This coming weekend might be a huge one for Asian boxing but it's not just boxers from Asia in major fights and we actually get other notable fights in both the UK and in Germany as the sport really goes into an over-drive for a weekend. The biggest fight, for most, is in the UK as unified Super Middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2, 23) defends his IBF and WBA titles against compatriot George Groves (19-1, 15). The bout has been hyped to the hilt in the UK courtesy of Sky Sports and we're expecting it to be a great bout, just like their first contest was last November before Groves was controversially stopped by referee Howard Foster. Unfortunately whilst the bout is likely to be great we've got to admit the build up has made us dislike both fighters and we sort of want both men to knock the other out. On the same card in the UK we get former 2-time world title challenger Kevin Mitchell (37-2, 27) fighting against the unbeaten Ghislain Maduma (16-0, 10) in an IBF Lightweight title eliminator. This looks like a great fight and should tell us a lot about both men. Another, equally as interesting bout on this card, sees Olympic gold medal winner James DeGale (18-1, 12) fighting against the unbeaten Brandon Gonzales (18-0-1, 10) in what looks to be effectively a Super Middleweight title eliminator to face the winner of the Froch/Groves bout. The London card not only has the 3 bouts mentioned above but also hosts the WBA Bantamweight title fight between Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat and Jamie McDonnell as well as the the next bout for Olympic Super Havyweight gold medal winner Anthony Joshua (5-0, 5) as he takes on the massive under-dog Matt Legg (7-2, 3) in what is widely seen as a total mismatch. Talking about Olympic champions there is actually a third in action as Ukrainian sensation Oleksandr Usyk (3-0, 3) takes a huge step up to battle against experienced Argentinian Cesar David Crenz (21-8, 13) in what should be a good test to see if Usyk is as good as hyped. If Usyk blasts through Crenz then there will be little need to hold him at this level any longer and he might as well be looking at world ranked opponents later this year. The Froch/Groves bout isn't the only rematch as IBF Middleweight champion Felix Sturm (29-3-2-1, 18) faces Australian Sam Soliman (44-11-0-1, 18) for the second time. In their first meeting the tricky Soliman took a unanimous decision before testing positive for a stimulant. At the time it seemed that that was to be the end of Sturm's often forgettable career but instead it ignited a new found fire in the German who has stopped his last 2 opponents including Britain's Darren Barker. The once technically skilled but safety concious Sturm appears to have a new found viciousness to him and this should see him past Soliman here. In Mexico, where our interest lies with the thrilling bout between Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Carlos Cuadras, Mexican fans will get the chance to see a brilliant contest between the very highly regarded Light Flyweight Pedro Guevara (21-1-1, 14) and the decent, though not great, Armando Torres (19-11, 13). This bout, for the WBC Silver title, will see Guevara hoping to maintain his status as one of the top challengers for Naoya Inoue's title and a bout between Inoue and Guevara in September would be the perfect way for the "Monster" to wave good buy to the Light Flyweight division. Staying in Mexico fans will also get to see Gamaliel Diaz (37-11-2, 17) in action as he takes on Hugo Morales (11-10, 2). Diaz, best known by Japanese fans who remember hi beating Takahiro Ao and being stopped by Takashi Miura, will be expecting an easy win here though he does come in to the bout after back-to-back losses following his victory over Ao more than 18 months ago. In the US fans get a small but interesting show which features an important bout in the Super Featherweight division as Javier Fortuna (24-0-1-1, 18) takes on Juan Antonio Rodriguez (26-4, 23). Fortuna is said to be in line for a possible bout with Takashi Uchiyama though will likely need to get past Bryan Vasquez as well ad Rodriguez to get that fight. On the same US card there is a very interesting Middleweight bout which sees former world title holder Sergio Mora (25-3-2, 8) taking on the once beaten Samuel Rogers (14-1, 8). Mora has spoken about a possible clash with Gennady Golovkin and whilst it's not an awful bout it will need Mora to keep winning and trying to make himself more attractive to TV executives. Unfortunately for Mora his style is very much an off putting one and he will have to find something new to make himself more fun to watch. (Image courtesy of Sky Sports)
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In a genuinely enjoyable Featherweight contest in the US fans got to see Rocky Juarez (30-10-1, 21) defeat Rene Alvarado (20-3, 14) via a hard fought decision and claim the WBC Silver Featherweight title. Alvarado, who was trying to defend the belt for the first time, started well but faded in the middle section of the fight as Juarez's experience and ring generalship came into it's own to secure him the victory.
