The Past Week In Action 10 November 2015
November 4 Kazan, Russia: Heavy: Alex Povetkin (30-1) W TKO 12 Mariusz Wach (31-2). Cruiser: Denis Lebedev (28-2) W TKO 8 Lateef Kayode (21-1,1ND). Super Light: Eduard Troyanovsky (23-0) W TKO 6 Cesar Cuenca (48-1). Cruiser: Ola Afolabi (22-4-4) W KO 5 Rakhim Chakhkiev (24-2). Cruiser: Olanrewaju Durodola (22-2) W TKO 2 Dmitry Kudryashov (18-1). Welter: Viskhan Murzabekov (12-0) W KO 3 Solomon Bogere (13-3-2). Light Heavy: Dmitry Bivol (5-0) W TKO 4 Jackson Junior (19-5,1ND). Povetkin vs. Wach Povetkin gets late stoppage win after a left hook splits open a cut below the left eye of Wach in the last round. It was far from being an exciting fight. Wach’s only real weapons were his height and his long left jab. Povetkin was quicker and cleverer and was able to duck under the prodded jab and get inside to land left hooks to the body and overhand rights. Wach was warned about holding over the first two rounds as he tried to stifle Povetkin’s work inside. The pattern never really varied with Wach being a bit more adventurous in the fourth and fifth but Povetkin continually moving inside and getting off two or three quick punches. Because of the pattern of the fight there were very few prolonged exchanges. Povetkin picked up the pace in the seventh and Wach was looking more intent on survival than winning. There was a brief break in the action in the tenth when a left hook from Povetkin landed very low and Wach was given some recovery time. Povetkin was doing the scoring in the eleventh but not really hurting or shaking Wach and it looked as though the fight would go the distance. That changed when a left hook from Povetkin opened a gash under the left eye of Wach. The referee had the doctor tale a look and the fight was stopped as the cut was ruled to be too bad for Wach to continue. Povetkin, 36, retains his WBC Silver title and as expected will have to wait for his mandatory shot at Deontay Wilder as the WBC have given permission for Wilder to have a third voluntary defence. Povetkin was never going to look good against Wach but he got the job down. “The Viking” Wach although 6’7 ½” is no real preparation for a Wilder fight as his arsenal is limited and his jab lacks the power of Wilder’s but in fairness this is the first time the 35-year-old Pole has lost inside the distance. Lebedev vs. Kayode Lebedev retains WBA title with stoppage of Kayode. For the first six rounds this was pretty much a non-event. In the first both fighters were just probing with their respective jabs, Lebedev with his southpaw right and Kayode with his left. Lebedev was content to let Kayode come forward and what scoring there was, and there was not much, came from long left counters from Lebedev. The pattern of limited action was the same in the second with Kayode hardly landing a punch and Lebedev getting home a couple of long lefts. Kayode tried to up the pace of the fight in the third but he was too slow and Lebedev was able to counter and get out before a frustrated Kayode could respond. Kayode’s frustration showed as he was signalling for Lebedev to stand and fight. The fourth saw Lebedev start to let his hands go more mixing in right jabs with his straight lefts and rocking Kayode back on his heels. Lebedev was too quick for Kayode again in the fifth. He was cleverly just using his right jab as a decoy with Kayode ducking to his right into the path of Lebedev’s straight lefts. The action picked up in the sixth with Lebedev trading more which gave Kayoed a better target but the Nigerian was swinging wildly and walking onto more straight lefts. Lebedev rocked Kayode with a left to the head at the start of the seventh and then in some close action seemed to land a right jab and a left cross. Kayode went down and was up at three complaining bitterly that he had been pushed down but the referee ruled it a knockdown. Kayode certainly did not look shaken and actually had a good spell at the end of the round. In the eighth a left hook on the inside sent Kayode to the floor. This time he was badly shaken and only just beat the count. An over eager Lebedev half punched/pushed Kayode down again with Kayode up immediately and protesting that he was pushed. It made no difference because when the action resumed Lebedev exploded heavy lefts driving Kayode to the ropes. One of the lefts saw Kayode’s head snapped back and he was shipping more punches and not fighting back when the fight was stopped. Second defence of the full WBA title for the 36-year-old Russian and win No 21 by KO/TKO. Kayode, 32, had no right to be fighting for the title. In September, fighting at heavyweight, he was stopped inside a round