the fifth had the referee taking a close watch on the punishment N’Jikam was taking. The sixth was another one-sided round. N’Jikam tried to punch back in the seventh but a right staggered him. N’Jikam got some respite as the fight was paused twice to deal with loose tape on N’Jikam’s gloves but in the eighth after two fierce attacks from Alimkhanuly the referee halted the fight to save N’Jikam from any more hurt. The Kazak southpaw climbed to No 2 in the WBO ratings with a win over Rob Brant and he would pose a real threat to Demetrius Andrade. At 37 N’Jikam is showing signs of wear and tear. He suffered consecutive losses against Callum Smith and Fedor Chudinov in 2019 and was then out for 19 months before returning with a low level win in July this year. Dogboe vs. Diaz Dogboe keeps his title ambitions alive with a majority verdict victory over Diaz. Dogboe was focusing on a body attack in the early rounds with Diaz scoring on the outside and countering or stepping out of range of Dogboe’s attacks. Diaz was picking up points with his jabs but Dogboe started to catch Diaz with rights to the head and had Diaz holding on from a right in the sixth. The Ghanaian had more success with rights in the seventh but Diaz fired back to rock Dogboe in the eighth. With the result seemingly in the balance they fought hard through the ninth and tenth of an entertaining scrap with Dogboe just getting the better of the trading. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Dogboe and 95-95. It is good news/bad news for Dogboe. The good news is that after successive loses to Emanuel Navarrete in super bantam title fights he has rebounded with three wins and is No 4 with the WBO at featherweight. The bad news is that Navarrete has also moved to featherweight and is the WBO champion. Diaz’s three previous losses have come against Masayuki Ito, Shakur Stevenson and Navarrete. Muratalla vs. Araujo Another quality performance by Muratalla as he halts Araujo in five rounds. Quick, accurate jabbing from Muratalla in the first posed problems for Araujo as he bobbed and weaved trying to get inside. When Muratalla opened up late in the round he shook Araujo with an uppercut. Araujo continued to come forward over the next three rounds and scored enough to be competitive but Muratalla was working on Araujo’s body and landing the heavier punches. Muratalla dug in some wicked left hooks to the body at the start of the fifth which momentarily had Araujo backing off. When Araujo marched forward again he walked into more severe hurt and the referee had seen enough and stepped in. Ninth inside the distance victory in a row for Muratalla. Former Argentinian champion Araujo is 0-2 in fights in the USA. Lopez vs. Ochoa This was another fight halted early due to a cut. After two fiery rounds won by Lopez a banging together of heads in the second had seen Ochoa cut over his right eye and the cut was too severe for the contest to continue and it was declared a No Decision. Lopez’s losses have been against Stephen Fulton and Isaac Dogboe on majority verdicts and a stoppage by Oscar Valdez. Ochoa had lost on points to Lopez in a four round fight in 2017 but he was 10-1 since then. Balderas vs. Cortez Balderas hands out a beating to Cortez and stops him in four rounds. Balderas had his jab working well in the first and late in the round a punch saw Cortez lose his mouthguard. Balderas scored with hurtful body punches in the second and staggered Cortez with a right in the third. Balderas rocked Cortez with two rights to the head in the fourth. He followed that with a crunching uppercut which shook Cortez and then a left and right that sent Cortez staggering back and the fights was stopped. Second win in three months for Balderas as the 2016 Olympian gets his career rolling again following 15 months of inactivity. Ecuadorian Cortez goes from 13-1 to 2-4. Johnson vs. Grable Tokyo 21 Olympian, World Youth and twice US National champion Johnson turns pro with stoppage of Floridian Grable. “Tiger” Johnson won all the way before flooring and stopping Grable in the sixth. Another outstanding amateur snapped up by Top Rank. Kiev, Ukraine: Fly: Artem Dalakian (21-0) W TKO 9 Luis Concepcion (39-9). Dalakian retains the WBA title with ninth round stoppage of Panamanian Concepcion. With Dalakian a natural counter-puncher and Concepcion’s default approach being aggression the tactics were easy to predict. Concepcion piled forward from the first aiming to get inside and score with hooks and uppercuts. Dalakian used his longer reach to score on Concepcion at distance and tied Conception up inside. Concepcion pressed hard but the defensive skills of Dalakian frustrated all of his effort. Dalakian floored Concepcion twice in the fifth the first was punch/push and Concepcion was not hurt. Late in the round Dalakian connected with a succession of hooks which dumped Conception on the canvas. This time Concepcion was most definitely hurt but the he made it to his feet and he had lost his mouthguard which had to be replaced so the bell went before Dalakian could finish the job. Dalakian scored heavily again at the start of the sixth and Concepcion looked to be in trouble but he fought back at the end of the round. Concepcion continued to drive forward over the seventh but a right in the eighth sent him staggering across the ring and Dalakian landed some more hooks before Concepcion recovered and fought back. Just 15 seconds into the ninth Dalakian connected with a right to the head that had Concepcion stumbling back and a left hook dumped him down against the ropes. He was up at four and ready to continue but as Dalakian drove him across the ring to the ropes a member of Concepcion's corner team climbed onto the ring apron waiving for the fight to be stopped. Fifth successful defence for the 34-year-old Azeri-born Ukrainian and fifteenth win by KO/TKO. Concepcion has held the secondary versions of both the WBA flyweight and super flyweight titles but at 36 is looking a bit battle worn. November 17 Sydney, Australia: Super Welter: Tim Tszyu (20-0) W VPTS 12 Takeshi Inoue (17-2-1). Super Welter: Wade Ryan (20-9) W PTS 10 Nath Nwachukwu (7-2-2). Super Welter: Koen Mazoudier (9-2) W PTS 8 Joel Camilleri (20-7-1). Middle: Dennis Hogan (28-5-1) W Tommy Browne (42-8-2). Tszyu vs. Inoue Tszyu takes wide unanimous verdict over Inoue. A right from Tszyu sent Inoue back on his heels in the first and he connected with uppercuts in the second as Inoue took some time to get into the fight. Tszyu scored again with rights and uppercuts in the third and by the end of the fourth Inoue was already showing swelling around his eyes. Tszyu piled on the pressure in the fifth and sixth forcing Inoue back around the ring and Inoue was hanging on. Tszyu landed heavily to the body in the seventh with Inoue almost touching the canvas. He had Inoue hurt in the eighth and although Inoue was countering there was no power there but he boxed well in the ninth his best round in the fight and although Inoue was outgunned in the tenth there was blood from Tszyu’s mouth. Tszyu was going past the tenth round for the first time but he was in control and a knockdown which might have been punch/push in the last closed out the fight. Scores 120-107 twice and 119-108 for Tszyu who was defending the WBO Global and WBO Asia Pacific titles. He is No 1 with them and looking to get a title shot but WBO title holder Brian Castano and IBF/WBC/WBA title holder Jermell have unfinished business after a draw in their unification clash in July and he is not the mandatory challenger in any of the other bodies. Inoue had lost almost every round when challenging Jaime Munguia for the WBO in January 2019 and done nothing of note since then. He was No 7 with the WBO but was not rated by the other three bodies. Ryan vs. Nwachukwu Ryan defends the IBO International title with his fourth win in a row. Southpaw Ryan edged three close opening rounds with Nwachukwu doing better in the fourth. Ryan gradually took control of the fight. He shook Nwachukwu with a left in the sixth and in the seventh. Nwachukwu was having trouble with his left eye after a punch from Ryan in the eighth but passed a doctor’s inspection. Nwachukwu fought hard in the ninth even though his left eye was closing and Ryan scored a knockdown in the tenth. Scores 100-89, 99-90 and 98-91 for Ryan. Nwachukwu had lost on points to Inoue in 2019. Mazoudier vs. Camilleri Local fighter Mazoudier takes a split verdict over former Australian champion Camilleri. Camilleri made the better start with Mazoudier edging the third. Camilleri had a good fourth to establish a lead but the rounds had all been close. Mazoudier scored with hard rights to take the fifth and sixth to even things up and then outscored Camilleri over the seventh and eighth to get the decision. Scores 78-74 and 77-75 for Mazoudier and 78-74 for Camilleri. Mazoudier had lost to Luke Woods and Wade Ryan so this is a good recovery effort. Camilleri had won 5 of his last 6 with the loss coming against Tim Tszyu. Hogan vs. Browne Hogan brings the curtain down on Browne’s career as he hands out steady punishment winning every round. Brown did well to get to the bell being hurt significantly in the each of the last three rounds. Scores 60-54 for Hogan from the judges. Hogan lost consecutive title fights in 2019 against Jaime Munguia for the WBO title and Jermall for the WBC belt then was stopped in five rounds by Tim Tszyu in March this year so badly needed a win. Browne had held the WBFoundation title and strangely the Thai title and announced his retirement November 18 Mexico City, Mexico: Feather: David Picasso (19-0-1) W KO 2 Luis Millan (17-5). Super Welter: Jorge Garcia (22-3) W PTS 6 Abraham Juarez (19-8). Super Fly: Argi Cortes (21-2-2) W PTS 6 Ivan Ochoa (8-6-1) Picasso vs. Millan Venezuelan Millan came determined to cause an upset but was overpowered by unbeaten Picasso. Millan