Eric Armit has thankfully sent up his year ending report with the results for the final big week of fights outside of Asia, hopefully you'll enjoy this as much as we did.
December 19 Quebec City, Canada: Welter: Ionut Dan Ion (34-2) W PTS 12 Kevin Bizier (23-2). Super Middle: Andre Dirrell (24-1) W PTS 12 Derek Edwards (27-4-1). Light Middle: Sebastien Bouchard (9-1) W TKO 6 Cedric Spera (11-3). Light Middle: Custio Clayton (1-0) W PTS 4 Sophyan Haoud (3-3-1). Ion vs. Bizier This seems to be one of those pairings who could face each other a dozen times without a decisive outcome as Ion/Jo Jo Dan gets another split decision win over Bizier. Many rounds were close with southpaw Dan relying heavily on a body attack and Bizier jabbing and head hunting. Both had successes Bizier was getting through with the jab and Dan countering with body shots. In the sixth a clash of heads saw Bizier suffer a cut over his right eye but in the seventh the Canadian blasted back to floor Romanian Dan with a left hook. Dan got up and was under heavy pressure but survived the round and had the better of the eighth and ninth as the blood running into his right eye seemed to deflate Bizier. Both were tired but fought hard over the closing three rounds with not much between them but Dan just having been slightly the busier. Scores 115-112 and 114-113 for Dan and 114-113 for Bizier. The 33-year-old Romanian was IBF 2(1) so now moves into mandatory challenger spot for crack at Kell Brook’s IBF title once the Brit recovers from his injuries. His two losses were disputed decisions against Selcuk Aydin in Turkey and he has won five fights in a row since the last loss to Aydin in 2011 including the split verdict over Bizier in November last year. Bizier, 30, a 4-time Canadian amateur champion who competed at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games was IBF 6 (5) and he can come again. Dirrell vs. Edwards Dirrell easily decisions a disappointing Edwards. Fighting southpaw Dirrell had his jab working early and from then never let Edwards into the fight until a brief flurry in the closing round. Dirrell made it a bit harder than it should have been by occasionally standing and trading instead of using his superior skills to outbox Edwards. It was a one-sided fight with Dirrell having Edwards hurt in the sixth, eighth and tenth rounds but to his frustration, and that of his trainer Chris Byrd and the crowd he was unable to close the fight out early. Edwards put in an effort in the last two rounds and landed two lefts in the twelfth that momentarily buzzed Dirrell but aside from that he was never competitive. Scores 120-108, 119-107 and 118-109. Dirrell reportedly suffered an injury to his right hand during the fight. “The Matrix” was in the super middle mix after losing a split decision to Carl Froch for the WBC title in 2009 and then in 2010 winning over Arthur Abraham when the Armenian/German was disqualified for hitting Dirrell when he slipped to he floor on a wet patch of canvas. That head punch led to a spell of only one fight in three years but Dirrell, 31, had recorded wins this year against Vlad Biosse and Nick Brunson and going in was rated IBF 7(6)/WBC 7/WBA 14 and with his brother Anthony holding the WBC title Dirrell is after Froch’s IBF/WBA titles after losing that split decision in Froch’s home city. “The Black Lion” Edwards, 35, was toothless and clawless in this one in contrast to his 61 second blow out of Badou Jack in February. He had been 1-3-1 going into the Jack fight but the losses were to top notch opposition in Marcus Johnson (18-0), Adonis Stevenson and Matt Korobov. Going into this one he was rated WBC 4/WBA 7(6)/WBO 10 and IBF 12(11). Bouchard vs. Spera Bouchard returns with a win. Faced with a potential banana skin the Canadian hope used a concerted body attack to slow and then stop the Belgian. Spera was competitive over the opening rounds but then slowed under the body shots and was floored twice and halted in the sixth. Bouchard, 27, had lost his unbeaten tag in May with his defeat by unbeaten Frank Galarza. He now has 3 wins by KO/TKO. Spera, 25 had outpointed Canadian Stephane Ouellet in an upset in September. Clayton vs. Haoud Olympian Clayton turns pro and is given four hard rounds by French novice Haoud. Clayton had the class but Haoud came to fight and pressed the Canadian hard. Clayton made good use of his jab and hand speed to win on scores of 40-36 twice and 39-37. Nova Scotian Clayton, 27 who is promoted by Yvon Michel was Canadian amateur champion in 2009 (where he beat Mike Zewski), 2010 and 2012. He competed at the Commonwealth Games and World Champions and at the 2012 Olympics where he beat Oscar Molina and Cameron Hammond before being 14-14 with Fred Evans in the quarterfinals only to lose on count back. He is one of the best Canadian prospects to turn pro recently. Haoud, 23 was having his first fight outside France. Repentigny, Canada: Middle: Renan St Juste (25-4-1) W TKO 8 Mohammed Akrong (20-8). Light: Jesus Singwancha (20-9) W