This coming weekend is a busy one for boxing fans, especially in Europe, with a number of really interesting match ups. Possibly the pick of the bunch comes from Belfast in Northern Ireland where unbeaten IBF Super Bantamweight champion Carl Frampton (19-0, 13) battles against mandatory challenger Chris Avalos (25-2, 19). The bout, which came about after Avalos ducked Rigondeaux, is one of the better fights that could be made in the division though it's hard to see Avalos upsetting the talented and unbeaten Frampton, who really looks like something a bit special. This is likely to be Frampton's toughest bout but it's one he should win. Over the Irish sea to London fans will get several interesting bouts. One of those will see Heavyweight title contender Tyson Fury (23-0, 17) battle against the limited Christian Hammer (17-3, 10), who shouldn't really test the British giant. Fury is said to be eyeing up a world title fight later in the year though he will need to impress here if he's going to get that opportunity. In the other major bout on the London card fans will see the unbeaten and heavy handed Dmitry Chudinov (14-0-2, 9) battle against the once beaten Chris Eubank Jr (18-1, 13). Chudinov has looked poor in both of his previous UK bouts however he's really come into his own in recent bouts. For Eubank Jr this will be his first bout since his close loss to Billy Joe Saunders in an all British clash last year and he'll know that another loss here would see him become a bit of a laughing stock, especially due to the talk done by his father. A really interesting bout and one that neither can afford to lose. In Mexico fans get a really interesting pair of female bout as unified world champion Jackie Nava (31-4-3, 13) battles against Mayra Alejandra Gomez (16-3, 4). Nava will be defending her WBA and WBC female Super Bantamweight titles and this is potentially the fight of the night, though Nava will have to be favoured. The other female bout here will see the unbeaten Kenia Enriquez (13-0, 6) defending the WBO female Flyweight title against the all action Melissa McMorrow (9-5-3, 1). (Image courtesy of http://roundbyroundboxing.com)
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February 27th-Mathis meets Castillo in potential war, Thompson looks for double over Solis2/26/2015 This coming Friday isn't the biggest or best day for fights this year but there is still plenty going on, even if much of it sails under the radar.
One of those "under the radar" bouts will be in France where fans get collision of heavy handed and aggressive female fighters, as Anne Sophie Mathis (27-3-0-1, 23) battles against Oxandia Castillo (13-2-2, 10) in a bout for the lightly regarded WBF Light Middleweight title. Mathis is the more experienced and proven fighter with bouts against a who's who of female boxing including Christina Hammer, Ceilia Braekhus, Holly Holm and Cindy Serrano, at 37 years old however there arwe questions regarding how much longer she can carry on. Castillo, at just 20 is a young whippersnapper compared to her opponent but she does have vicious power, as shown in her win against Hanna Gabriel, and showed plenty of promise against Braekhus, prior to being stopped in the 9th round. This is a potential female FOTY and one that deserves a fair bit of attention from the hardcore boxing community. In Turkey we get a significant Heavyweight bout as Tony Thompson (39-5, 26) battles Cuban disappointment Odlanier Solis (20-2, 13) for the second time. In their first meeting a lackluster Solis dropped a decision to Thompson and we suspect the same could happen again here as Solis continues to waste his natural ability. If Solis can get things flowing, and he has the ability too, then he can make a huge statement, however if he turns in another sleepy performance then it'll be hard for him to bounce back. Effectively the loser here could well be thrown on the scrap heap whilst the winner may find himself in the running for a title bout. In the US fans get the choice between two televised cards. On FOX Sports one they have the chance to see Pablo Cesar Cano (28-4-1, 21) battle against the heavy handed Juan Carlos Abreu (18-1-1, 17). For Abreu it's time to sink or swim having gone 2-1-1 in his last 4, including a loss to Humberto Soto whilst Cano will himself need a win following 3 defeats in his last 5 bouts. This is a key bout though not one that will decide the next world title challenger. On the same card fans will see Diego De La Hoya (8-0, 6) take a huge step up in class to battle former title challenger Manuel Roman (17-3-3, 6). Roman was last seen in the ring being battered in 2 rounds by Leo Santa Cruz last September and the fact De La Hoya is being matched with him tells you everything you need to know about Roman's ability. The 20 year old De La Hoya is really promising and this is the sort of match up that will do his development the world of good at this early stage in his career. On ESPN fans will get the chance to see the touted and unbeaten Cletus Seldin (15-0-0-1, 12) battle against Johnny Garcia (19-2-1, 11) in a bout that is interesting on paper. The 32 year old Garcia has failed to win in either of his last 2 bouts and desperately needs a notable win, in fact his last win of note was a controversial decision over Yordenis Ugas way back in March 2012, and we suspect he'll give his all here. Seldin, aka "The Hebrew Hammer", is limited but heavy handed that we suspect he'll find a way to turn this into a really exciting slugfest. In the co-feature on this show fans will see Raymond Serrano (20-2, 9) battle against Jeremy Bryan (17-5, 7) in what we suspect will a really exciting contest between two well matched "ESPN level" guys. The brilliant Eric Armit has again sent us his weekly review for the week ending February 9th. We've left Eric's comment on fights from Asia in here and where possible we have also included links to fights.
February 18 Tokyo, Japan: Super Bantam: Ryosuke Iwasa (19-1) W TKO 2 Ricardo Roa (12-10-2). Welter: Koki Koshikawa (4-0) W KO 1 Sandi Korga (4-7). Iwasa vs. Roa Iwasa easily disposes of substitute Roa. The IBF No 3(1) had the Filipino No 14 cut in the first round and floored him in the second with the referee stopping the fight. The 25-year-old Japanese southpaw, a former undefeated JBC and OPBF champion, was to have fought IBF No 5(3) Sergio Perales in an IBF final eliminator but Perales dropped out injured and was replaced by Roa. Iwasa’s only loss was to future WBC bantam champion Shinsuke Yamanaka in 2011 and this is his 11th win since then. Roa, 25 has lost 3 of his last 4 fights. Koshikawa vs. Korga Prospect Koshikawa gets this one over early. A body punch put Indonesian Korga down and out after just 77 seconds. Still to be tested the 24-year-old former World Junior Championships competitor has two early finishes and is worth watching. Korga’s record is almost certainly incomplete but he shows only one previous loss by KO/TKO. Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina: Welter: Hector D Saldivia (43-3) W PTS 10 Sebastien A Lujan (43-9-2). Light: Sebastian E Aguirre (10-0) W KO 5 Federico Malespina (14-8-2). Saldivia vs. Lujan “El Tigre” wins in much anticipated match with Lujan but even his hometown fans are not impressed. Saldivia had the relative youth and strength, but Lujan has competed at a much higher level over his career and is not nicknamed “Iron” for nothing. Both scored freely throughout the bout but Saldivia had the greater power in his punches although he never looked like ending the fight early. Lujan had periods of success and even when Saldivia was on top he was always looking for gaps to slot home counters. It was a close, interesting rather than exciting fight. Scores 96-94 twice and 96-93 with the decision not meeting with total approval even from the home crowd and certainly not from Lujan. The 30-year-old Saldivia was stopped in three rounds by Kell Brook in an IBF final eliminator in October 2012 and did not return to the ring until getting a quick win over Juan J Dias last December. The former Argentinian champion wins the interim WBC Latino title but has a major rebuilding task ahead. Lujan, 35, lost to Antonio Margarito and Serhiy Dzinziruk in challenges for the WBO welter title. Subsequent losses to Jamie Moore, Mike Jones and Chris van Heerden effectively banished him from any world rating and he slipped further by losing to Victor H Velazquez for the Argentinian title last March. He is still a good test for any promising young fighters. Aguirre vs. Malespina Aguirre retains his winning status with kayo of Malespina. This was a tough close fight as Malespina withstood an opening barrage from the local blue-eyed boy and was trading on even terms. He opened a cut on the left cheek of Aguirre but eventually the body punches from Aguirre got to him. It was Aguirre’s fight in the fourth and he finished the job with a body punch in the fifth. Six wins by KO/TKO for the FAB No 10. Third loss in his last four fights for Malespina and fifth loss by KO/TKO. Monterrey, Mexico: Light Fly: Juan Alejo (20-3) W PTS 12 Jesus Faro (13-9). “Pinky” Alejo retains Mexican title with close decision over Far. The challenger forced the fight early but Alejo had the better technique and was scoring with the cleaner shot. The aggression of Faro was making the fight close but in the tenth a hard combination from Alejo put Faro down. He made it to his feet and took the eight count and saw out the round. That knockdown proved decisive as Alejo went on the retain his title by unanimous decision. First defence of his Mexican title for Alejo who has 13 wins by KO/TKO. He lost his first three pro fights so is on a 20 fight winning streak. Faro had won 5 of his last 6 fights. February 20 Khon Kaen, Thailand: Super Feather: Pharanpetch (14-0) W KO 3 Ramli Pasaribu. Pharanpetch retains the WBC ABC title with kayo of Indonesian Pasaribu. The Thai found Pasaribu willing to trade over the first two rounds but the Indonesian’s resistance was ended by a vicious shot to the body which put him down with no chance on beating the count. Now 10 wins by KO/TKO for Pharanpetch and third defence of his WBC ABC title but his record is heavily padded with 7 of his victims having their first pro fights when facing him. Pasaribu, a former Indonesian title challenger has a substantially incomplete record and what there is is not impressive. Kiensa, Thailand: Light Fly: Fahlan Jr (27-3-1) W PTS 12 Shunji Nagata (10-12-2). Fahlan holds on to his IBF Asia title with wide unanimous decision over Nagata. The was a matador vs. bull contest with Fahlan the matador. The young Thai showcased his excellent skills. He was quicker of foot and hand than the brave but very limited Nakata. Round after round Nakata just marched forward into a hail of jabs, uppercuts and hooks. Fahlan had slight edges in height and reach and with Nakata rumbling forward throwing hooks he was able to catch him coming in with vicious counters. Nakata had no plan B and never attempted to use a jab. His only hope, and only tactics were to try to get Fahlan to the ropes where he could cut down the Thai’s fighting space. However even inside Fahlan was still the one landing more and harder punches. The fight was messy at times and in both the ninth and tenth rounds both fighters tumbled to the floor together but Fahlan never relinquished his grip on the fight. Scores 120-108 from all three judges. The 21-year-old is the son of Fahlan Snr. a former IBF minimumweight champion who defended his title 8 times, won the WBFed fly title and defended that 8 times and then lost twice and drew twice in IBF title challenges. Fahlan Jr. made a big impact when he knocked out top rated Ryo Miyazaki in three rounds in 2013 but was brought down to earth in his next fight when brilliant Japanese prospect Takuma Inoue outpointed him in only Takuma’s second pro fight. He is rated IBF 8(7) and has the skills to challenge for a world title. Nagata, 30, showed an iron chin, limitless stamina and no finesses. He is 3-6 in his last 9 fights. Ontario, CA, USA: Welter: Taras Shelestyuk (11-0) W TKO 3 Francisco Reza (13-13). Super Light: Giovanni Santillan (16-0) W TKO 1 Eduardo Rivera (9-2-2). Shelestyuk vs. Reza Former top amateur Shelestyuk makes it 8 wins by KO/TKO. The tall Ukrainian floored Reza in the first but Reza managed to last out the round. Shelestyuk continued to land hard shots in the second and it was obvious that this poor match could not go on much longer. It ended in the third when Shelestyuk landed a series of punches and Reza’s corner threw in the towel prompting the referee to stop the fight. The 29-year-old Shelestyuk, a former World Championships gold medalist and European bronze medalist also took a bronze at the 2012 Olympics where he lost 10-11 to Welshman Fred Evans. Shelestyuk has won 5 of his last 6 by KO/TKO but there was no glory in this win. Mexican Reza had lost inside a round in 3 of his last 4 fights so no test at all. Santillan vs. Rivera Santillan destroys Rivera inside a round. Rivera was the creator of his own destruction as he came out looking to take the fight to Santillan. The “Golden Boy” broke up Rivera’s attack and then staggered and floored Rivera with the referee waiving the count. That makes it 9 wins by KO/TKO for the former member of the Mexican Junior Olympics team. He had been taken the distance in 3 of his last 4 fights but was too fast for Rivera. The loser was unbeaten in his first 10 fights but was then stopped inside a round by Kevin Hoskins in February 2013 and did not return to the ring until fighting a draw in his last fight in December 2014. Verona, NY, USA: Heavy: Lenroy Thomas (19-3) W PTS 7 Jason Estrada (20-6,1ND). Heavy: Donovan Dennis (11-1,1ND) W TKO 4 Steve Vukosa (10-1). Heavy: Razvan Cojanu (13-1) W PTS 7 Ed Fountain (10-1). Heavy: Andrey Fedosov (26-3) W KO 1 Nat Heaven (9-2). Heavy: Andrey Fedosov (25-3) W Nat Heaven (9-1). Welter: Jesus A Rodriguez (13-0) W TKO 3 Bryan Abraham (6-21-2). Thomas vs. Estrada Thomas gets the win in the ESPN Boxcino Tournament quarterfinal although the extra round should not have been necessary. Southpaw Thomas was just too quick for a grossly overweight Estrada and looked to have won clearly at the end of the six rounds. Estrada probably edged the first and was competitive in the second but then has lack of conditioning and surplus weight went against him. Thomas outboxed Estrada over the remaining four rounds despite suffering a cut over his right eye brought about by Estrada’s “careless” headwork. At the end of the six rounds the judges somehow scored it a draw so they had to fight another round which Thomas won clearly. Jamaica-born “TNT” Thomas a former National PAL silver medal winner lost his first pro fight but then won his next 16. Inactivity and back-to-back losses saw him have only two losing fight in almost four years but he returned with two low level wins in 2014. “Big Six” Estrada, 34, has been a huge disappointment as a pro. The Providence fighter was a three-time US and PAL champion and took the gold medal at the Pan American Games but failed to medal at the 2004 Olympics and has had a stuttering pro career losing to Steve Vukosa in his last fight in July. He came into this as a late replacement which may explain why a 6’1” (185cm) fighter comes in at 261lbs. (118.5kgs) Dennis vs. Vukosa Dennis puts an end to Vukosa’s amazing comeback. Dennis had his jab working from the first and Vukosa was taking punishment and just not being able to get into the fight. Dennis dominated the second and stressed his superiority by flooring Vukosa late in the round with a southpaw left. The fight was really all over then but Vukosa came out for the fourth only to walk into more punishment with the referee rightly stopping the fight with eight seconds to go in the round. Dennis, 27, had suffered an upset stoppage loss against Nat Heaven in April last year so needed an impressive performance. Big things were expected after he won a silver at the NGG’s and competed at the final trials for the US Olympic team for 2012 and all seemed to be going well before he lost in one round to Heaven. The 38-year-old Vukosa “The Gentle Giant” was a NGG gold medalist way back in 2000 and turned pro in 2001. He won his first eight fights but then a knee injury forced him to retire in May 2002. He returned to the ring 12 years later and in his first fight back outpointed Jason Estrada for the New England title. Retirement may call again. Cojanu vs. Fountain Cojanu proceeds through to the semifinals with a points win over Fountain in another fight which needed an extra round. The 6’7 ½” (202cm) Romanian used his physical advantages to keep prodding his left with southpaw Fountain a bit quicker and with a slightly better technique making the mistake of head hunting which meant he was over reaching himself and leaving himself open to counters from Cojanu. It was not an exciting fight with the Romanian probably just having the edge. At the end of six rounds two of the judges scored it 57-57 with the third going to Cojanu 58-56. There was more action in the seventh round as both knew they had to win the round and Cojanu just did enough to get the decision on scores of 67-66 twice and 68-65. He will meet Dennis in the semifinals although he was badly cut it is expected to heal in time for that fight. As an amateur Cojanu represented Romanian at World level as a Cadet a Junior and a Senior winning a bronze medal at the European Championships and competing at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships. Hawaiian-born, St Louis-based Fountain, 26, could have won this one with just a bit more effort. Fedosov vs. Heaven Russian Fedosov turns in the most impressive performance and remain the favourite to win the tournament. Heaven, 6’6” (198cm) tried to use his height and reach to work behind his jab as Fedosov stalked looking for an opening. He found one for a thunderous left hook which put Heaven down on the canvas under the bottom rope. Heaven got up but looked very shaky. He tried to box and bang his way out of trouble with Fedosov stalking and not wasting any punches. Fedosov turned Heaven out into the centre of the ring but missed with a three punch combination. As Heaven again looked to trade a another combination put him down in almost the identical place as the first knockdown and again he was out under the ropes. He was struggling to get up but the referee knelt in front of him and waived the fight over. A disgusted Heaven didn’t bother getting up he just climbed down off the ring apron and started to walk away only to think better of it and return by climbed up the ring steps in a corner. The 28-year-old Fedosov had a 15 bout winning streak broken with a split decision loss to Lance Whitaker in 2010 and just when he was getting back on the rails he was cut and retired against Bryant Jennings in 2013. He returned in April last year with a kayo of experienced Maurice Harris and winning this tournament would give his profile a big boost. Floridian Heaven won is first nine fights with the ninth being a big upset as he halted previously unbeaten Dennis inside a round in April. However next time out he himself was stopped in a round by Stacy Frazier who was 15-15 and had lost his last 5 fights so it is now two first round losses in a row –hell for Heaven (Oh god I didn’t really write that did I?) Rodriguez vs. Abraham In a non-tournament bout Rodriguez celebrates his first fight outside Mexico with a win. Rodriguez made a slow start with Abraham getting the better of the early exchanges. Things changed dramatically in the second when Rodriguez landed a hard right which put Abraham down. He got up only to be floored again and only just made it to the bell. He was badly shaken but survived the third only to take a beating in the fourth with the referee saving him for further punishment late in the round. “Carambolas” Rodriguez, 22, has 9 wins by KO/TKO with all 9 coming within the first three rounds. Local fighter Abraham does not live up to his “Brick” nickname as this was his eleventh loss in a row and his tenth loss by KO/TKO. Rye Brook, NY, USA: Light Heavy: Sam Clarkson (13-3) W PTS 8 Cedric Agnew (27-1). Middle: Serhiy Derevyanchenko (4-0) W TKO 2 Vlad Biosse (15-6-2). Super Feather: Bryant Cruz (14-0) W PTS 8 Jorge Pazos (14-8-1). Super Welter: Frank Galarza (16-0-2) W TKO 1 Raul Munoz (23-18-1). Super Middle: Avtandil Khurtsidze (30-2-2) W TKO 4 Phil Penson (8-1-2). Clarkson vs. Agnew Clarkson wins the all-southpaw fight with controversial split decision. Agnew was rebuilding after an unsuccessful challenge to Sergey Kovalev and this should have been a routine night’s work. It certainly looked that way when a hard combination put Clarkson down in the second round. Clarkson recovered well and they fought on equal terms over the third and fourth with Agnew still holding a lead. From the fifth although still scoring with some good combinations Agnew seemed to tire and let Clarkson back into the fight. It was very close to the end with the judges seeing it 76-75 twice for Clarkson and the other judge 76-75 for Agnew. Huge win for Texan southpaw who has now won 6 of his last 7 fights. The loss in that run was against Jesse Heart who floored Clarkson twice and won every round when they met in April. Clarkson had scored two wins since then against low level opposition. Agnew, 28, was knocked out in seven rounds by Kovalev in March and returned in June with a win over Shannon Miller. He dropped out of the ratings and needs to bounce back from this poor display quickly. Derevyanchenko vs. Biosse Derevyanchenko overwhelms Biosse inside two rounds. The hard-punching New York-based Ukrainian dominated the first round keeping Biosse on the back foot with strong jabs. He got serious in the second cutting loose with blistering combinations that had Biosse on the ropes and in trouble when the referee stopped the fight. The 29-year-old is too hot for the competition at this level. He has 3 wins by KO/TKO only Ghanaian Laatekwei Hammond has managed to last out four rounds but was down three times. A former World Championships bronze medal winner and 2008 Olympian (losing to Matt Korobov) he also won gold at the European Cadets and World University Games and was a star of the WSB. Everything says he is destined for the top. Cape Verde-born Biosse has been matched tough with recent losses to J’Leon Love, Callum Smith and Andre Dirrell Cruz vs. Pazos Popular Cruz overcomes a shaky moment to outpoint Mexican in an exciting scrap. Cruz used his speed and superior skills to outbox Pazos over the first three minutes. He was repeating the dose until very late in the second when a left hook from Pazos put him down heavily. He got up but there were only seconds left to the bell. How badly Cruz was shaken was apparent when he weaved his way to the wrong corner. No frills and skills in the third as Cruz stood and traded shots with Pazos in an exciting round that saw Cruz under heavy fire on a couple of occasions. Cruz had his act together in the fourth and fifth using his jab, quicker hand speed and body shots to have Pazos on the back foot and from then he never let the Mexican get into the fight. He was controlling the fight with his jab and soon Pazos was bruised and busted up but kept battling all the way. Scores 78-73 twice and 77-74. “Pee Wee” from Port Chester a former NGG silver medalist was in his second eight round fight and that chin check from Pazos was a timely warning to focus 100% of the time. Now 5 losses in a row for “The Mexican Fire” but as with Biosse he is the victim of some brave management who have put him in with Genesis Servania, Orlando Cruz, Gamaliel Rodriguez and Diego Magdaleno. Galarza vs. Munoz Big ticket seller Galarza halts veteran Munoz in 76 seconds. A right shook Munoz and another one unhinged