by Luis Ortiz only for the fight result to be changed to No Decision after Ortiz tested positive for a banned substance . In the 13 months since then Kayode had dropped down to cruiser with a low level win but was parachuted into the WBA ratings at No 3. Cuenca vs. Troyanovsky Troyanovsky retains his IBO title and wins the IBF title from Cuenca in an unsatisfactory ending and I guess a complaint from Cuenca’s management has already been lodged. Troyanovsky had height and reach over the champion but was unable to make much use of those edges. He kept coming forward but to say Cuenca is elusive is like saying hell is hot. The Argentinian is perpetual motion and quick. With his herky-jerky southpaw style and the combination of quick footwork and upper body movement (no wonder his nickname was originally Fred Astaire) Troyanovsky was chasing a shadow and never able to find a stationary target so was not letting his punches go. Troyanovsky kept the pressure on and managed to score with some long rights with Cuenca leaping in with quick but light punches of his own. Briefly in the third Cuenca came forward throwing punches and Troyanovsky was the one going backwards and countering. The fourth started out the same way but after Cuenca landed a quick flurry of punches Troyanovsky landed an overhand right, the best punch of the fight so far, he was able to trap Cuenca on the ropes briefly and score with some hard rights before Cuenca slipped away and urged Troyanovsky to bring it on. Again in the fifth Troyanovsky was able to force Cuenca to stand and trade and he shook the Argentinian with a sharp left hook. Cuenca was bleeding from a bruise under his right eye at the end of the round. Troyanovsky seemed to have closed the distance in the sixth getting in close trapping Cuenca on the ropes and scoring with rights. He landed a left hook and Cuenca was suddenly slower and not as confident. As Troyanovsky moved in Cuenca ducked under the Russian’s punches and then as Cuenca came up he lifted Troyanovsky off his feet and they both stumbled. Troyanovsky was able to land on his feet but Cuenca landed on the floor. There was no punch so no count. Cuenca slowly got up and went over to his corner. The impression was that the referee was asking Cuenca if he wanted to continue. Cuenca was shaking his head indicating he had a problem with his vision and looking down at his team then shaking his head at the referee. After 30 seconds of this confusion and with Cuenca showing no inclination to take steps forward as the referee was asking the referee waived the fight over. Cuenca’s team climbed into the ring pushing and remonstrating with the referee and also shouting at the ringside officials before childishly trying to force the referee to raise his hands to show that he had won the fight for Troyanovsky. It seemed to me that the referee gave Cuenca every chance to show he was ready to fight on but the Argentinian showed no inclination to do so and the referee took the right decision. Troyanovsky, 35, retains his IBO title and wins the IBF title but the controversial end soured his victory just when he seemed to be getting on top in the fight. Cuenca, 34, will feel an injustice has been done. There may have been a language problem between the Argentinian and the American referee but Dick Field has refereed close to 200 fights including 13 world title fights and I feel he got this one right. Afolabi vs. Chakhkiev Afolabi survives frantic start by champion Chakhkiev to win the IBO title. The Russian started in his usual wild fashion with thudding shots to the body with Afolabi taking centre ring and pushing out his jab but not being able to keep Chakhkiev out. A clash of heads in the second had Chakhkiev dabbing his forehead over his left eye and he suffered a small cut on his left eyelid. Afolabi then rocked the Russian with a left hook but Chakhkiev took over with a furious attack lunging in with huge looping punches and loading up on every shot. The effort seemed to tire Chakhkiev and he hardly threw a punch over the last minute of the round. Chakhkiev’s work rate dropped dramatically in the third and Afolabi was forcing the Russian back with a stiff jab. A clash of heads saw Afolabi turn away pawing at the area over his left eye and the referee stopped the action to have the doctor look at a cut over the Londoner’s eye. When the action resumed Chakhkiev rumbled forward with a salvo of big swings and looked to have Afolabi in trouble before the bell. The fourth round was Afolabi’s. Again Chakhkiev’s work rate dropped to almost zero with Afolabi not throwing many punches but coming forward and doing what clean scoring there