PTS 6 Roody Pierre-Paul (9-3,1ND). St Juste vs. Akrong St Juste gets a win/win. The veteran southpaw shook of ring rust to halt Ghanaian Akrong in eight rounds and had a successful first outing as a promoter. First fight for a year and only the second in two years as the 42-year-old decides to rebuild after back-to-back inside the distance losses to Anthony Dirrell in 2011 and Allan Green in 2012. Akrong, 31, was having his first fight since losing in five rounds to Canadian Schiller Hyppolite in Montreal in June. Singwancha vs. Pierre-Paul Local boxer Pierre-Paul continues his switchback performances. The Canadian southpaw came out of the pack to beat prospects Ibrahim Kamal and Baha Laham early in the year but was then a wide decision loser to emerging Mexican Cris Uruzquita in June. Pierrer-Paul continued the downward spiral with a majority decision loss to Thai-based DCR fighter Singwancha (that’s his sponsor’s name, his real name is Kibunde Kakonge), The 34-year-old Singwancha won on scores of 60-54, 58-56 and 57-57. He started his career 2-7 in his first 9 fights so is a respectable 18-2 in his last 20. Pierre-Paul needs to win his next one as going 0-3 would be a real set back. Magangue, Colombia: Cruiser: Shawn Cox (18-5) W TKO 3 Santander Silgado (25-3). Light Middle: Jose Miguel Torres (30-6) W RTD 5 Hector Santana (23-6). Welter: Janer Gonzalez (17-0-1) W TKO 2 Gabriel Martinez (27-9-1). Feather: Miguel Marriaga (20-0) W TKO 3 Carlos F Perez M (14-4). Super Bantam: Luis Melendez (41-9-1) W TKO 2 Juan C Vega (11-4-1). Marriaga vs. Perez “The Scorpion” stings again but this was no real match. Marriaga, perhaps the best current Colombian prospect took a round to study the Mexican and then floored him twice in the second round with hooks to the body. Early in the third Marriaga again used the hook to the body and when Perez went down the referee stopped the fight. Marriaga, rated WBC 7/WBA 14/IBF 15 has 18 wins by KO/TKO and has won 12 of his last 13 fights by KO/TKO. He scored good wins over Jesus Galicia in Mexico and Chris Martin in California so can win away from home. He was a Colombian national amateur champion and competed at the World Championships in 2005.Perez was having his first fight since February 2013 and was just a sacrificial offering. Cox vs. Silgado Beware late substitutes who can punch. Cox was pulled in late for this one but failed to read the script. After flooring the 39-year-old Barbadian “Sniper” twice it looked as though Brooklyn-based Silgado had this one in the bag and could end it as and when he liked. That changed dramatically in the third when a hard combination from Cox put Silgado down. The Colombian made it to his feet but another barrage from Cox left the local on the canvas with blood leaking from a cut on his right eyebrow. Silgado was down for more than two minutes and needed medical attention before leaving the ring. With 17 of Cox’s 18 wins coming by KO/TKO this was always a possibility. In fact only 2 of Cox’s 23 fights have gone the distance. On paper he looked to be on the down slope with 4 losses in his last 5 fights with all 4 losses being by KO/TKO and all inside three rounds. Behind the stats you find that he lost by kayo to Denis Lebedev for the interim WBA title, a poor loss to Danie Venter and understandable losses to unbeaten punchers in Dmitry Kudryashov and Oscar Rivas so not as bad as it seems on the surface. “Sugar” Silgado, 29, had only lost inside the distance once previously and that also was to Lebedev for the WBA title and he was coming off a points loss to Rakhim Chakhkiev for the WBC Silver title in May. Torres vs. Santana Torres halts late sub Santana. Torres the hometown fighter, found the Argentinian more than willing to trade and it was an exciting scrap. Torres took the first two rounds with good body punches with Santana banging back to take the third. Torres was in control again in the fourth gradually breaking Santana down and a series of hard shots in the fifth saw the referee stop the fight. The 35-year-old Torres has won 9 of his last 10 fights and now has 26 wins by KO/TKO. Unfortunately he loses the big ones with defeats against Charlie Navarro, Joe Greene, Yudel Jhonson and David Lemieux de-railing him. Santana, 30, now has 4 losses by KO/TKO. Melendez vs. Vega Experienced Colombian southpaw Melendez had an easy night with Ecuadorian novice Vega overwhelming Vega and forcing the stoppage in the middle of the second round. The 35-year-old Melendez was unsuccessful in shots at the WBO super fly and IBO bantam titles but is hoping his 7 wins in a row can keep his hopes alive. Three losses by KO/TKO for 33-year-old Vega. Gonzalez vs. Martinez Gonzalez was taking part in the last fight of the evening and he made it 4-1 for Colombia over imports. He dominated this one from the first bell with Martinez immediately under pressure. That pressure told late in the second with the referee stepping in to save the Mexican from further punishment. Now 14 wins by KO/TKO for Gonzalez a former