This Saturday isn't a huge day for boxing internationally but there are some interesting match ups taking place in the US. The biggest bout of the night comes from New York as WBC Middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32) defends his title against former WBA/IBF unified champion Daniel Geale (31-3, 16). This bout has been agreed at a catchweight of 157lbs, though Geale didn't look great on the scales whilst Cotto, strangely, weighed in under then Light Middleweight limit. The chief support bout here will see Wilfredo Vazquez Jr (24-4-1, 19) battle against Fernando Vargas (28-9-3, 20). Vvazquez, a former world champion, has looked to be on the slide in recent years and is 4-4 and as a result this may be an interesting bout but it's a weak supporting contest. In California we see another world title fight as the very fun to watch Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (26-1, 20) attempts to finish the career of Armenian Vic Darchinyan (40-7-1, 29). Darchinyan, a former Super Flyweight champion, is up at Featherweight for the WBA title bout and we're actually thinking he could get seriously hurt. It's not a great match up and the WBA need to be questioned for sanctioning the bout considering Darchinyan is 3-4 in his last 7. On the same card will be several notable names. One of those is Robert Guerrero (32-3-1-2, 18), who battles the horrible over-matched Aaron Martinez (19-3-1, 4). An equally uninteresting mismatch will see Alfredo Angulo (22-5, 18) take on Delray Raines (19-10-1, 14). Whilst both Angilo and Guerrero were beaten last time out they should have far too much for the guys they are in with here. Possibly the best of the supporting bouts here is actually a Heavyweight bout as American Dominic Breazeale (14-0, 13) faces fellow unbeaten Yasmany Consuegra (17-0, 14). Both guys are relatively untested going in to this one but it's clear that this has the potential to be an explosive match up.
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Cotto claims Middleweight crown, Butler beats Hall, Breahmer retains and Breakhus looks sensational6/8/2014 Some weekends are busy without really being busy. They aren't weekends with legions of fights but yet they are weekends with enough notable action to look back and go "that was an interesting day or two in world boxing". We've had one such weekend this week with Saturday boasting more than the typical weekend's worth of fights with a trio of male world title bouts, a female world title bout and a slew of other intriguing contests. We'll start with the biggest fight of the weekend which took place in the legendary Madison Square garden and featured a boxer who could very well describe the place as a second home, in fact there is every chance the venue will begin charging him rent if he keeps returning. That man is Puerto Rican super star Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32) who put on one of his most sensational performances to date to claim the WBC and Lineal Middleweight title with an awe inspiring victory over Argentina's Sergio Gabriel Martinez (51-3-2, 28). Cotto started like a man possessed and dropped Martinez 3 times in the opening round. Unfortunately whilst it was the perfect start for Cotto it was a nightmare start for some who realised immediately that this was just a shell of Martinez. The Argentinian showed great heart to not just get back up but also fight on until being retired in his corner at the start of round 10. The win for Cotto reaffirms his position as the king of MSG and one of the truly elite fighters of his generation. It's a win that gives him a lot of options as to who he will be fighting next. Sadly however the result likely sends Martinez into retirement on what can be described as a humiliating contest for the Argentinian who never got the chance to really show his skills. He was admittedly 39 and physically a broken man but he'll have hated going out like this. This result also moves us all a step further from Gennady Golovkin getting a chance to prove he's the Middleweight on the planet as we cannot see any possible way in which Cotto and Golovkin get in the ring together. On the same card as Cotto's victory we had a little bit of everything. In the first bout of the main broadcast fans saw a KO of the year contender as Andy Lee (33-2, 23) landed saved his career with a perfect right hand that knocked the promising John Jackson (18-2, 15) out cold. Jackson had dropped Lee earlier in the bout and seemed to be going for the kill before being sent to the canvas from a single shot that instantly ended the bout. John Jackson, the son of famed puncher Julian Jackson, will have been feeling exactly the same as Herol "Bomber" Graham was when Graham fought John's father and was seemingly on the way to winning a fight before being caught by one of the greatest KO punches of all time. Another of the bouts on the same card saw exciting Argentinian Javier Francisco Maciel (29-3, 20) score an excellent victory over Puerto Rican puncher Jorge Melendez (28-4-1, 26). Maciel had only taken the bout on a few weeks notice but took his opportunity and really impressed fans who hadn't seen him before. Although, from the reports available, he was paid very little there are hopes that he will be invited back to the US for a more notable bout. Interesting a bout between Maciel and Lee would be something we'd love to see if Top Rank want to put that one one. The same card also saw Marvin Sonsona avenge his sole career defeat as he out pointed Wilfredo Vazquez Jr in a bit of a stinker. The most relevant world title fight for many Asian fighters took place in the UK as the unbeaten Paul Butler (16-0, 8) narrowly over-came Stuart Hall (16-3-2, 7) and claimed the IBF Bantamweight title in a very close bout that one judge, some how, saw as a dominant