was. In the fifth Chakhkiev looked sold out and as he lunged in a short right from Afolabi sent the Russian sideward and down. The referee decided it was a push and did not apply a count. Chakhkiev stumbled forward throwing punches but Afolabi met him with a crunching left cross and a short right which saw Chakhkiev fall face first to the canvas. He managed to turn himself over but that was it and he was still prone when the referee completed the count. “Kryptonite” Afolabi has twice been WBO interim champion but in two fights for the full title he lost a disputed unanimous decision and a majority decision to Marco Huck when both verdicts could have gone his way. It looked as though his last chance might have gone after he lost a close decision to Victor Ramirez in April for the interim IBF title but now he is a full champion. Southpaw Chakhkiev, 32, was making the first defence of his IBO title but had punched himself out after three rounds and was exhausted by the finish which puts a big question over his conditioning. Durodola vs. Kudryashov Durodola springs huge upset as he stops Kudryashov. The Nigerian came out for the first firing a barrage of hooks catching the Russian “Hammer” by surprise. Kudryashov let the storm subside and then staggered Durodola with a left hook that drove Durodola to the ropes. Kudryashov then unleashed a barrage of hooks to head and body driving Durodola around the ropes. Durodola was countering when he could and Kudryashov was wide open but again staggered Durodola with a left hook. At the bell Kudryashov was showing a swelling under his right eye. Kudryashov was again landing hard shots in the second but Durodola was blocking many and throwing bombs of his own. Kudryashov was trying to overwhelm Durodola with hooks but was walking onto hard overhand rights. Two rights sent Kudryashov into the ropes and Durodola landed some hard head punches. Initially Kudryashov got off the ropes but was on wobbly legs and Durodola drove him back to the ropes and was unloading with both hands and with nothing coming back the referee stopped the fight. The Kansas City-based 35-year-old “Gods Power” Durodola had blown his other big fight by being floored and losing a wide decision against Thabiso Mchunu in January last year. He had won four low level fights since then but was still somehow ranked No 4 by the WBC. Now he has won the WBC Silver title and with Kudryashov rated No 2 and No 3 Chakhkiev losing he is almost assured of a WBC title fight in 2016. Kudryashov, 30, had won all of his previous fights by KO/TKO with only four of those fights going past the fourth round. Here he fought a dumb fight just walking forward wide open and paid the price. He was rated WBC 2/WBA 3/WBO 5/IBF 8(6) but has blown those ratings and even the EBU No 6 ratings looks over generous. Murzabekov vs. Bogere One of only two poor matches on this otherwise excellent show saw Russian Murzabekov dispose of over-matched Ugandan Bogere in three rounds. “Little Tyson” was looking to end this early but Bogere showed some good technique and got through the first round and most of the second before a left hook put him down just before the bell. It was all over in the third as Murzabekov floored Bogere twice and then landed another left hook to put the Ugandan down and out. The little 25-year-old Russian wins the vacant IBO International title and gets his sixth win by KO/TKO. He is rated in the EBU EE-EU ratings at No 5 but is not in the EBU top 16 yet. Second loss by KO/TKO for Bogere but this was only his third fight in two years. Bivol vs. Junior Russian prospect Bivol makes light work of more experienced Brazilian Junior. Bivol made a confident start showing a ramrod jab and some quick combinations with Junior a static target and too slow to counter. In the second Bivol displayed a variety of jabs, hooks and uppercuts with Junior mostly hiding behind a high guard but occasionally throwing some quick counters. At the end of the round Bivol took Junior to the ropes and landed two straight rights and a left to the chin that sent Junior slumping to the canvas. The Brazilian was up at four and the bell went as the referee completed the eight count. The third was one-sided as Bivol flashed jabs, straight rights and left hooks through Junior’s guard although the Brazilian scored with his best two punches, a hook and an uppercut as the round ended. Bivol ended it in the fourth. As Junior moved in Bivol landed a short right which sent Junior down. He got up quickly but just shook his head during the count and the referee stopped the fight. The 24-year-old Kyrgyzstan-born Russian showed some good touches. He has good amateur pedigree