Colombian amateur champion and South American Games bronze medalist. “El Rey” Martinez, 27, a former Mexican welter champion, was 27-1-1,1ND of his first 28 fights but has since nosedived with 8 losses in a row. Guidonia, Italy: Light: Massimiliano Ballisai (18-2) TKO 8 Manuel Lancia (11-1-1). Middle: Massimiliano Buccheri (18-1-1) W PTS 6 Jon Bertonnier (18-12-3,1ND). Ballisai vs. Lancia Ballisai wins the Italian title with his strength and stamina proving the winning combination. In the early rounds it was Ballisai the boxer using a stiff jab to try to keep the advancing champion out in a fast-paced bout. Lancia started well getting inside and working the body, but that jab and some body punches saw Ballisai edging the first two rounds. Lancia fired home some nice combinations to take the third. It was felt the middle rounds would be Lancia’s territory but over the fourth and fifth it was Ballisai dominating with that jab and landing some hard, short rights. Lancia banged back to take the sixth but it is a last throw of the dice. Ballisai was in charge in the seventh with Lancia fading fast and shipping some heavy digs to head and body. Ballisai closed the show in the eighth flooring Lancia with a thunderous right. Lancia somehow got up and spit out his mouthpiece to buy time. He got an official warning for that but was put down again by a right. He got up again but with Ballisai landing more heavy punches the fight was stopped with just two seconds left in the round. Ballisai wins the title in his first attempt. The 30-year-old suffered knockout losses to Felix Lora in 2012 and to Brunet Zamora in July 2013. He then took a break before returning with a win in June. He has 11 wins by KO/TKO. Lancia, 27, was making the third defence of his national title and had home advantage but Ballisai was just too strong. Buccheri vs. Bertonnier Former Italian champion Buccheri is also on the comeback trail and made it three wins since returning to action in July with a unanimous decision over Frenchman Bertonnier. The 30-year-old “Boom Boom” won the Italian super middle title in June 2013 but did not defend it and did not fight for 13 months. He is unbeaten in his last 12 fights and should be moving up from 6 round fights. Bertonnier had won 4 of his last 5 fights Boquete, Panama: Welter: Aristides Quintero (19-4-1) W TKO 4 Fidel Monterrosa M. (34-12-1,1ND). Super Bantam: Jorge Sanchez (14-0) W TKO 1 Danny Erazo (6-12-2). Feather: Manuel Vides (16-3) W TKO 2 Jose L Prado (0-4). Feather: Jezreel Corrales (17-1,1ND) W TKO 1 Edgar Guillen (2-8-2) Quintero vs. Munoz Quintero has to battle hard to win this one. “The Rifle” was in the firing line early as Colombian Monterrosa put the local fighter down in the first round. He then fired back to put Monterrosa down in a frantic opening round. The Colombian was floored again in the second and third rounds and a clash of heads saw Monterrosa cut on his right eyebrow but he banged back to put Quintero down in the fourth. During the round Monterrosa was complaining of butts and being ignored by the referee and he just decided to stop fighting and the referee halted the fight. Now 15 wins in a row for the 23-year-old Quintero with 13 of those wins by KO/TKO. Monterrosa, 26, lost on points to Humberto Soto for the WBC light title in 2010 but is now 5-5 in his last ten fights with all 10 fights ending by KO/TKO. Sanchez vs. Erazo The Quintero fight was the only competitive match on the card. “El Bufalo” Sanchez floored poor Nicaraguan Erazo twice on his way to a 103 second stoppage. The 24-year-old Panamanian & South American (well one version anyway) champion makes it 9 wins by KO/TKO. Six losses and a draw in his last 7 fights for Erazo who came in at late notice. Vilches vs. Prado Former WBA title challenger Vilches returned with a win as he halted fellow-countryman Prado in the second round. First fight for Vilches since being knocked out in two rounds by Juan C Reveco for the secondary WBA title in March. Three losses by KO/TKO for novice Prado. Corrales vs. Guillen Another abysmal match saw southpaw Corrales floor Guillen twice for a win in 128 seconds. The 23-year-old Corrales is unbeaten with 16 wins and a no decision in his last 17 fights. He is rated WBC 13. Panamanian Guillen is 1-5-1 in his last 7 fights with 4 of those 5 losses by KO/TKO. December 20 Shelton, WA, USA: Feather: Jesus M A Cuellar (26-1) W TKO 5 Ruben Tamayo (25-5-4). Light Middle: Julian Williams (18-0-1,1ND) W TKO 8 Jamar Freeman (13-3-2). Super Middle: Julius Jackson (19-0) W TKO 9 Jonathan Nelson (19-2). Feather: Gary Russell (25-1) W PTS 10 Chris Martin (28-5-3). Middle: Dominic Wade (16-0) W Grady Brewer (32-19). Middle: Tony Harrison (19-0) W KO 1 Tyrone Brunson (22-4-1). Feather: Miguel Flores (13-0) W Jose L Ariaza (31-9-1). Welter: Fabian A Maidana (5-0) W TKO 2 Omar Avelar (3-12) Cuellar vs. Tamayo Cuellar retains his interim WBA title with crushing of Tamayo. The Argentinian used a vicious body assault to weaken and finish Tamayo. Cuellar was relentless