victory for Butler. Although Butler looked very classy at times he was unable to hurt Hall who came on very strong in the second half of the fight and in all honesty it could have gone either way. Although their was talk of a rematch between Hall and Butler it does seem likely that Butler will be forced to fight IBF mandatory challenger Randy Cabellero next. Cabellero, who travelled to Japan and beat Kohei Oba in an IBF eliminator, has been left waiting longer than expected and will be rearing to go at Butler who is skilled but is more of a natural Super Flyweight than Bantamweight. Despite what British TV suggest Butler would not be eligible to immediately move down and fight for the IBF Super Flyweight title with a bout for that belt now set for month at the amazing Protopia hotel in Kobe between Teiru Kinoshita and Zolani Tete. On the same British card we've got to admit we were very impressed by Bradley Saunders (10-0, 8) who looked sensational in an 81 second blow out of the usually durable Ville Piispanen (18-5-3, 6). This victory saw Saunders winning the WBO Inter-continental Light Welterweight title and at 28 years old we'd expect him to be put on a relative fast track for a British fighter. The other world title action was in Germany where we had both a male world title fight and a female world title bout. The male bout saw the talented but controversial heavyweight Juergen Braehmer (44-2, 32) retain his WBA Light Heavyweight title with a decision victory over Argentina's Roberto Feliciano Bolonti (35-3, 24). Braehmer, although not a spectacular fighter, is experienced skilled, and the sort of fighter who will never be an easy opponent for anyone at Light Heavyweight. Sadly he's also not a big traveller meaning that he's almost certainly not going to get in amongst the divisional elite, such as Sergey Kovalev, Bernard Hopkins or Adonis Stevenson. Instead the WBA title is likely to remain in Germany until someone surprises Braehmer. Whilst Breahmer will never be the best in his division it's almost ludicrous to deny that Cecilia Braekhus (25-0, 7) is the best female Welterweight on the planet. She again showed her class as she defended her WBA, WBC and WBO female titles in impressive fashion clearly defeating the out-classed Jessica Balogun (24-4-, 12) in a masterful performance. At 32 years old there is little out there for Braekhus though there is a mooted super-fight with Christina Hammer, that's almost the only bout that anyone wants to see her in, though contests with Delfine Persoon or Erica Anabella Farias might do if a contest with Hammer can't be organised. (Image courtesy of Top Rank) When we look at big weekends in the boxing world we tend to speak about weekends which are busy with numerous would title fights across all sorts of divisions. We do have numerous world title bouts this Saturday but we've got to admit that all the excitement surrounds just one of those world title contests with the others coming as more of a pleasant distraction whilst we wait. The big fight is in New York as two of the sports genuinely big names collide in a bout for the WBC Middleweight title. This will see defending champion Sergio Gabriel Martinez (51-2-2, 28), fighting for the first time in over a year, battling against Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31). For Cotto this is a chance to become a 4 weight world champion, for Martinez it's a chance to return to the ring and try and claim another notable victory. Although Martinez/Cotto fight is the main event in Madison Square Garden it is just one of a number of bouts that we feel is of interest. Another of those bouts is obviously the rematch between Marvin Sonsona and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr whilst another is a brilliant Light Middleweight contest between the huge puncher Jorge Melendez (28-3-1, 26) and former world title challenger Javier Francisco Maciel (28-3, 10). This is one that has split us over who will win and looks like a really exciting contest between two men who really can bang. A 4th bout of interest here will see see the popular Andy Lee (32-2, 22) take on the big punching John Jackson (18-1, 15). Jackson is the young son of former world champion Julius Jackson and numerous people from the media are very high on the kid and Lee should be able to give him a genuine test here. One of the few "other" world title buts takes place in the UK where IBF Bantamweight champion Stuart Hall (16-2-2, 7) takes on the promising and unbeaten Paul Butler (15-0, 8). We think this chance really should have gone to Randy Caballero, who beat Kohei Oba in an eliminator earlier this year. We do like the fight in terms f what it should say about both though aren't convinced either man is even the best Bantamweight in the UK so we do feel a little annoyed at the IBF more than the men involved. In Germany we get the two remaining big bouts. The first will see female pound-for-pound queen Cecilia Braekhus (24-0, 7) defending her collection of titles against against the tough but limited Jessica Balogun (24-3, 12). We expect Braekhus to show off her skills here but it's as good a match as you can make for the Welterweight queen who really is untouchable at times. Unfortunately the other bout, which sees WBA Light Heavyweight champion Juergen Braehmer (43-2, 32) defending his belt against Roberto Feliciano Bolonti (35-2, 24) looks like a major mismatch, despite the similar records of the men involved. The only other bout real note is in Mexico where the big punching former world champion Daniel Ponce De Leon (45-6, 35) takes on the tough Miguel Roman (45-11, 34) in a bout that could turn out to be a slug fest of the highest order. (Image courtesy of Top Rank) |
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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