his legs and sent him tumbling onto his knees with the referee halting the action at that point. Brooklyn’s “Notorious” makes it a total of 10 wins by KO/TKO the last seven on the bounce. Topeka-based Mexican Munoz, 38, is a part-timer with just one fight in 2012 none in 2013 and just two in 2014. The last in December saw him stopped inside a round by Derevyanchenko. Khurtsidze vs. Penson “Tornado” Khurtsidze a long way ahead of Penson on ability and experience, but much shorter in stature. The compact little Georgian was able to get inside and work the body of the Floridian newcomer. By the fourth Khurtsidze was ready to end things and he trapped Penson in a corner and landed a series of punches until the referee halted the fight. The 35-year-old Khurtsidze has lost only one of his last 24 fights and that was a very close decision to Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam in 2010 for the interim WBA title with two judges only having the Frenchman one point ahead. He has won 7 in a row collecting the IBO and WBC Silver titles in that run although he never defended either. Penson in way over his head. Pittsburg, PA, USA: Welter: Samuel Vasquez (18-0) W PTS 10 Emmanuel Lartei Lartey (16-3-1). Light Heavy: Craig Baker (16-0) W TKO 2 Umberto Savigne (12-2,1ND). Super Feather: Argenis Mendez (22-3-1, ND) W TKO 6 Daniel Evangelista (17-5-1). Super Welter: Yudel Jhonson (17-1) W PTS 8 Pablo Munguia (20-6) Feather: Claudio Marrero (18-1) W PTS 8 Orlando Rizo (18-6). Feather: Gervonta Davis (10-0) W KO 1 Isreal Suarez (4-5-2). Welter: Bryant Perrella (8-0) W KO 4 Justin Johnson (6-7-4). Vasquez vs. Lartey Another sparkling talented display from Vasquez as he easily outpoints fellow southpaw Lartey. Vasquez was just too quick and talented for the tough but limited Lartey. Vasquez bossed the fight both at range and inside slotting punches through Lartey’s defence and scoring with two-fisted combinations. Vasquez increased the pace and pressure in round after round and Lartey had no answer to Vasquez quickness and controlled aggression. Vasquez was confident enough to drop his hands with Lartey just too slow to take advantage. It looked possible that the fight might be stopped after eight rounds but not only did Lartey fight on but the ninth and tenth were his best rounds in the fight and he was able to hear the bell with his record of never losing inside the distance intact. Scores 99-91 twice and 100-90. The 28-year-old “Who Can Mexican “had won his last 8 by KO/TKO so this was eight useful rounds of action. A former World Military Championships bronze medal winner and US Army and Inter Services champion who served two tours in Iraq turned Vasquez turned down the offer of being the alternate for the US Olympic team for 2012 to turn pro and with every fight it looks like he made the right decision. In his previous two fights he has beaten James Stevenson (21-0) and Alberto Mosquera (21-2-1) and a world rating can’t be far away. “Bukom Jah” Lartey, 33, suffered successive losses to Errol Spence and Felix Diaz but had floored and outpointed Steve Forbes in June. Savigne vs. Baker There were no shortage of upsets at the weekend and this was one of the biggest. Cuban Savigne was a heavy favourite and started out that way as he scored with some good rights on the aggressive Baker whose work looked messy. At the start of the second Baker found the target with one of his own rights which sent Savigne back into the ropes. Baker followed in landing a salvo of punches before a straight right put Savigne down on his knees with his face on the canvas. The Cuban arose immediately before the referee could start the count but his legs were shaky and he tumbled into the ropes and was still trying to get his legs to obey him when the referee rightly stopped the fight. Texan “The Black Cat” Baker, 31, had built his record on the low level Texas circuit and only one previous opponent had won more then he had lost so this was a big escalation in quality and a huge win. He has 12 wins by KO/TKO. Savigne, 36, was coming off a two round stoppage win over Jeff Lacy. The no decision is because he tested positive for a banned substance after beating John Jackson in 2013. He had been an outstanding amateur in Cuba winning a gold medal at the Pan American Games in 1999 and also collected gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games twice and at the World Cup. He attempted to escape Cuba but failed and was no longer allowed to box for the national team. Mendez vs. Evangelista Mendez eases his way back into the winning column as Mexican Evangelista surrenders at the end of the sixth round. First fight for 28-year-old former IBF champion Mendez since losing his title to Rances Barthelemy in July and win No 12 by KO/TKO. Evangelista had won 4 of his last 5 fights Jhonson vs. Munguia Jhonson only just scrapes past tough Mexican Munguia on a split decision. Jhonson had everything going for him southpaw skill, height, vast amateur experience and unusually for him, even age, but Munguia would not be denied and was able to get inside and nullify much of Jhonson’s best work. The Cuban was dominant at range but the tenacious Munguia kept up the pressure. Jhonson just did enough clear scoring when he found space and deserved the decision but it was not an impressive performance. Scores 79-73, 79-74 for Jhonson and 77-75 for Munguia. The 33-year-old Cuban gets his fifth win since losing to Willie Nelson back in 2012. He was coming off a good win over another Mexican, Norberto Gonzalez, but needs to do better than this before the opportunity passes him by. “Gravedigger” Munguia, 36, also a southpaw and a former Mexican champion had won 4 of his last 5 fights and can be a tough assignment for anyone not on the top of their game. Marrero vs. Rizo Another all-southpaw battle saw Marrero outpoint Nicaraguan Rizo. Marrero was the aggressor looking to get an early finish but Rizo did not fold despite the pressure and was willing to stand and trade. Marrero was scoring with the harder and more accurate punches and put Rizo down in the second with left only for Rizo to get up and fire back with hard punches of his own. Marrero came close to ending it in the third when lefts again had Rizo on the floor but again the Nicaraguan survived and fought back. Marrero put Rizo down for the fourth time in round five and Rizzo was having trouble seeing out of his right eye due to a swelling. Despite all of that the Nicaraguan earned his money the hard way. He had done enough to steal a couple of rounds and was still there at the final bell. Scores 80-68, 78-70 and 78-71. Dominican Marrero lost a close decision to Jesus M A Cuellar for the interim WBA title in 2013 and this is his fourth win since then. The former Pan American Games silver medalist is rated No 8 feather by the WBA. Rizo, 30, a former Nicaraguan bantam champion kept his record of not losing by KO/TKO . Davis vs. Suarez Baltimore’s Davis took only 47 seconds to put Puerto Rican Suarez down and out. The 20-year-old former NGG and PAL champion has only been taken the distance once. That was by veteran German Meraz and even he was on the floor twice. Now with Al Haymon he looks a hot prospect. Suarez 25 was coming off a very creditable split decision loss to Frank Santos De Alba and this was his first loss by KO/TKO. Perrella vs. Johnson Perrella, another one to watch, makes it five wins on the bounce by KO/TKO as he puts away Johnson in the fourth. The 25-year-old Floridian, a PAL bronze medal winner went to the finals of the US Olympic Trials but losses to Samuel Vasquez and Errol Spence ended his Olympic dream. “Baby Boy” Johnson, 26, has now lost his last 3 fights. Pergamino, Argentina: Super Bantam: Julian E Aristule (26-6) W TKO 9 Fabian O Orozco (25-4-2). Southpaw Aristule collects the Argentinian and WBO Latino titles with win over Orozco. This was close over the first five rounds but then the superior punch power of “Spark” Aristule came into play. An under pressure Orozco took a standing count in the sixth and Aristule began to build a winning lead. However the points became immaterial in the ninth when a sustained attack from Aristule forced the referee to step in to save Orozco. The 31-year-old local Aristule had knocked out Orozco in two rounds in 2013 but went on to lose his next two fights and was down at No 6 with the FFB. After the first Aristule loss the 29-year-old Orozco had run up five victories winning both the Argentinian and WBO Latino titles but Aristule looks to have the Indian sign over him. Junin, Argentina: Super Welter: Juan M Bonanni (26-6-3) W PTS 10 Jose C Paz (16-2). Bonanni finally wins a title as he just edges out Paz for the WBC Latino title. This was a close fight all the way with first one and then the other on top. Hometown fighter Bonanni made the better start taking the first three rounds with his superior boxing. Pressure saw Paz biting back to take the fourth and fifth and Bonanni edging the sixth and seventh. Over the last three rounds Paz seemed to have done enough to claw back Bonanni’s lead and deserve a draw but the judges disagreed. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 all for Bonanni. He had failed in two previous attempts at the Argentinian and WBC Latino titles so I guess it was his turn to get lucky. The 27-year-old was rated four places behind Paz in the FAB ratings going into the fight. Paz, 24, the FFB No 5 lost his second pro fight and then had a 15 bout winning run before this loss. He was making the second defence of his WBC Latino title but still holds the WBC Mundo Hispano title. Madrid, Spain: Super Bantam: Sergio Prada (10-4-1) W KO 2 Nikoloz Berkatsashvili (23-12). Prado returns to action with a win. In his first fight since losing to Kid Galahad eleven months ago he dominated the first round and then floored Berkatsashvili with an uppercut in the second. The Georgian just made it shakily to his feet before the ten but the referee continued and counted him out. The 32-year-old “Schuster” a former Spanish and EU champion was clearly outpointed by Galahad in their fight for the vacant European title but showed good skills and never gave up trying .He is 6-1-1 in his last 8 fights. Berkatsashvili moves to 10 losses by KO/TKO. Gijon, Spain: Welter: Aitor Nieto (16-3) W PTS 6 Julio Sanchez (4-7). Light: Pablo Fuego (7-0) W PTS 6 Michael Carrero (12-35-4). Nieto vs. Sanchez “El Diamante” Nieto returns to the winning column with a comfortable unanimous decision over Sanchez. After a slow start Nieto turned up the heat from the half way mark landing sharp jabs and bloodying Sanchez’s nose but was content to get some rounds under his belt. The 31-year-old Spanish champion lost a close decision to Frenchman Ahmed El Mousaoui in December and will be hoping to work his way to a return fight. Sanchez was a late substitute and had won his last two fights. Fuego vs. Carrero Local prospect Fuego had Carrero in trouble in the first with a body punch but Carrero clung on to see out the round. Fuego was unable to really shake Carrero again and boxed his way to the unanimous decision. The tall 5’10” (178cm) 27-year-old lightweight is the best prospect in Asturias but a lack of power, 0 wins inside the distance, may lead to problems against better opposition. Only one win in his last 22 fights for Carrero but he usually goes the distance. February 21 Monte Carlo, Monaco: Middle: Gennady Golovkin (32-0) W TKO 11 Martin Murray (29-2-1). Minimum: Hekkie Budler (28-1) W PTS 12 Jesus Silvestre (30-6). Bantam: Lee Haskins (31-3) W TEC DEC 8 Omar Lamiri (13-2). Heavy: Hughie Fury (15-0) W PTS 10 Andriy Rudenko (24-2,1ND). Golovkin vs. Murray I am beginning to think the GGG stands for Great,Great,Great as the most implacable destroyer in boxing today battered a heroic Murray to defeat. Many saw Murray as having a real chance in this fight but Golovkin shattered those illusions. The Kazak destroyer was stalking Murray from the first. Murray looked much bigger physically than Golovkin and started well in the first using lots of movement and trying to land sneaky rights over Golovkin’s low left. Golovkin ended the round well to edge it but despite having to spend long periods with his back to the ropes Murray just had the better of the second as he managed to land a flurry of body punches and a good right. Nothing Murray was doing was halting the forward march of Golovkin and the champion had his best round so far in the third. For the first time he had Murray looking vulnerable with a right cross which staggered the Brit. The fourth was a disaster for Murray. He was moving along the ropes when a fierce right to the body from Golovkin saw Murray take 2-3 steps backwards and then in a delayed effect go down on one knee in agony. He was up at six and when the eight count finished Golovkin went in pursuit looking to end the fight. Murray was trapped on the ropes again and Golovkin wrapped a right behind Murray’s guard and into his ribs. Murray went down on one knee again and it looked all over. However he got up and the bell went before Golovkin could finish the job. Incredibly Murray came out for the fifth as if those knockdowns had never happened and fired bursts of body punches. However Golovkin was coming forward relentlessly and landing hard punches to head and body and a punch brought blood flowing from Murray’s nose. As the rounds progressed the unrelenting pressure from Golovkin kept Murray circling the ring with his back to the ropes. The Kazak was getting though with hard shots in every round and with Murray’s face a mask of blood the Brit’s resilience was tested to the limits. Despite all of the pressure Murray kept firing back whenever he found the room to do so, but Golovkin was just walking through anything Murray threw and his fierce attacks were draining Murray’s resistance. One straw that was being grasped by Murray supporters prior to the fight was that as Golovkin had only been taken into the tenth round once that he might fade over the championship rounds but there was no sign that the non-stop all-action aggression was decaying any of Golovkin’s power. The tenth banished any dreams the Barmy Army of Brits might have had. Murray started the round well but Golovkin soon had Murray shipping punishment as he followed the challenger around the ring firing a fusillade of shots to head an body. He moved Murray off the ropes with a right to the head and then put him down with two chopping punches which landed high on Murray’s forehead. He went down heavily but got up at eight and the bell rang. Golovkin finished it in brutal style in the eleventh. He trapped Murray in a corner shook him badly with a right and when seconds later a fearful right made Murray’s head snap back the referee made a timely intervention. It is now 19 wins in a row for Golovkin as he retains his WBA and IBO titles (oh and the WBC interim title). It is difficult to see how any middleweight on the planet can stand up to the 32-year-old Golovkin. He has said he wants to fight Miguel Cotto next and the WBC must put pressure on Cotto to make this happen. Murray deserves an award for valour for overcoming that fourth round and continually trying to find some weakness in Golovkin. In two previous world title fights he had been more than unlucky to have to settle for a draw against Felix Sturm for the WBA title and would probably gotten the decision over Sergio Martinez in a neutral venue. He showed that he is a match for any other middleweight-except GGG. Budler vs. Silvestre The “Hexecutioner” retains his WBA and IBO titles with a unanimous decision over Silvestre. Budler made a slow start against Mexican Silvestre and got a nasty shock in the second when a very low punch must have given any watching female partener some concerns. However he was given time to recover and the referee deducted a point from Silvestre. Once Budler was in his stride his superior skills, speed and movement allowed him to score freely on the inside and outbox Silvestre from a distance. Silvestre was also hampered by a cut over his right eye but even more so by his lack of movement and poor defence. Budler was punishing any errors and using excellent body movement to stay in punching distance, get in his own shots and block or dodge those from Silvestre. He was probably making things a little harder then they needed to be by standing and trading so often but that’s what makes him such an exciting fighter. Silvestre eventually realised that his best chance came from a sustained body attack (if he could keep his punches above the belt) and he had more success over the closing rounds and managed to close the points gap somewhat but was never able to match the accuracy and work rate of the young South African. Budler was a clear and impressive winner. Budler, 26, was making the third defence of his WBA title and eighth of his IBO title. Since losing a split decision to Gideon Buthelezi in 2011 Budler has taken on board the lessons from that defeat and has run up 10 wins including victories over former IBF champion Nkosinathi Joyi, Karluis Diaz, Pigmy Kokietgym and former WBC champion Xiong Zhao Zhong. With all the talk of getting to one world champion in each division the hope now is that the WBC will put their words into action and help make a unification bout with their champion Wanheng a reality. “Negrito” Silvestre, 25, initially failed to make the weight so had some work to do before he even climbed into the ring. He is a former WBA interim champion and only lost on a majority decision against Ryo Miyazaki for the full title in 2013 and had won his last two fights. Haskins vs. Lamiri Haskins wins vacant European title with technical decision over Lamiri. The respective styles did not work very well together but the loose; hands down style of Haskins gave him more variety in his work. Lamiri worked behind his long jab but did not let his punches go enough. The first round started cautiously but a right from Haskins that clipped Lamiri on the temple saw Lamiri’s legs do a little involuntary dance and he fell to the canvas but the referee did not apply a count although it looked a valid knockdown and Lamiri’s legs were shaky when he got up. Lamiri was quick handed and occasionally caught Haskins coming in and going back but he was letting Haskins dictate the pace. Lamiri’s reaction to the ten second warning was almost comical as he went from a steady jabbing approach into a wild wind milling figure like an LP played at 78rpm (get your granddad to explain if you don’t know what this is). Lamiri was having some success with long straight punches but both were swinging and missing in the second with Lamiri slipping to the canvas but this one was not a knockdown. In the third both had success Lamiri firing home a hard right cross and jabbing well with his left but Haskins also got through with a good left later in the round. The fight was untidy in the fourth with Lamiri down three times but all being due to either bad balance or pushes from Haskins. A left/right combination from southpaw Haskins staggered Lamiri in the fifth and he went down briefly but the referee did not apply a count ruling that Haskins had again pushed Lamiri down. At the end of the round the Frenchman was showing a swelling and small cut under his right eye caused by a clash of heads and this was the Brits best round so far. Haskin’s scored with a good left in the sixth but Lamiri was trying to get on the front foot and take the fight to Haskins for a change. A clash of heads in the seventh opened a big vertical gash on the head of Haskins over his right eye and slightly to the right of the bridge of his nose. In the seventh Lamiri began to throw punch after punch as Haskins looked to protect the cut. The Frenchman obviously had not realised/ been told that as the cut was due to a clash of heads he actually would benefit from more rounds to catch up on Haskins lead. The Brit survived a doctor’s inspection but due to its position the cut was sending a stream of blood into Haskins eyes and the doctor had another look and advised the fight be stopped. Because the cut was caused by a clash of heads it went to the scorecards with Haskins winning on scores of 78-74 twice and 79-73. The 31-year-old Haskins a former European, CBC and British champion, now,hopes he will finally get a world title shot. He already has wins over Jamie McDonnell and Stuart Hall who both went on to win IBF titles. Going in he was rated WBC3/IBF 6(4)/ WBO 12/WBA 13 so if he gets the shot it will have to be a voluntary so there is no guarantee he will get the shot he deserves. Undefeated French and EU champion Lamiri, 25, looked a competent boxer with a good jab but no real power. He had won his last 7 fights including victories over Karim Guerfi (19-1) and Anthony Settoul (19-2) and is young enough to fight for this title again in a year or two. Fury vs. Rudenko Fury continues to make progress as he outscores Rudenko. The tall Fury was able to control this from the outside having a big edge in height over Rudenko (6’6”-198cm to 6’0 ½” 184cms) and Rudenko was too slow and too bereft of any ideas of how to get inside and work. Fury also mixed in some good hooks as Rudenko came forward. The Ukrainian had some mild success in a couple of rounds but Fury was always in control and boxed his way to a clear victory in his first ten round fight. Scores 98-91, 98-92 and a generous 97-93. Fury, a cousin of Tyson Fury, is making good progress and at 20 and with a good team behind him he will only get better. Rudenko, 31, ran up 24 wins before being inactive from March 2013 until losing on points in his first real test to world rated Lucas Brown in October last year. This was his first fight since then Kreuzberg, Germany: Super Middle: Arthur Abraham (42-4) W PTS 12 Paul Smith (35-5). Light Heavy: Mirco Riccci (14-2) W PTS 12 Enrico Koelling (16-1). Heavy: David Price (19-2) W TKO 6 Irineu Beato Costa Junior (16-3). Cruiser: Noel Gevor (16-0) W PTS 8 Alejandro E Valori (16-7). Feather: Josh Warrington (20-0) W TKO 5 Edwin Tellez (9-12-5). Super Middle: Stefan Haertel (4-0) W PTS 6 Crispulo J Andino (18-8-1). Abraham vs. Smith Abraham retains his WBO title and settles any arguments arising from their first fight. The only real difference from that first fight was that whilst Abraham did nothing dramatically different he did what he done before but a lot more of it. Smith began the fight well scoring well with his jab as Abraham walked forward behind his usual high guard. Abraham was more active in the second round letting his punches go and forcing Smith to the ropes. Smith came back into the fight again in the third but the fourth saw Abraham have his best round to that point as he start scored heavily with good punches to head and body. Smith was entering into exchanges but Abraham was the stronger and the harder puncher. Smith temporarily halted Abraham’s forward march with a chilling body punch in the sixth but Abraham recovered and again made his strength tell as he continued to take the fight to Smith. A big right in the ninth had Smith hurt and although the challenger kept his boxing together and continued to fire back whenever he could it was a lost cause. Any hope that Abraham might fade over the late rounds proved optimistic and although Smith put in a big effort in the last round the fight was already beyond his grasp by then. Scores 117-112 twice and 116-112. The 34-year-old Armenian-born “King Arthur” is in his second reign as champion and this was his 20th world title fight. He is 2-1 up in his series with former champion and WBO No 1 rated Robert Stieglitz and with Felix Sturm looking towards the interim WBA title they look to be heading to a fourth fight. Smith, 32, has shown in both fights with Abraham that he belongs at that level but in a division that contains Brits Carl Froch, George