in hunting down Tamayo from the first and there was little the Mexican could do to stem the tide. He survived the first three rounds but was put down by a right to the chin in the fourth. He got up only to be caught with a body punch which put him down for the second time. He only just survived to the bell. The doctor visited the challenger’s corner at the end of the round but the fight continued. It was all over in the fifth when another body punch put Tamayo down and the fight was halted. The 27-year-old Cuellar is crude but strong and after being virtually unknown before beating Claudio Marrero for the vacant interim WBA title his wins over Rico Ramos and Juan Manuel Lopez have lifted his profile but whether it is high enough to interest Nicholas Walters remains to be seen. Southpaw Tamayo is a reasonably competent fighter but not title challenger level. Williams vs. Freeman Williams continues to impress as he halts late stand-in Freeman. Williams had this fight well in hand outboxing and outscoring Freeman but it took him into the seventh round to make that dominance tell. He floored Freeman twice in the seventh with rights and jumped on him at the start of the eighth with another knock down bringing the referee’s intervention. Philadelphian “J Rock”, 24, is ready to move up. He already has wins over Joachim Alcine, Orlando Lora, Freddy Hernandez, Michael Medina and unbeaten Eliezer Gonzalez and was giving Hugo Centeno all the trouble he could handle when their fight was ruled a no decision due to a cut. It could be that 2015 will be his break through year. He wins the WBC Continental Americas title. Freeman had won his last 3 fights but against a lower level of opposition. Jackson vs. Nelson Jackson started well and finished well but was a bit flat in the middle. The son of the former world champion Julian, put Nelson on the floor in the first and it looked as though Nelson might not make it to his feet in time but a stuttering count gave him some extra seconds. Jackson pocketed the next three rounds but then Nelson had a good spell outpunching Jackson in the sixth. Jackson found his range again in the eighth and floored Nelson for the second time. Once more Nelson barely beat the count and made it to the bell. A Jackson barrage in the ninth had Nelson in trouble and the fight was stopped. The 27-year-old “Chief” now has 15 wins by KO/TKO including the last 9 in a row and is rated IBF 5/WBA 9. He has been a traveler having fought in Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Panama, Mexico, Argentina and his home in the Virgin Islands. His brother John is also a pro and as an amateur Julius competed for the Virgin Isles at both the World Championships and the 2008 Olympics. Nelson, 29, has mostly plied his trade in the boxing backwaters of the Southern States where he ran up 18 wins before losing on points to Brandon Gonzales in November last year. He was also a good class amateur winning silver and bronze medals at both the US Championships and the NGG’s. Russell vs. Martin Russell returns with a win. The Capitol Heights southpaw was just too quick for Martin who spent too much time eating jabs and quick combinations to do much scoring of his own. Punches were bouncing of the head and body of Martin in every round with Martin trying to get in some body work of his own to slow the former Olympian. The only thing missing was power punching with Russell able to score at will but not really shaking Martin at any stage. Russell wins on scores of 100-90 twice and 99-91. The 26-year-old is looking for another shot at Vasyl Lomachenko to get revenge for his split decision loss in June for the vacant WBO title. He is rated WBO 6/WBA 7 so he has some work to do. Twenty-eight-year-old Martin, “The S.D. Kid” was unbeaten in his first 25 fights but is now a disappointing 5-5-1 in his last 11 Wade vs. Hunter Routine win for prospect Wade as he halts substitute Hunter in two rounds. The Largo 24-year-old has 12 wins by KO/TKO and was coming off a good test in beating Nick Brunson over ten rounds in June. A World Cadet silver medalist he is yet another Al Haymon fighter. Three losses in a row for Hunter whose best win was a stoppage of Ronald Hearns in January. Harrison vs. Brunson Detroit’s Harrison flattens Brunson in just 62 seconds to go to 8 wins in a row by KO/TKO all of the wins inside three rounds. He has great potential and I would love to see him get all the way to the top as he was a protégé of Manny Steward and I was a big fan of Tony’s grandfather Henry Hank. Brunson started his career with a well orchestrated record 19 first round wins in a row . Realty dawned when he was stopped by Carson Jones in 2009. He did not return to the ring until 2012 and is now 1-3 since his return. Maidana vs. Avelar Maidana keeps the family tradition going as he halts another substitute Avelar in two rounds. The 22-year-old Argentinian had Avelar down twice in the first round before forcing the stoppage early in the second. Four wins inside the distance in a row