having twice been World Cadet Champion and also a gold medallist at the European Cadet championships and a bronze medal winner at the European Juniors as well as twice being Russian champion. One to watch. Junior, 29, has a typical Brazilian record padded with home victories. This is his fourth loss to a Russian fighter with his other conquerors being Vasyl Lepikhin, Chakhkiev and Egor Mekhontsev. The ND was originally a four round stoppage loss to Umberto Savigne but the Cuban tested positive for a banned substance. November 5 Tokyo, Japan: Fly: Takuya Kogawa (25-4) W PTS 10 Tetsuma Hayashi (25-4-2). Kogawa holds onto Japanese title with unanimous decision over former victim Hayashi. The fight started badly for Kogawa as a right from Hayashi in the first round put the champion down. Kogawa was not badly hurt and boxed his way out of trouble. He then took over the fight sweeping the next four rounds to be in front 48-46 on all three cards at the end of the fifth round. The fight was more competitive over the last five rounds with Kogawa’s work rate dropping but he was still out boxing the challenger. Hayashi knew he needed a knockout and put up a big effort in the last but Kogawa has never been stopped and he was still there at the final bell a clear winner. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94. The 30-year-old former WBC title challenger lost to Pongsaklek Wonjongkam for the WBC title in 2011and to Yodmongkol in March last year for the interim WBA title. He is in his second reign as JBC champion. He is rated No 12 by the WBC so another title shot is possible but unlikely. Hayashi, the JBC No 1 has now lost in three shots at the national title twice to Kogawa and also to Suguru Muranaka in April this year. Washington, DC, USA: Welter: Jamie Herrera (13-3-1) W PTS 10 Javier Flores (12-1,1ND). Herrera wins the vacant WBC USNBC title with unanimous decision over Flores. There was plenty of action in this one as pressure from Herrera was forcing southpaw Flores to stand and trade. In most rounds it was a trial of strength as they stood right in front of each other and just flailed away with hooks and uppercuts to head and body from both hands. When he chose to fight on the outside Herrera was able to get home with his left jab and straight rights but he was just as happy in the pocket exchanging. Flores scored his share of thudding body punches but Herrera outworked the Puerto Rican on the inside and was a clear winner where both fighters came out with some credit. Herrera had a run of 5 wins culminating his biggest win so far a stoppage in August last year of former IBF title contender Mike Jones, a result that sent Jones into retirement. Next time out in December he was crushed in two rounds by Egidijus Kavaliauskas but in June he was unlucky in having to settle for a draw against unbeaten Canadian prospect Steve Butler. Flores, 29, had an extensive amateur grounding but had not really been tested as a pro. November 6 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Middle: Antoine Douglas (19-0-1) W TKO 4 Les Sherrington (35-8). Welter: Taras Shelestyuk (13-0) W PTS 10 Aslanbek Kozaev (26-2-1). Welter: Keenan Smith (9-0) W PTS 8 Ben Whitaker (10-2). Douglas vs. Sherrington Douglas impresses as he destroyed a suddenly old looking Sherrington. In the first round Douglas was short with a right but then threaded home a left jab and sent a straight right through Sherrington’s guard. It put the Australian down but landed half on the chin and half on the shoulder reducing the effect and Sherrington was up immediately. Douglas continued to pressure but at one point Sherrington wrestled him to the floor and the Australian made it through the round. Sherrington was on the floor in the second as he looked to have walked into a counter short right as he tried to get inside but the referee ruled it a slip. The round did feature a genuine knockdown as Sherrington stumbled back to the ropes after being clipped with a left hook and Douglas followed up with a series of punches and Sherrington slid down to his knees. Again he was up quickly but seemed to have no punch resistance. In the third a short left hook from Douglas again saw Sherrington dumped on his rear but again he was up quickly and did not seem badly hurt. Later in the round a right from Douglas put the Aussie on the floor again. As with the knockdown in the first round the blow landed half on the shoulder and half on the chin and Sherrington rose and was able to continue. In the fourth Douglas forced Sherrington the ropes and banged home some body shots with Sherrington slumping to the floor and the referee waived the fight off. The 