Groves and James De Gale, with the last two having wins over Smith, he has struggled for recognition. None of the other three will be interested in domestic matters and with his brother Callum highly rated in the same division Smith has limited options but he is far from finished. Ricci vs. Koelling Italian Ricci upsets unbeaten Koelling to win the WBA Inter-Continental title. The visitor put up a career best performance and showed maturity over some of his previous fights. Ricci used faster reflexes plenty of lateral movement and quick, light punches to beak up Koelling’s focus. The young German did not seem to know how to deal with the clever work put in by the Italian whilst boxing on the back foot and was not letting his punches flow. There was no plan B which allowed Ricci to build a good lead and Koelling only seemed to wake up over the last four rounds. Both fighters had to overcome injuries sustained in head clashes with Koelling’s the worst, a bad cut on his right eyebrow, whilst Ricci had a swelling on his right cheek. By the last round Koelling needed a knockout but instead it was Ricci who shook Koelling with a left hook as he cruised to victory. Scores 116-112 twice and 117-112. The 24-year-old Italian champion from Rome had lost a majority decision to Dominic Boesel in 2013 but had then gone back home and won and successfully defended his national title. Now he adds the WBA Inter-Continental title and will be hoping to inherit the inflated No 10 ranking held by Koelling in both the WBA and WBO ratings or Koelling’s more realistic No 6 with the EBU. Former amateur standout Koelling is still only 24 and can learn and rebound from this. Price vs. Costa Jr Both made a cautious start with Price really just pawing with his jab and throwing the occasional light right but without any real snap and Costa trundled around occasionally throwing a flurry of light punches. The cautious approach continued over the next three rounds with Price keeping Costa on the end of his jab and throwing a few rights without effect and Costa never really getting close enough to be a threat. Price increased his activity in the fifth scoring with jabs and straight rights but it was still left jab right cross with no combinations and he was still allowing Costa to get on the front foot too often. Price was on top in the sixth when with just under a minute to go he landed a right and then a left hook which sent Costa down on his back. Costa was up at six and ready to resume on completion of the eight count. Two straight rights put Costa down again. This time he was up at five only to go down again from three not too hard looking punches. The referee started the count but as Costa got up the towel was coming in from Costa’s corner as the referee waived the fight over. The 31-year-old Price boxed competently but cautiously as he moved to 16 wins by KO/TKO but I feel that the pre-Tony Thompson Price would have got this job done much quicker even if this was only the second loss by KO/TKO for Brazilian Costa Gevor vs. Valori Gevor gets eight rounds of useful work against aggressive Argentinian Valori. The visitor came to fight and he had Gevor on the defensive for much on the contest. Gevor showed a sound defence and was scoring the cleaner shots caching the ever advancing Valori with counters. A strong finish from the Argentinian would have made this a 50-50 fight but as he tired over the last two rounds Gevor tied up the decision. Scores 78-74 from all three judges. The tall 24-year-old German-based Armenian will have benefited from this nights work as he continues to build. Valori, 32, a former Argentinian champion was stopped in four rounds by Nat Cleverly in July and then lost his national title to Daniel Sanabria in November. He is No 4 with the FAB. Warrington vs. Tellez Warrington does the job in fine style against modest opposition. The British, CBC and European champion was having his first fight outside the UK and showcased his skills in impressive style. The Leeds fighter used a stiff jab and hard rights to take the first round and added left hooks to the body in the second. Tellez was taking punishment in the third as Warrington got into his stride but was standing up to the battering. The fourth saw Warrington’s domination continue and finally in the fifth Tellez had nothing left after Warrington slammed home a series of hard punches and his corner threw in the towel. Only four wins by KO/TKO for the 24-year-old Brit and next up for the IBF 11 (10)/WBC 12 will be a fight for the WBC International title against Filipino Denis Tubieron. Tellez, 20, really just a prelim level fighter is 2-6 in his last 8 fights. Haertel vs. Andino Former top amateur Haertel has too much speed and skill for Argentinian southpaw. He opens a cut over the left eye of Andino in the first and floors him in the second. Andino goes into survival mode holding and smothering Haertel’s work to last the distance. Scores 60-53 twice and 59-54. Burdened with the “German Mayweather” label Haertel was German champion four times, won bronze medals at the World University Games and European Union Championships and was a quarterfinalist at both the Olympic Games and the World Championships. “La Cobra” Andino, 26, has lost previously to Patrick Nielsen and Julius Jackson. Georgetown, Guyana: Light Welter: Clive Atwell (13-2-1) W PTS 12 Sakima Mullings (17-2). Middle: Edmund DeClou (15-2-1) W PTS 8 Dereck Richmond (4-3-1). Atwell vs. Mullins Local fighter Atwell wins WBC Cabofe title with split decision over Jamaican Mullings. Atwell scored with some good single and double jabs early in the first with Mullings later pressing but inaccurate. The second went the other way with Mullings getting home with left hooks and Atwell banging back before the bell with fast combinations. The third and fourth saw Atwell still getting through with combinations and Mullings firing those left hooks. Under the open scoring it was 40-36, 39-37 for Atwell and 38-38. The fifth looked about even and both scored with hard punches in the sixth. Atwell totally dominated the seventh with his jab and quick salvos but Mullings aggression was enough to get him a share of the eighth. At that point the scores were 79-74 and 78-74 to Atwell and 76-76. Mullings put the pressure on in the ninth and tenth with Atwell countering well but unable to keep Mullings out. The eleventh was a close round although Mullings work rate dropped. The Jamaican put in a big effort in the last and took the round although it was not enough. Scores 118-111 and 116-112 for Atwell and 115-113 for Mullings with the middle score looking the best reflection of the fight. Now based in Sydney, the 26-year old Atwell had lost a technical decision to Jhonny Gonzalez in May for the WBC feather title and then in November was stopped in ten rounds by Australian Kye McKenzie so could not afford another loss. Mullings, 32, had won his last 13 fights and reversed his only other loss. He wants a return and Atwell was agreeable. DeClou vs. Richmond DeClou gets revenge with a unanimous decision over Richmond. DeClou had built a 13 fight unbeaten streak before being knocked out and suffering a broken jaw in a massive upset loss to novice Richmond in October 2013. This was his first fight since then. Barbadian Richmond lost consecutive fights to Tsetsi Davis and Mullings in 2014 but had scored a minor win in November. Bari, Italy: Super Welter: Francesco Lezzi (6-4-1) W PTS 10 Ibrahim Maokola (10-5-2). Lezzi wins the vacant IBF Youth title with unanimous decision over Tanzanian Maokola. The local boxer was not looking to mix it with Maokola but instead used a fast jab and accurate punching. With Maokola having seven wins by KO/TKO and the local fighter being a light puncher Lezzi boxed carefully whilst the Tanzanian was waiting too long looking for a big punch to turn things his way. That never happened and Lezzi won on scores of 99-91 twice and 100-93. First time past six rounds for the 25-year-old and after a bad start as a pro with just one win in his first six fights he has now won five in a row. Maokola, 22, a holder of a version of the Tanzanian title was 6-2 in his last 8 fights with all eight ending by KO/TKO. Namur, Belgium: Cruiser: Geoffrey Battelo (29-5) W KO 5 Tony Visic (17-17-1). Battelo’s power proves too much for Visic. The tall former Belgian champion floored Visic in the second round and ended matters with another knockdown in the fifth. The 35-year-old from Liege has turned a three bout losing streak into four KO/TKO wins in a row as he goes to 24 wins inside the distance. Belgium is not a happy hunting ground for Croatian Visic as he is 1-4 in five fights there. Ocozocoautla, Mexico: Super Welter: Jorge Paez Jr (38-5-2) W KO 4 Ronald Montes (16-2). Super Welter: Ivan Montero (17-0) W PTS 8 Mike Rosales (32-9). Paez vs. Montes Paez overcomes a knockdown to kayo Colombian. Montes was a full head taller than Paez and used his physical advantages to build a lead over the first two rounds. Things got worse for Paez in the third when he was put down by an overhand right. He got up and went to work in the fourth. He softened-up Montes with two hard lefts and then put him down with a left hook to the body. Montes went down in agony and was counted out. The 27-year-old son of Jorge “El Maromero” Paez, the former IBF and WBO feather champion, climbed high in the ratings with a run of 10 victories including two wins over Omar Chavez (27-0-1) and over Charlie Navarro and Ivan Hernandez. Any hopes of a title shot crashed when Paez lost a majority decision to Vivian Harris in March last year and a hoped for win over Aaron Herrera (27-3) ended in a technical draw. Now back on the winning trail he is hoping to get into the ratings. Montes, a former Colombian champion has now lost two fights in a row, both in Mexico. Montero vs. Rosales Montero remains unbeaten but is given a hard time by experienced Rosales in a fight cut to eight rounds. Montero won the unanimous decision but it was a hard eight rounds for him and he only just squeezed out the win despite the score turned in by one judge. Scores 80-73, 78-76 and 76-75. The Merida fighter was to be in his first ten round fight but his original opponent dropped out late and Rosales came in. “El Bravo” Rosales had not fought since May and had practically retired after four losses in a row by KO/TKO but his experience allowed him to give Montero a trough night. Epazoyucan, Mexico: Light Fly: Oswaldo Novoa (15-5-1) DREW 10 Mario Andrade (6-5-5). Super Bantam: Horacio Garcia (29-0) W KO 1 Jose Cen Torres (13-7). Super Light: Jose Emilio Perea (23-5) W TKO 1 Oscar del Angel (0-10). Novoa vs. Andrade After a brief fling with fame Novoa looks to be headed back into the pack after majority draw with Andrade. The former WBC minimumweight champion struggled against WBC Latino flyweight champion Andrade. This was a close fight which could have gone either way. Novoa forced the action and scored with the heavier and cleaner punches but Andrade had better skills and a higher work rate. At the end both showed the signs of battle with Novoa cut on his left eyebrow and Andrade’s face bruised and swollen. Scores 95-95 twice and one score of 96-95 for Novoa. The 33-year-old “Gallito” was having his first fight since losing his title to Wanheng in November and on this performance his WBC No 3 rating looks overly generous. Andrade gets his fourth draw against three wins in his last seven fights. Garcia vs. Torres Once again Garcia lives up to his “Violento” nickname as he crushes Torres in 90 seconds. One terrible right and Torres slumped to the canvas. He tried to get up but failed and finally needed assistance to get back to his corner for treatment. The 24-year-old Garcia was making the third defence of his WBC Continental Americas title. The WBC No 11 has 21 wins by KO/TKO and his last six fights have ended that way. Torres is 2-7 in his last 9 fights including a five round stoppage by Chris Avalos in November. Perea vs. del Angel This mismatch was over quickly, not as fast as Garcia’s win but decisive. A right from Perea set things rolling and the fight was stopped after poor del Angelo had been down three times. The 32-year-old Perea looked to be going places when he won his first 21 fights but was 1-5 in his last six before this one. Nine losses in a row by KO/TKO for Del Angel who needs to find a nail to hang his gloves on Hatillo, Puerto Rico: Bantam: Emmanuel Rodriguez (10-0) W Gabor Molina (16-7). Rodriguez demolishes substitute Molnar with body assault. The 22-year-old Puerto Rican prospect landed some crunching body punches which saw Hungarian Molnar go down twice in the first round and twice more in the second with the fight then being stopped. “Manny Sensation” has 7 wins by KO/TKO and has a ridiculous WBO No 9 rating because he had previously won the WBO Latino title. Molnar came in at one weeks notice. He has 6 losses by KO/TKO and is the Hungarian flyweight champion. Cluj-Napoca, Romania: Welter: Florin Cardos (14-0) W PTS 10 Daniel Rasilla (30-9-2). Victor Lupo (20-2-2) W PTS 6 Jose M L Clavero (5-2-1). Cardos vs. Rasilla Cardos wins the vacant WBC Mediterranean title with unanimous decision over Rasilla. The hometown fighter had the Spanish visitor on the floor in the first round but Rasilla is a durable fight and he got up and gave Cardos a tough fight all the way. Scores 98-92, 97-92 and 95-93. The 26-year-old Romanian who has done most of his fighting in Germany already holds the WBC CISBB title. Rasilla, 34, a former Spanish light and super light champion came in as a late replacement and did his job well. Lupo vs. Clavero Lupo, also back in his home town, and despite giving away height and reach comfortably outpointed Spaniard Clavero. Scores 60-54 twice and 59-55. After after representing Romania at the World Championships and World Cup turned pro in Canada meeting with some success being undefeated in his first 17 fights and winning the Canadian and WBC International Welter titles and beating Junior Witter. He lost to Antonin Decarie for the vacant full WBC International title in December 2011 and this was the 36-year-old’s first fight since then. Clavero, 30, was halted in three round by unbeaten Sergio Garcia for the Spanish light middle title in November. Sheffield, England: Bantam: Ross Burkinshaw (14-5-2) W TKO 1 Ben Smoes (9-4-1). Super Bantam: Muheeb Fazeldin (6-0-1) W TKO 1 Uzair Najib (5-1). Middle: Lewis Taylor (16-0-1) W TKO 5 George Kandelaki (17-13-1) Burkinshaw vs. Smoes Local fighter Burkinshaw wins the vacant WBO European title with early destruction of Smoes in a poor match up. Burkinshaw opened up with some hard jabs and then floored Smoes with a left hook. The Belgian got up but another left hook put him down and the referee stopped the fight. “The Boss” was coming off an upset win over unbeaten Jason Cunningham in September which won him the vacant CBC title. He has won his last 5 fights and has 8 wins by KO/TKO but he will rarely have an easier win. Smoes, 28, qualified for this WBO European title fight by being floored and halted by Jamie Conlan for the vacant WBO European super fly title last April and this was his first fight since then. If the WBO have standards then they only use them to hang flags on. Fazeldin vs. Najib This fight was short and exciting whilst it lasted but the aftermath was a disgrace. In the short time that it lasted Fazeldin suffered a cut on his right eyebrow but floored Najib twice with the referee stopping the fight. Fazeldin wins the vacant BBB of C Central Area title. “Flashy” Fazeldin, a 22-year-old Yemeni-born southpaw had only won once by KO/TKO and that was due to a cut eye so it was an unexpected finish but a decisive one. Nadjib “The Nightmare”, 23, just never got a chance to get into the fight. Both are local fighters and both had vociferous supporters. When the fight was stopped spectators entered the ring and punches thrown as a minor riot broke out. Eventually clam was restored but it was an ugly scene whilst it lasted. Taylor vs. Kandelaki Taylor gets his second inside the distance win with stoppage of Georgian. Taylor was superior on all fronts and handed out a consistent beating to the durable Georgian. Things came off the rails for a while when the local was cut on the left eyebrow in a clash of heads in the fourth but in the fifth although Kandelaki was not in serious trouble the referee had seen enough and halted then fight. February 22 Wenshan, China: Super Bantam: Qiu Xiao Jun (15-2) W TKO 6 Silvester Lopez (23-10-2). Minimum: Xiong Zhao Zhong (25-6-1) W PTS 10 Hiroya Yamamoto (8-3). Jun vs. Lopez Jun wins the vacant WBC Silver title as he batters Filipino Lopez to defeat in six rounds. Jun was well on top when the fight was halted. The 24-year-old Chinese fighter is WBC ABC champion. His two losses came against Filipino Jonathan Baat, but he has won his last 8 fights including a revenge victory over Baat. He is WBC No 5. Lopez, a former WBC Silver champion lost to Yota Sato for the WBC title in 2012 and is now 3-5 in his last 8 fights and not in the GAB top 15 Zhong vs. Yamamoto Zhong wins the vacant WBC International title with decision over Japanese fighter Yamamoto. The former WBC champion was just too strong for the inexperienced Yamamoto who was having only his second ten round fight. Zhong suffered a cut over his right eye but it had no real impact as he won very clearly. The 32-year-old Chinese fighter was having his first outing since losing to Hekkie Budler in a challenge for the WBA and IBO titles in October. Yamamoto was rated No 5 by the JBC out of only 7 rated fighters and coming off a wide unanimous points loss to Go Odaira so not a high quality challenger. Abbreviations ABC=Asian Boxing Council an affiliate of the WBC ABF=Asian Boxing Federation. I assume this is an affiliate of the IBF ABU=African Boxing Union an affiliate of the WBC ACC=WBC Asian Council Continental title ANBF=Australian National Boxing Federation who administer Australian titles BBB of C=British Boxing Board of Control BBB of C Southern/Central/Midlands/Scottish Area etc. British Area titles BDB= Bund Deutscher Berufsboxer one of the German boxing bodies B & H=Bosnia & Herzegovina BSA=Boxing South Africa responsible for administering boxing in South Africa CBC=Commonwealth Boxing Council a sanctioning body for titles competed for by citizens of Commonwealth countries CISBB-WBC title covering the rump of the USSR and the Slovenian Boxing Board DRC=Democratic Republic of the Congo EBU=European Boxing Union FAB=Argentinian Boxing Federation FFB=French Boxing Federation GAB=Philippines Games & Amusement Board responsible for administering boxing in the Philippine s GBC= Global Boxing Council a sanctioning body IBA=International Boxing Association a sanctioning body IBF=International Boxing Federation a sanctioning body IBO=International Boxing Organisation a sanctioning body JBC =Japanese Boxing Commission NABA=North American Boxing Association, a WBA affiliate NABF=North American Boxing Federation a WBC affiliate NABO= North American Boxing Organisation, a WBO affiliate NCC=National Championships of Canada NGG=US National Golden Gloves NZPBF=New Zealand Professional Boxing Federation a national sanctioning body OPBF=Orient & Pacific Boxing Federation PABA=Pacific & Asian Boxing Association, a WBA affiliate PBF=Philippines Boxing Federation, a sanctioning body in the Philippines UBF=Universal Boxing Federation a sanctioning body UBO=Universal Boxing Organisation a sanctioning body USBA= United States Boxing Association, an IBF affiliate USBO=United States Boxing Organisation an WBO affiliate WBA=World Boxing Association a sanctioning body WBC=World Boxing Council a sanctioning body WBFed=World Boxing Federation, a sanctioning body WBFound=World Boxing Foundation, a sanctioning body WBU=World Boxing Union, a sanctioning body IBF WBA Rating=Both bodies leave vacancies in their ratings so when showing a IBF or WBA rating for a fighter where there is a vacant position ahead of them in the rankings which affects his rating I will put his numerical rating i.e. No 6 and in brackets and his rating based on the number of fighters ahead of him so IBF 6 (5) shows his numerical position is 6 but there are in fact only 5 fighters listed ahead of him due to one or more of the higher rating positions being vacant. We're sorry we've not been keeping up with the international scene recently but now we're back into the full swing of things and will be back to giving fans a heads up on the notable bouts taking place around the world. This Saturday is a moderately busy day on the international stage with bouts worthy of noting taking place around the world, particularly in Europe. Several of the most interesting bouts are set to take place in Monaco where we get a very significant Minimumweight title bout and a bout featuring a notable Bantamweight title contender. The Minimumweight title bout will see Hekkie Budler (27-1, 9) battle against former interim champion Jesus Silvestre (30-5, 22) in a bout that looks like a brilliant clash of styles. Budler, a fiery and fast handed fighter, will be trying to defend his belt for the 3rd time whilst Silvestre, best known for his close and exciting loss to Ryo Miyazaki, will be looking to secure his biggest win. What makes this bout even more interesting to us is that both Katsunari Takayama and Knockout CP Freshmart have said they are are targeting Budler for later in the year. In a European title bout fans will see the talented and under-rated Lee Haskins (30-3, 13) battle against the somewhat unknown Omar Lamiri (13-1, 5). Haskins was one of the fighters contacted by the Celes gym to take on Ryosuke Iwasa after Sergio Perales suffered a late injury though was unable to accept that bout as he had signed up for this contest. We suspect he'll win here and we'd love to see him then move on to fighting one of the Japanese or Thai contenders later in the year. A third bout of international appeal here will see the unbeaten Hughie Fury (14-0, 8) battle against once beaten Ukrainian Andriy Rudenko (24-1, 16) in what appears to be a huge step up in class for the young unbeaten fighter. Staying in Europe, though moving to Germany, fans will again get some bouts that have significance either at the top tier or to a particular Asian fighter. The main event here will see WBO Super Middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28) battle against Englishman Paul Smith (35-4, 20) in what will be a second meeting between the two. The two fought last year with Abraham retaining his title via decision in a bout that saw the British press scream robbery. We had Abraham winning though viewed the scorecards as terrible and very unreflective of the bout. This time around no one will be hoping to leave any doubt in the minds of either the judges or the fans. In regards to Asian fighters it's fair to say that Dennis Tubieron will be keeping an eye on the clash between his future opponent Josh Warrington (19-0, 3) and Nicaraguan journeyman Edwin Tellez (9-11-5-1, 4). This should be a straight forward win for the likeable Warrington though Tubieron will be getting a chance to look for weaknesses in the unbeaten Englishman. In Mexico we see a host of notable names, the most notable of whom is former WBC Minimumweight champion Oswaldo Novoa (14-5-1, 9) who was last seen in the ring losing his world title to Wanheng Menayothin. Novoa will be expected to bounce back with a win here as he takes on the limited Mario Andrade (6-5-4, 1) in what looks to be a mismatch in favour of the former champion. (Image courtesy of our friends over at badlefthook.com) The brilliant Eric Armit has again sent us his weekly review for the week ending February 9th. We've left Eric's comment on fights from Asia in here and where possible we have also included links to fights.