With this win Juarez moves into prime position to challenge the hard hitting Jhonny Gonzalez for the WBC world title. It that bout comes around it will be Juarez's 8th world,or interim world, title fight in a career that has been a real roller coaster to watch. For Alvarado this is a hard defeat to take though one that suggests that suggests there is something there and if he can get another few fights worth of experience he could very well become a man to keep an eye on in the long term. We'd also like to say that we really enjoyed hearing former wrestling commentator Jim Ross. We know he made a few mistakes, including referring to Alvarado as "Alvarez" but for a guy who was doing, we believe his first boxing event, this was a great start to what we hope will be a long and fruitful relationship between Ross and Fox Sports 1 in the US. Last year fans got to see Kazuto Ioka defend his WBA Light Flyweight title against Felix Alvarado in a brilliant and really enjoyable contest. This Monday fans in the US get to see Alvarado's twin brother Rene Alvarado (20-2, 16) in action in a very good bout against former multi-time world title challenger Rocky Juarez (29-10-1, 21).
This bout is for the WBC "Silver" Featherweight title which Alvarado will be defending for the first time. That title effectively it puts the winner in pole position for a fight with the world champion Jhonny Gonzalez and although Gonzalez would be favoured against either Alvarado or Juarez though this is still a great fight and a chance for Alvarado to prove his skills in front of a huge television audience in the US, something he hasn't been able to do in his 22 previous bouts It's not often that we get Saturday's that are busy but low profile. Days that look like total mismatch but yet deliver some good back and forth action and days that end with us all viewing fighters different to how we began the day, whether that's for better or for worse. The fighter who took the biggest "hit" in terms of what we think of them was Adonis Stevenson (24-1, 20) who retained his WBC Light Heavyweight though looked like a totally different man who had impressed so many fight fans last year. In 2013 Stevenson blasted opponents away for fun mowing through 4 fighters in a combined 20 rounds. Those victories had seen him becoming "Fighter of the Year" and being viewed as potentially the best Light Heavyweight on the planet and one of the sports biggest punchers. The reputation of Stevenson didn't scare Poland's Andrzej Fonfara (25-3-0-1, 15) who twice pulled himself off the canvas to give Stevenson his toughest bout in years and in fact dropped Stevenson in round 9. Although Fonfara did lose he seemed to come out of the night as a man heading upwards whilst many will be questioning what Stevenson really has in the tank. From this performance it was little wonder Stevenson wanted nothing to do with Sergey Kovalev who would have to be favoured if the two men did in the next year or two. Fonfara wasn't the only man to impress on the show in Canada as the much touted, and very exciting, Middleweight contender David Lemieux (32-2, 30) put on a stunning performance. Lemieux was fighting recent world title challenger Fernando Guerrero (26-3, 19) and made Guerrero look like a 4th round fighter. Lemieux battered, bruised, cut and broke up Guerrero in 3 vicious rounds that left Guerrero being bounced off the canvas and badly cut before finally being stopped. It was genuinely sensation from Lemieux who appears to want a WBO world title fight later this year. Stevenson wasn't the only world champion in action as Mexico's Jhonny Gonzalez (56-8, 47) successfully defended his WBC Featherweight title with a technical decision over the previously unbeaten Clive Atwell (12-1-1, 7). Atwell was taking a huge step up in class and did, at times, manage to make life difficult for the big punching Gonzalez though the Mexican's experience helped him through any issues thrown his way as he built up a big lead on the score cards. Unfortunately the bout failed to reach a natural conclusion after Gonzalez was cut from a clash of heads sending us to the scorecards which all had Gonzalez comfortably in the lead. On a second Mexican we saw a new "world champion" crowned in the Super Flyweight division as Mexico's talented David Sanchez (25-2-2, 19) claimed the WBA "interim" title. Sanchez was given a tougher than expected contest with Venezuela's Breilor Teran (13-10-1, 6) who proved to be much better than his record indicated despite losing a unanimous decision to Sanchez. As with the Stevenson/Fonfara bout the loser here probably came out with enough confidence and credit to feel like they could well give anyone in the world a hard night's work. With the victory for Sanchez he becomes the top contender to the WBA Super Flyweight and could well emerge as the next man on the radar of current world champion Kohei Kono of Japan. Despite a Kono/Sanchez bout being one we'd love to see there are some murmurs out there that a Sanchez/Koki Kameda fight is more likely, at least for