for the 22-year-old brother of Marcos. Nine losses in his last 10 fights for poor Avelar. Cancun, Mexico: Super Feather: Bryan Vasquez (34-1) W TKO 9 Sergio Thompson (30-3). Straw: Ricardo Perez (7-2) W KO 9 Carlos Ortega (10-3-2). Welter: Silverio Ortiz (34-14) W TKO 2 Juan Jesus Rivera (27-12). Super Feather: Luis Sanchez (15-3-1) W PTS 8 Miguel Beltran (29-4). Welter: Ivan Alvarez (18-5) W TKO 4 Alejandro Quintero (8-3-3). Vasquez vs. Thompson Vasquez losses the WBA interim title on the scales but beats local hero Thompson. Vasquez was just too strong, mobile and accurate for Thompson. Vasquez was scoring with good combinations in the first and in an important second round the Costa Rican landed a big right that broke the nose of the Mexican. That nose bled heavily throughout the remainder of the fight making it difficult for Thompson to breathe. The Mexican had a better third round but then Vasquez took control of the fight and built a big lead. Falling way behind on points Thompson was reduced to trying to find one punch to pull the fight out of the fire. He did score heavily in the ninth but lacked the power to hurt Vasquez. Thompson’s nose was continuing to flow blood and he was also carrying bruises around both eyes and his corner retired him before the start of the tenth round. The 27-year-old Costa Rican is yet another example of a careless boxer never being close to making weight. He came in 3lbs over the limit and made no attempt to take the overage off. He was a class above Thompson and will be a force at lightweight. His lone defeat was at the hands of Takashi Uchiyama in a shot at the real WBA title and he was coming off a close decision victory over previously undefeated Jose Felix Jr (26-0-1) in a defence of his interim WBA title in April. Second unsuccessful title challenge for 31-year-old “Yeyo”. Going in to this one his only loss in his last 17 fights was to Takashi Miura in August last year for the WBC super feather title. Since then he had scored wins over useful opposition in Cesar Chavez (21-4), Ric Alvarez (23-2-3) and Adonis Aguelo. He was rated WBC 2/WBO 8, but not rated at all by the WBA! Perez vs. Ortega Big win for inexperienced local as he collects the WBC Silver title with kayo of No 1 rated Ortega. Perez had the power in this one and put the Panamanian down in the third and fourth rounds. “Little Spider” Ortega did well to survive and get back into the fight but a fierce combination in the ninth put the visitor down and out and he needed some attention before recovering. The 23-year-old “Little “Bull”, a former WBC Youth champion, was rebounding from a close decision loss to Nicaraguan Byron Rojas in Managua in May. Collecting the WBC Silver title will get him a huge boost in their ratings. He has 6 wins by KO/TKO. Ortega, 25, was making the first defence of the Silver title and this is his first loss by KO/TKO. Ortiz vs. Rivera Another inside the distance win for “Chamaco III” . The Yucatan fighter had Rivera hurt and under pressure in the first. He ended the fight late in the second trapping Rivera in a corner and unloading until the referee stopped the fight. The 32-year-old has lost only one of his last 15 fights and that was to Humberto Soto in February 2013. He has won 8 on the bounce since then and has 16 wins b y KO/TKO. Rivera, 34 , has lost 3 of his last 4 fights with the other two losses being to Dierry Jean and Samuel Vargas in Canada and the win being over former WBC champion Cesar Bazan. Sanchez vs. Beltran A big upset hidden down the card as Sanchez outclasses former IBF and WBO title challenger Beltran. The local fighter dominated from bell to bell and won on scores of 80-72, 80-73 and 79-71. The 22-year-old has rebounded from a 2-3 run in 5 fights with four wins in a row but nothing in this class so it was a big step-up for Sanchez. Beltran, 25 had seen a challenge to Juan Carlos Salgado for the IBF title end in a no decision and in September 2012 he lost a very debatable split decision to Roman Martinez for the vacant WBO title. However danger flags were flying earlier this year when he was knocked out in six rounds by newcomer Carlos Diaz Ramirez so the signs are not good. Alvarez vs. Quintero Alvarez extends his winning run to five fights as he halts Quintero in four. Southpaw Alvarez floored Quintero in the second and then ended the fight with a left hook in the fourth. Quintero got up but was in no condition to continue so the fight was stopped. Now 13 wins by KO/TKJO for Alvarez. First loss by KO/TKO for Quintero. Carolina, Puerto Rico: Light: Roman Martinez (28-2-2) W KO 2 Herbert Quartey (12-9). Light Jose A Gonzalez (23-1) W TKO 2 Antonio Joao Bento (27-15-2). Martinez vs. Quartey Former WBO champion Martinez overcomes a slow first round to finish Quartey in the second. Martinez was having his first fight for 13 months and was slow out of the starting gate allowing Quartey to have a useful first round which he ended with a flurry of punches. Reality came in the second when a left hook to the body put