February 13 Richmond, Australia: Feather: Joel Brunker (28-1) W KO 2 Rey Las Pinas (19-11-5). Brunker returns with a quick win. In his first fight since losing his unbeaten record against Lee Selby Brunker was hoping to get some rounds under his belt. Filipino Las Pinas came to fight and was willing to stand and trade with Brunker on the inside. That got him through the first round but a wicked left hook to the lower ribs had Las Pinas retreating in agony and going down before rolling onto his back and taking the full count. Fighting in his hometown the 28-year-old Brunker makes it 16 wins by KO/TKO. The ninth round stoppage loss against Selby in October cost former Olympian Brunker his world rating and a title fight. He wins the vacant IBO Oceania crown. Las Pinas, also 28, loses inside the distance for only the second time. He is rated No 15 by the GAB and is 4-5-1 in his last 10 fights, Perth, Australia: Cruiser: Rob Powdrill (5-1) W PTS 12 David Letizia (11-5-1). Middle: Wes Capper (9-0) W KO 2 Aswin Cabuy (14-51-4). Feather: Nat May (9-1) W KO 1 Anshori Anhar Pitulay (8-15-2). Powdrill vs. Letizia Powdrill climbs off the floor to outpoint veteran Letizia and reverse the only loss on his record. He also adds the IBO Asia Pacific title to his collection. A right from Letizia put Powdrill down in the first but from then on Powdrill was in charge. Letizia seemed to be hampered by an ankle injury and had to pace himself giving Powdrill the chance to set the pace and pick Letizia off for the remaining eleven rounds to take the decision. Scores 119-110, 118-110 and 117-110. The 30-year-old Powdrill broke through in a huge way when he knocked out hot prospect Damien Hooper with one overhand right after just 21 seconds of their fight in November. Powdrill, who also competes at kickboxing and Muay Thai, had lost to Letizia on points in 2009 and now says he is going to concentrate on boxing for a while. He coped well with losing his father only a few days before this fight. Letizia, 44, had said before the fight he would be happy just to last the distance so achieved that modest aim in his last fight. He turned pro in 1995 but was inactive from 1996 until returning in 2007. He was joint promoter of this fight. Capper vs. Cabuy Capper hits too hard for Indonesian loser Cabuy. The promising Perth fighter floored Cabuy twice in the first round before ending the fight with a left hook to the body early in the second. The local 26-year-old has 7 wins by KO/TKO the last 4 on the bounce. The 40-year-old Cabuy now moves to 23 losses by KO/TKO. May vs. Pitulay Teenager May destroys poor Indonesian in one. A butt from Pitulay upset May but he shook that off and floored Pitulay three times to end the fight. The 19-year-old WBO Asian Pacific champion and ANBF No 2 has 5 wins by KO/TKO. Former interim PABA champion Pitulay has 13 losses by KO/TKO. Louvroil, France: Middle: Karim Achour (18-4-1) DREW 10 Moez Fhima (23-3-2). Middle: Howard Cospolite (11-4-1) WTKO 5 Ousmane Kone (9-13). Super Feather: Guillaume Frenois (35-1) W TKO 2 Irakli Jeiranashvili (9-4-5). Super Welter: Cedric Vitu (41-2) W PTS 6 Davit Ribakoni (6-6-5). Bantam: Hassan Azaouagh (17-9) W TKO 4 Gagi Edisherashvili (9-2). Achour vs. Fhima Achour retains French title with split draw against hometown fighter Fhima. It was a torrid fight at times with plenty of trading and both fighters bending the rules a little with Fhima warned in the fifth round and Achour in the ninth. Fhima had a good first round hurting Achour with a left and not allowing the champion to settle. As the fight progressed Achour was scoring well with hooks and uppercuts and Fhima was holding more to smother the visitors work. The Tunisian-born challenger showed some clever moves and many of the rounds were close In the end Achour deserved to retain his title with his higher work rate and greater accuracy. Scores 95-94 for Achour, 97-95 for Fhima and 95-95. Sixth title defence for 28-year-old Achour. The EBU No 8 has lost only 2 of his last 16 fights. The losses were on points against Martin Murray and Lukas Konecny (a technical decision). Fhima, 33, was fighting for his fifth different title in his last 8 fights and he is 2-2-1 in the 5 title fights. He is rated No 7 super welter by the FFB. Cospolite vs. Kone Cospolite wins this French League final with stoppage of Kone. The first saw Kone throwing heavy hooks and Cospolite taking time to settle down. In the second as the traded shots the left jabs and hooks from Cospolite were more dominant than Kone’s big hooks. Late in the fourth Cospolite landed a three punch combination and then a hard uppercut which had Kone badly shaken. In the fifth a series of punches from Cospolite had Kone trying desperately to hold on but with Kone not punching back the referee stopped the fight. The 32-year-old Cospolite, the FFB No 6 is 3-3 in his last 6 fights. He has 5 wins by KO/TKO and three of his losses have been to unbeaten fighters including Brit Larry Ekundayo. First loss inside the distance for FFB No 11 Kone. Frenois vs. Jeiranashvili Frenoise wins quickly against Georgian. After flooring Jeiranashvili with a right hook in the first round Frenoise landed a hook on the Georgian’s face and left him with a broken and bleeding nose and the fight is stopped. Fourth win for the normally light punching French southpaw since losing to Devis Boschiero for the European title in September 2013. He is rated EBU No 2 so well positioned to challenge the winner of the Romain Jacob vs. Ermanno Fegatilli title fight in April. Three visits to France for Jeiranashvili and three losses. Vitu vs. Ribakoni Vitu wins easily but is not in top form. Southpaw “Titu” challenges for the EBU title later this month and was not up for this fight. He was winning the rounds but as the fight progressed his work got more untidy and he was getting caught with punches he should not have been caught with. It was a win but not what he wanted with his title fight so close. Scores 60-54, 59-54 and 59-55. Vitu’s only defeat was a split decision loss to Sergey Rabchenko for the EBU title in 2012. Jeiranashvili, 20, lacked the experience to take advantage of Vitu’s off night. Azaouagh vs. Edisherashvili Former French Champion Azaouagh too good for Georgian novice. Azaouagh was his usual aggressive self with his constant pressure wearing away the resistance of the young visitor. By the fourth Edisherashvili was done. A right hook to the body put him down and his corner threw in the towel. First fight for 28-year-old Azaouagh since losing on a seventh round kayo against fellow-countryman Omar Lamiri for the EU title in October. Edisherashvili was thrown in over his head here and when being knocked out inside a round by world rated Zhanat Zhakiyanov in September. Pskov, Russia: Middle: Artur Akavov (12-1) W TKO 4 Sebastian Skrzypcznski (11-10-2). Cruiser: Valery Brudov (42-5) W PTS 8 Sergey Beloshapkin (12-12-1). Welter: Sherali Mamadaliev (19-2) W PTS 6 Jevgenijs Fjodorovs (11-49-6) Akavov vs. Skrzypcznski Southpaw Akavov retains his WBO European title with stoppage of Pole Skrzypcznski. After a slow first round Akavov took control. He had Skrzypcznski hurt in the third and the pole did not recovered and the referee halted the fight early in the fourth to save Skrzypcznski from further punishment. The “Wolverine” was making the second defence of the WBO Europe title and holding that title gets him a No 12 rating with the WBO even though he has never met anyone of quality. He makes it 7 wins since losing to Oleg Liseev in 2012. Skrzypcznski was halted in four rounds by Andrey Meryasev in his last fight in December. Brudov vs. Beloshapkin Brudov wins but makes heavy weather of it. The veteran was giving away lots of height and reach to tall southpaw Beloshapkin and had to eat a lot of punches moving forward. Luckily Beloshapkin is no puncher so apart from some bruising Brudov did not pay too high a price. Brudov was able to use his strength to brawl and push Beloshapkin around and his body work paid late dividends as an exhausted Beloshapkin had nothing left in the tank in the last round with Brudov almost throwing him out through the ropes. Scores 80-72, 79-75 and 77-76. The 38-year-old former interim WBA cruiser champion was having his first fight since being kayoed by Tony Bellew in March. Next up for Brudov will be a shot at European champion Rakhim Chakhkiev. Brudov has been omitted from the EBU ratings for pulling out of a previous European title fight. As is normal in these circumstances he was given a fine and will be returned to the ratings when the fine is paid. The cheque is in the post! Beloshapkin, 33 is 3-5 in his last 8 fights and his main weakness is that he is strictly an arm puncher so no power. Mamadaliev vs. Fjodorovs Tajik southpaw Mamadaliev easily outpointed Latvian loser Fjodorovs. The former PABA and WBO European champion took over after a round of study and boxed his way to a wide unanimous decision. Even though he had fought here before this time he probably had more trouble getting clearance from the Russian Federation to appear on the show than he did in beating Fjodorovs. Scores 60-54 twice and 60-55. The 33-year-old “Lion” was Tajikistan champion as an amateur won a silver medal at the Central American Games and competed at the 2007 World Championships. Fjodorovs, 33, is 2-9 in his last 11 fights but has tended to go the distance recently. Nonthaburi, Thailand: Light Fly: Paipharob (28-0) W TKO 3 Lionel Legada (12-8-1). Fly: Myung-goo Yuh (25-4-1) W TKO 2 Joan Imperial (11-6-6). Paipharob vs. Legada Paipharob overwhelms game Legada to retain WBO Orient title. The Champion started southpaw then changed half way through the first round. He has a lazy style throwing a couple of hard punches and then walking away. He scored with hard right to the body and Legada used his jab well whilst boxing on the back foot. Paipharob constantly switched stances in the second and increased the pressure loading up on every punch but occasionally his shots were landing with an open glove and Legada was able to slot home some good counters. In the third Paipharob was walking through Legada’s punches and landing with hard lefts and rights. He caught Legada on the ropes and drove him into a corner with a succession of heavy head punches. He kept raining in punches but it looked as though Legada was going to fight his way out of the corner only for Paipharob to landed a dozen more head punches with the Filipino dropping his hands and absorbing another 5 of 6 head shots before the referee stopped the fight. The 31-year-old “King of Knockout” a former interim WBA Minimum champ moves to 21 wins by KO/TKO. He is rated WBO 2 and IBF 12(11) but his opposition has generally been very modest. Legada, 25 is 3-6 in his last 9 fights but this is only his second loss by KO/TKO. Yuh vs. Imperial South Korean Yuh blows away outclassed Filipino. Yuh came out fast going after Imperial from the start and floored him early with a left hook to the body. Imperial was up at 8 and held and hid behind a high guard as Yuh bombarded him with hooks to head and body. Just when it looked as though Imperial was getting into the fight another left hook to the body put him down for a second time. Again he was up at eight but the bell went before Yuh could end it. In the second Yuh launch a two-handed attack. He rocked Imperial with a right to the head and another left hook to the ribs saw Imperial slump to the canvas and the referee stopped the fight. The 35-year-old Yuh wins the interim PABA flyweight title. He was a modest 9-4-1 in his first 14 fights but now has 16 wins in a row all by KO/TKO. The bleached blonde Korean bomber certainly looked good but Imperial was in was over his head. I am not too sure of the Filipino’s “Joan of Arc” nickname. He is now 2-6-2 in his last 10 fights with all 6 losses by KO/TKO. Norfolk, England: Welter: Nathan Dale (17-0) W TKO 5 Bogdan Galaev (7-1-1). Middle: Billy Bird (10-0) W TKO 5 Simon Henry (3-2-1). Dale vs. Galaev Local boxer Dale wins the vacant IBF Youth title with stoppage of Belgian. Dale made his usual slow start but then turned on the pressure with Galaev just doing what he could to survive. Dale looked to be on his way a win inside the distance but was disappointed how it came when Galaev retired at the end of the fifth round with an injured shoulder. Dale had landed a good combination of a hook to the body and a hard right to the head in the fourth which may have contributed to the Belgian’s decision. Five wins by KO/TKO now for the 23-year-old Dale the EU No 16. The 21-year-old Galaev is 1-2-1 in his last 4 fights. Bird vs. Henry “Billy Boy” Bird makes it an East Anglian double as the Suffolk 21-year-old halts inexperienced Henry in five rounds. Bird wins the vacant British Masters bronze title. First fight scheduled for more than four rounds for Henry. Uncasville, CT, USA: Super Welter: John Thompson (15-1) W PTS 6 Ricardo Pinell (10-2-1). Super Welter: Stan Skorokhod (9-0) W TKO 4 Mike Moore (13-1). Super Welter: Brandon Adams (16-1) W TKO 5 Alex Perez (18-2).Super Welter: Vito Gasparyan (15-3-5) W PTS 6 Simeon Hardy (13-1). Thompson vs. Pinell Late substitute Thompson seizes his opportunity in this Boxcino Tournament quarterfinal by winning every round against Pinell. Thompson came in at one days notice when Cleotis Pendarvis failed to make the weight. Thompson had height and reach over southpaw Pinell and had faster hands andgood movement. That really left Pinell nowhere to go but he tried hard to shut Thompson down and work on the inside. Thompson was outboxing Pinell from the first getting his punches off first and always being in control. Scores 60-54 from all three judges. The 6’1” (185cm) “Apollo Kid” Thompson, 25, had been knocked out in two rounds by unbeaten Frank Galarza in his last fight in January 2014 so he did well to shake 13 months rust and win. Californian Pinell had won his last 5 fights but with 4 of his victims having lost more than they had won and the other being just 2-0 the opposition had been weak. Skorokhod vs. Moore This was a 50-50 fight going in but Skorokhod made it look easy. He shook Moore with a left hook in the first and had him in trouble in the second. Early in the third Skorokhod floored Moore with a right and Moore only just survived the round. It was all over in the fourth when a right to the jaw put Moore down again and the referee stopped the fight. The 25-year-old Ukrainian was having only his second fight in the USA. Now he has 7 wins by KO/TKO and goes on to face Thompson in the semifinals. The previously unbeaten Moore, 28, had not really been tested before this. Adams vs. Perez Adams looks impressive in beating Perez. Despite being the shorter man the Los Angeles “Cannon” used an effective body attack and some sharp counters to build a lead over the first two rounds. A left in the third had Perez in trouble and Adams looked to be coasting to a win. Perez actually took the fourth having the better of the exchanges. However in the fifth Adams got that win. Late in the round he floored Perez with a right and after Perez made it to his feet another hard left had him in trouble and the referee stepped in. Adams, 25, lost to Willie Monroe in the final of the Boxcino Middleweight Tournament last year but moved down to super welter for another chance and he is probably the favourite. He has 11 wins by KO/TKO. He faces Gasparyan in the next round which could be much tougher. Southpaw Perez 32, “The Brick City Bullet” had impressive statistics but the real story is that after losing to Antonin Decarie for the NABF title in September 2012 he had only one fight in 2013 and one in May 2014 so very little activity prior to this fight. Gasparyan vs. Hardy With Gasparyan not having fought since December 2012 I had fancied Hardy to win this one but it was Gasparyan who took the deserved decision. The Californian-based Armenian was dominating the exchanges and had the harder punch. Outside or inside Gasparyan was doing the scoring with Hardy constantly changing guards, but that was all he was changing. Gasparyan had the Guyanan hurt in the both the third and fourth rounds with lefts and also took the last round to emerge the clear winner. Scores 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56. Gasparyan, 28, has quite a number of draws which is reflected in his record of 11-2-4 in his last 17 fights. The two losses were a close decision against Jermell Charlo and a wide points defeat against Jesse Vargas back in December 2012. “Candyman” Hardy, 27, had won 9 of his last 11 fight by KO/TKO and had two wins over former WBA title challenger Howard Eastman but he was well beaten here. New York, NY, USA: Welter: John Jackson (16-3-2) DREW 8 Rafael Gonzalez (8-2-1). Jackson and Gonzalez end all even after a good scrap. Considering that Jackson was the smaller fighter and Gonzalez the taller it was strange to see Jackson the boxer and Gonzalez the aggressive banger but they fitted well together. The fight was full of equal trading with all of the rounds close. In the end one judge had it for Gonzalez by 77-75 and two saw it a tie at 76-76 which was fair on both fighters. “Action” Jackson, 29, a former member of Kronk, suffered consecutive losses to Eusebio Osejo and Casey Ramos in 2011 and then was out until December last year but it looks as though he is serious about continuing his career. Easton PA-based Puerto Rican Gonzalez won his first 7 fights but then went 1-2 in his next 3 so on that basis this is a good result for him Santa Pola, Spain: Feather: Evgeny Smirnov (6-0) W PTS 8 Angel Lorente (5-8-1). Russian Smirnov remains unbeaten with unanimous decision over Lorente. Smirnov outboxed Lorente but was lucky to only get a point deduction after hitting the Mallorcan after he had slipped to the canvas. Scores 78-73, 78-74 and 77-75. Third bout in Spain for the 21-year-old Russian. Lorente, 27, a former Spanish super bantam champion is on a bad run as this was his sixth loss in a row. February 14 Rosario, Argentina: Super Bantam: Leandro D Esperante (11-4) W KO 7 Alan I Luques Castillo (14-3). Esperante recovers from a bad first round to win the interim WBO Latino title. A right to the chin from Luques Castillo had Esperante rocking in the first and the referee applied a standing count. Slowly Esperante used his superior strength to wear down Luques Castillo. In the seventh it was a right from Esperante that unhinged the legs of Luques Castillo and a left had him slumped in the ropes as the referee counted him out. Esperante, 25, is a former WBO Latino champion at bantam and has 10 win by KO/TKO. The FAB No 4 has won 7 of his last 8 fights, 6 by KO/TKO. Castillo, 23, the FAB No 1 bantam, lost his first fight but going in had gone 14-1 in his last 15. Livorno, Italy: Super Welter: Lenny Bottai (23-3) W PTS 8 Gyula Vajda (18-8). Bottai gets eight rounds of work from Hungarian. Bottai controlled the fight and came close to ending it when he floored Vajda with a body punch in the fourth. The visitor got up and showed guts and good survival instincts to last the distance. Clear unanimous decision for the 37-year-old home town fighter who was having his first fight since being knocked out in three rounds by Jermall Charlo in December. The IBF have him No 15 in the world and the EBU have him No 15 in Europe! Vajda, 25, “The Hungarian Kid” is 3-4 in his last 7 fights with the losses being in Canada, Germany and Ukraine. Be a loser-see the world. Los Mochis, Mexico: Super Feather: Adrian Estrella (21-0) W TKO 10 Adones Aguelo (23-11-2). Light: Miguel Roman (49-11) W DISQ 6 Adrian Verdugo (22-10-1). Super Feather: Edgar Monarrez (19-2-1) W KO 3 Carlos Jacobo (20-8-1). Estrella vs. Aguelo Estrella makes successful defence of his WBC Fecarbox title with stoppage of Filipino Aguelo. The unbeaten Mexican was on the attack from the outset putting plenty of pressures on Aguelo who despite having a very modest record was known for his durability. The Filipino was willing to trade in the first two rounds and scored with some good rights of his own. However it was Estrella who had the power and his body punches were too much for Aguelo to handle with the Filipino badly shaken in the third but surviving. Despite the courage of the Filipino Estrella was slowly grinding him down and a furious attack in the ninth left Aguelo with little in the tank. Early in the tenth Estrella drove Aguelo into a corner with a left hook and unloaded a series of punches which saw Aguelo go down on one knee and the referee stopped the fight. Now 19 wins by KO/TKO for the 23-year-old “Star” who was making the 9th defence of his WBC Fecarbox title. He won his fist 17 fights by KO/TKO but then had to go the distance for wins over Dante Jardon and Celestino Caballero. Now he is back on the kayo track with two wins in a row by KO/TKO. He is rated WBC 6/IBF 10(9). Aguelo, 26, a former interim GAB featherweight champion had gone the distance with both Nery Saguilan and Sergio Thompson in fights in Mexico and this is only his second loss by KO/TKO. He is rated No 5 super feather by the GAB. Roman vs. Verdugo Roman gets unsatisfactory win as Verdugo again shows his disregard of the rules. In his usual style Roman took the fight to Verdugo. Verdugo could not handle the pressure on the inside and tried to box from a distance, but Roman just kept coming. There were some early head clashes and with the fight going Roman’s way Verdugo started deliberately butting his fellow-Mexican. The referee deducted a point from Verdugo for butting at the start of the sixth and when he persisted in charging in head first the referee disqualified him. The 29-year-old “Micky” has now won 11 fights in a row including inside the distance victories over former world champions Juan Carlos Salgado and Daniel Ponce De Leon. He maintains the Mexican macho tradition with his style. This was the first fight for a year for local fighter Verdugo and actually an improvement on his last appearance when he was disqualified inside the first three minutes. Monarrez vs. Jacobo Monarrez gives Jacobo no time to shed some rust and overpowers him. A burst of punches in the third forces the local fighter to his knees and he is counted out. The 25-year-old from Torreon has 13 wins by KO/TKO including a win over former WBC title challenger Juan Jose Montes and in his last fight a draw with Adrian Young (see below). First fight since September 2013 for Jacobo. Hermosillo, Mexico: Super Fly: David Sanchez (27-2-2) W TKO 10 Juan Alberto Rosas (40-9). Light Fly: Gilberto Parra (19-2-1) TEC DRAW 2 Max Flores (16-3,1ND). Super Feather: Adrian Young (21-1-2) W KO 1 Josue Veraza (14-6-1). Sanchez vs. Rosas “Tornado” Sanchez retains interim WBA title with impressive stoppage of durable Rosas. Sanchez took the first round with good body punches and despite some hard rights from Rosas he used a good jab and more body shots to increase his lead. The pace dropped in the fourth. The start of the fifth was delayed whilst excess Vaseline was wiped off Rosas’s face and then he strayed low with a couple of punches and was given a warning. The sixth was an even round but after that is was all downhill for “El Topo” as Sanchez was taking him to the ropes and was scoring with hard punches to head and body. He was slowly grinding the resistance out of Rosas. In the tenth he had Rosas trapped in a corner and was unloading with both hands when Rosas’s second climbed up to the ring apron and threw in the towel. First title defence for Sanchez and win No 21 by KO/TKO. With victories over good opposition in Marlon Tapales and Marco Demecillo he is standing in line for a fight with WBA champion Kohei Kono. First loss by KO/TKO for 30-year-old Rosas a former IBF super fly and Mexican fly champion. He was in good form being 8-2 in his last 10 fights with the losses to top opposition in Juan Carlos Sanchez for the IBF title and Daniel Rosas and wins over Zolani Tete and Alejandro Gonzalez (22-0-2). Parra vs. Flores This one was just warming up when a cut brought it to an end. “Parrita” had a good first round but Flores took control with in the second scoring with body punches until a clash of heads saw Parra suffer a deep cut over his left eyebrow so it ended as a draw. Hopefully they will meet again as it looked a good match. Young vs. Veraza Young ends this one early. As long as it lasted Veraza made a good impression scoring with some good right hands but it was over when a left hook to the body put Veraza down and he was not able to beat the count. The 22-year-old “Chinito” makes it 17 wins by KO/TKO After being 19-0-1 in his first twenty fights he lost on points to Oscar Gonzalez (21-2) in 2013 and drew with Edgar Monarrez (18-2) last October but has rebounded with two wins . Veraza came in as a late substitute and is 3-5 in his last 8 fights. Managua, Nicaragua: Super Fly: Jose Perez (14-0) W PTS 10 Everth Briceno (35-11-2). Teenager Perez wins the vacant Nicaraguan title with unanimous decision over veteran Briceno. Briceno had the better of the first two rounds jumping on the youngster and getting home with a series of head shots. After that Perez made some adjustments and from then his youth, strength and speed saw him pocketing the rounds and he sealed the win by flooring Briceno in the last round. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-93. The 19-year-old champion had won his last 5 fights by KO/TKO so getting ten round with a fighter as experienced Briceno was a big plus. Twice a WBO super fly challenger Briceno, 17 years older than his conqueror, was coming off a loss to British prospect Khalid Yafai in November. Adana, Turkey: Super Middle: Bugra Oener (8-0) W PTS 10 Ramazi Gogichashvili (16-5-2). Super Middle: Alptug Oener (8-0) W KO 2 Mindia Nozadze (16-7). Heavy: Mohamed Al Zein (4-0) W KO 1 Zeljko Bojic (4-6). Cruiser: Aziz Karaoglu (2-0) W TKO 2 Adil Rusidi (7-9). Oener vs. Gogichashvili Oener wins the vacant WBC Youth title with unanimous decision over Georgian. The local fighter built an early lead but some of his tactics were right on the line of legal. He had never gone past six rounds before and tired badly but had done enough to deserve the verdict. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92. The Adana 24-year-old was a good level amateur getting a bronze at the World Cadet Championships and competing at the World Junior Championships but lost to Jason Quigley at the quarterfinals of the European Junior Championships before turning pro in 2010. Gogichashvili, just 20, has been in tough fights with opposition such as Roberto Santos and Max Bursak and gave Oener a good test. Oener vs. Nozadze This was a family double as brother Alptug knocked out Nozadze to win the vacant WBC EPBC title. Southpaw Oener took the first round but was under some worrying pressure from Georgian Nozadze in the second when he produced a crunching left to the body that put Nozadze down and he was counted out. Oener, 25, did not reach the same heights as Bugra but was a useful amateur in international competitions. Third win in a row by KO/TKO for the Adana fighter. Fourth loss by KO/TKO for Nozadze. Al Zein vs. Bojic Zein knocks out poor Bojic in one. The 23-year-old German-born and German based Turk disposed of the fighter from B & H with ease in a total mismatch. A busy Al Zein, 23, was having his fourth bout of the year and wins the vacant WBC Mediterranean title. It was disgraceful that Bojic, who suffered his fourth loss by KO/TKO in 3 months and his second in three weeks, should be fighting for a WBC title at any level. Karaoglu vs. Rusidi This was just as bad as newcomer Karaoglu stops another poor fighter from B&H in two rounds for a vacant WBC Mediterranean title. Both of Karagoglu's wins have come by KO/TKO. All of Rusidi‘s losses have come by way of TKO/TKO and this is his fourth loss that way in just nine weeks. Disgraceful as a fight but beyond that as a fight for any version of a WBC title. If it has your name on it you should care about the product but obviously the WBC does not care in these cases. Pattaya, Thailand: Bantam: Tepparith (27-3) W PTS 6 Joaquin Mahe (8-2). Tepparith gets the unanimous decision but only just. The Thai-based Frenchman was much quicker than the Thai drawing Tepparith’s lead and jumping in with fast combinations. When he chose to lead again he had the quicker hands with Tepparith often wide and wild with his swings. Tepparith upped the pace from the third knocking out Mahe’s gumshield and scoring with bludgeoning rights. Mahe was landing more punches but without power and his work rate dropped over the closing three rounds. Even then he was still getting through with quick flurries and Tepparith was having trouble hunting him down. Only in the sixth did Tepparith finally start attacking the body and he just did enough to take that round and the decision. The 26-year-old former WBA super fly champion was not impressive but I guess it can be difficult to get excited about these six round payday fights. French Mahe, 26, showed excellent skills. He was quick with his hands and his movement gave Tepparith problems. He has some brave management as in his last two fights he has now been in with former triple world title challenger Sod Kokietgym and former WBA champion Tepparith Blackpool, England: Super Welter: Carson Jones (37-10-3) W TKO 1 Brian Rose (26-3-1). Light Scott Cardle (17-0) W KO 1 Yordan Vasilev 16-40-2). Rose vs. Jones Rose suffers disastrous loss in controversial stoppage. The British fighter started well scoring with sharp jabs and shaking Jones with a right. Jones was banging back but Rose was quicker and more accurate. He had Jones hurt but as he tried to follow up Jones fired a left hook inside and then looped a right over Rose’s jab. Suddenly Rose was badly shaken and Jones poured on head punches with Rose legs jerking apart. Jones continued the attack with Rose stumbling backwards and the referee quickly jumped in and stopped the fight. Rose immediately protested and it did look a premature stoppage. Huge blow for Rose who is rebuilding after performing well below standard in freezing against Demetrius Andrade in a challenge for the WBO title in June. He wants a return to try to claw back the prestige ha has lost in this one. The 28-year-old Jones made a big impression when running Kell Brook close in 2012 but a draw with Dean Byrne and a beating by Brook saw Jones disappear back into the pack. Rose had also dropped out of the ratings but this win will get Jones some high profile fights or a return with Rose at the least. Cardle vs. Vasilev Two fights ago with just 3 wins by KO/TKO in his 15 fights it would have been reasonable to describe the excellent young prospect Cardle as a light puncher. Well that will have to be reconsidered as he wiped out experienced Bulgarian Vasilev in just 36 seconds. That makes it two first round wins in a row for the 25-year-old Lytham St Annes English champion a former top amateur. Eighth loss in visits to the UK for Vasilev. Wolverhampton, England: Light: Terry Flanagan (27-0) W DISQ 3 Stephen Ormond (17-2). Middle: Jamie Cox (18-0) W TKO 1 Alistair Warren (8-9-4). Light: Craig Evans (14-0) W PTS 8 Jacek Wylezol (11-6). Middle: Tommy Langford (12-0) W TKO 5 Wayne Reed (11-10). Super Light: Joe Costello (4-0) W TKO 1 Sandor Horvath (9-11-1). Flanagan vs. Ormond Disappointing finish but an important win for Flanagan. From the start Ormond’s problem was getting close enough to Flanagan to work inside. Try as he might he was being outboxed and when he did get inside Flanagan’s southpaw jab he found his work being smothered. He was getting through with enough punches to be competitive but falling further behind in the scoring as the bout progressed. He needed to get Flanagan flustered and out of his stride so the Irishman decided to rough Flanagan up. As he admitted himself he over did the rough stuff particularly with his head. He was finally deducted a point in the ninth for a butt and when he committed the same sin in the tenth was disqualified. “Turbo” Flanagan, 25, was on his way to a convincing win anyway and up to the disqualification the British champion had put on an excellent exhibition of boxing. This win gets him the WBO European title but more importantly puts him line to meet the winner of the Juan Diaz vs. Takahiro Ao semifinal in a fight for the (soon to be) vacant WBO title. He was rated No 9 by the WBO before the fight. The Dublin “Rock” Ormond, 31, had won 6 in a row including a victory over Derry Mathews. He had been WBO No 5 going in and was making the fourth defence of his WBO Europe title. Cox vs. Warren Cox signals his return with early destruction of Warren. The Swindon fighter put Warren down early in the first with a southpaw right and when a crunching left hook put Warren down again the referee halted the fight. The tall 28-year-old former undefeated CBC super welter champion was having his first fight since June 2013. This is his tenth win by KO/TKO and he put out the message that he is back and dangerous. Warren continues his poor run and is 0-7-3 in his last 10 fights. Evans vs. Wylezol Welshman Evans overcomes hand injury to win. The classy Welsh southpaw injured his left hand early in the contest but still had the skills to box his way to victory although Wylezol made him work hard in every round. Referee’s score 80-73. The 25-year-old Evans was a top class amateur winning the Welsh championships, taking a gold at the prestigious Tammer Tournament, getting a bronze at the EU Championships but losing on points to Valery Lomachenko at the 2009 World Championships. Pole Wylezol is 2-6 in his last 8 fights including contests in Canada, France and the UK. Langford vs. Reed Langford overcomes rugged southpaw Reed in the fifth. Reed came out trying to rough the favourite up and take him out of his stride. It worked at times with Langford getting caught with some punches he should have been able to avoid but he stayed composed worked the body well and looked for his openings. He found the target in the fourth putting Reed down twice. Each time Reed made to his feet at the eight count but only just survived the round. He had nothing left in the fifth and was under heavy pressure when the referee stopped the fight. The Devon-born Langford,25, a former captain of the English amateur team who has win over Callum Smith in their amateur days gets his third win by KO/TKO. Former English title challenger Reed has lost 5 of his last 6 fights. Costello vs. Horvath Costello gets rid of Hungarian in quick time. A left hook put Horvath down. He was up at eight but a left cross deposited him on the canvas again. He made it to his feet but was finished and the referee stopped the fight after just 99 seconds. The Birmingham 21-year-old has 3 wins by KO/TKO. An outstanding amateur boxing is in his blood with his brother Tommy also a pro and his dad having fought as an amateur. Poor Horvath has won only one of his last 10 fights and this is his third inside the distance loss in a row. New York, NY: USA: Heavy: Derric Rossy (30-9) W PTS 10 Akhror Muralimov (16-1). Light Heavy: Mike Lee (14-0) W TKO 2 Gary Tapusoa (6-4-1). Rossy vs. Muralimov Rossy keeps his career alive with close unanimous decision over touted Muralimov. The Medford 34-year-old needed all of his skill and stamina to get through this one. The tough Uzbek was giving away height and reach so kept rumbling forward trying to pin Rossy on the ropes or in corners. He had some success in the third when he rocked Rossy with a left and opened a cut over Rossy’s left eye. A big round for the Uzbek. However Rossy kept composed and boxed well behind his jab and although the fight was close he really nailed down the decision with a big ninth where he dominated with his jab and then stayed in there in the last as Muralimov finished strongly. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93. Rossy wins the vacant IBF North American title. His career looked to be nearing its end when he lost consecutive decisions against Fres Oquendo and Joey Dawejko but he rebounded with a win over Joe Hanks and looked very unlucky not to get the decision over IBF No 2(1) Vyacheslav Glazkov in his last fight in August. This win makes him a viable opponent for any rated fighter. Texas-based 27-year-old Muralimov the NABA USA champion made this one close enough not to dent his profile too much and with power he will be tough opposition but never happy against movers. Lee vs. Tapusoa Lee puts Tapusoa away inside two rounds. The former Chicago Golden Gloves champion easily took the first round and then floored Tapusoa three times in the second. Lee, 27, wins the vacant UBF All American title and has 8 wins by KO/TKO. A graduate of Notre Dame with a degree in finance Lee turned down job offers from Wall Street to give boxing a shot but just in case that does not work he is also busy as a model. Don’t you just hate him! “Freak Train” Tapusoa, 35, now has 3 losses in a row by KO/TKO with the other two ending inside the first round-so some improvement. February 15 Rizal, Philippines: Heavy: Rio Hidaka (11-2) W KO 1 David Koswara (11-13-2). Super Light: Takamori Akita (10-4-1) W KO 1 Desson Cag-on (14-13). Bantam: Sonny Boy Jaro (39-13-5) W TKO 2 Albert Alcoy (14-22-7) Hidaka vs. Koswara Rubbish fight sees Japan’s Hidaka win the vacant WBC ABC Continental title. A left hook to the body floored and finished Indonesian Koswara after just 61 seconds. Farcical. The 34-year-old Hidaka turned pro in New Zealand and won his first 10 fights before suffering back-to-back losses to Frenchman Gregory Tony and fellow-countryman Kotatsu Takehara in 2013. This was his first fight in almost 19 months. Koswara, 38, was a disgrace as an opponent in any title fight. He originally fought as a middleweight until May 2008. He reappeared in January 2014 as a heavyweight and was knocked out in one round. This is his first fight since then. Again this rubbish has the WBC’s name on it. Akita vs. Cag-on This one was just as bad. Akita wins the WBC ABC Continental title by knocking out Filipino Cag-on with one right hook. All over in 40 seconds! Third win by KO/TKO in a row for 32-year-old Akita who is not in the top 15 in Japan in his division. Now 6 losses in his last 7 fights for Cag-on and two in a row inside the first roiund Jaro vs. Alcoy Former WBC flyweight champion Jaro has an easy night as he floors loser Alcoy twice for stoppage. The 32-yeart-old Filipino extends his current winning run to 5. At No 5 with the WBC at super fly he is angling for a shot at Carlos Cuadras. Alcoy is 0-8-2 in his last 10 fights and has 11 losses by KO/TKO so not much of a match. Jakarta, Indonesia: Super Light: Roy Tua Manihuruk (17-12-2) W TKO 9 Philipus Rangga (8-9). Indonesian Boxing Council champion Manihuruk halts Rangga to retain his title. He floored Rangga in the first round and again in the seventh before the fight was stopped in the ninth. First defence for the 29-year-old who has 13 wins by KO/TKO. Second loss in a row for Rangga having dropped a split decision to Eddy Comara in October for the Indonesian Boxing Federation version of the title. The brilliant Eric Armit has again sent us his weekly review for the week ending February 9th. We've left Eric's comment on fights from Asia in here and where possible we have also included links to fights.
February 5 Nakhon Sawan, Thailand: Minimumweight: Wanheng (37-0) W PTS 12 Jeffrey Galero (11-1). Wanheng retains the WBC title with wide unanimous decision over Filipino novice. Galero was competitive over the first two rounds showing some good movement but by the third Wanheng was getting through with hard punches to the body and Galero was already fading out of the fight as Wanheng continued to apply pressure in the fourth. At the end of that round Wanheng was in front on the open scoring 39-37 twice and 40-36. Over the next four rounds Wanheng was in total control with Galero soaking up hooks and uppercuts and doing well to stay in the fight but losing the rounds. At the end of eight rounds Wanheng was in front 80-72 on two cards and 79-73 on the third. Over the final four rounds it was all about survival for Galero. Wanheng seemed to ease up a bit in the ninth and tenth but was back to beating up Galero in the eleventh and finished strongly in the last but could not put Galero away. Scores 120-108, 120-109 and 119-109. First defence of the WBC title that the 29-year-old Wanheng won with a stoppage of Oswaldo Novoa in November. The 24-year-old Galero showed some skills and a lot of guts but lacked experienced as going into this title fight he had been in only two fights scheduled for more than six rounds and was only rated No 6 by the GAB. Costa Meza, CA, USA: Mike Perez (21-1-1) W TKO 2 Darnell Wilson (25-19-3). Heavy: Mike Hunter (7-0) W PTS 8 Avery Gibson (4-5-3). Perez vs. Wilson This mismatch was almost over in the first round and mercifully ended in the second. Just 11 seconds had gone when a clubbing southpaw right from Perez landed on the rear of Wilson’s head and he went down complaining the punch had been a foul. He got up at seven discussing the punch with the referee and the discussion continued so that by the time referee motioned for the fight to continue 20 seconds had passed since Wilson initially hit the floor. Perez drove Wilson to a corner and a left had Wilson slumping to the canvas for the second knockdown in just over a minute. He was up at nine and Perez came forward and landed a couple of punches putting Wilson down for a third time a mere seven seconds after he got up from the last flooring. Wilson was up at eight and the fight continued with Perez just pursuing and throwing lefts. He again took Wilson to a corner and as a couple of shots went over Wilson’s head he slumped to the canvas again but it was rightly not counted as a knockdown. Perez was stalking Wilson around the ring and staggered him a couple more times but Wilson survived to the bell. Perez was walking Wilson down in the second and staggered him with a right to the head. He then landed a straight left that made Wilson’s knees dip and then landed a right/left combination that put Wilson down. He made it to his knees but as he struggled to his feet just before the ten count the referee waived it off. Not a fight but a massacre which did nothing for either boxer. The 29-year-old Cuban southpaw was highly rated after a win over Magomed Abdusalamov then blotted his copybook with a lucky draw against Carlos Takam and a points loss against Bryant Jennings in July but was still rated No 4. With previous No 1 Deontay Wilder now the champion and No 3 Jennings fighting Wlad Klitschko he is now WBC No 2 and in line for a fight with Silver champion Alex Povetkin. The 40-year-old Wilson is 2-13 in his last 15 fights and carrying 235lbs (106kg) on a 5’10” (178cm) frame tells its own story. Hunter vs. Gibson Former Olympian Hunter boxes his way to win over useful Gibson. There were no real highlights with neither fighter being a big puncher and Hunter always having the edge in skill. Scores 80-72, 79-73 and a too close 77-75. The 26-year-old son of the late Mike “The Bounty” Hunter promised his father he would get to the Olympics. He took a rocky road failing in three qualification tournaments for the 2008 Olympics and after winning the US Trials for 2012 tested positive for a banned substance. He served his suspension and then went on to qualify but was out of luck in London. He drew 10-10 with Artur Beterbiev but lost on the jury’s vote. Gibson, 32, had beaten Pan American gold medalist Ytalo Perez and also the 14-1 Alex Flores. February 6 Biloxi, MS, USA: Super Middle: Sergio Mora (28-3-2) W PTS 12 Abraham Han (23-2). Super Welter: Erickson Lubin (9-0) W PTS 8 Mike Finney (12-2-1). Super Welter: Domonique Dolton (16-0) W PTS 6 Juan C Rojas (7-9-1). Light Heavy: Steve Lovett (11-0,1ND) W TKO 1 James Johnson (28-44-4). Cruiser: Isaiah Thomas (14-0) W PTS 6 Brad Austin (10-15). Cruiser: Ahmed Elibali (9-0) W TKO 2 Dustin Craig Echard (10-1,1ND) Mora vs. Han Mora gets disputed split decision over Han. Mora was to have fought Jermain Taylor for the IBF title but with Taylor’s trouble with the law and the IBF stripping him of his title. Han came in as a substitute and all that was on offer was the vacant IBF USBA title. The contrast in approach made this one hard to figure as it depended on whether aggression or work rate was your thing. Mora did a lot of moving and Han did a lot of pressing. The fight started slowly although Mora had early success hurting Han with a right in the first and just throwing enough to edge the second. The third was close but what looked a legitimate knockdown from Han was not counted. The fourth and fifth were close and a fight finally broke out in the sixth with Mora shaking Han early and Han storming back at the end of the round. Han continued the good work in the seventh and was now the aggressor with Mora showing plenty of good movement but spending too much time on the ropes. Han was not as accurate with his punches but was throwing more. Mora had a better eighth countering the incoming Han who was a better aggressor than defender. Han had a big moment in the tenth when he landed a left to Mora’s head and a left that landed on Mora’s back and a right to the body which sent Mora stumbling back to his knees, down and counted over but not badly hurt. The last two rounds again saw the contrast of Mora moving and countering with fewer but cleaner shots and Han giving Mora no respite with his constant attacks. Scores 115-112 and 114-113 for Mora and 115-112 for Han. A Decision which was not popular with the crowd. For Mora, the 34-year-old “Latin Snake” a former WBC super welter champion he gets a win but lost his chance to fight for the IBF title and now finds himself in a queue waiting to see who wins the fight for the vacant IBF title between Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam and someone yet to be nominated. Texan Abie Han, 30, a former world kickboxing and MMA exponent was halted in eight rounds by Glen Tapia in July 2013 but had rebounded with 4 wins including a victory over world rated Marco Reyes last October. As a substitute he gave Mora all he could handle. He was rated WBO 13. Lubin vs. Finney Southpaw Lubin gets win over very late substitute Finney. It was a completely one-sided fight with the gutsy, iron-chinned Finney not in the same class as the tall teenage prospect. Nicknamed “The Hammer” Lubin was not holding back and Finney absorbed punishment in every round showing a great heart and actually having some success in the 5th and 6th before naturally fading over the final rounds as his lack of proper preparation caught up with him. Scores 80-72 from all three judges. Now 3 points victories in his last 3 fights for Lubin but the additional experience this brings will help in his development. He was a NGG and National PAL champion as an amateur and has pro wins over Noe Bolanos and Norberto Gonzalez. Finney came in at one days notice. After 12 wins he is 0-2-1 in his last 3 fights. Dolton vs. Rojas Dolton gets win but at the cost of a cut. The tall Detroiter was in charge early in a messy fight with both fighters being rocked in head clashes but Dolton was the better boxer and collecting the rounds against an equally tall Mexican. Once Dolton was cut he lost a little fire and Rojas was in the fight more but Dolton was still the classier and boxed his way to the decision. Scores 60-54 twice and 59-55. Dolton, 25, has wins over Donatas Bondorovas and Richard Gutierrez. He was trained by the late Manny Steward and as an amateur lost to Keith Thurman in the US Olympic Trials for the 2008 team. Rojas 27 has already lost to prospects Alex Theran, Immanuwel Aleem and Terrell Gausha. Lovett vs. Johnson Australian hope Lovett takes only 72 seconds to destroy veteran Johnson. A left hook and a hard right from the Aussie put Johnson down and although he just made it to his feet the referee rightly stopped the fight. Australian amateur champion in 2008 and 2009 only an injury prevented him going to the World Championships. He was a spar mate of Daniel Geale before relocating to America where he is trained by Ronnie Shield’s and handled by Al Haymon. Texan Johnson, 38, had actually turned his career around in a small way. After a run of 15 losses in a row he was 5-0-1 in his last six fights going in. Thomas vs. Austin Thomas gets a majority verdict which should have been unanimous but still does not impress. Thomas had huge advantages in size, age and skill but settled for jabbing his way to victory taking few chances and failing to use his considerable talent to end early what should have been an easy fight. Scores 60-54, 59-55 and 57-57. The 6’4” (193cm) 26-year-old southpaw when with Kronk was a World Cadet gold medalist in 2005 but lost to Deontay Wilder at the 2007 NGG. Great things were expected from him as he won each of his first three pro fights inside a round. He still looked to be on track when he decisioned veteran Richard Hall in November 2012 but was then inactive for almost 19 months and is back to square one. Austin, 38, is 2-13 in his last 15 fights. Elibali vs. Echard Elibali again shows his power as he halts unbeaten Echard in two rounds. After scoring with hard punches to head and body in the first he landed a right in the second that sent Echard out through the ropes. Echard was able to get back inside the ring with difficulty and was still disorientated when the bout continued and another hard right forced the referee to stop the fight. The Cairo-born 24-year-old moved to the USA at 5 and is a student at Florida International University. He was twice Florida NGG champion and competed in the WSB so yet another promising youngster in the Al Haymon fold. All of his wins have come by KO/TKO and he is yet to go past the third round but needs stiffer tests as like Han he is better at offence than defence. Echard, 27, had 7 wins by KO/TKO but on the boxing backwaters circuit in West Virginia. Florencio Varela, Argentina: Light: Fernando D Saucedo (54-6-3) W PTS 10 Leonardo M Pinto (16-6-2). Saucedo boxes his way to comfortable unanimous decision over limited Brazilian. The Argentinian dominated early with his superior speed scoring with left jabs and shots to the ribs. The Brazilian just kept coming and kept busy but he was coming in on a straight line and with only a basic defence and Saucedo was landing the cleaner punches and building a winning lead. Pinto came into the fight over the closing three rounds as Saucedo tired but by then Saucedo had done enough to ensure the decision went his way. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92. The 33-year-old “El Vasco” gets his second win since losing in his second world title shot. He lost on points to Chris John for the WBA feather title in 2010 and to Rances Barthelemy last October for the IBF super feather title. Now the FAB No 1 at light he wins the vacant WBC Latino title. Pinto, 37, a former interim WBC Latino champion at super light was halted in two rounds by Bradley Skeete in his last fight in September. Bangkok, Thailand: Welter: Teerachai (29-0) W KO 4 Nthuthuko Memela (10-2-2). Super Bantam: Nop (11-0) W PTS 6 Boibo Simjanjuntak (18-27-1). Light Fly: Kwanthai (49-3-1) W KO 2 Ponidi (1-13-1). Teerachai vs. Memela Teerachai gets win but over injured South African. Memela had huge advantages in height and reach but as a result was weedy thin and it was obvious from his frame that he had no power. The first round saw Teerachai stalking and Memela retreating but spearing Teerachai with long southpaw jabs and right crosses. Teerachai only threw about 6 punches in the round. In the second the Thai was letting his hands go more and forcing the retreating Memela to trade but the South African still found gaps with his jab but when trading tended to throw loose punches with no power. In the third Teerachai was down but it was rightly ruled a slip. Teerachai also landed his best punch so far a straight right which snapped Memela’s head back and they stood and traded punches wildly at the and of the round. Right at the start of the fourth Memela tripped and fell to the canvas. The referee helped him to his feet and it was obvious Memela had injured an ankle but fought on. Almost immediately Teerachai landed a right hook and Memela tumbled to the canvas awkwardly. He was up quickly but then started to limp to his corner where his seconds were on the apron. The referee followed him completing the eight count and Memela indicated he would fight on. Two more hooks from Teerachai put Memela down again. Again he limped back to his corner with the referee followed him and as Memela was standing with his back to the ring waived the fight off. The 22-year-old Thai is a solid, tough fighter and a hard puncher but is a bit static and despite his No 5 (4) rating with the WBA has yet to really be tested. Memela , the South African No 4 showed good skills but no power and a tendency to leave his chin in the air and windmill his arms under pressure. Nop vs. Simjanjuntak Nop continues unbeaten. Given six good testing rounds by Indonesian but again shows lack of real power. Simjanjuntak had height and reach over the Thai and was also a southpaw. He had some skills but even less power than Nop. In the first round it seemed Nop was just looking for six rounds of work as he would slam home 3 or 4 punch combinations and then ease off. Simjanjuntak was not using his physical edges he was standing in the pocket and trading punch for punch with Nop copping some vicious body punches but letting his own hands go with some success. That was how the fight went with both fighters just trading shot after shot with not a single clinch. The fourth saw Nop landing a sequence of 8 or 9 punches but with Simjanjuntak absorbing them and continuing to trade. In the fifth a right from Simjanjuntak seemed to hurt Nop and for the first time he was backing off but by the end of that round and in the sixth Nop was catching Simjanjuntak with counters. The Indonesia was down in the sixth but only from unbalancing after missing with a wild left. Nop a clear winner on a unanimous decision. The 23-year-old Nop has some good skills but that lack of power, only one win inside the distance, may not be enough at a higher level. Former Indonesia bantam and feather champion Simjanjuntak has now lost 9 in a row but he came to fight and even had the energy for a back somersault after the fight. Kwanthai vs. Ponidi Former WBA title challenger Kwanthai crushes Indonesian loser in terrible mismatch. Both were going to the body in the first round scoring with left hooks inside. Kwanthai forced Ponidi back with a left that landed on the belt line and then crashed home a brutal uppercut inside which put Ponidi down. The Indonesian was up at 5 and traded to the bell. At the start of the second the Indonesian forced Kwanthai into a corner and unloaded a series of punches including a right which landed flush on the Thai’s jaw. Kwanthai stepped to the right and threw an over hand right which landed just behind the left ear of Ponidi who landed on his back on the canvas and never moved throughout the superfluous ten count. No sort of test for Kwanthai. He lost on a seventh round kayo against Kazuto Ioka for the WBA title in 2013 and last August dropped a surprise decision to fellow Thai Stamp Kiatniwat. This is his third win since then. Poor Ponidi loses for the ninth time by KO/TKO. February 7 Frederikshavn, Denmark: Cruiser: Micki Nielsen (17-0) W PTS 10 Julio Cesar Dos Santos (27-4). Welter: Anthony Yigit (12-0-1) W TKO 6 Kim Poulsen (26-2). Light: Richard Commey (20-0) W TKO 4 Mikheil Avakyan (27-19-4). Feather: Dennis Ceylan (13-0-1) W TKO 7 Cris Montilla (6-4-1). Super Middle: Tim-Robin Lihaug (10-1) W PTS 8 Ferouk Daku (18-7-1). Light: Rashid Kassem (7-0) W KO 2 Gyula Tallosi (5-2). Middle: Abdul Khattab (10-0) W PTS 8 Alexey Ribchev (19-12-1). Nielsen vs. Dos Santos Nielsen cruises to clear if uninspiring win over durable Brazilian and lifts the vacant WBC International title. The Dane made a good start shaking Dos Santos early in the first and winning the round clearly. Dos Santos had a better second round getting through with some punches of his own but Nielsen did enough scoring to pocket that round. The Dane dominated the third hurting Dos Santos with some good combinations and the Brazilian must have been happy to hear the bell. Dos