now. Given the promotional issues with the Kameda clan a bout against Sanchez in Mexico could well take place later this year as Koki Kameda looks to re-establish himself as a force on the world stage. On the same card as Sanchez's win fans also got to see the triumphant return to action for the very popular Jackie Nava (29-4-3, 13) who stopped Alys Sanchez (12-2-1, 4) and claimed the WBA female interim Super Bantamweight title. This was Nava's first fight since 2012, after having had a child, though her class was on show as she faced a woman who simply wasn't in her league. We'll say that Alys Sanchez was lucky in the fact Nava was coming back from a break or this could have become rather nasty. Nava was down herself in the opening round and we'd hasten to suggest that wouldn't have happened had it not been for the long break. Also on this show former world champion Edgar Sosa (50-8, 30) made his return to the ring following his loss to Akira Yaegashi last year. Sosa was triumphant here as he defeated Omar Salado (24-8-2, 15), who retired at the end of round 4. Sosa now looks likely to campaign at Super Flyweight and whilst he's certainly got the skills to hold his own we do wonder if he has the size needed to really compete at the top level at 115lbs. (Image courtesy of groupe Gvon Michel) Some days just look like they will be fun. The days may be full of mismatches but they look like fun mismatches with fighters we don't mind watching. This Saturday is likely to be one of those days. The biggest fight, by far, this weekend will see the big punching WBC Light Heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson (23-1, 20) defending his title against Polish challenger Andrzej Fonfara (25-2-0-1, 15). Stevenson is a man who was being lined up to fight Russia's Sergey Kovalev though it appears that bout is now off the table after a lot of disagreements from the promotional teams of the two men. Instead it appears that Stevenson will be looking for Bernard Hopkins, if he's successful here. Stevenson is a monster puncher and was one of the revelations of 2013. Sadly for Fonfara he's probably on to a hiding to nothing, albeit a high profile hiding. With the power of Stevenson it's hard not to image that this will be fun. On the same Canadian card we're expecting an enjoyable clash between fringe contenders David Lemieux (31-2, 29) and Fernando Guerrero (26-2, 19). Both men are flawed and very limited but together they should manage to put on an entertaining, albeit shot lived, Middleweight scrap. Also on this same card is a clash between the world ranked Eleider Alvarez (14-0, 8) and the once beaten Alexander Johnson (15-1, 6). Alvarez made some enemies last time he was in the ring by acting like a spoilt brat. We're hoping that Alvarez doesn't just retain his unbeaten record but also shows some new found maturity. Whilst the most significant show of the day is in Canada it's not the only show with some bouts of interest. In fact we have two other notable shows in Mexico. The most significant single bout on those show's is in Acapulco convention center as WBC Featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez (55-8, 47) makes the first defence of the title he won from Abner Mares last year. Gonzalez is facing the unbeaten but unknown Clive Atwell (12-0-1, 7) from Guyana. Atwell is ranked #12 by the WBC and is on an 11 fight winning streak though his competition to date has been obscure to say the least and it's hard to imagine anything but a Gonzalez victory here. On the other Mexican card of note, in Baja California, we get two world title bouts. The most interesting of those is, oddly, a female bout as the returning Jackie Nava (28-4-3, 12) battles WBA female interim Super Bantamweight champion Alys Sanchez (12-1-1, 4). Nava hasn't fought in well over a year, having had a child in that time, though will be favoured to over-come Venezuela's Sanchez, who actually lost in a non-title bout last time out. This is a bout that looks interesting due to Nava's long lay off, though if "La Princesa Azteca" is half the fighter she was back in 2012, she wins this bout with out any major issues. On the same card is a WBA interim Super Flyweight bout that sees the talented David Sanchez (24-2-2, 19), no relation to Alys, taking on the limited Breilor Teran (13-9-1, 6). The "vacant" interim title is almost being gift wrapped for the WBA #3 ranked Sanchez here with Teran somehow holding a #9 ranking. We'll be honest and say we'd rather have seen Sanchez battle the WBA regular champion Kohei Kono than cheapen the WBA belts with this mismatch though with a strong rumour that we;ll be seeing Kono defending against WBA's top ranked challenger Koki Kameda we do understand why Sanchez is being given a WBA title fight, even if we do view it as a mismatch. (Image courtesy of Groupe Yvon Michel) This Friday sees the Boxcino tournaments coming to a close. In the Lightweight division we're concerned with Petr Petrov, who is facing the hard hitting Fernando Carcamo. That bout however is in our upcoming bouts.