was taking the fight to Picasso in the first and launched a strong attack at the start of the second. Picasso easily dealt with Millan’s efforts and then unleashed a barrage of punch that ended the fight. The draw on Picasso’s record was a strange “technical” one where Picasso was stopped in four rounds but the result was changed to a technical draw. Two losses in a row for Millan. Garcia vs. Juarez Garcia gets revenge as he takes a unanimous decision over Juarez. Garcia won on scores of 59-55 on the three cards, He had lost a split decision against Juarez in August 2019. Cortes vs. Ochoa Cortes extends his current unbeaten run as he outpoints Ochoa. Cortes is unbeaten in his last 21 fights. The small show was to celebrate the 15 year partnership between TV Azteca and Zanfer Boxing as part of the closing ceremonies for the WBC Convention November 19 Gregorio de Laferrere, Argentina: Middle: Gabriel Diaz (11-2) W DISQ 1 Jairo Rayman (16-1-1). This one was all over inside three minutes as Rayman is disqualified with 20 seconds to go in the round. He bundled Diaz to the ropes and swung two punches which curled around and landed on the back of Diaz’s head. He fell to his hands and knees and then down lying on the canvas holding the back of his head. A doctor decreed he was unable to continue and as the punches clearly landed to the rear of Diaz’s head Rayman was disqualified. Halle en der Saale, Germany: Super Feather: Nico Venetis (23-0) W PTS 12 Leonardo Uzcategui (10-5-2). German southpaw Venetis collects the vacant Global Boxing Council belt with one-sided points victory over Venezuelan Uzcategui on scores of 117-111 twice and 119-109. Venetis has been very carefully protected against anything remotely like a test and the last nine fighters Uzcategui has beaten could not muster a single win between them! Bangkok, Thailand: Super Light: Daud Yordan (41-4) W TKO 5 Rachata Khaophimal (7-1). Yordan halts novice Thai Rachata in the fifth. This was a total mismatch. Yordan cruised through the early rounds then rocked Rachata in the fourth and put him down with a body punch in the fifth. Rachata made it to his feet but unloaded on his and the referee stopped the mismatch. This was the former IBO champion’s first fight for two years. He wins the vacant WBX ABC belt. Novice Rachata a lamb to the slaughter. Glasgow, Scotland: Middle: Trigger Wood (9-0) W TKO 4 Paddy Pollock (8-11-3). Middle: Paul Kean (14-2) W PTS 8 Graham McCormack (6-1). Wood vs. Pollock Wood too good for a game Pollock and gets a fourth round stoppage to collect the BBB of C Scottish Area title. First ten round fight and first inside the distance win for Wood. Kean vs. McCormack Dundee southpaw Kean wins all eight rounds on his way to securing the vacant BUI Celtic title. The referee scored it 80-72 for Kean over fellow-southpaw McCormack. November 20 London, England: Light Heavy: Dan Azeez (15-0) W TKO 7 Hosea Burton (26-3). Cruiser: Richard Riakporhe (13-0) W TKO 5 Olan Durodola (36-9). Cruiser: Mikael Lawal (15-0) W TKO 5 Leonardo Bruzzese (20-7). Welter: Florian Marku (10-0-1 W PTS 8 Jorick Luisetto (11-3). Azeez vs. Burton Azeez breaks down and dismantles Burton in seven rounds. Burton tried to make use of his 6” height edge and longer reach to box in the first round but Azeez was getting inside and he wobbled Burton with a right. Burton did better with his boxing in the second but Azeez dominated the third. Burton was being forced to stand and trade punches and he was hurt by a left hook in the third. Azeez continued to swarm forward in the fourth and Burton could not keep him out. Burton was staggered by a powerful jab in the fifth and sent sagging into the ropes by a punch in sixth. Azeez opened the seventh by landing two rights to the head that had Burton stumbling back. Burton recovered and hit back with jabs and right crosses as he steadied himself and stood and exchanged punches. He looked to have weathered the storm but Azeez forced him to the ropes and landed a neck-snapping left hook then poured on a series of lefts and rights to the head until the referee leapt in to protect Burton. Azeez wins the vacant British title and has established himself as a real threat in this division. He is No 9 with the WBA in a division that is heavy with British fighters with Joshua Buatsi, Lyndon Arthur, Callum Johnson, Anthony Yarde, Callum Smith and Craig Richards all world rated. Burton suffered an upset loss in September last year when being beaten on points by Ricards Bolotniks for the WBO European title in the final of the MTK-Global tournament and this was a crushing defeat which must put a question mark over his future. Riakporhe vs. Durodola After two years out of the ring Riakporhe is making up for lost time as he disposed off experienced Durodola in five rounds. Riakporhe made a confident start, He was jabbing smartly getting through Durodola’s guard and he shook Durodola at the end of the round with a powerful uppercut. Riakporhe dominated the early part of the second with a laser-like jab and then began to land with rights and left hooks to the body and was still scoring with jabs at the end of the round. Riakporhe connected with two heavy rights in the third but Durodola shook them off. A right cross followed by a right uppercut had Durodola backing off in the fourth but again Durodola shook them off. The first punch Riakporhe threw in the fifth was a short left hook to the chin that dropped Durodola. He beat the count but then Riakporhe drove him along the ropes landing hooks and uppercuts and with Durodola staggering the referee stopped the fight. The 6’5” Londoner wins the WBC Silver title. He had scored victories over Tommy McCarthy and Chris Billam-Smith but then the pandemic struck and he was out of action for almost two years which cost him his high ranking. He is back on track and a threat to any cruiserweight. Durodola was stopped in seven rounds by Ilunga Makabu in a challenge for the WBC title in December Lawal vs. Bruzzese Lawal demolishes Argentinian Bruzzese. The visitor was willing enough but limited. After winning the opening round Lawal dropped Bruzzese twice in the second. Bruzzese recovered and roiled forward over the third and fourth with a casual looking Lawal boxing patiently. Bruzzese continued to take the fight to Lawal in the fifth. Lawal waited for an opening and when Bruzzese came forward a thunderous overhand right sent him crashing to the canvas and the fight was quickly stopped to allow him to get some medical assistance. With this ninth inside the distance victory behind him Lawal is now looking to get a shot at Chris Billam-Smith who holds the British, Commonwealth and European titles. Fifth loss by KO/TKO for Bruzzese. Marku vs. Luisetto London-based Albanian southpaw Marku scores another win as he outpoints Frenchman Luisetto. Marku was quicker and cleverer than Luisetto switching guards and scoring with some flashy combinations. Luisetto fought hard and ignored Marku’s taunts. He did enough to pick up a couple of rounds but never really looked a threat. The referee scored the fight 78-75 for Marku who is building a big following. Miami, FL, USA: Cruiser: Yunier Dorticos (25-2) W TKO 2 Jesse Bryan (20-6-2,2ND). Super Feather: Luis Lebron-Ortiz (18-2-1) W TKO 7 Frank Diaz (9-0). Super Bantam: Mike Plania (26-1) W TKO 1 Ricardo Nunez (29-13). Heavy: Istvan Bernath (9-0) W TKO 2 Deon Hale (5-14-1). Dorticos vs. Bryan More of a massacre than a match as Dorticos batters poor Bryan to defeat. Dorticos was a clear head taller than the game Bryan. The Cuban scored two knockdowns in the first but Bryan gamely Bryan got up and continued. Bryan marched forward into fire in the second until Dorticos drove him to the ropes and then bombed Bryan with punches until he slumped to the floor with the fight then being stopped. Return to the ring for the first time for Dorticos since his loss to Mairis Breidis for the IBF title in September last year. Bryan used to facing only a diet of the hopeless. Lebron-Ortiz vs. Diaz This proved a couple of steps too far for Diaz. Lebron-Ortiz used his greater experience to overcome Diaz and force the stoppage in the seventh round. Puerto Rican Lebron-Ortiz might have seemed to be slipping after going from 17-0 to 1-2 but he had too much for the 20-year-old Diaz. Plania vs. Nunez World rated Filipino Plania wipes out Panamanian Nunez inside a round. The 24-year-old lost a decision to Juan Carlos Payano back in 2018 but has since won eleven in a row including a victory over 22-1-1 Joshua Greer. He is rated WBO 4/WBA 5/IBF 9(7)/WBC 15. Now 33 Nunez’s punching power saw him land two world title shots but he has now lost seven in a row. Bernath vs. Hale Bernath gets a second round stoppage in a fight that shows boxing matching at its worst. Bernath had about 4 inches in height over Hale but did not need any advantage as Hale’s fastest pace was slower than a trundle. Mercifully the referee stopped the farce in the second after Bernath had walked Hale to the ropes and landed a few punches. Hale protested the stoppage refusing to leave the centre of the ring and arguing with the referee. Although considerably shorter than Bernath Hale was 75lbs heavier than Bernath at 321lbs. Enough said! Buenos Aires, Argentina: Feather: Debora Anahl Dionicius (32-3) W PTS 10 Marcela Eliana Acuna (50-8-2). Bantam: Angel Aquino (9-4-1) W TKO 5 Kevin Munoz (12-1,1ND). Light Heavy: Braian Suarez (16-0) W TKO 3 Juan Boada (11-3). Dionicius vs. Acuna Dionicius springs an upset as she outpoints Acuna. Dionicius was younger and quicker than Acuna and took the opening round. Acuna pressed hard over the second and third and probably edged them. From there Dionicius took control outboxing her more experienced opponent and Acuna just could not land often enough to pose a real threat. The fight was halted temporarily in the ninth for the doctor to examine a cut suffered by Acuna in a clash of heads but was allowed to continue and although Acuna put in a huge effort in the last round Dionicius was a good winner. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 all for Dionicius who wins the interim WBO Female title. Acuna 45 was the first female fighter to be licensed in Argentina. She won the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF super bantamweight belts but at separate times, was 15-2-1 in world title fights and scored wins over top female stars such as Shannon O’Connell and Jackie Nava- so perhaps it is time to retire. Aquino vs. Munoz Another upset in this one as Argentinian bantamweight champion Aquino ends his fight with South American title holder Munoz with a big left hook in the fifth that put Munoz down heavily. He tried to struggle to his feet but the referee could see he was finished and waived the fight off. The only title on the line here was the vacant IBF Latino title which Aquino adds to his national title. Suarez vs. Boada Another display of power from unbeaten Suarez as he disposes of Colombian Boada in three rounds to collect the vacant WBO Latino title. Suarez scored two knockdowns in the second and was battering Boada in the third when Boada’s corner threw in the towel. Suarez has won his last seven fights by KO/TKO and has only been take the distance once in his 16 fights. Boada had won his last 5 fights. Grenoble, France: Cruiser: Eddy Lacrosse (13-7-2) W TKO 8 Nicolas Sais (11-5-1). Lacrosse wins the vacant French title with stoppage of Sais. Lacrosse was scoring heavily to the body from the start. Sais would have preferred to work at distance but Lacrosse pressed hard. Sais did manage to create some room and boxed on the outside from the fourth but Lacrosse maintained the pressure and early in the eighth connected with a right to the head that put Sais on the floor. Although he managed to get up a fresh stream of punches from Lacrosse saw the referee stop the fight. Second national title for Lacrosse a former holder of the light heavyweight belt. Sais,40, did not turn pro until he was 30, and he announced his retirement. Douai, France: Super Bantam: Segolene Lefebvre (15-0) W PTS 10 Paulette Valenzuela (13-2). With the vacant WBO Female title on the line local boxer Lefebvre put on a sparkling display of skill to outpoint Mexican Valenzuela. Lefebvre had a much longer reach and used that edge to box at distance. Valenzuela kept rolling forward but skilled footwork and accurate countering allowed Lefebvre to build a substantial lead and she had a good fifth round shaking Valenzuela with uppercuts. Valenzuela continued her attacks and scored well in the seventh and landed a big left hook in the tenth. Lefebvre did go down in the tenth and was given a count but it looked to have been a slip. Scores 96-93 twice and 97-92 for Lefebvre. She is no stranger to titles having held the French, World Boxing Federation, IBO and WBC Silver titles. Valenzuela came in on the back of six wins in a row. Hellbronn , Germany : Super Welter: Slawa Spomer (15-0) W PTS 10 Jose Suero (8-1-1). Heavy: Albon Pervizaj (17-1) W KO 2 Pavel Sour (13-6). Spomer vs. Suero German champion Spomer wins the vacant IBO Inter-Continental title with points victory over Spanish-based Dominican Suero. Spomer was giving lots of reach to the 6’0” tall Suero but with Suero not begin a heavy puncher he was able to hustle and bustle Suero who rarely got off the back foot. In an exciting sixth Suero did connect with a series of head punches that had Spomer badly shaken. Suero’s lack of power let him down and Spomer revived and by the end of the sixth Spomer was just one punch away from victory when the bell saved Suero. From there Spomer continued to boss the fight. Scores 100-89,100-90 and 99-91 for Spomer. Pervizaj vs. Sour Pervizaj racks up his thirteenth inside the distance win as he kayos Czech Sour in the second round. Going into round two almost counts as overtime for Pervizaj who had won 3 of his last 4 fights in the first round. Pervizaj statistics hide a collection of “no hope” opponents and his loss was against a fighter with a 3-0-1 record. Sour , 39, is earning his money the hard way having been in with Jermaine Franklin, Hughie Fury and Nathan Gorman and lost on a first round kayo against Arslanbek Makhmudov in July. Munich, Germany: Super Middle: Emre Cukur (18-1) W PTS 10 Matteo Hache (8-1). Middle: Uwel Hernandez (12-1) W PTS 10 Pavel Semjonov (25-20-2). Cukur vs. Hache Cukur wins the vacant WBA Continental title but struggles to overcome young French champion Hache. Scores 96-94 twice and 96-93. The Munich southpaw is scheduled to face England’s Jack Cullen for the vacant European title on 18 December in Manchester and he will have to improve a lot on this showing to win that fight. Hache, 22, showed real promise and will be back stronger. Hernandez vs. Semjonov In what passes for a title shot with the WBFederation Cuban Hernandez outpoints Estonian Semjonov who is well-versed in losing. Scores 97-91 twice and 96-92. Six wins in a row against very modest opponents for Hernandez. Now 9 losses in his last 10 fights for Semjonov which tells you how highly the WBFederation values their title. Hamburg, Germany: Heavy: Zhan Kossobutskiy (17-0) W TKO 5 Alexis Garcia (11-1). Middle: Avni Yildirim (24-4) W PTS 10 Yusuf Kanguel (20-5-1). Heavy: Jose Larduet (7-0,1ND) W KO 2 Leandro Robutti (8-5). Super Light: Jeremias Ponce (29-0) W KO 2 Michel Marcano (22-5-1). Welter: Freddy Kiwitt (20-3) W TKO 3 Wilber Blanco (8-1). Heavy: Senad Gashi (22-3,1ND) W PTS 6 Jairo Diaz (6-8). Kossobutskiy vs. Garcia Kossobutskiy has no problems dealing with the obese Dominican Garcia and stops him in the fifth. The tall southpaw was able to score at ease on the plodding until the referee halted the mismatch. Kossobutskiy wins the vacant WBC International Silver title. He has won 16 of his 17 fights by KO/TKO and was coming off what looked a good win but this one was poor as Garcia weighed 218lbs for his pro fight and was 264lbs for this one. Yildirim vs. Kanguel Yildirim outpoints a game but overmatched Kanguel. Yildirim worked the body well in every round hurting Kanguel time and again. Kanguel took the punishment and kept fighting back showing guts if very little skill. Yildirim won on scores of 100-90, 100-92 and 99-91 and gets his third win in a row. German Kanguel had won 4 of his last 5 outings Larduet vs. Robutti Larduet retains the WBC Latino belt with second round dismissal of southpaw Robutti. Larduet shook Robutti late in the first then ended it in the second. The Cuban connected with a volley of punches ending with an uppercut that sent Robutti down and he was counted out needing medical assistance to recover. The 31-year-old has taken less than nine rounds for his last five wins. Argentinian champion Robutti had lost only one of his last six fights Ponce vs. Marcano Ponce scores a second round knockout. The IBF No 1 landed jabs and long rights in the first and ended things in the second. A powerful right to the body which hooked around behind Marcano’s elbow sent the Venezuelan down in pain and he was unable to beat the count. Strange to find the IBF No 1 fighting in an eight round support bout but it keeps Ponce busy as he waits for a shot Josh Taylor. Third inside the distance loss in four fights this year for Marcano. Kiwitt vs. Blanco Kiwitt punches too hard for Colombian Blanco and forces a third round stoppage. Kiwitt just edged the first two rounds as both scored with some stiff punches. In the third Blanco landed a sharp left hook that sent Kiwitt staggering back but Kiwitt banged back. He landed a left hook to the body then a left to the head followed by a booming right that sent Blanco down on his back. Blanco got up but after the eight count the referee waived the fight over. Ninth win in his ten most recent fight for UK-based Kiwitt. Blanco had won 7 of his 8 fights inside the distance but his opposition had been weak. Gashi vs. Diaz Gashi gets six rounds of work against Argentinian Diaz. It was a reasonably level fight over the first two rounds. Gashi upped the pressure from the third and Diaz went into survival mode allowing Gashi to cruise to victory. All three judges scored it 59-55 for Kosovon-born Gashi. His losses have come against Tom Schwarz , Carlos Takam and Dereck Chisora. Carugate, Italy: Bantam: Alessio Lorusso (16-4-2) W PTS 12 Thomas Masson (19-5). Lorusso boxes his way to a unanimous verdict over Frenchman Masson in a contest for the vacant European Union title. Not a heavy puncher the Italian southpaw evaded Masson’s early attacks with some skilful footwork and classy jabbing. Masson was having only his second fight in three years and although he pressed hard he just could not pin Lorusso down. It was the second half of the fight before Masson began to have some success as he outscored Lorusso over then sixth and seventh. Lorusso rebounded over the eighth and ninth but was wobbled badly by a right in the tenth before easing his way through the last two rounds. Scores for Lorusso 117-112 twice and 118-112 for Lorusso and he gets his ninth successive victory. Former European title holder Masson lost on a seventh round stoppage against Daigo Higa for the WBC fly title in 2017. Seville, Spain: Light: Carlos Perez (17-6-2) W PTS 10 Salvador Baron (7-1-2). Perez wins the vacant national title as he stages a strong finish to outscore less inexperienced Baron. Perez went into the lead early with some cool, clever boxing with Baron just trying to batter his way inside. Baron changed tactics over the middle rounds boxing more and he had Perez in trouble a couple of times. As Baron began to flag Perez took over again late in the fight and was a good winner. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Perez. He wins the Spanish title after being 0-2-1 in pervious title fights. Baron took the fight at only three weeks’ notice and the scores did not really reflect how hard he made it for Perez at times. Fight of the week (Significance): In beating Shawn Porter Terence Crawford keeps the door open for a number of significant fights with a unifying one against Errol Spence sure to be a big attraction. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Crawford vs. Porter held the attention all the way as Crawford clawed back Porter’s early lead Fighter of the week: Terence Crawford as he goes 16-0 (12)in world title fights Punch of the week: The overhand right from Mikael Lawal that flattened Leonardo Bruzzese gets the vote with honourable mention to the left hook from Angel Aquino that laid out Kevin Munoz Upset of the week: None Prospect watch: None I have not already noted and a few who are in the “too early to judge” stage Observations Rosette: To Crawford and Porter for a great example of what championship boxing is all about Red Card: To the Miami show where poor little Jesse Bryan was thrown in for Yunier Dorticos to feast on and to whoever thought that the obscenely obese 321lbs Deon Hale was a reasonable match for Istvan Bernath. Good to see boxing returning to Luna Park in Buenos Aires after seven years with 6,000 turning up to celebrate in the one-time heart of Argentinian boxing Unbeaten Mexican prospect 19-0-1 David Picasso is juggling boxing with studying neuroscience at the UNAM University so sort of knocking them down and putting them back together again. A boxer named Picasso is about as likely as a painter named Rocky! Big celebration for the 15th year of partnership between TV Azteca the premier boxing TV site in Mexico and leading promoter Zanfer with the show featuring Picasso put on as part of the closing ceremony of the WBC Convention. The Tszyu dynasty is taking shape with 23-year-old Nikita, Tim’s younger brother about to turn pro. After success as an amateur Nikita dropped boxing to pursue a degree in architecture. Another case of learning to build things up and then knock them down. Neuroscience and architecture-not exactly Rocky Balboa or I’ll moider de bum these days! I guess when you have an almost insignificant profile you have to settle for what crumbs you can pick up but surely the World Boxing Federation could have done better than Estonian journeyman Pavel Semjonov with 8 losses in his last 9 fights to contest their vacant middleweight title- or maybe not. Back in November 2012 we got an absolute treat on from Los Angeles in what was a brilliant double header featuring 4 of the little men in the sport. One of those bouts saw Roman Gonzalez take a very competitive win over Juan Francisco Estrada whilst the other featured a Filipino-American taking on one of the most fun to watch Mexican fighters ever. The bout was was the main event of the card, though in reality it's now not spoken about as much as it should be, sadly. That's despite the fact the contest was sensational. Maybe not as good as the Gonzalez Vs Estrada bout, but it was certainly a special bout. Brian Viloria (31-3-0-2, 18) vs Hernan Marquez (34-2, 25) Filipino-American fighter Brian Viloria was always a hard man to really predict. At his best he could truly do it all. He was a boxer-puncher, with vicious power and brilliant skills. He was a smart fighter, but he was also someone who seemed to run into trouble in the ring far more often than he really should. He really should be better remembered than he is, but losses at Light Flyweight to Omar Nino Romero, Edgar Sosa and Carlos Tamara all seemed to leave us with question marks over how good Viloria really was. Whilst Viloria did suffer those losses he also had numerous top level wins at Light Flyweight, including victories over Eric Ortiz, Jose Antonio Aguirre and Ulises Solis. In 2010, after losing to Tamara, Viloria moved up in weight and went on a truly fantastic run of results beating Julio Cesar Miranda, to claim the WBO Flyweight title and the defended it against Giovani Segura and Omar Nino Romero, in the third bout between the two men. He then got a unification bout with WBA champion Hernan Marqueez. Mexican warrior Hernan "Tyson" Marquez was one of the sport's must watch fighters at the time. Technically he was crude and clumsy, but had incredible power, heart, work rate, aggression and physical strength. To this point his only losses had been an upset to Richie Mepranum and ill fated bout at Super Flyweight against Nonito Donaire. those losses had both come in 2010 and he had bounced back with 7 wins. The 7 fight winning streak of Marquez had included a 2011 Fight of the Year contender against Luis Concepcion, in which Marquez claimed the WBA Flyweight title, revenge of Mepranum and 2 world title defenses, including a rematch with Concepcion. He had been blitzing fighters and scoring a lot of knockdowns, quickly becoming the man you tuned into for fireworks and excitment. Coming in we had two men in good form, two men with solid power, exciting styles and two men who both held world titles. We had the ingredients for an instant classic, and that's exactly what we got! From the first round it was clear we were getting something special. Viloria took the fight to Marquez with an aggressive gameplan. The tactics seemed a risky one against someone with the power of Marquez, and towards the end of the round Marquez actually began to turn the tables on Viloria. That was until Viloria a brilliant left hook put Marquez down. That was the first of the bouts numerous knockdowns. Virloia would continue to land clean, accurate shots, getting the respect of Marquez and neutralising the Mexican for the most part. Marquez had his moments, but always seemed to pay for them. The class and more rounded skills of Viloria saw him being able to soak up the pressure from the Mexican and land the more clean and destructive blows. Those shots from Viloria saw him scoring a second knockdown in round 5, just as it seemed like Marquez was building some momentum of his own. Viloria then controlled the action without much bother for a bit before he began to slow. With the bout slipping away from him Marquez began to pressure and press, trying to make Viloria drain his take and drown him late on. Viloria's work rate began to decline notably in round 9 and Marquez turned it on, as if feeling that Viloria was gassing and tiring. We'll leave this bout here, but we do need to say this is one of the most entertaining and exciting 1-sided bouts in recent memory. It was over-shadowed by the Gonzalez Vs Estrada bout, but was genuinely thrilling, as pretty much every Marquez bout was during this stage of his career. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Kiko Martinez pulls off huge shock as he floors Kid Galahad twice and stops him in six rounds to win the IBF featherweight title. -Jaime Munguia gets wide unanimous decision over Gabriel Rosado -David Benavidez beats Kyrone Davis in seven rounds and brother Jose draws with Francisco Torres -Chris Billam-Smith outpoints Dylan Bregeon in EBU cruiserweight title defence -In Female title fights Lourdes Juarez scores unanimous decision over Luiz Elena Aguilar to retain WBC super flyweight title, Dane Dina Thorslund knocks out Zulina Munoz in defence of her WBO Female bantam title and Alycia Baumgardner stops Terri Harper in four rounds to win the WBC and IBO super feather titles World Title/Major Shows November 13 Sheffield, England: Feather: Kiko Martinez (43-10-2) W TKO 6 Kid Galahad (28-2). Cruiser: Chris Billam-Smith (14-1) W PTS 12 Dylan Bregeon (11-2-1). Super Feather: Alycia Baumgardner (11-1) W TKO 4Terri Harper (11-1-1). Super Light: Dom Hunt (8-0) W PTS 10 James Flint (9-1-1). 17 Martinez vs. Galahad When I was a mere lad the group the Four Aces had a hit with a song titled “You Gotta Have Heart” that could be Kiko Martinez’s theme tune. The former IBF super bantamweight title holder had lost in three subsequent world title attempts and at 35 needed a manipulation of the ratings to get a shot at title holder Galahad. He lost the first four rounds of their fight but just kept on coming and eventually stopped Galahad to become a two division title winner as he halted Galahad in the sixth round to win the IBF title. From the first round Galahad was just too quick for Martinez. He was constantly switching guards and connecting with straight shots with both hands. Martinez just kept coming forward walking through Galahad’s punches trying to get within range to score with hooks but was eating punches. He was cut over his right eye in the third and lost all of the first four rounds as Galahad peppered him with hooks and uppercuts and slid away from Martinez’s attempts to cut off the ring. Martinez stepped up his pace in the fifth storming forward. Galahad continued to pepper Martinez with punches back could not keep him out and late in the fifth a sizzling right hook to the head sent Galahad down heavily. Galahad only just made it to his feet and he was badly shaken and luckily for him the bell at the end of the count. The first punch Martinez threw just five seconds into the sixth round was 1 which sent Galahad down flat on his back with his head bouncing off the canvas and the referee immediately waived the fight over and Galahad was down receiving medical attention for a while. Huge surprise but as Martinez showed you can never write off a fighter with a warrior’s heart and a punch to match. Galahad was 1lb 1oz. over at the first weigh-in but subsequently made the weight. Having fought for twelve years to win a title it is a huge blow to lose the title in his first defence. Martinez looked a reasonably safe choice as a challenger but after this bad knockout Galahad has a massive rebuilding jab ahead of him but he has said that he wants a return fight with Martinez. Billam-Smith vs. Bregeon Billam-Smith makes successful first defence of the European title against Frenchman Bregeon. In the early rounds Bregeon seemed more interested in wrestling and holding