Santos was spending too much time on the ropes in the fourth with Nielsen again putting together some hurtful combinations. The pace dropped in the fifth with Nielsen’s not as sharp or as accurate. Nielsen edged the sixth and seventh but Dos Santos seemed to be getting into the fight more and may just have landed enough to edge the eighth. He also started brightly in the ninth but Nielsen landed a couple of hard punches late in the round to swing that one his way. The Dane clearly took the tenth to emerge the winner by a large margin on all cards. Scores 100-90, 100-91 and 99-91. The 21-year-old 6’3” (190cm) southpaw, a former two-time Danish amateur champion is not listed in the EBU top 20 but is at No 22 in the tagged-on EU ratings. Dos Santos, 37, won his first 21 fights then he tried to move up and fight both inside and outside Brazil. He is 6-4 in his last 10 fights with 6 wins in Brazil a loss at home to Laudelino Barros, and on the road against Dmytro Kucher on points and a fifth round stoppage against Tony Bellew. Yigit vs. Poulsen Yigit could just be the best young Nordic boxer around. The Swede southpaw outclassed the more experienced Poulsen in a much anticipated clash before stopping him in six rounds. Yigit was the aggressor in the first with the speed and accuracy of his attacks having Poulsen forced on to the back foot and trying to counter. Yigit increased the pressure in the second with Poulsen trying hard but unsuccessfully to stem the one-way traffic and the Dane ended the round with his face covered in blood. Poulsen was suffering again in the third and did not seem to know how to get a foothold in the fight as Yigit was getting through time and again with fast, sharp punches from all angles. The pace dropped a little in the fourth and Poulsen had some minor success but the Swede was still quicker to the punch. Yigit was back to full speed in the fifth and it was looking unlikely that Poulsen would last the distance. That began to look more than unlikely when a left to the body put Poulsen down. He got up and lasted to the bell. A series of punches at the start of the sixth put Poulsen down again. He made it to his feet but was in a bad way and the referee stopped the fight just as the towel came flying in from Poulsen’s corner. Yigit had temporarily moved up to welter and wins the WBC Baltic title but says he only came up so that he could fight “Golden Boy” Poulsen and will move down to light welter where he won the same WBC title over another Danish hope Kasper Bruun (19-0-1). In a stellar amateur career Yigit was Swedish champion in 2010 and 2012, won the Nordic Championship was twice a quarter finalist at the European Championships participated in the 2011 World Championships and competed at the 2012 Olympics. Poulsen, 28, lost back in 2008 to Frenchman Tony Jourda but then ran up 23 wins in a row and somehow picking up the Austrian title. This was a crushing defeat so it remains to be seen what career decision he takes. Commey vs. Avakyan Commey gets easy win against poor Georgian but fails to fire up the Danish crowd. It was just too simple for the talented CBC champion. He found Avakyan and easy target in the first and by the second the poor technical skills of the Georgian assured this would not last long. Commey was having an off night and that was the only reason Avakyan managed to survive the third. The Georgian lost a point in the fourth for holding and was then floored by a combination of punches from the Ghanaian with the referee not even bothering to count. The 27-year-old Commey makes it 18 wins by KO/TKO. He has wins over Paul Truscott, Gary Buckland and Samir Ziani and is rated IBF 12 (11). He will have better nights than this. Avakyan, 23, has 7 losses by KO/TKO and is 4-7 in his last 11 fights. Ceylan vs. Montilla Ceylan deals with the only man he had failed to beat in his short pro career. Last time these two met in August it ended as a split draw. This time Ceylan put things right with a convincing win. The former top amateur used his superior hand speed to sweep the first three rounds with Spaniard Montilla forcing the action but being caught time and again by rights from Ceylan. Montilla has good skills and even under pressure and against a more accomplished technician he was still giving Ceylon some problems. However by the end of the sixth the Dane was well ahead on all three cards and was slowly breaking Montilla down. His resistance collapsed in the seventh. Ceylan trapped Montilla in a corner and was unloading heavily. With nothing coming back from Montilla the fight was stopped. The 25-year-old Ceylan makes it 7 wins by KO/TKO. As an amateur he was Danish champion four times, and represented Denmark at European, World and Olympic level. His big drawback is brittle hands but he has plenty of talent. Montilla, 26, the Spanish super bantam champion fought above expectations in the first fight. He made a bad start as a pro being 3-3 in his first 6 fights with two of the losses coming in the first round but then went 3-0-1 including the draw with Ceylan and winning and defending the Spanish title. Kassem vs. Tallosi “The Dream” Kassem beats Hungarian Tallosi in two rounds. Kassem came out in his usual aggressive style and was landing heavy punches from the start staggering Tallosi with a straight right but with Tallosi absorbing them well. It ended in the second when Kassem cornered the Hungarian and put him down with a left to the body. Tallosi threw up when on the floor and did not get up. The 23-year-old gifted Dane won a hatful of titles at Cadet and Junior level and competed at the World and European Championships as a Senior but failed to get through the European Qualifiers for 2012 Olympics. He has 4 wins by KO/TKO. Two losses by KO/TKO for Tallosi who was also stopped in two rounds by Joe Murray in November. Lihaug vs. Daku Norwegian Lihaug gets split decision over Dutchman in dull contest. It was very much a tactical fight between two boxers with good technique but whose styles did not gel which caused the crowd to lose interest with neither boxer showing much enthusiasm for exciting exchanges. Then sort of fight that the food and drink concessionaires love but the crowd don’t. The Norwegian looked to have the Dutch-based southpaw in trouble on the ropes in the sixth but that did not last and in the seventh Daku gave Lihaug a bloody nose which was about as much excitement as the fight produced. Lihaug got the decision on scores of 79-73 and 77-75 with the third judge going for Daku by 77-76. The 22-year-old WBO Youth champion lost on a kayo in his fourth pro fight against still unbeaten Swede Oscar Ahlin. He has won his last 7 fights but this was not one of his best. Ugandan-born Daku won his first 12 fights in Uganda so is 3-7-1 in his last 11 but has only lost once by KO/TKO and was in no real danger of doing so here. Khattab vs. Ribchev Khattab gets close unanimous verdict over experienced Bulgarian Ribchev. With his superior skills and fast hands Khattab was master in this one as long as he could keep Ribchev on the outside and stay with the pace he was setting. Both proved difficult. Khattab built an early lead but Ribchev was pressurising more and more with each round. When Khattab tired over the late rounds Ribchev was able to turn the fight into more of a brawl which suited him better. The Bulgarian suffered a bad cut from a clash of heads in the sixth but just kept coming although in the end it was a case of too little too late as Khattab took the decision on scores of 77-75 from all three judges. The toughest test the Palestinian Territory born 21-year-old has had so far and some valuable experience. The 32-year-old Bulgarian “Fish” Ribchev knows how to survive with only three losses by KO/TKO and those to Chris Eubank Jr, Michel Soro and Frank Buglioni and occasionally as here he can be a tough match for a young prospect. Davao City, Philippines: Super Bantam: Genesis Servania (26-0) W PTS 12 Juan L Hernandez (17-4-1). Super Light: Jason Pagara (35-2) W TKO 2 Cesar Chavez (24-8). Super Fly: Arthur Villanueva (27-0) W PTS 10 Julio Cesar Miranda (38-12-2). Feather: Mark Magsayo (10-0) W TKO 5 Sukkasem (13-4). Servania vs. Hernandez Servania wins but negative tactics of Hernandez make it hard for the unbeaten Filipino. It was a frustrating night for “Azukal” as he hounded a retreating Hernandez for round after round without being able to do any significant damage to the mobile Mex. The Filipino hope managed to get through with hurtful shots but his failure to put Hernandez away led to some rumblings of discontent in the crowd. Hernandez showed some good skills and stood up to the punishment well even doing enough to steal a round here and there in the late sessions but was too focused on survival to launch any sustained attacks. Scores 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111. The 23-year-old WBO No 1 had won 5 of his last 6 fights by KO/TKO so there was an expectation in the crowd that he would continue that sort of form, but Hernandez had other ideas. Servania is hoping to get a shot at WBA/WBO champion Guillermo Rigondeaux later this year and knows he will have to do better than this if he is to have any chance against the hugely talented Cuban. Hernandez blamed his negative tactics on an injury to his right hand in the second round . The 32-year-old “Black Pearl” was having only his second fight in over 4 years having been inactive in 2011,2012 and 2013 before returning to action last November.. Pagara vs. Chavez Pagara just hits too hard for Mexican Chavez. From the start Pagara was patiently following Chavez who was circling the perimeter of the ring only stopping briefly to throw a few tentative punches. Eventually Pagara caught up with Chavez and sunk a left hook to the body which put Chavez down on his knees. He got up and was ready to fight on at the end of the eight count. Pagara again showed patience as he stalked Chavez rarely wasting a punch until he again caught Chavez on the ropes and landed a series of hard punches which saw Chavez on the deck again. The Mexican got up but the bell went before Pagara could apply the finish. It was obvious that the fight would only last as long as it took Pagara to catch up with Chavez again. Early in the second Pagara missed with a right cross but when he threw the same punch about 30 seconds later it saw Chavez go down on his knees clutching his eye and after starting the count the referee saw that Chavez was finished and waived the balance of the count with Chavez perhaps having suffered a dislocated jaw. The 26-year-old “El Nino” now has 22 wins by KO/TKO and has beaten both of the fighters who hold victories over him. He is No 4 with the WBO but his management is not going to rush him into a title fight and will be sending him to the US for more polishing. He has been matched sensibly with wins over Miguel Antoine (17-0-1), Aaron Herrera (25-1) and Vlad Baez (19-1-2) in fact the combined records of his five victims before this fight adds up to 95-9-5 so no easy ones there. Chavez, 27, had been in the process of getting his career back on track. After a run of 4 losses in a row by KO/TKO he had gone back to basics in 2014 with three wins over modest opposition, but he was never in with a chance here. Villanueva vs. Miranda Villanueva collects a useful scalp as he outpoints former WBO flyweight champion Miranda. The Filipino used his excellent skills to keep this one in control all the way. He used hand speed, movement and accuracy to make a tough test look easy. Apart from his work with the jab to keep Miranda out Villanueva was also scoring well to the body with hooks and uppercuts. Miranda had plenty of tricks in his bag and often switched guards and threw punches from awkward angles. He did enough to pick up a round or two in the middle of the fight but no more and “King” Arthur’s earlier body work told on the Mexican veteran over the late rounds as he was unable to launch any really effective rally. Scores 98-92 twice and 99-91 all for the Filipino. Villanueva, 26 is already at No 3(2) with the IBF and rated WBA 7/WBC 12. He has victories over Thai Pramuansak, Marco Demecillo and Arturo Badillo but was well below his best in just scraping past Henry Maldonado on a split decision in Dubai in September. He will also probably go the US for some training before his ALA management looks for a title shot. ”Pingo” Miranda, 34, is not the force he was before losing his WBO title to Brian Viloria on a close decision in 2011. He had a run of 5 losses and a draw before winning the Mexican bantam title in his last fight in November. Magsayo Vs. Sukkasem “Magnifico” Magsayo again shows his power and promise with stoppage of tough Thai. The 19-year-old from the ALA gym was in his first ten round fight so paced himself until finishing it in the fifth. He floored the Thai with a three punch-left hook to the body, left uppercut to the jaw and a thunderous right which put Sukkasem down. He got up but a right sent him sailing through the ropes and the fight was stopped immediately. Now 8 wins by KO/TKO including 5 in his last 6 fights for the promising young featherweight. Second loss in a row to an unbeaten fighter for Sukkasem. Saint Malo, France: Welter: Damien Martin (21-8-4) W PTS 10 Laconic Duval (10-14-1). Light Heavy: Kevin Thomas Cojean (16-6-1) W PTS 6 Ericles Torres Marin (7-5-1). Martin vs. Duval Martin gets revenge win and retains the French title. Martin was 10-1-2 in his last 13 fights going in with the loss being on points against Duval in November 2013. The local fighter made no mistake this time. “Damingo” was too fast-handed scoring with short hooks and even though Duval tried switching southpaw it made no difference. Martin controlled the pace of the fight and Duval had no answer to the scything left hooks of the champion. Scores 98-92 twice and a too close 96-95. Second defence of the national title for the 28-year-old local house painter/ fighter. Duval, 34, drops to 4-7 in his last 11 fights. He was official challenger. Cojean vs. Marin Torres Frenchman Cojean gets comfortable points win over Hungarian southpaw. The only danger for Cojean here was the Hungarian’s head. He floored Marin Torres in the third with left/right combination and was scoring with hooks in every round running out a clear winner. Scores 60-54 from all three judges. The 25-year-old former French title challenger and current FFB No 1 has won 4 of his last 5 fights. Marin Torres has lost his last 3 fights. Ferrara, Italy: Super Welter: Marcello Matano (14-1) W PTS 12 Jussi Koivula (17-2). Cruiser: Maurizio Lovaglio (18-1) W TKO 1 Rosario Guglielmino (6-2). Matano vs. Koivula Paper lies! For this was a good match on paper but Koivula just simply did not turn up on the night. Only the lack of punch power from locally-born Matano allowing the Finn to still be there at the final bell the loser by a wide unanimous decision. Koivula made the better start and edged the first round but after that it was Matano’s fight. From the second the Italian was too quick for the slower Finn and too often Koivula allowed himself to be taken to the ropes where the aggressive Italian would belabour him with punches to head and body. If Matano has a fault it is that too often he almost slaps with an open glove so Koivula was taking a lot of hits but not really in serious trouble of being stopped. There was also a question over the stamina of the former Italian champion in his first twelve round fight but he managed to keep the fast pace he was setting for the full distance. As the fight progressed Koivula seemed to go into survival mode and was given an official warning for holding. Matano continued his domination from the ninth to the eleventh and although Koivula rallied late it made no difference to the outcome. Scores 118-109 twice and 119-108. The 28-year-old Matano wins the vacant IBF Inter-Continental title. His only loss was a late stoppage against Felice Moncelli in September which cost him his Italian title. He was rated No 20 in the EU ratings. This is his second win since the lo0ss to Moncelli. Koivula, 31, the EU No 22, lost on a fifth round stoppage against useful Pole Lukasz Maciec in April 2013 and then scored four wins leading up to this fight. It was his first venture outside Finland and better was expected on the basis of his record. Lovaglio vs. Guglielmino Lovaglio regains the national title with quick disposal of Guglielmino. There was hardly time to figure out how to pronounce Guglielmino’s name before it was over. A left hook followed by a right to the chin put Guglielmino down and although he seemed to benefit from a slow count when he made it back to the vertical he was in no state to continue and the fight was over in 107 seconds. “The Angel” Lovaglio, 32, lost in shots at both the national light heavy and cruiser titles before finally beating Leonardo Bruzzese for the vacant cruiser title in 2013. He made a big impression in his first defence when he knocked out Salvatore Erittu (24-1) in 36 seconds but then was down twice before being disqualified in a fight for the vacant EU title against modest Croat Stjepan Vugdelija last September. This is the second win since then for the No 3 in the Italian ratings and his eleventh win by KO/TKO. Sicilian southpaw Guglielmino, 30, who had an unsuccessful challenge for the Italian light heavy title has yet to go the distance in any of his 9 fights. In fact none of his fights have gone beyond the fourth round. He was No 8 in the unofficial Italian ratings. Tokyo, Japan: Super Fly: Toshiyuki Igarashi (20-2-1) W T DEC 9 Efrain Perez (17-6). Former WBC fly champion Igarashi starts well but has a struggle until a bad cut took the fight to the scorecards in the last round. A fast, talented southpaw Igarashi used his physical edge and superior skill to outbox the aggressive little Mexican over the early rounds. However Perez was working the body and gradually closing the distance and forcing Igarashi to stand and trade more. Igarashi was cut over the right eyebrow in a clash of heads in the sixth but the fight was allowed to continue with Perez looking for the knockout he needed to win. Those efforts were destined to fail after another clash of heads in the ninth worsened the cut. Early in the tenth the referee decided that the cut was too bad for Igarashi to continue and the fight went to the cards with the uncompleted tenth round being scored. Igarashi got the technical decision on scores of 98-94 twice and 96-95. The 31-year-old is now up at super fly where he is rated WBA 6/WBC 7 . With just the one loss in his last 14 fights and that to Akira Yaegashi which cost him his WBC title, a shot at either WBA champion Kohei Kono or WBO champion Naoya Inoue could be possible. As an amateur he represented Japan at both the 2004 Olympics and the 2005 World Championships at 48kg. “Matador” Perez, 26, was forced to play the part of the bull here against the classy skills of Igarashi. The former undefeated Mexican champion had a 7 bout winning streak snapped when he lost in a tough fight with Filipino Mark Anthony Geraldo in Macau in July. Guadalajara, Mexico: Feather: Carlos Diaz R (17-0) W TKO 3 Rafael Reyes (14-4). Super Welter: Daniel Sandoval (37-3) W TKO 3 Grady Brewer (32-20). Super Bantam: Enrique Bernache (21-7) W PTS 10 Jose Cayetano (17-3). Diaz vs. Reyes Diaz remains unbeaten with win over late substitute Reyes. “Chuko” Diaz was on top of Reyes from the first bell and dominated the first two rounds. In the third the local favourite landed a tremendous uppercut that put Reyes on the floor. Reyes was up but badly shaken and only just made it to the bell. He did not come out for the fourth round. The 20-year-old Diaz is now looking for a match with Oscar Valdez and it would certainly be a big fight for Mexican fans. Diaz already holds wins over Miguel Beltran and Braulio Rodriguez (15-0) and is WBO No 13. Reyes came in as a late substitute as Daulis Prescott had originally been named as the opponent for Diaz. After losing just one of his first 15 fights Reyes has now lost 3 in a row. Sandoval vs. Brewer Sandoval wins but even the local crowd were displeased with the stoppage. Sandoval, the much taller boxer came out fast trying to end it in the first. He had Brewer down half way through the first round and the crowd were anticipating an early night. However the Oklahoma fighter used some good survival skills including a low punch which got him a warning but helped him make it out of the first three minute. Brewer was more in the fight in the second finding gaps in Sandoval’s defence but losing a point for yet another low blow. In the third Brewer was down twice with both knockdowns being questionable with Brewer up quickly each time and not looking too badly shaken it was a big surprise when the referee stopped the fight over strong protests from Brewer. “Galeno” Sandoval, 23, makes it 34 wins by KO/TKO but even his own management agreed the stoppage was premature. Sandoval has lost only one of his last 19 fights and that was to Omar Chavez in May last year. The 44-year-old Brewer did not get a square deal here but asking the referee if he had been paid by Sandoval’s people was probably a bit off line-somewhat. The “Bad Boy” can be a dangerous opponent on his night and was coming off a win over Said Ouali but the days of beating Cornelius Bundrage, Albert Onolunose and Fernando Guerrero are now history. Bernache vs. Cayetano “Duende” Bernache gets a needed win as he outpoints useful Cayetano. He had Cayetano down ands swept the cards on scores of 100-88,99-91 and 97-92. After going 16-1 in his first 17 fights the 26-year-old Bernache had lost in tough fights against opposition such as Felipe Orucuta, Raul Hirales, Daniel Rosas and Tomas Rojas to be 5-6 going into this one so could not afford another defeat. “Tigre” Cayetano was 7-1 in his last 8 fights with the loss being against Alejandro Gonzalez (20-0-2) and was coming off a win over Dennis Contreras (19-2) so was a genuine threat. Chetumal, Mexico: Feather: Vic Darchinyan (40-7-1) W TKO 9 Juan Jimenez (19-9). Welter: Pablo Cano (28-4-1) W KO 1 Jorge Silva (20-7-2). 10 Darchinyan vs. Jimenez Darchinyan made an unusual for him cautious start prodding and probing with his right jab and trying long lefts with Jimenez hiding behind a high guard and looking to counter. That was the pattern over the first three rounds with Jimenez perhaps just doing enough to edge two of the rounds. Despite an early warning for pushing Jimenez’s head down Darchinyan took the fourth as Jimenez spent too long going backwards behind his high guard and allowing Darchinyan to get his punches off first and be away when Jimenez tried to counter. The fifth also went to the Armenian/Australian as he followed the retreating Jimenez bobbing and weaving with his hands at thigh level launching punches from various angles with Jimenez just waiting for an opening to counter but being too slow when it came. If the fighters had not sat down for a minute there would have been no way to know where the fifth ended and the sixth started as it was the same pattern of Darchinyan coming forward getting his punches off first and Jimenez hiding behind his high guard and throwing counters that hit empty air . In the seventh a right from Darchinyan curved around Jimenez and landed on the back of the Mexican’s head. Jimenez went down. Darchinyan was given a warning and Jimenez time to recover. Knowing the Mexican was hurt Darchinyan stepped up his attacks but was warned for another punch to the back of the head. Amusingly Darchinyan stood with his hands down gesticulating at the referee over the warning whilst Jimenez just watched the exchange (obviously not from the Floyd Mayweather Jr school of defend yourself at all times opportunities). The eighth was all Darchinyan as Jimenez was leaving gaps for hard body punches and Darchinyan was landing long lefts to the liver and threading uppercuts on the inside. The end when it came in the ninth was strange. Darchinyan threw a long left which pierced the guard of Jimenez but landed at the full extension of the arm with no real power. Jimenez took a couple of steps back and then went down on one knee. Incredibly the referee then knelt down talking to Jimenez for 16 seconds but not applying or indicating any count and then waived the fight off over the protestations of Jimenez and his seconds who argued that if the referee had applied a count their man would have got up. The 39-year-old “Raging Bull” was bouncing back after consecutive inside the distance losses to Nonito Donaire and Nicholas Walters and obviously sees his career as a long way from being over. Now 8 losses by KO/TKO for the 23-year-old Jimenez the WBC Continental Americas champion at super flyweight. Cano vs. Silva “Housewrecker” Cano destroys Silva inside the first round. The former interim WBA super lightweight champion landed shots to head and body and then put Silva down with a left. There looked no way Silva could get up and Cano was already celebrating when both he and Silva realised that the referee was going through with a count so Silva got up at nine only for the referee to then waive the fight off. Cano, 25, now has 21 wins by KO/TKO. He lost to Erik Morales for the vacant WBC super light title in 2011 busting a 24 bout winning streak but beat Johan Perez in 2012 for the interim WBA welter title before suffering consecutive losses to Paul Malignaggi for the full WBA title and to Shane Mosley for the vacant WBC International title. He rebounded with a split decision over clever Brit Ashley Theophane only to lose on a cut against Fernando Angulo in his last fight in March last year. A loss which has seen him drop out of the ratings. This was the first win on the road back to the top. Silva, 22, has lost 5 of his last 6 fights, 3 by KO/TKO. Carolina, Puerto Rico: Feather: Jose Lopez (15-0-1) DREW 8 Josean Figueroa (8-3-2). Lopez losses 100% record as he is held to a draw by Figueroa. Lopez had to use his considerable skills as Figueroa was constantly pressing trying to break down the “Wonder Boy” and just kept coming. Lopez hurt Figueroa a couple of time with his vaunted left hook and looked perhaps unfortunate not to get the verdict but neither fighter complained about the draw and their styles fitted well so a return could happen. Scores 76-76 twice and 79-73 for Lopez. The lanky 20-year-old Lopez already has wins over experienced campaigners in Raul Hidalgo and Roberto Castaneda. Figueroa did better than might have been expected as this was his first fight since losing in three rounds to Jonathan Vidal in October 2012. Hidalgo, TX, USA: Light: Ivan Najera (16-0) W PTS 8 Robbie Cannon (14-11-2). Welter: Alex Saucedo (17-0) W TKO 3 Eduardo Flores(19-17-3). 13 Najera vs. Cannon Najera much too good for Cannon but the fighter from Missouri shows a better than anticipated chin and stays the full eight rounds. Najera was a class or two above Cannon and dished out severe punishment in every round. The nearest he came to ending the fight inside the distance was a left hook which floored Cannon in the fifth, but Cannon got up and despite taking a beating earned his money even doing enough to puck up a couple of the early rounds on one card. Scores 80-71 twice and 78-73. Texan Najera, 22, is finding it tougher as the opposition improves. He won 8 of his first 9 fights by KO/TKO but has been taken the distance in each of his last 8 fights. Cannon is 2-8-1 in his last 9. He has 4 losses by KO/TKO but two of those were against Mason Menard and Omar Figueroa. Saucedo vs. Flores Saucedo gets another inside the distance win. The Oklahoma City prospect was not really troubled in this one. He had Flores badly hurt at the end of the second round and after he put Flores down in the third the fight was halted. Now 12 wins by KO/TKO for the 20-year-old prospect. Ecuadorian Flores was giving away height and reach and that plus the power of Saucedo was just too much. Some brave management saw him face Wale Omotoso, Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Brad Solomon in losing fights last year. The brilliant Eric Armit has again sent us his sensational weekly report, and what a week it was.