Quartey down and out. The 31-year-old “Rocky” makes it 17 wins by KO/TKO. He was having his first fight since losing the WBO title to Mikey Garcia in November last year. Ghanaian Quartey 26 is 0-5 in fights outside Ghana. Gonzalez vs. Bento In his first fight since losing to Ricky Burns for the WBO title in May 2013 Gonzalkez eases back with destruction of Bento. A left hook from Gonzalez put the Portuguese fighter down early in the first and later another shot floored Bento who also lost his mouthpiece. A hard right in the second round put Bento down again and the referee stopped the fight. The 31-year-old “Chelo” makes it 17 wins by KO/TKO and lifts the vacant WBO Latino title. He was in front 87-84 on all three cards before retiring against Burns so will be looking for a title shot late in 2015 or in 2016. Bento, 38, had rebounded from a run of 5 losses with three wins but was in over his head here. Phoenix, AZ, USA: Heavy: Andy Ruiz (24-0) W PTS 10 Siarhei Liakhovich (26-6). Light Heavy: Trevor McCumby (18-0) W TKO 6 Milton Nunez (28-12-1). Feather: Oscar Valdez (14-0) W TKO 5 Jean Javier Sotelo (19-14-2). Super Bantam: Joet Gonzalez (8-0) W KO 3 Jamie Gutierrez (4-10). Ruiz vs. Liakhovich Ruiz remains unbeaten with a unanimous decision over a very faded Liakhovich. The Mexican hope made a fast start having Liakhovich under heavy pressure in the first two rounds but then seeming to run out of steam. It was a slow paced fight with few highlights and with Ruiz making it much harder for himself than it needed to be. Neither fighter is quick of foot and there was very little skill on display. Ruiz has lost some weight but is still carrying too much (267.8lbs on a 6’2” -188cm- frame) and although he was the aggressor and has quick hands after that promising start he allowed himself to be dragged into a brawl filled with too many clinches. What clean work there was was coming from Ruiz but with Liakhovich improving on some recent performances. Ruiz wins on scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 96-94 so protects his WBO 3/WBC 8/IBF 13 ratings but this was a step down from his winning shows against Joe Hanks, Tor Hamer and Manuel Quezada. Belarusian Liakhovich, 38, a former WBO champion, had seemed to be on his way out of the sport after a spell of fighting just once a year over three years which saw him losing in 2011 to Robert Helenius, in 2012 to Bryant Jennings and in 2013 against Deontay Wilder. He is still a name so I guess there are still some pay days around for him. McCumby vs. Nunez McCumby got in some rounds against veteran Nunez on his way to a sixth round stoppage. The Arizona prospect had Nunez down in the third and fourth rounds from body punches and Nunez’s corner retired their man before the start of the sixth round. The 22-year-old former top amateur makes it 14 wins by KO/TKO. Colombian Nunez, 27, was wiped out by Gennady Golovkin for the interim WBA title in 2010 and is 7-9 in his last 16 fights. Valdez vs. Sotelo Valdez outclasses Sotelo to make it 6 wins in the year, 5 by KO/TKO. The former Mexican amateur star outclassed the Colombian veteran outboxing and out scoring him in every round. He was increasing the pressure and punishment with Sotelo never in the fight. After four round of pain Sotelo wisely retired before the start of the fifth. The soon to be 24 year-old Valdez (on December 22), now has 13 wins by KO/TKO and will be one to watch in 2015. Sotelo, 39, is 3-7-1 in his last 11 fights with 6 of those 7 losses by KO/TKO. Gonzalez vs. Gutierrez Californian youngster Gonzalez continues his winning run with stoppage of Mexican Gutierrez. The 21-year-old Gonzalez easily dominated the first two rounds before flooring Gutierrez twice in the third. The game Gutierrez got up each time but the fight was stopped after the second knockdown. Gonzalez, a former NGG silver medal winner who lost at the 2012 US Olympic trials, gets only his second win by KO/TKO. For Gutierrez it is 5 losses in a row, 4 by KO/TKO. Echevarria vs. Lopez Mexican southpaw Echevarria wins in his US debut as he take unanimous decision over useful test Lopez. The 22-year-old from Gomez Palacio boxed sensibly against an experienced opponent and won on scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55 to take the decision which ends his run of 6 wins in a row by KO/TKO. Lopez, also Mexican, has been in with good class opposition such as Gary Russell, Luis Orlando Del Valle and Ronny Rios and had won his last 9 fights. Munich, Germany: Light Heavy: Robin Krasniqi (43-3) W PTS 12 Dariusz Sek (21-2-1). Light Heavy: Dominic Boesel (17-0) W TKO 2 Mohamed Merah (12-2-3). Middle: Domenic von Chrzanowski (16-0-1) W TKO 2 Eduards Gerasimovs (5-1). Heavy: Tom Schwarz (10-0) W KO 1 Adnan Buharalija (31-24-2). Krasniqi vs. Sek Krasniqi gets close decision over Sek. Krasniqi fought a cautious, careful fight using his superior skills to outbox the more active Pole. Sek was looking to get inside and force Krasniqi to trade but the Kosovan stuck to his game plan and