For us the international attention has to be focussed on the Middleweight division where the unbeaten Brandon Adams (14-0, 9) will face the talented, though somewhat frustrating, Willie Monroe Jr (17-1, 6) in a bout that could set the winner up for a world title fight somewhere down the line. This is one of those rare bouts where both guys will be looking to make a name for themselves and breaking out. Neither is particularly well known but hopefully a win here will act as a launch pad for them to go on to having bigger and higher profile contests. Last night British fans got to see the once beaten Stephen Smith (19-0, 12) secure the biggest win of his career as he retired former 2-time world title challenger Mauricio Javier Munoz (28-5, 13), and claimed the WBC silver Super Featherweight title.
Smith started the bout well using his speed to win the opening couple of rounds though Munoz, who took the bout on late notice, fought back well in the middle rounds of the bout. Unfortunately, for both Munoz and those who were enjoying the contest, the fight back came to a quick end with Smith regaining control of the bout and forcing a corner retirement of Munoz who looked liek he had had enough. Neither fighter looked hurt though neither looked like world class Super Featherweights. Unfortunately for Smith this bout was meant to be a stepping stone towards a bout with WBC champion Takashi Miura. From what we saw he's not even close to being ready for the destructive Japanese puncher who we feel would eat Smith up wherever the boot took place. Although the bout was less than great there was a good thing to come out of it as British TV mentioned Miura by name giving the Japanese banger a big time name check and hopefully raising the profile of one of the sports most exciting fighters. May 21st-Stephen Smith to battle Mauricio Javier Munoz in a bout that could move them towards Miura5/18/2014 Wednesday isn't usually a day for boxing in Britain but this week gives us a very important bout in the Super Featherweight division as the WBC #10 ranked Stephen Smith (18-1, 11) fights against former 2-time world title challenger Mauricio Javier Munoz (28-4, 13). Munoz, best known for losing to Toshiaki Nishioka back in 2011, will be one of the toughest foes Smith has faced but the Brit will be favoured here. With the vacant WBC Silver Super Featherweight title up for grabs, a victory for Smith would move him towards a fight with Japan's vicious Takashi Miura. For Miura that would be a big profile bout that could see fans in the UK finally becoming aware of just how exciting the Japanese fighter is, though unfortunately we expect Smith will take a different option rather than fighting Miura for the WBC world title. (Image courtesy of Matchroom Boxing) This weekend wasn't a big boxing on on paper yet it turned out to be a good overall weekend with a surprise or two along the way. The biggest fight, or rather the two biggest fights, happened in the newly refurbished Forum at Inglewood. The most significant of those bouts saw Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1, 40) look sensational as he easily out pointed Mike Alvarado (34-3, 23) to claim the WBO International Welterweight title.Although both men were down it never looked like Marquez was going to lose against a gun shy Alvarado who looked scored to let his shots go. This bout was being sold not just as a bout between two men in need of a win but as a bout with a big prize on the line, a bout with Manny Pacquiao. As Marquez won, with ease, we're now expecting to see the 5th chapter in their iconinc series of fights and if it's as good as their previous 4 then we're in for yet another modern day classic. The second big fight at the Forum saw a very, very impressive performance by Ukrainian Viktor Postol (26-0, 11) who became the first man to stop Turkey's Selcuk Aydin (26-3, 19). Postol put on a near punch perfect performance before stopping Aydin in the 11th round to become the WBC mandatory challenger at Light Welterweight. Although Postol did have a bit of the "Wladimir Klitschko" look to his boxing he did look genuinely fantastic and really deserves a world title bout following both this result and his victory over Henry Lundy. On a different show in California fans got to see rotund Heavyweight prospect Andy Ruiz Jr (22-0, 16) score an early and impressive stoppage over the usually durable Manuel Quezada (29-9, 18). Quezada was stopped in 2 rounds as he suffered the 3rd loss of his career. On