with Billam-Smith doing what scoring there was. Billam-Smith managed to connect with body shots in the second and third but Bregeon was content to smother Billam-Smith’s attacks. Bregeon connected with a big right cross at the start of the fourth and showed a useful jab but rarely used it to any effect. The fifth had some good exchanges with both landing strong shot but Bregeon looked to be tiring from the sixth with Billam-Smith landing clubbing head punches when he could make some room. Billam-Smith scored heavily in the ninth with Bregeon trying to punch back but flagging and a stoppage looked possible but Bregeon rallied. Billam-Smith stormed forward over the closing rounds and a tiring Bregeon struggled to make it to the final bell. Scores 119-109 twice and 120-109 for Billam-Smith. Former French champion Bregeon lacked the strength to match Billam-Smith. Baumgardner vs. Harper Second upset in a title fight on this show as Baumgardner stops Harper in the fourth round. These two exchanged heavy punches in the first but there were danger signals for Harper as she was shaken by an overhand right in the second. Harper did better in the third but Baumgardner continued to look dangerous with rights. In the fourth a right to the head from Baumgardner stiffened Harper’s legs and she half turned away out on her feet. Luckily the referee jumped in quickly to protect Harper before Baumgardner could land another punch. With her seventh inside the distance win the 27-year-old American wins the WBC and IBO titles that Harper was defending. Harper had been plagued with hand injuries including one in her last fight a title defence in November 2020. There is a return clause in the contract but Harper will need a long rest due to the nature this chilling loss Hunt v Flint Hunt and Flint produced an entertaining fight in which their styles melded well. Hunt had the more aggressive tactics with Flint busier and putting together some smart combinations. Hunt’s pressure paid off and he took the deserved decision on a score of 98-93 to lift the vacant BBB of C Central Area title. Both were testing the water at ten rounds for the first time. Phoenix, Arizona, USA: Super Middle: David Benavidez (25-0) W TKO 7 Kyrone Davis (16-3-1). Super Welter: Jose Benavidez (27-1-1) DREW 10 Francisco Torres (17-3-1). Feather: Keenan Carbajal (23-2-1) W TKO 4 Josean Bonilla (12-7-2). Benavidez vs. Davis A typical Benavidez fight as he slowly breaks down and batters Davis to defeat in seven rounds. Davis danced his way around the perimeter of the ring in the opener. Benavidez tracked him connecting with a few rights with Davis hardly throwing a punch. Davis was more positive in the second showing some sharp jabbing and firing a couple of quick combinations. At the end of the round Benavidez caught up with Davis and scored with bursts punches to head and body. Benavidez continued to walk Davis down in the fourth and fifth. Davis slowed and stood and traded more fighting back against the punishment Benavidez was handing out. He paid for that in the fifth when he looked ready to go but he fought back and survived. Davis put in a big effort at the start of the sixth. Again he was standing in front of Benavidez and trading punches. When Benavidez landed heavily Davis taunted Benavidez and invited him to throw some more. Benavidez did and all of the fight went out of Davis as Benavidez walked forward landing thumping hooks to the body and straight rights. Davis threw an occasional counter but by the bell was taking heavy hits and again looking ready to go. Benavidez pounded Davis with punches driving him around the ropes until the towel came flying from Davis’ corner. The 24-year-old former WBC title holder is No 1 with the WBC and the fight he wants is with Saul Alvarez but there is no guarantee he will get that fight. Alvarez will make that decision with the names of Gennady Golovkin –probably the fight the fans would want- Artur Beterbiev, Jaime Munguia, Jermall Charlo also being mentioned but Benavidez has indicated that he too has other options. Davis had taken this fight at two week’s notice and that was a factor. He had found his way into the fight after a negative start but the power of Benavidez particular his body punching proved too much in the end. Benavidez vs. Torres Benavidez fails to make it a family double and looks fortunate to get a draw against Argentinian Torres. Benavidez was in his first fight since losing on a twelfth round stoppage against Terence Crawford for the WBO welter title back in 2018 and Torres took advantage of that to outbox Benavidez in the first. Benavidez did a bit better in the second and third but good movement from Torres and accurate jabbing looked to give him the edge. Torres had a good fourth with strong body attacks from Benavidez getting him into the fight in the fifth and sixth which were close rounds. Pressure from Benavidez had Torres on the back foot for much of the eighth and ninth. Benavidez was landing the heavier shots but Torres found plenty of gaps for counters. With the fight seemingly in the balance Torres produced an impressive last round and looked to have done enough to get the verdict but two judges scored it 95-95 and the third saw it for Benavidez 96-94. A close call for Benavidez the elder brother of David. He was only just inside the middleweight limit for this fight, 13lbs heavier than when he fought Crawford, but he will probably aim to get a few pounds off for his next fight. Former undefeated Argentinian champion Torres had won his last nine fights including victories in the USA and Colombia and has boosted his stock with his performance in this fight. Carbajal vs. Bonilla Carbajal moves to 18 consecutive wins with stoppage of Bonilla. The tall local featherweight, the nephew of Hall of Fame inductee Michael Carbajal, was an ordinary 5-2-1 at the start of his career. Bonilla had been inactive since January 2019. Anaheim, CA, USA: Middle: Jaime Munguia (38-0) W PTS 12 Gabriel Rosado (26-14-1,1ND). Fly: Arely Mucino (30-3-2,1ND) W PTS 10 Jacky Calvo (14-7-2). Middle: D’Mitrius Ballard (21-0-1,2ND) W PTS 10 Paul Valenzuela (26-10). Welter: Alexis Rocha (18-1) W TKO 9 Jeovanis Barraza (23-2). Light: William Zepeda (24-0) W TKO 4 John Vincent Moralde (24-5). Munguia vs. Rosado Impressive show from Munguia as he outworks and outscores Rosado who was always dangerous and although Munguia won by good margins Rosado played his part in an entertaining contest. Munguia was the busier fighter from the start. Showing growing maturity and setting the pace as he scored well with jabs and long rights. Rosado was using his jab to probe for opening for right counters but had no success. Munguia continued to take the fight to Rosado in the second outworking Rosado who was still relying heavily on his jab. There was plenty of action in the third and fourth with Rosado finally finding the target with power punches to head and body but with Munguia having Rosado rocking in the fourth. The fierce exchanges continued over the fifth and sixth with both landing cracking punches and Rosado this time rocking Munguia with a right. At the half way point Munguia had won every round but they had all been close and fiercely contested. Over the seventh and eighth Munguia was in control and Rosado looked to be feeling the pace but he still landed a cracking right late in the eighth. Munguia scored heavily at the start of the ninth but Rosado banged back strongly just before the bell. The youth and strength of Munguia told over the closing rounds as he piled on the punches with Rosado just hanging on as Munguia tried to blow him away in the last. Scores 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111 for Munguia. No doubt about the winner but Rosado made Munguia fight hard until he tired down the stretch. He could not match the work rate or power of Munguia who is rated No 1 by both the WBC and WBO so has plenty of options. Rosado has lost some big fights but always rebounds and will probably do so again. Mucino vs. Calvo In an all-Mexican clash Mucino racks up her ninth win in a row with a split verdict over Calvo. Most of the fight took place on the inside with Mucino dominating the exchanges. Calvo did better over the second half of the fight as the pace dropped. Mucino still looked in front but was floored late in the ninth and rocked again by a left to the head in the tenth but made it to the bell. Her early work just earned her the nod from the judges at 96-93 twice for Mucino against a 96-93 for Calvo from the third judge. Mucino is a former WBC flyweight title holder and former undefeated WBO flyweight title holder. Calvo holds the WBC International Female flyweight title. Ballard vs. Valenzuela Ballard had plenty of rust to shed but after a slow start he went on to take the decision over Valenzuela. Ballard was having his first fight since November 2019 and his timing was out over the first three rounds. Valenzuela tried to take advantage of that with a fast start of his own. He outscored Ballard in the first and had him in some trouble in the second. Ballard reared back out of an exchanged seeming to have inured his mouth and was momentarily shaken and had to survive a fierce attack from Valenzuela. Ballard settled into the fight and outworked Valenzuela putting Valenzuela under constant pressure putting him on the back foot and raking him with punches but Valenzuela remained competitive. Ballard opened a cut over Valenzuela’s right eye in the ninth as he swept the last three rounds to overcome Valenzuela’s early lead and take the decision on scores of 98-92 on the three cards which was a bit harsh on Valenzuela. He will now be looking to work his way into the ratings. Mexican Valenzuela has been matched tough. He was 15-1 at one stage but life has been tougher since then. Rocha vs. Barraza Rocha gets a late stoppage win over Barraza. From the start Rocha made Barraza’s body