worked on the outside. It was frustrating for the Pole who was the busier but not the most accurate and that may have swayed the judges who scored it for Krasniqi by 116-112 twice and 115-113 with the latter being a better representation of Sek’s efforts. The 27-year-old Krasniqi retains the WBO International and WBA Continental titles. He has lost only one of his last 43 fights and that was to Nat Cleverly for the WBO title in 2013 since when he has scored 4 wins over a good level opposition. He is high in the ratings at WBA 2(1)/ WBO 2/ IBF 13 but I don’t believe he justifies those ratings. Sek, 28, had lost to German Robert Woge in May 2013 and then taken a year out before returning with two wins. Boesel vs. Merah Boesel hits too hard for French opponent. The German hope was scoring with hard combinations to the head and body in the first against a slow, easy target and he was exhibiting good skills. In the second with the bell imminent he produced a great combination to put Merah down and force the stoppage. The 25-year-old local makes it 6 wins by KO/TKO as he retains his WBO Inter-Continental title. He is rated No 6 by the WBO because he is their Inter-Continental champion and not because of the quality of his opposition. Merah, 26, was 2-1-3 in his first 6 fights but had then run up 10 wins including a useful victory over Denis Simcic (29-2) in November. Von Chrzanowski vs. Gerasimovs “Blue Blood Nic” Von Chrzanowski was faced by a poorly conditioned opponent and made the portly body of Gerasimovs his target. He did not find the spot in the first round by in the middle of the second a hard body punch put Gerasimovs down and out. Still no real tests for the Berlin 23-year-old who is managed by his wife. He has 9 wins by KO/TKO. Latvian Gerasimovs’s 5 wins had been scored over fighters with combined records of 0-5 so a meaningless win for Von Chrzanowski Schwarz vs. Buharalija This one was all over in 64 seconds. Schwarz landed a couple of hefty shots with the last landing well back on the head of Buharalija. The B & H fighter collapsed to the canvas claiming a rabbit punch but was counted out. Now 7 wins by KO/TKO for the 6’5 ½” (197cm) 20-year-old German but a lot of habitual losers on his CV. Southpaw Buharalija does not do distance fights. He is 8-16 in his last 24 fights with all 24 ending by KO/TKO. Rome, Italy: Super Middle: Andrea Di Luisa (17-2) W TKO 11 Roberto Cocco (16-12-1). Middle: Emanuele Blandamura (23-1) W PTS 6 Matiouze Royer (10-18-5). Super Feather: Devis Boschiero (35-3-1) W TKO 1 Jorge Luis Munguia (10-3). Cruiser: Mirko Larghetti (22-1) W TKO 3 Peter Hegyes (8-11). Di Luisa vs. Cocco Italian champion Di Luisa wins the vacant European Union title with late stoppage of Cocco. Di Luisa is coming forward throughout the first round and lands some good rights with Cocco responding with body punches as Di Luisa edges that round. Cocco boxes neatly on the retreat in the second with Di Luisa making good use of his jab in another close round. Di Luisa takes the third with Cocco showing some good defensive movement but being nailed by a right uppercut. The fourth sees Cocco warned for coming in with his head down but he is more competitive and Di Luisa is under some pressure. In the fifth and sixth Di Luisa is in control and with Cocco seemingly tiring he gets though with hooks and uppercuts. The seventh is also Di Luisa’s and he even has time to plant a kiss on Cocco’ s mouth which won’t get him any additional points. Perhaps galvanised by that romantic moment Cocco has a better eighth round but the ninth is a big one for Di Luisa as has Cocco badly shaken by a right uppercut and also opens a cut over Cocco’s right eye with a punch. Cocco survives the tenth but only because Di Luisa takes a breather after his exertions in the ninth. Di Luisa goes on the attack again in the eleventh and the referee calls the doctor to inspect Cocco’s cut and the doctor advises the fight should be stopped, and it is. The 32-year-old Di Luisa wins the EU title at the third attempt. In previous tries he was halted in twelve rounds by Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye in 2011 and Chris Rebrasse in 2012. He took a year out after the Rebrasse loss and then when he returned he won the Italian title for the second time before registering this win. Cocco, 37, also a former Italian champion, had lost to Spaniard Mariano Hilario for this same title in May. It took him four attempts to win the Italian title so if at first you don’t succeed …….. Blandamura vs. Royer The rest of the fights were just “Christmas money” fights. Easy opposition over six rounds to get that little bit extra to spend a Christmas. Blandamura got his Christmas money with a comfortable points win over French prelim fighter Royer. First fight for the 34-year-old “Sioux” since losing his European title to Brit Billy Joe Saunders in July. Royer keeps his record of not losing by KO/TKO. Boschiero vs. Munguia It has been a bad year for Boschiero with two loses to Romain Jacob taking