the same show Olympian Oleksandr Gvozdyk (2-0, 1) scored a very good win over the tough and hard hitting Michael Gbenga (19-13, 19) over 6 rounds. This was a fantastic step up for Gvozdyk who seems likely to be fast tracked up the rankings. In Argentina the sensational Omar Andres Narvaez (42-1-2, 23) made history by becoming the first man to record double figure title defences in 2 weight divisions. Narvaez's scored the 10th defence of his WBO Super Flyweight title by stopping the criminally over-matched Antonio Garcia (13-2, 6) in just 4 rounds. Garcia had failed to make weight but that didn't really help him against the "Hurracan" who was too skilled, too fast and too powerful for the hapless challenger. Frustratingly a dream fight between Narvaez and WBC champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai seems unlikely though oddly the two men are the only 2 real stand out fighters in the division and it's one of the the only bouts that really whets our appetite at Super Flyweight. Welsh boxing fans got the chance to see two former world champions in action, albeit in very different stages of their careers. The first was former WBA Light Welterweight champion Gavin Rees (38-4-1, 18) who waved good bye to the sport with a good victory over over fellow Welshman Gary Buckland (28-4, 9). The bout was a rematch of a contest fought earlier this year, won by Buckland via a controversial decision. Some how the scorecard of Richie Davis favoured Buckland though every one knew Rees won this one with his intelligent movement and very good counter-punching. Whilst Rees waved good bye to boxing and hung up his gloves his compatriot, and former gym mate, Nathan Cleverly (27-1, 13) started a new chapter in his career. Cleverly, who is a former WBO Light Heavyweight champion, made the move up to Cruiserweight and stopped the frankly awful Shawn Corbin (17-5, 12) as he claimed the WBA Inter-Continental Cruiserweight title. We don't like to talk down fighters but who ever allowed this mismatch to be made needs to explain themselves it was an atrocious mismatch and the sort of thing that puts fans off the sport. The main event in Wales saw prospective world title challenger Lee Selby (19-1, 7) out point tough Mexican Romulo Koasicha (21-4, 12) in a bout that was scored widely to Selby on the 3 cards though did actually see the Welshman look less than sensational, despite the commentary. Selby was wobbled at one point and seemed unable to hurt the Mexican who, although limited, may have shown that Selby wasn't nearly ready for a world title fight. On a separate UK card we got the fight of the night as Travis Dickinson (17-1, 7) and Matty Clarkson (12-2-2, 3) beat the snot out of each other. Both men were down multiple times, both looked like they were ready for the taking and both came back from adversity. Sadly however the stoppage, in round 6, was a poor one by the referee who "saved" Clarkson despite both men having been in much worse trouble earlier in the bout. Referee Michael Alexander certainly made more enemies than friends as a result of his decision though both fighters will likely be happy to fight each other further down the line. For fans who missed this one it really was a FOTY contender and well worth hunting down. (Image courtesy of Katsuo Miura/TopRank) It's unfortunate that several big weeks of boxing come to an end this week and that has sadly taken it's toll world wide. This weekend for example only sees a handful of notable bouts and just a sole world title bout. Thankfully however there is enough out there to keep fans entertained even if it's not one of the best weekend's of the year. Although not a world title bout the highest profile contest of the weekend is a mouth watering clash between Manny Pacquiao's nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1, 40) and the often fun to watch Mike Alvarado (34-2, 23). Both men come in to this bout on the back of a loss, with Marquez losing to Timothy Bradley by decision whilst Alvarado was stopped by Ruslan Provodnikov, and both know that a back-to-back loss could be the end for them. At 40 years old old Marquez is on the slide, is the naturally smaller man but the far more skilled and will start as the favourite with his eyes on a fifth encounter with Pacquiao. For Alvarado a victory could open some doors, including a Pacquiao fight, though it could be could be argued that he's picking on smaller men with this fight against Marquez. Whatever your views, we expect this well