January 29 New York, NY, USA: Feather: Rafael Vazquez (13-1) W TKO 4 Joseph Rios (13-12-2). Light Heavy: Travis Peterkin (14-0) W TKO 1 Julio Garcia (6-8). Super Bantam: Luis Rosa (18-0-1ND) W TKO 1 Noel Echevarria (11-5). Light Heavy: Lennox Allen (18-0-1) W KO 2 Kojo Issah (14-2-1). Super Welter: Ivan Golub (5-0) W TKO 1 Rashawn McCain (2-3). Vazquez vs. Rios Vazquez makes it five wins in a row by KO/TKO with stoppage of Rios. After an even first round in the second Vazquez landed a left to the chin which put Rios down heavily. He got up only to be put down by another left. Vazquez was looking to end it in the third but Rios was only focusing on survival and saw out the round. A right put Rios down again in the fourth. At the end of the round the doctor examined Rios in his corner and the fight was stopped. The 37-year-old Brooklyn-based Puerto Rican wins the vacant Fedelatin title having previously won the same title at super bantam. Vazquez who did not turn pro until he was 32 has 11 wins by KO/TKO. Texan Rios, 32, had moved up from super fly. This his fifth loss in a row. Peterkin vs. Garcia Too easy for prospect Peterkin as he beats late replacement Garcia in one round. The Brooklyn-based southpaw handed out a beating over the first three minutes but it was still a surprise when the doctor advised the fight should be stopped at the end of the first round. The 24-year-old former NGG quarter-finalist “Notorious” has wins over Mike Gbenga and Otis Griffin and this makes it 6 wins by KO/TKO. Puerto Rican Garcia, 39, has 5 losses in a row with the last four losses to unbeaten fighters. Rosa vs. Echevarria “Kayo King” Rosa gets rid of Echevarria in less than a round. The Connecticut-based Puerto Rican put Echevarria down with a barrage of body punches. Echevarria got up but took more punishment including one shot which looked low, but a legal right put him down again and the fight was stopped. The 23-year-old Rosa, a former NGG silver medalist makes it 8 wins by KO/TKO. The Rosa’s are a family firm with his father his coach and his mother the financial brains. He has good wins over Jorge Diaz (17-2) and came off the floor to beat Luis Orlando Del Valle (18-0-1). Taking 50/50 fights like that shows a confidence in his ability. North Carolina-based Puerto Rican Echevarria, 24, loses inside the distance for the third time. After 11 wins in a row he now has 5 losses in a row, the last three by KO/TKO but against very tough opposition. Allen vs. Issah “2 Sharpe” Allen makes one of his rare appearances and halts Ghanaian Issah. Early in the second a right to the body put Issah down and he stayed there for the full count. The 29-year-old Guyanan southpaw has 11 wins by KO/TKO but with only one fight in 2012, one in 2013, none in 2014and only 18 fights in nearly 11 years as a pro he needs to get serious about his career. Issah in over his head. This was his first fight since October 2011 and his first fight outside Ghana. His figures at home flatter him as his list of 14 victims includes 12 who had never won a fight, including five of whom had never previously had a fight. Golub vs. McCain Never kid a kidder and never punch with a puncher could be the lesson for McCain as Golub puts him down and out with just two seconds left in the first round. McCain chose to stand and trade and it provided some exciting exchanges until former top amateur Golub nailed McCain with a left hook to the head which ended the fight. The tall Ukrainian southpaw, now based in Brooklyn, makes it four first round finishes in a row. Arizona’s McCain has lost three in a row, but all to unbeaten fighters. January 30 Mashantucket, CT, USA: Tony Luis (19-2) W PTS 10 Karl Dargan (17-1). Light Heavy: Sullivan Barrera (15-0) W TKO 4 Jeff Lacy (27-6,1ND). Middle: Thomas Falowo (13-3) W PTS 8 Russell Lamour (11-1). Cruiser: Keith Tapia (13-0) W TKO 1 Jesse Oltmanns (10-5). Luis vs. Dargan Luis mugs better boxer Dargan and gets his career back on track. Dargan was a heavy favourite but after a slow opening round Luis took control of the fight and never relinquished it. The Canadian was pressurising Dargan giving him no room to work forcing him onto the back foot and too often on the ropes. In the third a left hook to the chin from Luis saw Dargan’s right leg do an involuntary little dance and he slumped to the floor but it was not counted although it looked a genuine knockdown. Dargan had a better fourth scoring with quick but light combinations and a right from Luis which landed after the bell served to heat things up. Dargan was causing problems for himself by leaning over to his right to avoid head punches from Luis and putting himself direct in line for the Canadian’s left hook which Luis was throwing in bunches of 3 or 4 at a time. Dargan is not a puncher and he lacked the power to keep Luis off so was unable to use his undoubted skills and was slowly being broken down. By the end of the eighth Dargan was cut and showing swellings around both eyes. The doctor examined him but let the fight continue. In the last they both let punches go at the same time. Dargan’s right landed flush on Luis’s jaw but the left that Luis threw curved round the back of Dargan’s head and he tumbled to the floor. Strictly speaking the punch was illegal but it was counted as a knockdown. Scores 97-92 twice and 99-90 all for Luis. “The Lightning” Luis, 27, had encountered a couple of bumps in the road so needed this win. After winning his first 15 fights he was floored and halted by journeyman Jose Hernandez in 2013 and a year ago was floored again and outpointed by Ivan Redkach now he is back in business. Despite starring as an amateur “Dynamite” Dargan, 29, has taken 7 years to accumulate 18 fights and just when he breaks into the ratings he blows his stiffest test. As an amateur Dargan was twice US champion and won a gold medal at the Pan American Games but there has to be doubts over whether he can go much further as a pro. He did injure his right hand at some stage but did not make it an excuse for being beaten by the hungrier fighter on the night. Barrera vs. Lacy Barrera just too big, strong and hard hitting for a faded Lacy. This one was almost over in the first and probably should have been if Barrera had steadied himself. Less than 20 seconds into the fight the Cuban staggered Lacy with a right and drove him to the ropes and launched a sustained barrage of rights and left hooks with Lacy looking vulnerable. Barrera could not miss with his long left jabs and right crosses and had Lacy looking unsteady twice before a right cross crashed into Lacy’s chin and knocked him on his back. Lacy was up at the count of three but looked shaky. After the eight count Barrera took Lacy to a corner and again had Lacy in trouble as he landed heavy shots with both hands. At one point Lacy staggered forward grasping Barrera around the waist to stop himself from going down and somehow he survived the round although you felt Barrera had missed a great opportunity. The doctor visited Lacy’s corner at the end of the round but saw no reason to interfere. .In the second Lacy manage to get his own jab working and used some good upper body movement to avoid the jarring jabs and rights that had almost finished him in the first. Barrera finished the round strongly cornering Lacy and landing more heavy rights and left hooks to the body. Lacy again survived a doctor’s visit. Lacy was staggered again in the third complaining that the punch landed on the back of his head and he was helped by Barrera being wild with his right looking to repeat the success of the first round. Later Lacy was driven back by two straight rights and again looked shaky. For a third time the doctor examined Lacy and they had a long conversation in a neutral corner and Lacy convinced the doctor that he was okay. Some of Barrera’s lefts had been landing low and when he repeated the sin at the start of the fourth the referee deducted a point from the Cuban. Barrera could not miss Lacy and was pouring on the punishment with chopping rights. Finally one sent Lacy staggering back into the ropes and as Barrera unloaded with rights and lefts the referee jumped in and stopped the fight. The 32-year-old 6’2” (188cm) 32-year-old Cuban looked awesome in this one but Lacy was a stationary target and with the big edges that Barrera had in height and reach Lacy was always going to be walking onto punches to get inside. Way back in 2000 Barrera won a gold medal at the World Junior Championships beating Chad Dawson in the semi-finals and he also has a win over Beibut Shumenov but did not get out of Cuba until 2009 and was 27 by the time he turned pro. With his size and power he is a real threat. Lacy, 37, is a shadow of the fighter who was IBF champion. He was floored and halted in two rounds by Umberto Savigne, another Cuban, in July and really should think about retiring before he gets hurt. Falowo vs. Lamour Something of an upset as old amateur foe Falowo takes away Lamour’s unbeaten tag. Falowo was making the fight from the start barreling forward and forcing Lamour to trade. He was outworking Lamour over the early rounds and was pocketing the rounds. The unknown factor was pacing and stamina as neither fighter had extensive experience of going past the sixth round. Falowo did tire over the last two rounds allowing Lamour to close the gap but Falowo fought hard in the last to keeps his edge on the cards. Scores 77-75 twice and 78-74. The 26-year-old from Rhode Island wins the New England title (just a bit of geography here, New England is not a State but a geographical region encompassing the State’s in the far North East Atlantic seaboard of the USA, just thought I would throw that in for free) as he bounces back from being floored and halted by Romanian prospect Ronald Gavril in August. Maine’s Lamour, 32, a former US Olympic Trials competitor despite being known as the “Haitian Sensation” goes back to the drawing board but this one was close enough not to dispirit him too much. Tapia vs. Oltmanns Puerto Rican hope “Machine Gun” Tapia overwhelms oldie “Street Fighter” Oltmanns inside a round. The 24-year-old Tapia was Puerto Rican champion in 2010 and 2011won a gold medal at the World Cadets, competed at the 2007 World Championships and won a bronze medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games so has a solid grounding. He has 8 wins by KO/TKO six in the first round. Oltmanns no real test. The 39-year-old was having his first fight since July 2012 and lasted just 26 seconds with Deontay Wilder. Mar del Plata, Argentina: Light Heavy: Ruben Acosta (30-11-5) W PTS 12 Rolando W Mansilla (10-1-1). Acosta holds on to the South American title with unanimous verdict over fellow Argentinian Mansilla. The fight was competitive over the first four rounds as the challenger made a good start taking the fight to Acosta and scoring well with his right cross. The more experienced Acosta was fighting on the back foot using good footwork to blunt Mansilla’s attacks and countering with his left jab and hooks. Acosta got into his stride in the fifth adding some crisp uppercuts to his jabs and hooks although Mansilla banged back with two hard rights at the end of the round. The sixth went to Acosta as he shook Mansilla with a right cross and another uppercut. Again Mansilla responded with a right hook but Acosta was busier and more accurate and was now working the body consistently. Mansilla had never gone beyond the sixth round before and as he tired Acosta was able to utilise his superior skills to keep up a steady scoring rate and build an unassailable lead. Mansilla tried hard but over the closing rounds Acosta was well within his comfort zone staggering Mansilla briefly with a right in the eleventh and forced Mansilla to fight with his back to the ropes in the last to wrap up the decision. Scores 118-111 twice and 116-112. Second defence of the South American title for the 36-year-old “Siru”. The FAB No 3 lost to Robert Stieglitz in a challenge for the WBO title in 2010. He has slipped since then being 5-7 in his last 12 fights going into this one but the opposition has been good quality including Ezequiel Maderna, Alex Brand, Callum Smith , Max Vlasov and Isidro Prieto (30-0-3). The 29-year-old Mansilla, the FAB No 4, just found the jump in quality and distance too much. Junin, Argentina: Super light: Martin A Coggi (33-6-3,1ND) W PTS 10 Nelson F Pilotti (14-8-1). Welter: Gumersindo L Carrasco (20-2) W PTS 6 Jorge S Fredes (14-12). Feather: Sergio E Gonzalez (27-17-4) W PTS 6 Mauricio Munoz (29-6). Coggi vs. Pilotti Coggi overcomes bad cut to win unanimous decision. For the first six rounds this was a fight that Coggi was winning comfortable. “The Prince” used his talented southpaw jab to set Pilotti up for a succession of left hooks to head and body whilst building a substantial lead. The fight altered in the seventh when a right from Pilotti opened a severe cut on the left eyelid of Coggi. That success galvanised Pilotti who was fighting with more confidence and looking to worsen the injury. It took all of Coggi’s experience to keep his boxing together but he did just that and then produced a big finish to dominate the last round and emerge a clear winner. Scores 99-93, 99-93 ½ and 98 ½-95. Now only one loss in his last 11 fights for the 31-year-old son of the former three-time WBA super light champion Juan Martin Coggi. He is rated No 6 by the FAB. Pilotti has lost 5 of his last 6 fights. Carrasco vs. Fredes Carrasco makes it three wins in his rebuilding process as he takes unanimous decision over Fredes. “Gumer” had Fredes in deep trouble in the fifth but Fredes survived with the help of a standing count. The 28-year-old from the Andes won his first 17 fights before being halted in four rounds by Brit Lee Purdy in 2012. A majority decision loss to Elias Vallejos in 2013 saw him dropped from the FAB ratings so he is on a rebuilding project. “El Mexicanito” Fredes is 3-6 in his last 9 fights and in his last bout before this was halted in six rounds by Mauro M Godoy in an Argentinian title fight. Gonzalez vs. Munoz Routine six round non-title fights sometimes don’t work out to be routine as South American champion and FAB No 2 Munoz found out. He was outboxed by experienced southpaw Gonzalez who took the unanimous decision. The 29-year-old Munoz had been mixing in good company having lost on points to Evgeny Gradovich in an IBF title challenge in 2013 and to Brit Stephen Smith for the WBC Silver title in May last year. Winning the vacant South American title with a win over Bruno H Godoy in December was supposed to be the fikrst step on the read back but Gonzalez tore up the script. Former Argentinian light champion Gonzalez, 36, had lost 3 of his last 4 and was unrated. Blagnac, France: Super Feather: Samir Ziani (18-2-1) W PTS 10 Alex Bone (10-20-3). Super Welter: Michel Soro (24-1-1) W KO 1 Sandor Micsko (25-8-2). Light Heavy: Doudou Ngumbu (34-6) W PTS 6 Andrejs Pokumeiko (7-7). Ziani vs. Bone Ziani takes unanimous decision over late substitute Bone. As is his usual style Ziani pressed the fight all the way with Ecuadorian Bone mainly on the defensive but countering well at times. Despite the fight being one-sided Bone again showed his well honed survival instincts and with Ziani not being a power puncher it went the distance. Southpaw Ziani, 24, was to have defended his French title against Sebastian Cornu but when Cornu was injured the Spanish-based Bone stepped in. Local Ziani, a municipal policemen, had an unbeaten streak of 16 fights broken by losses to Samir Kasmi for the EU title and in December on a close decision and against unbeaten Richard Commey in Denmark. He is rated No 6 by the EBU. Bone, 29, has won only one of his last 9 fights but had a creditable draw in France in October against Karim Chakim and went the distance with world rated Dejan Zlaticanin in the same month. He has only one loss by KO/TKO. Soro vs. Micsko This was supposed to give Soro a few rounds of work as he awaits the outcome of the purse offers for his challenge against European champion Billy Joe Saunders (purse offers due 2 February). In the end the fight lasted just under 40 seconds. Micsko was going forward stabbing out his jab but Soro got through with a right. Micsko continued to press pushing out his right jab and as they closed at the 33 seconds mark Soro landed a left hook to the temple which sent Micsko down on his back. The referee started to count but only got to three before waiving the fight off. Soro, 27, born in the Ivory Coast but a French citizen, now has 14 wins by KO/TKO. The loss on his record was to Zaurbek Baysangurov for the WBO and IBO super welter titles in 2012 in a fight in which he had Baysangurov on the floor. The draw was against unbeaten Antoine Douglas in Verona in July. Hungarian Micsko, 27, goes to 6 losses by KO/TKO including a second round stoppage against Chris Eubank Jr in April. Ngumbu vs. Pokumeiko Routine keep busy win for DRC’s Ngumbu as he decisions Latvian prelim fighter. The 32-year-old Ngumbu, a former WBC International, ABU and WBFed champion is 8-4 in his last 12 fights with the 4 losses being to Pawel Glazewski, Nadjib Mohammedi, Igor Mikhalkin and Andrzej Fonfara but in the same run he has also scored wins over Aleksey Kuziemski, Vyacheslav Uzelkov and South African Jonny Muller so a high level. Pokumeiko just a 4 round fighter who did well to last the distance. Managua, Nicaragua: Fly: Cristofer Rosales Gonzalez (10-1) W KO 10 Herald Molina (17-10-3). Super Light: Junior Ramirez (11-0) W PTS 10 David Rangel (10-1). Welter: Roberto Arriaza (11-0) W KO 5 David Bency (2-5-1,1ND). Gonzalez vs. Molina “The Whip” Gonzalez wins the national title with stoppage of more experienced Molina. This one was almost all over in a torrid first round as the young Gonzalez had Molina on the floor three times. Molina survived but strong rights from Gonzalez had his face a mask of blood and despite his experience and courage he finally had to rescued in the last round to save him further pain. The 20-year-old new champion fights under his mother’s name of Gonzalez rather than the father’s Rosales. He has won 8 fights on the bounce and 7 of his victories have come by KO/TKO. This was also his first time in a fight scheduled for more than six rounds. Molina, 33, was making the second defence of his title. He was coming off a second round kayo loss to top British prospect Khalid Yafai in September. Ramirez vs. Rangel Ramirez makes it a good night for 20-year-olds as he wins the vacant WBC Youth Silver title with unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Mexican Rangel. Both were considered hard punchers but this one lacked the fire and excitement of the Gonzalez vs. Molina fight with southpaw Ramirez generally in control and Rangel only having sporadic success. Scores 97-92 twice and 98-92. Southpaw Ramirez has 5 first round wins but Rangel showed a good chin. The 21-year-old Rangel’s record does not stand up well as only one of his 10 victims had ever won a fight Arriaza vs. Bency In a non-title fight Nicaraguan champion “Dinamita” Arriaza lives up to his nickname with a fifth round kayo of Bency. Arriaza is a rapidly improving fighter showing more mobility and a better technique to go with his existing power. He had Bency badly shaken in the first round but Bency showed guts and a good chin. Arriaza was putting together combinations of hooks and uppercuts and slowly breaking Bency down. The end came in the fifth with a series of hard punches putting Bency down on his knees and he failed to beat the count. The 24-year-old Arriaza had only squeezed past Bency on a majority decision when these two met in August breaking Arriaza’s run of inside the distance wins at 7. Arriaza won the Nicaraguan title in September with a first round stoppage of Edwin Palacios so with this win over Bency he has won 9 of his 10 fights by KO/TKO, 6 in the first round. First loss inside the distance for Bency who also took Junior Ramirez the distance. Bangkok, Thailand: Bantam: Petch Sor Chitpattana (29-0) W TKO 4 Hou Tin Long (1-1). Light Fly: Kongfah (10-0) W TKO 3 Fahpickard (2-8). Fly: Palangopol (7-1) W PTS 8 Donny Mabao (21-24-1). Chitpattana vs. Long Chitpattana retains the WBC Youth Silver title with stoppage of Chinese novice. The tall Thai had big edges in height, reach and power over his much smaller opponent and spent the whole fight walking Tin Long down. The Chinese fighter was on the back foot but kept leaping in with short flurries of hooks many of which got through but all of which lacked power. Chitpattana was not putting his punches together sticking mainly with a long right jab and a straight left then plod forward a couple of paces and the same again and he was loading up on every punch. Finally late in the third he closed the distance and began to throw a few combinations. In the fourth he drove Tim Long to the ropes and launched a sustained attack scoring with shots to head and body and with little coming back from Tim Long the referee stopped the fight. Tim Long protested and it looked a premature stoppage but with the pressure from Chitpattana he would probably not have lasted out the round anyway. The 21-year-old WBC No 7 was defending the WBC title for the fifth time but you have to ask why the WBC allowed this as a title fight with Tin Long having had only one traceable fight. It does not matter what title it is it still has the WBC name on it. In fact Tin Long fought well for one with so little experience. “Mr Kongfah vs. Fahpickard Teenager Kongfah gets routine win as he hunts down poor Fahpickard before ending the fight with a body punch in the third round of a non-title fight. The 19-year-old WBC Youth champion has 5 wins by KO/TKO but 6 of his opponents had never won a fight so still untested. Now 7 losses in a row for Fahpickard, six of those by KO/TKO. Palangopol vs. Mabao Palangopol shows good skills to outbox game Filipino Mabao. The taller Thai was able to use his sharp jab to keep the fight open and showed good defensive skills that had Mabao swinging wildly at times. The Thai was able to pot shot the smaller Filipino and score with double and triple jabs and straight rights. Mabao was on the floor five times but they were all slips and although taking punishment in each round Mabao was never in any real trouble. Palangopol took the unanimous decision. The 29-year-old turned pro in Japan and lost his first fight but has won 7 in a row since then including victories over experienced Indonesians Tommy Seran and Heri Amol. Shallow” Mabao has lost 4 in a row but has a win over former IBF Minimumweight champion Florante Condes. January 31 London, England: Light: Kevin Mitchell (39-2) W TKO 8 Daniel Estrada (32-4-1). Middle: John Ryder (20-1) W TKO 10 Billi F Godoy (31-4). Super Light: Tommy Martin (11-0) W PTS 10 Ricky Boylan (12-2). Super Light: John Wayne Hibbert (15-2) W TKO 8 Tyler Goodjohn (11-4). Fly: Charlie Edwards (1-0) W TKO 4 Craig Derbyshire (0-3). Mitchell vs. Estrada Mitchell produces a career best performance to stop Estrada and win the WBC Silver title putting himself in line for a shot at Jorge Linares. Despite giving away height and reach Mitchell out jabbed the Mexican and was able to get inside where he continually scored with left hooks and uppercuts. Mitchell was punch perfect in the first round picking his punches well and slotting home lefts and rights. Estrada kept coming forward in the second and third but a lot of the fight went out of him when a Mitchell left hook put him down. The Brit made a determined effort to end it then shaking Estrada with heavy punches from both hands but Estrada survived. In typical Mexican fashion Estrada battled back into the fight but was still shipping punishment. Mitchell increased the pressure in the sixth and seventh with the Mitchell left again the punch which was dominating the exchanges with Estrada shaken time and again and with a swelling by his right eye, a damaged nose and other facial bruising. In the eighth Mitchell trapped Estrada in a corner and unloaded a series of punches which saw the referee stop the fight. Not just a career best performance but also a career saving one after losses to Mike Katsidis for the interim WBO light title and Ricky Burns for the full WBO title. The 30-year-old Mitchell had with wins over Marco Antonio Lopez and unbeaten Ghislain Maduma and was rated No 7 by the WBC but a loss to Estrada would have been hard to bounce back from. Estrada, 29, the WBC No 6 had been knocked out in nine rounds by Omar Figueroa in a challenge for the WBC title in August his only other loss by KO/TKO. Ryder