his preferred target area. He used some punishing jabbing to put Barraza on the back foot and worked him over with a barrage of body punches whenever he trapped Barraza on the ropes. Barraza scored with enough counters to stay in the fight but as the rounds passed his output plunged whilst Rocha stepped up the pressure. Barraza stood and exchange punches in the eighth but was fading badly and when in the ninth Rocha again pinned Barraza to the ropes and pounded him with punches the referee stopped the fight. This is the second win for the 24-year-old Californian since losing a close decision to Rashidi Ellis in October last year and he has now put his career back on track. Colombian Barraza had lost on a second round stoppage in July 2019 against former amateur star Gabriel Maestre in Maestre’s first paid fight but had rebuilt with three wins against reasonable level opponents. Zepeda vs. Moralde Another power show from Zepeda as he beats Moralde in four rounds. Filipino Moralde tried to use his longer reach to keep Zepeda out in the first but Zepeda was scoring with right jabs and straight lefts. Zepeda increased the pressure in the second hunting Moralde around the ring. Moralde tried to stand and trade with Zepeda in the third but was bombarded by slashing combinations to head and body. Zepeda was ruthless in the fourth overwhelming Moralde with punch after punch until Moralde could not take any more and turned away from the action in surrender. The 25-year-old Mexican southpaw has won 22 of his 24 fights by KO/TKO including a current run of fourteen in a row giving him a 91.67 kayo percentage. His previous two victims 23-2-1 Robert Ramirez and 19-0 Hector Tanajara were credible opponents and he mercilessly brushed them aside and is ready for a test against a rated fighter. November 11 Tokyo, Japan: Super Bantam: Takuma Inoue (15-1) W PTS 12 Shingo Wake (27-7-2). Takuma keeps the Inoue clan flag flying as he takes wide unanimous decision over experienced former IBF title challenger Wake. Inoue was conceding a lot in height and reach against Wake but used good movement and hand speed to offset that. A right put Wake down in the fourth and at that stage all three judges had Inoue 39-36 ahead. Wake survived the knockdown but Inoue continued to outbox him and widened the gap in the points so that after eight with two having it 78-73 and the other 79-72. Wake rallied late but Inoue remained in control and boxed his way to victory. Scores 117-110 on all three cards. Inoue, 25, lost on points to Nordine Oubaali in a challenge for the WBC bantam title in November 2019 and with elder brother Naoya fighting at bantam he is now eyeing a title shot at 122lbs. Southpaw Wake, 35, lost to Jonathan Guzman for the vacant IBF title in 2016 but had won 7 of his last 8 bouts. Huntington, NY, USA: Super Feather: Michael Magnesi (20-0) W TKO 3 Eugene Lagos (16-6-3). Light Heavy: Joe Ward (5-1) W PTS 6 Leandro Silva (3-5). Magnesi vs. Lagos In his first fight in the USA after an early shock Italian hope Magnesi stops Lagos. Magnesi was down in the first but recovered and handed out punishment to Lagos in the second. He continued to come forward scoring with heavy hooks in the third. He forced Lagos to the ropes and unloaded a series of shots until a right sent Lagos sliding down the ropes with Magnesi adding a left and another right as Logos was on the way down. Lagos made it to his feet but the fight was stopped. Twelfth inside the distance victory for Magnesi. Second loss by KO/TKO for Filipino Lagos. Ward vs. Silva Irish southpaw Ward gets a comfortable points win over Brazilian Silva. The judges gave Ward all four rounds scoring the fight 60-54. Ward’s loss came in his first pro fight due a knee injury and that injury and the pandemic have slowed his progress. In the amateur ranks he was World Junior and World Youth champion was three time European Champion and won two silvers and a bronze medal at the World Championships. Silva has done all of his fighting in the USA. November 12 Montpellier, France: Welter: Mehdi Mouhib (20-2) W PTS 12 Mohamed Kani (19-3). Mouhib retains the EU title and gains revenge as he scores a split decision victory over Kani. This was a close tactical battle with Mouhib a worthy winner more so as he beat Kani in Kani’s home town. Scores 115-113 twice for Mouhib and 116-112 for Kani. First defence for Mouhib who lost to Kani in January 2020 for the vacant French title. Bielefeld, Germany: Cruiser: Enrico Koelling (28-4) W PTS 10 Leon Harth (20-5). Super Middle: Dimitar Tilev (15-0) W PTS 10 Siarhei Khamitski (32-22-3). Middle: Bujar Tahiri (9-0) W PTS 8 Ivan Alvarez (31-13-1). Light Heavy: Emin Atra (18-0) W PTS 6 Michael Obin (5-11). Koelling vs. Harth Koelling wins the WBO European title with decision over champion Harth. Koelling took control early setting the pace and rocking local boxer Harth with a right in the third. Harth was cut over his right eye in the fifth and the cut continued to re-open in subsequent rounds. Harth had been going to the body over the early rounds and that began to pay dividends later and he staged a strong finish but Koelling had already built an unassailable lead and took the decision majority decision but Koelling was a clear winner. Scores 96-94 twice for Koelling and 95-95. Koelling lost on a last round stoppage against Artur Beterbiev for the vacant IBF title in 2017 and consecutive losses to Domenic Boesel and Leon Bunn pushed him out of the rating but this win will get him a spot with the WBO. Armenian-born German Harth has lost big fights against Krzys Wlodarczyk, Artur Mann and Leon Bunn. Tilev vs. Khamitski In his first ten round fight Tilev was in charge from the start and slowly wound up the pressure in round after round. Belarusian Khamitski spent most of the fight on the back foot and soaked up plenty of punishment but frustrated Tilev’s attempts to score an inside the distance win and although losing every round Khamitski lasted the distance. No scores given. Good learning fight for local hope Tilev. Now 47 and a pro for 22 years Khamitski was considered something of a prospect when he went 17-0-1 at the start of his career but is now a reliable loser having won only one of his last ten fights. Tahiri vs. Alvarez Tahiri has to fight hard to get a win over Mexican Alvarez. Tahiri made a slow start finally having some success from the third. He countered well against the constant attacks from Alvarez and showed some good defensive skills. Alvarez was too often inaccurate but his sheer work rate kept him very much in a close and hard fought contest. Scores 77-75 for Tahiri on the three cards. Tahiri, 23, had won 7 of his previous 8 fights by KO/TKO and holds the German International title. Alvarez 33 gave Tahiri just the type of fight he needs to develop his skills. Atra vs. Obin Neighbourhood fighter Atra returned to action with a points win over Ugandan-born Swede Obin. The visitor went in front early as Atra had to shake off the dust from a long period of inactivity. He came though over the last three rounds and got the unanimous verdict but Obin gave him an unpleasant night. First fight for Atra since December 2019. Eight losses in a row for Obin. Tokyo, Japan: Minimum: Yudai Shigeoka (4-0) W PTS 12 Tsubasa Koura (15-2). Southpaw Shigeoka picks up the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title with very narrow majority decision over Koura. It was close all the way. Koura took the first round but Shigeoka bounced back and Koura was cut over his left eye in a clash of heads in the third. After four rounds the scores were 39-37, 37-39 and 38-38. Koura’s experience and strength saw him move into the lead over the middle rounds and he was up 77-75 and 76-74 with the third having them level at 76-76. Shigeoka staged a stronger finish and just scraped home. Scores 115-113 twice and 114-114. Although this was only Shigeoka’s fourth pro fight he was an outstanding amateur with an 81-10 record before turning pro when he was unable to get a berth at the Tokyo Olympics. His brother Gingiro had held this title but relinquished it in August. Gingiro is unbeaten as a pro and was 56-1 as an amateur. Another Japanese dynasty building? Former OPBF champion Koura was rated No 9 by the WBO. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Super Fly: Lourdes Juarez (33-2,1ND) W PTS 10 Luz Elena Aguilar (7-3-1). Super Bantam: Christian Medina (18-3) W KO 1 Edinso Torres (15-6). Juarez vs. Aguilar Juarez decisions Aguilar in WBC Female title defence. Juarez’s skills were too much for inexperienced Aguilar. Juarez was able to use her hand speed and accuracy to outscore Aguilar and upper body movement to off-set an aggressive Aguilar’s attacks. Aguilar never stopped pressing making it an entertaining match but she was well beaten. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92 for Juarez. “The Little Lulu”, 34, was making the second defence of her title and is now 30-0,1ND in her last 31 bouts. Aguilar, 19, was 3-0-1 going in. Medina vs. Torres Medina wins the vacant WBC Youth title with a first round kayo of Venezuelan Torres. A devastating left hook sent Torres down out cold with no count needed. The 21-year-old “Wasp” now has nine wins in a row and thirteen victories by KO/TKO. London. England: Heavy: David Adeleye (8-0) W RTD 4 Dominik Musil (6-4). Adeleye beats Musil on a fourth round retirement. A cagey opening round saw Musil using his longer reach to score with Adeleye firing dangerous rights. Adeleye took over in the second and he had Musil reeling under a series of rights crosses at the bell. Adeleye scored heavily again late in the third. He continued to connect with rights in the fourth and just before the bell a right sent Musil flying back to the ropes where he hung suspended with his arms spread along the ropes. He stood up and was give a count. The bell had gone and he was able to get to his corner but did not come out for the fifth. Seventh inside the distance win for the 24-year-old Londoner. Musil had won his last three by KO/TKO. Aberdeen, Scotland: Welter: Dean Sutherland (12-0) W TKO 8 Michele Esposito (18-5-1). Local southpaw Sutherland wins the vacant WBC International Silver title with stoppage of Italian Esposito. They fought on even terms in the early rounds but Sutherland gradually upped his pace. He had Esposito reeling in the fourth and continued to boss the action until the eighth when with Esposito pinned to the ropes and under fire the referee stopped the fight. Good win for the 23-year-old Aberdonian southpaw. Former Italian champion Esposito had won his last seven bouts. Leeds, England: Super Bantam: Jack Bateson (15-0) W PTS 10 Ramez Mahmood (11-2). Bateson delights his home fans as he wins his first pro title with victory over Mahmood. Bateson won a wide unanimous decision but it was at a price. He was cut over his right eye in the third and over the left eye in the seventh and also lost a point in the ninth for a punch to the back of Mahmood’s head. Despite the ups and downs Bateson won on scores of 97-92 twice and 99-90 and collects the vacant English title. Bateson, 27, won a cupboard full of trophies as an amateur and is making good progress. Mahmood is a former BBB of C Southern Area champion. November 13 Kolding, Denmark: Bantam: Dina Thorslund (17-0) W TKO 7 Zulina Munoz (53-4-2). Super Middle: Jacob Bank (5-0) W RTD 7Aku Kanninen (9-1-1). Thorslund vs. Munoz Impressive performance from Thorslund as she outboxes and then halts the more experienced Mexican Munoz to retain her WBO title. She was quicker and more mobile than Munoz and was able to score and get out before Munoz could counter. Munoz was dangerous with occasional left hooks but Thorslund’s left hook was the dominating punch. She dropped Muniz with that punch in the second. Munoz did a bit better in the subsequent rounds but Thorslund was well in front when she put Munoz down with a left hook to the body in the seventh and although Munoz arose she was unable to continue. Thorslund, 28, a former WBO super bantamweight title holder, had moved down to bantam and this is her first defence of that title. Her preparation was far from ideal have been laid low by COVID-19 and sprained a wrist just a few weeks before this fight but she won through and is now looking to unify the bantamweight titles. Munoz, a former WBC super flyweight title holder, turned pro in 2005 and at one time had a 48-1-2 record. Bank vs. Kanninen Youngster Bank wins his first pro title with victory over Finn Kanninen. Bank took charge early and had both superior skill and power than Kanninen. He outscored Kanninen over the first half of the fight but slack defensive work allowed Kanninen a foot hold in the fight. From the sixth Bank tightened up and began to land heavily. A right in the seventh had Kanninen badly shaken and he did not come out for the eighth. Bank, 20, wins the vacant WBO Youth title. Kanninen 21 had won the Finnish title in July. Charleville-Mezieres, France: Super Light: Walid Ouizza (15-2) W PTS 10 Romain Couture (10-4-1). Ouizza retains the French title with split decision over Couture. No scores available. Seventh consecutive win for Ouizza who was making the first defence of the title. Clermont-Ferrand, France: Light Heavy: Kevin Cojean (27-10-2) W TKO 7 Hugo Kasperski (34-11-1 ). Heavy: Nicolas Wamba (8-0) W PTS 10 Karim Berredjem (10-8). Cojean vs. Kasperski Cojean wins the French title with stoppage of Kasperski in a clash of seasoned former champions. Kasperski was considered the harder puncher but Cojean whilst down on all three cards forced the stoppage in the seventh. Kasperski was in control until he was floored with a right hook late in the sixth. He made it to his feet and came out for the seventh but was quickly rocked by another right hook and the fight was stopped. Cojean is on a small streak of good results being 5-0-1 in his last six contests and is hoping to land a shot at the EU title. Home advantage was not enough to get Kasperski the win as he suffers his third inside the distance defeat. Wamba vs. Berredjem Wamba has no trouble in retaining the French title as he takes unanimous verdict over challenger Berredjem on scores of 98-92 on the three cards. A former kickboxing and full contact champion he was making the first defence of the national title. Berredjem is now 0-3 in shots at the title. Tarbes, France: Super Bantam: Mathis Vegas (8-0) W PTS 10 Sebastian Iacobas (4-3-2). Plenty of French title fights about right now as the French Boxing Federation is determined to keep the titles flourishing. In this one in his first ten rounds fight Tarbes fighter Vegas outclassed Iacobas to lift the vacant super title bantam on scores of 99-91 from the three judges. Iacobas is a former French bantamweight champion. Dusseldorf, Germany: Cruiser: Mike Perez (26-3-1) W TKO 6 Jose Ulrich (17-5,1ND). Light Fly: Augustin Gauto (17-0) W TKO 1 Jaba Memishishi (8-16) Heavy: Lenroy Thomas (25-5-1) W TKO ? Marcos Aumada (21-11). Perez vs. Ulrich Perez bludgeons Ulrich to defeat. The Cuban southpaw dominated the action with Ulrich having neither the skill nor the punch to be very competitive. Ulrich hung tough until the sixth round but was up against the ropes and being rocked by punch after punch when the fight was called off. Now 36, the former WBC cruiser title challenger was inactive between October 2018 and August this year and gets his second win in three months. Former Argentinian champion Ulrich has lost five in a row now. Gauto vs. Memishishi Argentinian Gauto wipes out substitute Memishishi inside a round. The little Argentinian tiger dropped Memishishi twice with left hooks to the body and then backed him to a corner and unleashed a torrent of hooks until the referee stopped the fight. The 23-year-old Gauto was having his first fight for eleven months and his first fight in Europe. He is No 3 with the WBO. Ninth loss in a row for Memishishi who is really a full super bantamweight. Thomas vs. Aumada Thomas gets a win in an untidy, messy fight. The 6’4 ½” Aumada was quicker on his feet than Thomas and had a much longer reach. Aumada’s tactics were to circle the ring then lunge inside with a burst of punches and then hold giving Thomas no chance to connect with any significant punches. As Thomas began to find the target from the second Aumada spent time on the floor complaining of punches to the back of the head or just simply falling over. The referee gave Aumada a count went he went down from what was a punch to the back of the head in the fourth and after Aumada seemingly exhausted fell down twice more the referee stopped the untidy mess. Former Commonwealth champion Thomas must have been hoping for a better fight than this mess in his first contest in eleven months. Fifth loss in a row for Aumada. Coventry, England: Middle: River Wilson Bent (10-0-1) TEC DRAW 7 Tyler Denny (13-2-3). Light Heavy: Shakan Pitters (17-1) W KO 8 Reece Cartwright (23-2) Welter: Stephen McKenna 10-0) W KO 1 Richmond Djarbeng (31-5-1). Middle: Aaron McKenna (13-0) W PTS 8 Gabor Gorbics (26-22-2). Bent vs. Denny The English title remains vacant when the clash of Bent and Denny ended in a technical draw after seven rounds. Local fighter Bent had the better of the exchanges in the first but Denny evened things up with a good second. Quick, accurate jabbing from Bent helped him pocket the third and fourth. Again Denny responded hurting Bent with a body punch in the fifth and a punch opened a cut over Bent’s left eye in the sixth. The referee stopped the fight to have a look at the cut but let the fight continue. When a punch worsened the injury in the seventh the fight was stopped. Denny was celebrating his win victory but the referee had decided the cut was caused by a clash of heads so it went to the score cards. One judge had Bent in front 68-65 another had it 67-66 for Denny and the third had them even at 67-67. The fight was delicately poised at the end and hopefully there will be a return. Pitters vs. Cartwright Pitters stops Cartwright in the eighth round. The 6’6” Pitters had plenty of reach over Cartwright but Cartwright was quick and clever and boxed his way in front. He had Pitters fighting on the back foot and looked comfortable. Slowly Pitters body punching began to have an effect but after the seventh Cartwright was still boxing well. In the eighth Pitters exploded with a left hook that shook Cartwright and then floored him with a powerful right. Cartwright beat the count but the referee stopped the fight despite protests from Cartwright. Former British champion Pitters wins the vacant WBC International title. Cartwright had won his last six fights but only returned to action in July after almost three years out of the ring. McKenna vs. Djarbeng Ireland’s McKenna overwhelms poor Ghanaian Djarbeng in the first round. Immediately the bell sounded McKenna rushed across the ring and was landing punches before Djarbeng had advanced more than a couple of steps. McKenna drove Djarbeng back into his own corned and blasted the Ghanaian with punches until he slumped to the canvas and was counted out after just 41 seconds. Too easy for McKenna who gets his sixth first round victory. Djarbeng’s record is heavily padded with low level victims. McKenna vs. Gorbics It looked as though Aaron might also get a first round win as he floored Gorbics with a right to the head in the first round. Gorbics is an experienced survivor and he showed enough fight to convince the referee to let him continue. McKenna poured on the punishment in every round but Gorbics has only lost inside the distance in six times and he was still there at the end. The referee scored it 80-71. Both Aaron and older brother Stephen were outstanding amateurs and are now based in California. Gorbics is 0-10 2 in his last 12 outings. Dudelange, Luxemburg: Heavy: Johann Duhaupas (39-6) W TKO 2 Andras Csomor (18-33-2). Super Middle: Bakary Samake (6-0) W TKO 2 Gyorgy Mizsei (27-30-1). Duhaupas vs. Csomor “The Reptile” returns to action with an easy second round stoppage of poor Csomor who needs to be saved from himself but is probably making someone too much money for that to happen. First fight for Duhaupas since being stopped in a round by Tony Yoka in September last year. Csomor is 0-19-1 in his last 20 fights. Samake vs. Mizsei Luxemburg-based French teenager Bakary gets his fourth inside the distance win. The 18-year-old has an aim of being a world title holder by the time he is 20! Experienced Hungarian Mizsei suffers his third inside the distance loss this year. Fight of the week (Significance): The wins for both David Benavidez and Jaime Munguia keep some exciting options on the table. Fight of the week (Entertainment); Jaime Munguia vs. Gabriel Rosado had plenty of heated exchanges until Rosado ran out of puff Fighter of the week: Kiko Martinez for his upset victory over Kid Galahad Punch of the week: The right hook that floored Galahad in the fifth was devastating. Honourable mention to the right from Alycia Baumgardner that froze Terri Harper. Upset of the week: Kiko Martinez was given no chance against Kid Galahad Prospect watch: Argentinian light flyweight Agustin Mauro Gauto 17-0 impressed in his first fight in Europe. Observations Rosette Kiko Martinez for never giving up and the French Federation who keep their national title alive and well Red Card to whoever keeps booking Hungarian heavyweight Andras Csomor. He has an 18-33-2 record and there are plenty around worse than that but 28 of his 33 losses have come by KO/TKO. He is 0-19-1 in his last 20 fights with 17 of those 19 losses by KO/TKO Kid Galahad’s loss was a blow for Eddie Haran but don’t feel sorry for him. He picked Martinez and the IBF of course then slipped Marinez into the ratings issued on 10 October at No 15 after he beat a guy with a 14-9 record to legitimise it. Eddie must be wishing the IBF had refused to play the ratings game. When we look through the history of boxing we find so many great fights that just don't get much attention, even among the hardcore fans that do watch boxing outside of the mainstream. Today we're going to look at one such bout from 2000 which is exciting, action packed, sees two men take some brutal shots and has momentum shifts and drama throughout. It's the sort of bout that would have been an instant classic had it not been tucked away in Nagoya but instead took place in Las Vegas. Hideki Todaka (16-2-1, 7) vs Yokthai Sithoar (23-1-1, 13) In one corner was defending WBA Super Flyweight champion Hideki Todaka, who had won the title in 1999 with a victory over Jesus Rojas and was now looking for his second defense of the belt. The man from the Midori gym had been the under-dog when he beat Rojas and had also been the under-dog when he retained the title with a win over former Japanese amateur stand out Akihiko Nago. Here he was looking to build on that reputation as an upset minded fighter. As well as recording two upsets he had also been a fighter who had been unlucky through his career, carrying multiple injuries, including a back injury that delayed his debut and a hand injury that had forced him to vacated a Japanese national title. Unlike many Japanese fighters he was a local star, making his name in Central Japan rather than one of the boxing powerhouses like Tokyo or Osaka, rather than a national boxing hero. In the opposite corner was former champion Yokthai Sithoar, a 25 year old looking to reclaim the WBA Super Flyweight title that he had lost in Nagoya to Satoshi Iida, who boxed at the same gym as Todaka. Prior to losing the title in 1997 Yokthai had racked up 4 defenses and proven himself to be a heavy handed fighter. In fact the heavy hands of Yokthai had been known about before his boxing debut, as he had been a devastating puncher in Muay Thai. Although not too well remembered now a days, the Thai was a crude, limited boxer, but one who was tough, threw a lot of shots and had incredible work rate, determination and every shot he landed hurt like hell. He wasn't the type of fighter who turned up for a bout to lose, but instead he seemed to enjoy having a tear up, and beating his opponents up. On paper this was an attractive match up. Two relatively limited boxers, with styles that were going to gel. Todaka was probably perceived as the more technical fighter, but neither man was exactly well known for their boxing brains and their ability to lay traps. Both were known for being tough guys, who came to fight, threw a lot, and made up for their deficiencies in skills, but being so damned determined. Straight from the off Yokthai looked to make a fast start, getting his jab pumping and really trying to get his distance down as quickly as possible. Todaka wasn't having that however and tried to to let bombs go up close, which say Yokthai respond with some of his own. Within a minute of the fight starting we were seeing both letting big shots go up close, with the men essentially taking it in turns to let their shots go, then reset. It made for an instant welcoming to the action and it was certainly not your typical first round. Neither man seemed to be hurt at any point, but it was clear that the styles were gelling just as well as we could have hoped and they gave us a very hotly contested opening 3 minutes that was fought in the style that seemed to be exactly what both men wanted. Whilst the first round was good the second was even more better as we got more of the same. It was again a round where the two guys pumped out some jabs before getting inside, unleashing a combination then getting tagged themselves in response. Midway through the round we began to see more exchanges as both men looked to prove they were the stronger man and the bigger puncher. After two very close rounds we began to see the challenger moving through the gears slightly, picking up his work rate, and not backing off when he was tagged, instead he was making sure he got the last word in every back and forth sequence. It was brilliant work from the Thai who, at times, seemed to be using Todaka's head as target practice. The straights, the hooks and the uppercuts from the challenger seemed like they couldn't miss, and Todaka took a genuine beating through parts of the round. The champion always tried to fight back, but his shots had little to no effect on Yokthai who looked like a man fighter who had chosen to use a cheat code or something. The same aggression from the Thai continued in round 4 and 5 as he got inside and continued pummelling Todaka, who really had no answer and nothing he could do to stop the charging Thai. Sadly for Todaka the shows he was taking were taking a clear affect on his face, leaving him swollen, bruised, and bloodied by the end of round 4. The only real relief that Todaka had going his way was that Yokthai had been putting a lot of effort into those rounds, but he had also done a lot of damage and Todaka seemed to be feeling the effects, backing up a lot and throwing little himself. Thankfully for Todaka he did have a much stronger round 6, but it looked more like a last stand than a true turn around from the champion, who needed to stop the rot.His was face looking a mess by then and he had to be down on the cards, even in Nagoya where judges were historically very favourable to the local fighter. He seemed to be putting everything into the round, and did have something of a break through, that it was very hard to know if it was a true turn around or just a minor respite after the beating he had been taking. Rather strangely round 7 become one of the quietest rounds of the fight. Yokthai was now looking like a man who had began to feel the effects of the tempo he had set early on, and Todaka seemed unable to really build on the success he had had in round 6. It was a much, much quieter round and neither seemed to take much punishment through the first 2 minutes. The final minute of the round however was much better, with Yokthai starting it well and Todaka having a good run through the middle of it. It again seemed like Todaka was turning things around, and some how his faced seemed to be looking better now than it had earlier in the fight. It was clear he felt things were swinging his way. Todaka had another major break through in round 8, as he began pressing more, getting on the front foot and forcing Yokthai to give ground fairly consistently. Yokthai seemed to outland Todaka, but his shots seemed to have little effect on the Japanese fighter. On the other hand Todaka shook Yokthai to his core with a right hand on the bell, that sent Yokthai stumbling and then dropping to the canvas. It was clear Yokthai was hurt, and had the shot come 30 seconds earlier that could have been the start off the end. In round 9 Todaka jumped on his man, feeling Yokthai was their for the taking. This lead to a brutal round of action that saw Yokthai bite down had and go to war with Todaka in arguably the round of the fight. It was a round that only one issue with it, the top on Yokthai's glove kept coming undone. That however didn't phase Todaka who went on to hurt Yokthai again, and pushed the Thai to his physical limits. Somehow Yokthai remained upright despite looking ready to go on 3 or 4 occassions. The moment was now all with Todaka as we leave the conclusion of the bout down to you to enjoy. But this is genuinely one of the true closest classics from 2000, and is a bout that every fan deserves to see. It's brutal, it's exciting, and it's another great example of what the Flyweight division has been giving us over the years. You may not be aware of the fighters but this shows exactly what both men brought to the ring. A true brilliant war. (Note - Fight starts at around 11:19 into the video) |
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