end up being something a little bit special, as fights often are when you have two men who need a win and two men who have styles which mesh as we expect these will. On the same card as the Marquez/Alvarado clash we get a WBC Light Welterweight final eliminator between unbeaten Ukrainian Viktor Postol (25-0, 10) and Turkish slugger Selcuk Aydin (26-2, 19). Again both men need a high profile victory and with a WBC world title fight up for grabs we expect this could be a genuinely great fight between men, who again, have a point to prove. On a second US card we get a prospect bonanza with a host of emerging Top Rank fighters. These include the unbeaten rotund Heavyweight Andy Ruiz Jr (21-0, 15) who battles the experienced and tough Manuel Quezada (29-8, 18). Quezada has only been stopped once in the last decade and could give Ruiz a very serious test, especially in regards to Ruiz's stamina. Another of the Top Rank prospects on show will be the much hyped Jose Benavidez (19-0, 14) who has failed to live up to his early promise so far. Benevidez isn't likely to be tested by the limited Angel Hernandez (16-15-1, 13) who doesn't hit as hard as his record indicates and has just 2 wins in his last 15 bouts! A third prospect on this card is Jose Carlos Ramirez (9-0, 7) who will be trying to move into double figures when he takes on Jesus Selig (16-2-1, 10). This is a good step up for the 21 year old Ramirez but one he should manage comfortably. The most interesting prospect, for us anyway, is Olympic medallist Oleksandr Gvozdyk (1-0, 1) who takes a serious step up to face Michael Gbenga (19-12, 19). Gbenga is limited, can be beaten and has been beaten regularly in recent contests though never by inexperienced professionals like Gvozdyk. If you go through Gbenga's record you see a who's who of the higher with fighters like Andre Dirrell, Isaac Chilemba and Ilunga Makabu, to put Gvozdyk on that level after just 2 fights would be thoroughly impressive from the much touted Ukrainian. In Argentina we get the only world title fight of the day as the excellent Omar Andres Narvaez (41-1-2, 22) looks to make yet another defence of his WBO Super Flyweight title. Narvaez, the only man at Super Flyweight who think could possibly trouble Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, will be expected to easily take care of the relative unknown Antonio Garcia (13-1, 6) who has never competed even close to this level before. Although Garcia does come in to this contest with some form, having beaten Jonathan Vidal last time out, Narvaez is something else and we'd not be shocked at Narvaez toying with his Mexican challenger, as he did with Hiroyuki Hisataka last year. In the UK fans will be treat 4 interesting contests. The most notable of which is an all-Welsh encounter between Gary Buckland (28-3, 9) and and former world title holder Gavin Rees (37-4-1, 18) with Rees promising to retire after the bout. This particular contest is a rematch of a bout the two men had earlier this year which saw Buckland winning a controversial split decision and many are tipping Rees to go out with a win. Another Welshman on this card is the very promising Lee Selby (18-1, 7) who will be battling against Romulo Koasicha (21-3, 12). Selby will be risking his world rankings here but should see off the Mexican visitor, who fights outside of Mexico for the first time in his career. This could turn out to be a tough contest but we really don't see anything but a Selby victory. A fourth notable Welshman on this show is former WBO Light Heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (26-1, 12), who will be fighting for the first time since he was stopped by Sergey Kovalev. Cleverly will be making his Cruiserweight debut and takes on the very poor Sean Corbin (17-4, 12) in what should be an easy introduction to a new weight class, unfortunately though we're not sure if Cleverly really wants to stay in the game and wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be his final bout. On the same card is one of, if not the, best prospect in Britain, Callum Smith (10-0, 8). Smith has been stopping opponents for fun and his last 8 foes have gone just 15 combined rounds and it'll be a shock if Tobias Webb (14-1-1, 2) can put an end to that streak. In terms of skills Webb is a capable foe at British domestic level but Smith is a very special talent. (Image courtesy of Toprank) |
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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