away his European title and denting his world rating. He took his frustration out on poor Honduran Munguia who failed to last out the first three minutes. The 33-year-old “Boom Boom” is still a class fighter and should have a better 2015. First loss by KO /TKO for Munguia who had been beaten on points by Stephane Jamoye six weeks earlier. Larghetti vs. Hegyes Larghetti makes it 14 wins by KO/TKO with stoppage of Hungarian. First bout for the 32-year-old Italian since losing on points to Marco Huck for the WBO title in August. Sixth loss by KO/TKO for Hegyes. Oshikango, Namibia: Light: Paulus Moses (35-2) W TKO 4 Jorge Luis Rodriguez (17-10-1,1ND). Feather: Paulus Ambunda (22-1) W PTS 12 Tshifhiwa Munyai (24-4-1). Moses vs. Rodriguez Moses retains the WBO International title with stoppage of Argentinian Rodriguez. It was a disappointing ending. The Namibian had floored Rodriguez in the third and opened a bad cut over the Argentinian’s left eye. Moses was getting close to a kayo win in the fourth when the referee decided the cut was too bad and the fight was halted. The 36-year-old Namibian, a former holder of the secondary WBA title, makes it 7 wins since losing a wide decision to Ricky Burns for the WBO title in 2012. He is still rated No 2 by the WBO. Rodriguez, 33, is the FAB No 8 at super feather. Ambunda vs. Munyai Ambunda just scrapes through in this one. As with many opponents he found the South Africa “Atomic Spider” a difficult opponent. Ambunda had Munyai down three times in the first round. The initial knockdown was from a body punch and the other two stumbles from Munyai as he was under pressure and were not counted. After building an early lead Ambunda found himself under pressure for much of the remainder of the fight and Munyai looked to have deserved at least a draw. However the judges scored it 117-112 and 116-113 for Ambunda and a more representative 113-112 for Munyai. The 34-year-old “Rock” was having his first fight for seven months. He is rated No 2 by the WBO and looking to get a chance to regain the WBO title he lost to Tomoki Kameda in August last year. Two losses in a row for former undefeated CBC bantam and IBO super bantam champion Munyai. The other was a second round stoppage when he came in as a late substitute to challenge Scott Quigg for the secondary WBA title April. Managua, Nicaragua: Light Heavy: Ricardo Mayorga (31-8-1) W TKO 5 Andrik Saralegui (7-2). Oliver Flores (25-1-2) W PTS 8 Moises Castro (31-23-4). Super Fly: Jose Perez (13-0) W KO 7 Roberto Lopez (31-25-1). Mayorga vs. Saralegui Someone who used to be Ricardo Mayorga got a win here. The 41-year-old former WBA/WBC welter and WBC light middle champion was up at light heavyweight for this fight. Fortunately Mexican “Loco” Saralegui though younger was fatter and slower. It was more farce than fight as Mayorga teased and taunted the Mexican before flooring him in the fourth with Saralegui failing to answer the bell for the fifth. Second win in three months for Mayorga who was inactive from losing to Miguel Cotta in March 2011 until returning in September this year. It was his first fight in his native country since 1998. The fatter version of Mayorga, he weighed 173lbs for this one, has a very limited shelf life. Saralegui was well chosen. The 33 year-old Mexican was having his first fight for a year and only his second one in 8 years! Flores vs. Castro Southpaw hope Castro given a tougher than expected night by oldie Castro and only just avoided defeat. Scores 77-75 twice and 79-73. The 23-year-old from Leon has now beaten Castro three times but their ten round fight in May was just as close. A kayo by Mexican Miguel Berchelt in November 2012 is the lone loss on the record of Flores. Castro, 36, is 2-5 in his last 7 fights but just seems to have the style to trouble Flores. Perez vs. Lopez Teenage hope Perez remains unbeaten with stoppage of Mexican Lopez. After six one-sided rounds Perez finally broke Lopez down flooring him and halting him in the seventh. Now 8 wins in a row by the 19-year-old Nicaraguan and 11 wins in total by the short route. The 41-year-old Lopez has lost 5 of his last 6 fights but was coming off a useful win over Arturo Badillo in May. Huntington, NY, USA: Light Heavy: Joe Smith Jr (17-1) W TKO 1 Maxell Taylor (18-10-1). Smith vs. Taylor Smith overwhelms Taylor in just 37 seconds. Smith came out firing and drove Taylor into a corner where he scored with a barrage of punches and with nothing coming back from Taylor the fight was stopped. The 25-year-old “Irish Bomber” from Long Island now has 11 wins in a row, 9 by KO/TKO. Taylor, 30, the brother of pro Emmanuel Taylor, was a high class amateur but has not cut it as a pro and this is his sixth loss in a row, five by KO/TKO. 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 Philippines 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.
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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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