vs. Godoy Ryder saves a disappointing performance with a huge left hook. The British southpaw did not sparkle against the Argentinian who proved a strong, awkward opponent and the fight lacked sparkle with Ryder winning but not managing to impress. It could be that Australian Les Sherrington pulling out with an injury just a week before the fight left the Londoner disappointed and the change of opponent left him no chance to adjust to Godoy’s style. For whatever reason Ryder was on his way to an unimpressive points victory until the tenth round when he stepped inside Godoy’s jab and landed a thunderbolt of a left hook that put Godoy down heavily. Somehow Godoy made it to his feet at nine but the referee decided the fight was over. Ryder, 26, retains his WBO Inter-Continental title and makes it 12 wins by KO/TKO. His only loss is a wafer thin unanimous decision against WBO No 1 Billy Joe Saunders for the CBC and British titles in 2013. He has collected 5 wins since then and is a much better fighter than he showed in this contest. Godoy, 28, a former Argentinian and WBC International champion won his first 26 fights but is 5-4 in his last 9 and currently rated FAB No 5. Martin vs. Boylan Martin wins the vacant English title with unanimous decision over Boylan. Martin made a confident start boxing with his hands low and stabbing out a stiff jab and quick combinations. Martin was in control when he could fight at range but Boylan was pressurising in every round. The middle rounds saw Boylan having more success forcing Martin back and scoring with punches to the body. Despite suffering from a chest infection prior to the fight Martin found the strength to stage a strong finish once again using good movement and an educated jab to box his way to victory. Scores 97-93 twice and 99-92. Martin, 20, also suffered a hand injury so a brave as well as a deserved victory. Boylan 26 had lost in October to Tyler Goodjohn for the same title and although this was not his night he can still come again. Hibbert vs. Goodjohn Hibbert retains the WBC International title with stoppage of Goodjohn. The fight saw Hibbert hand out plenty of punishment but the brave Goodjohn ignored a severe cut and an early knockdown to make a fight of it. The cut above Goodjohn’s left eye came in the second round after a series of hard punches from Hibbert. In the fourth a heavy right from Hibbert put Goodjohn down and it seemed that the end was close. Hibbert was slamming home hard accurate punches .However Goodjohn just kept pressurising and making Hibbert fight hard in every round. The cut continued to worsen and was obviously hampering Goodjohn’s vision. By the eighth his face was covered in blood and he was catching punch after punch without ever looking like going down and finally the referee stepped in and halted the fight. The 30-year-old Hibbert makes it 5 wins in a row by KO/TKO. “Tornado” Goodjohn the English champion had won 5 of his last 6 fights. He had lost on points to Tyrone Nurse for the vacant English title in April but came back in October with a win over Boylan in a second shot at the English title. Edwards vs. Derbyshire Former top amateur Edwards turns pro with stoppage of novice Derbyshire. Edwards had Derbyshire on the floor in the fourth before the stoppage. The 21-year-old is a useful addition to the growing ranks of young British fighters in the lighter weights. He was outstanding at all levels as an amateur winning a gold medal at the European Schoolboys championships, competing at the World Junior and World Youth Championships winning a bronze medal at the European Senior Championships, winning the ABA Championships and competing at the 2011 World Championships. First loss by KO/TKO for Derbyshire. Sydney, Australia: Heavy: Sonny Bill Williams (7-0) W PTS 8 Chauncy Welliver (55-11-5). Heavy: Willis Meehan (3-0) W TKO 2 Freddie Miller (3-10-1). Super Feather: Billel Dib (16-1) W KO 1 Erick Diaz Siregar (16-21-4). Williams vs. Welliver Williams gets a win but over an obese Welliver. The All-Blacks world champions’ team star found the fat and slow Welliver and easy target. Welliver just plodded forward behind crossed arms allowing Williams to score with straight punches and shots to the New Zealand-based American’s more than ample gut throwing short punches with Welliver throwing short arm punches occasionally but ineffectively. Williams has the basics of style but is not quick and is still learning how to get leverage into his punches. In the middle rounds Welliver dropped his guard completely a couple of time inviting Williams to take a free shot which he did. However Welliver has a very strong chin so the fight became one-sided with the action repetitive and the crowd getting restless. At the end of eight rounds Williams won on scores of 80-72 twice and 79-73. He got eight rounds of boxing under his belt which will be useful if the professional rugby player decides to get serious about boxing. In his last fight, a win over Frans Botha in February 2013, Williams was lucky to win. He had nothing at all left in the tenth round and the fight could and probable should have been stopped in Botha’s favour. This in addition to the fight being shortened from 12 to 10 rounds without explanation. The 29-year-old Williams is a big draw so they will want him to continue but right now he will have to be very carefully matched. The 31-year-old Welliver has fallen a long way from the fighter who once won 18 fights in a row. For this fight he weighed almost 302lbs (137kgs) which was 66lbs (30kgs) more than Williams and most of it was around his waist. A pity as he was a good fighter at one time. Meehan vs. Miller Meehan thankfully ended this one early. The son of Kali Meehan is still very much a novice but he had too much for elderly Miller. Southpaw Meehan was able to use his height and reach to score in the first round. He busted open Miller’s nose but was also caught by a few wild swings. Miller’s best punch came after the bell and an angry Meehan promptly retaliated by flooring Miller. When that was sorted out Meehan handed out some punishment before flooring Miller late in the round and the fight was stopped. The 6’5” (195cm) 19-year-old, another professional rugby player, makes it two wins by KO/TKO but naturally is still at the novice stage. Now 7 losses in a row for the 35-year-old Miller from Spokane. Dib vs. Siregar “Baby Face” Dib stops Indonesian Siregar in the first. Early in the round the former undefeated Australia champion put Siregar down with a body punch. Siregar made it to his feet but another body punch, which looked suspiciously low, left the Indonesian writhing in agony and the fight was stopped. Tall for a super feather the 25-year-old younger brother of former IBF champion Billy has won his last 7 fights including reversing his only loss. Siregar, 36, has lost 10 of his last 11 and this is his second first round loss in a row. Sint Truiden, Belgium: Welter: Cedric Tita (8-7-1) W TKO 8 Karlo Tabaghua (18-6,1ND). Hometown fighter Tita comes off the floor and wins the vacant Belgian title with a victory over Tabaghua. Tita had the southpaw skills and was the quicker boxer. Tabaghua had mixed in better company and was the harder puncher. It was the skills of Tita that dominated the fight most of the way with Tabaghua looking to find a big punch to swing the fight. He almost found it in the fifth when he put Tita down but Tita recovered and by the eighth a tiring Tabaghua was an easy target and despite the temporary relief of two standing counts he was in no position to defend himself and the fight was stopped. The 34-year-olod new champion is on a good run and this was his third win in a row by KO/TKO. Tabaghua, 30, was born in Georgia, was Swedish amateur champion and is licensed in Belgium. The no decision in his record came in a fight with Anton Novikov for the vacant WBC Silver title. Novikov won but tested positive for a banned substance. This is Tabaghua’s third loss in a row. Montegnee, Belgium: Super Bantam: Stephane Jamoye (28-6) W PTS 8 Rey Cajina (13-25-4). “Survivor” Jamoye outpoints travelling loser Cajina. Comfortable unanimous decision for the former WBC bantam title challenger. Scores 79-72 twice and 80-71. Jamoye is rebuilding after a spell of 3 high level losses in 4 fights. The 25-year-old former EBU champion lost his title to Karim Guerfi on a majority decision in September 2013 and as too often happens in boxing went from there into an April 2014 fight with Shinsuke Yamanaka for the WBC title losing on a ninth round stoppage. That loss somehow qualified him to challenge Scott Quigg for the secondary WBA title in September and he was halted in three rounds. This is his second win on the road back. Spanish-based Nicaraguan Cajina, 32, has 8 losses and a draw in his last 9 fights. Kauhava, Finland: Cruiser: Serhiy Demchenko (15-7) W TKO 2 Juho Haapoja (24-6-1,1ND). Demchenko beats Haapoja with controversial stoppage. Both fighters landed good punches in the first but it is not unusual for Haapoja to get hit as his defence is not the best but he was also scoring himself so the fight looked even. In the second Demchenko landed a three-punch combination a right/left/right with the last punch putting Haapoja down. He did not seem too badly hurt but when he got to his feet at the count of seven the referee took a look at him and stopped the fight. Demchenko, a 35-year-old Italian-based Ukrainian has 11 wins by KO/TKO but had lost 5 of his last 6 fights so did not seem too dangerous. Haapoja, 34, a former EU cruiser and Finnish heavyweight champion suffered back-to-back losses to Silvio Branco in July 2013 and to Rakhim Chakhkiev in March last year both fights for the vacant WBC Silver title. He had started immediate rebuilding with four wins in four months so this is a big setback. Massy, France: Super Welter: Frank Haroche Horta (37-14-5) W PTS 10 Anderson Prestot (15-1). Cruiser: Engin Karakaplan (13-5-1) W TKO 2 Samba Dabo (6-1). Horta vs. Prestot Southpaw Horta retains the French title with unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Prestot. With all of his extensive experience fighting in Prestot’s home town did not faze Horta who from the beginning was coming forward and exerting pressure on Prestot who was in his first ten round fight and his first main event. Horta was throwing and connecting with hard punches over the first three minutes with Prestot either sliding along the ropes or trapped in a corner and unable to use his height and reach advantages as Horta just kept throwing punches. It slowed a little in the second and third although Horta was still hunting down the young challenger. Prestot looked in real trouble in the fourth and showed his inexperience in trying to punch his way out of trouble making the brawl Horta wanted. It was a similar situation in the early part of the fifth but at the end of the round Prestot scored with a series of good punches which seemed to boost his confidence. From the sixth Prestot was moving more, staying off the ropes and scoring with quick jabs and straight rights from a hands down stance. Those tactics made the seventh and eighth rounds close but Horta had a tiring Prestot hurt and in trouble in the ninth as they stood and traded for the whole three minutes. In the last Horta was stronger and Prestot was totally exhausted almost going down twice, but he was there at the final bell of an exciting contest. Scores 97-92, 97-93 and 95-94. The 34-year-old Horta known as “F2H” was making the first defence of his title in his third reign as champion. A natural welter he took Andy Lee to a majority verdict in their eight roiund fight in April and is a tough competitor. He is rated No 17 by the EBU. Prestot, 24, the FFB No 5 had never been past six rounds before and will improve with more experience. Karakaplan vs. Dabo “Engo” Karakaplan retained the French title with second round stoppage of another previously unbeaten fighter in Dabo. The challenger had a good first round using his height advantage to work on the outside and showing some nice moves. In the second Karakaplan closed the distance and had Dabo in deep trouble with two hard rights with the referee stopping the fight. The 27-year-old Turkish-born fighter won the national title with an upset victory over Jean Marc Monrose in June and was making his first defence. He lost inside a round to Russian prospect Murat Gassiev in October but that is his only loss in his last 13 fights. Dabo, 32 was inactive from June 2010 until March last year and this was his first fight since then. Libreville, Gabon: Cruiser: Taylor Mabika (12-2) W TKO 3 Tyler Seever (14-14-1). Mabika wins the vacant IBU world title with stoppage of Seever. After a quiet first round Mabika went to town in the second scoring with some stiff jabs and rights to the head. Seever already looked in trouble and he was. In the third Mabika scored two knockdowns and the fight was stopped. The 36-yeaer-old French-based Gabonese fighter makes it 6 wins by KO/TKO. He suffered consecutive losses to Arsen Goulamirian and Krzys Glowacki in 2013 but has won his last four fights collecting the Luxembourg and ABU titles in the process. He represented Gabon at the 2004 Olympics before turning pro. Seever should not be fighting for any title. The 30-year-old from Missouri had never gone past six round prelim fights, has 11 losses by KO/TKO and has lost 4 of his last 5 fights. A world title challenger! Only in boxing. Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico: Light Fly: Francisco Rodriguez (17-2-1) W PTS 10 Jomar Fajardo (14-6-2). Super Light: Aaron Herrera (28-3-1) W PTS 8 Wilfrido Buelvas (15-4). Welter: Ramses Agaton (15-1-3) W PTS 8 Isidro Toala (1-2). Rodriguez vs. Fajardo Rodriguez outpoints Filipino who gave him a tough fight in a split draw in November. The former unbeaten IBF/WBO minimumweight champion had struggled with the swarming aggression of Fajardo when they met in Cebu but this time he knew what to expect and how to combat it. Rodriguez had known nothing about Fajardo who came in as a late substitute in Cebu but he had learned from that first fight and despite giving away height and reach he was able to work inside scoring with hooks and uppercuts to douse the fighting spirit of the Filipino which played such a big part of their Cebu fight. Rodriguez had Fajardo down from a left hook in the second round and although Fajardo fought hard in every round making it an exciting fight Rodriguez was busier and stronger and won the decision. Scores 100-92, 99-90 and 97-92. The 21-year-old from Monterrey is No 1 contender to WBO light fly champion Donnie Nietes and that should be a great little fight. “Wallopman” Fajardo, 22, had shown nothing prior to his substitute performance against Rodriguez in November but will be able to trade on that draw for quite a while. Herrera vs. Buelvas “The Jewell” Herrera outpoints Colombian Buelvas. After a competitive first round the Yucatan fighter was making the fight using his physical advantages to outbox the Colombian. Buelvas was just not busy enough to be competitive and the fight never really caught fire so Herrera ran out a clear winner. Scores 79-73, 79-74 and 79-77. The 24-year-old Herrera won his first 24 fights but is 4-3-1 since then with losses in 2012/2013 to Fernando Garcia, Jason Pagara and Selcuk Aydin. He recovered well last year with wins over Misael Castillo and Jose David Mosquera and a technical draw with Jorge Paez Jr. Agaton vs. Toala Southpaw Agaton was given a tougher than expected fight by very late substitute Toala. The first couple of rounds were close and then the superior ability and experience allowed Agaton to sweep the rest of the rounds as the local novice tired. Scores 78-74 twice and 79-71. The 24-year-old “Pharaoh “is unbeaten in his last 10 fights with 7 wins and 3 draws. Not sure if Toala’s record is complete. Mexico City, Mexico: Light: Dante Jardon (24-5) W PTS 10 Patricio Moreno 15-1). Light: Jairo Lopez (17-3) W PTS 10 Juan Carlos Salgado (26-5-1,1ND). Jardon vs. Moreno “Crazy” Jardon moves up to light and wins the WBC Fecombox title with unanimous decision over unbeaten Moreno. Jardon had the ideal start flooring Moreno with a right uppercut in the first round. That early knockdown unsettled the young southpaw and allowed Jardon to build a good lead. Moreno eventually began to use his better skills to counter the aggression of the more experienced fighter but Jardon’s swarming attacks were winning the rounds and the former world title challenger ran out a clear winner. Scores 99-92, 98-92 and 97-92. The 27-year-old local Jardon had lost two in a row being stopped in nine rounds by Takashi Miura in a challenge for the WBC feather title and losing a wide decision to unbeaten Adrian Estrella in July last year. He is not the most consistent fighter but he perennially rebounds and there will be some interesting matches ahead of him at lightweight. Nineteen-year-old Moreno had held the interim Fecombox title and was coming off a twelve round points win over Marco Villasana Jr but Jardon was too big a step up for the teenager but he will be heard from again. Lopez vs. Salgado “Doberman” Lopez savages a fading Salgado to get an upset split decision. Salgado wanted to box but Lopez forced the former two time world champion into the trenches where his youth and strength nullified the skill and experience of Salgado. Many rounds were close but Lopez was worthy of the split decision. Now 12 wins in his last 13 fights for Lopez with the loss being a split decision against WBC No 9 Nery Saguilan in May. The 30-year-old Salgado, a former WBC and IBF super feather champion was 26-1-1 and 1 no decision in his first 29 fights but has now lost 4 in a row. Torun, Poland: Cruiser: Krzys Glowacki (24-0) W PTS 12 Nuri Seferi (36-7). Light Heavy: Marek Matyja (8-0) W TKO 3 Stejpan Bozic (29-9). Glowacki vs. Surferi Glowacki wins WBO title eliminator with wide unanimous decision over Surferi. The Polish southpaw was the quicker, more accurate and more mobile fighter. He outboxed the Albanian-born Seferi over the early rounds scoring with quick combinations and severely testing the Albanian’s chin and body. Seferi kept rolling forward but had no real answer to the Poles domination until the sixth round when he had some success with rights as Glowacki allowed his work rate to drop a little. That was short lived as Glowacki got back into control in the next round and Seferi had to soak up some hard head shots as he continually tried to shorten the distance but too often missed with his punches. Glowacki came near to ending it with a thunderous left hook in the last round but Seferi showed a good chin and lasted to the bell. Scores 118-110 twice and 120-108. The 28-year-old Glowacki takes Seferi’s WBO European title. He was already rated No 1 by the WBO so is now right in line for a shot at Marco Huck’s title. Whether he is ready is a different matter as there are no really big names on his record. The 38-year-old Seferi, “the Albanian Tyson” had won his last 16 fights but there was a conspicuous absence of any quality opponents on his record too. Matyja vs. Bozic Prospect Matyja gets by his biggest test with ease. After a first round of feeling out Matyja began to work the jab well in the second and was getting through with some sharp punches with Bozic showing nothing. The young Pole finished matters in the third as he floored Bozic with a hard right. The Croatian got up but a barrage of shots had him helpless on the ropes and the fight was stopped. The 24-year-old Matyja was moving up to eight rounds for the first time and impressed. Bozic, 40, now has 7 losses by KO/TKO. He was halted in four rounds by James DeGale for the WBC Silver title in 2013 and was stopped last year by unbeaten fighters Fedor Chudinov and Tyron Zeuge. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Super Welter: Prichard Colon (13-0) W PTS 6 Hector Munoz (23-14-1). Light: Raynell Williams (6-0) W PTS 6 Ryan Picou (2-5). Colon vs. Munoz “Digget” Colon moves to 13 wins as he pounds on veteran Munoz for six rounds. Colon was too young too quick too classy and at 6’0” (183cm) too tall for the smaller and more than game Munoz. He floored Munoz with a right in the first and was catching Munoz with hard shots in every round but Munoz took his licks and stayed in the fight. It was a one-sided beating and by the last round Munoz’s left eye was almost closed and his face was badly swollen, but he was still there at the bell. Scores 60-53 twice and 60-51. The 22-year-old Florida-born Puerto Rican won his first 10 fights by KO/TKO but it is now three decision wins in a row. Munoz, 36, has been matched very tough and is 3-6 in his last 9 fights Williams vs. Picou Olympian Williams outpoints Picou but has to climb off the floor for the win. There was a wide gap in class as Williams took the early rounds by outboxing the aggressive but inexperienced Picou. Perhaps it was too easy as Williams got careless and was nailed with a good right and knocked down in the fourth round. He recovered and used fast accurate combinations to sweep the fifth and sixth rounds. Scores 59-55 twice and 58-55. The Cleveland 25-year-old was having his first six round contest. As an amateur he was US champion and scored a victory over Carl Frampton but he lost to the eventual silver medalist in the 2008 Olympics and was beaten by Jose Ramirez at the final stage of the US 2012 Olympic Trials. Picou has yet to lose inside the distance. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Super Middle: Ibrahim Tamba (14-3) W KO 1 Ali Yusuf (2-4). Super Light: Aziz Abdallah (13-1) W PTS 10 Said Magimba (2-6-1). Tamba vs. Yusuf Tamba wasted no time in getting rid of late substitute Yusuf. After a bit of sparring Tamba landed a hard left/right combination that put Yusuf down and out. Tamba was to have defended his TPBO version of the Tanzanian title but his opponent Baraka Mwakansope pulled out shortly before the fight. Tamba has lost only one of his last 14 fights and has 11 wins by KO/TKO. Three losses by KO/TKO in his last four fights for Tanzanian Yusuf. Abdallah vs. Magimba Abdallah wins the vacant TPBO title with unanimous decision over Magimba. Abdallah was the boss in this one out jabbing Magimba and keeping on the back foot for round after round. Magimba had his best spell in the sixth when he had his own jab working and he tried to rally in the last but Abdallah’s superior hand speed made him an easy winner. Scores 100-90 from all three judges. Now 7 wins in a row for Abdallah. Again Magimba was a late substitute after original opponent Selemani Zugo pulled out with an injury. Magimba has 5 losses and a draw in his last 6 fights. Davao City, Philippines: Super Light: Adones Cabalquinto (19-0) W TKO 3 Denkamon (12-4). Super Fly: Aston Palcite (16-1) W KO 1 Jomyuthlek (12-3). Super Bantam: Drian Francisco (27-2-1) W TKO 8 Jason Egera (21-12). Super Bantam: Marlon Tapales (27-2) W KO 2 Jecker Buhawe (16-11-1). Cabalquinto vs. Denkamon Cabalquinto floors and halts Thai to win the vacant IBF Asian title. The hard punching Filipino scored heavily in each of the two opening rounds before flooring Denkamon with a left in the third and forcing the stoppage. The 26-year-old southpaw has 12 wins by KO/TKO and already holds the Philippines title and the WBC ABC title. First fight for Denkamon since February 2011. Palcite vs. Jomyuthlek Palcite disposes of Thai Jomyuthlek inside a round. The “Mighty” Palcite did the damage with a left to the body with Jomyuthlek in agony and unable to continue. The 24-year-old wins the vacant IBF Youth title and makes it 5 first round wins in a row and 14 wins by KO/TKO in total. Only the second loss by KO/TKO for Jomyuthlek Francisco vs. Egera Former interim WBA super fly champion Francisco continues his run of low level wins with stoppage of unrated Egera. Francisco, 32, is getting back in the groove with three wins since losing a biggie to Chris Avalos in July 2013. Four losses in a row for Egera. Tapales vs. Buhawe WBO No 4 Tapales gets this one over quickly as he kayos fellow Filipino Buhawe in the second with a vicious left uppercut. Now six wins for Tapales since losing a majority decision to David Sanchez in Mexico in 2013 for the interim WBC Silver title. That’s the only loss in his last 20 fights for Tapales. |
InternationalWe know that not every fight involves an Asian fighter but a lot of fights do affect Asian fighter. As a result we've decided to add this new section to Asian boxing where we look at selected International bouts. Archives
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