23-year-old from Virginia wins the vacant WBA and WBO International titles and gets his twelfth win by KO/TKO. He fought a majority draw with Michel Soro in July last year and some saw it as a disappointing result but since then Soro has halted both Glen Tapia (23-1) and Emanuele Blandamura (23-1) and in retrospect that has to seem Douglas’s beat performance so far. He team has been confident enough to put him in since with Thomas Lamanna (16-0) and Istvan Szili (18-0-2). He is rated WBA 9/WBO 11/IBF 14(13) and is ready to move up in class. Sherrington, 33, really seemed to go over too easily and found Douglas just too quick for him. Sherrington has five losses by KO/TKO but in fairness four of those losses came in his first 14 fights and over his next 28 fights one loss was due to a broken leg and the other was against Sam Solomon who won the WBA title in his next fight. Shelestyuk vs. Kozaev Shelestyuk overcomes a slow start to outpoint Kozaev. Over the first three rounds Shelestyuk struggled to keep Kozaev on the outside . The tall Ukrainian had big edges in height and reach but his jab was not snapping out and Kozaev was able to get inside and work the body. Shelestyuk was scoring with counters as Kozaev came forward but not stopping the Russian. From the third southpaw Shelestyuk started to put more power into his jab and move more giving him space for leverage. From that point he was able to boss the fight forcing Kozaev back and banging through now more damaging jabs and straight lefts. He opened a cut over Kozaev’s left eye and only a good chin kept Kozaev in the fight. The Russian tried to push forward to cut down the Ukrainian’s big lead but Shelestyuk’s reach advantage and slick movement gave Kozaev no chance to turn things around. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91. The 29-year-old Shelestyuk wins the vacant WBA Inter-Continental and WBO NABO titles. He has great amateur credentials in the shape of Ukrainian national titles in 2009/2010 and 2011 a gold medal at the World Championships and bronze medals at both the European Championships and the 2012 Olympics. This was his first ten round fight and his first real test and he came through in style after a stuttering start. After winning his first 23 fights Kozaev fought a creditable draw with David Avanesyan in 2013 but lost by a large margin against Ray Robinson in February 2012. This was his first fight for 18 months. Smith vs. Whitaker Smith gets unanimous decision but the scores do not do justice to Whitaker. The undefeated southpaw from Philadelphia made the better start and had youth and skill on his side but Whitaker fought hard to make every round close and seemed to get the better of the middle rounds. A clash of heads in the sixth saw Smith suffer a bad cut and that seemed to give Whitaker an edge but Smith banged back to floor Whitaker in the seventh which swung things his way. Scores 78-74 twice and 79-73 which in no way mirrored what many saw as a very close fight. Smith, 25, a former World Cadet Championship’s competitor and former NGG champion was fighting over eight rounds for the first time. Texan Whitaker, 31, had gone eight rounds in winning each of his last three fights. Trois-Rivieres, Canada: Super Middle: Schiller Hyppolite (17-1) W RTD 2 Victor Palacios (12-11-2). Super Light: Mike Gadbois (14-0-3) W PTS 8 David Campillo (10-3-1). Welter: Mian Hussain (13-0) W PTS 8 Juan A Garcia (12-2-2). Super Light: Ayaz Hussain (7-0) W KO 1 Sebastien Benito (11-12). Heavy: Simon Kean (1-0) W KO 1 Balazs Bodo (1-1). Hyppolite vs. Palacios Easy win for Hyppolite as Mexican veteran retires after two rounds. The Haitian-born Canadian edged the first round as he wanted to see what Palacios brought to the table. It was not much and in the second Hyppolite was chasing Palacios down following the retreating Mexican from corner to corner and slamming home hooks from both hands. Palacios was ducking and diving but getting caught time and again with hard head punches and at the end of the round decided he had taken enough punishment and retired. The 29-year-old “Batman” the WBC No 7, makes it 12 wins since losing on points against Francy Ntetu in 2012. Palacios, 36 drops to six losses by KO/TKO. Gadbois vs. Campillo Gadbois forced to fight hard to get the decision over Campillo .Gadbois was pressed all the way as Campillo lived up to his “Iron” nickname and just kept marching forward. The Canadian’s main weapon was his southpaw right hook and it was that punch that helped him create some space and edge the rounds but Campillo was never out of the fight. Scores 79-74, 78-74 and 77-75. The 28-year-old “L’Unique” was coming off a creditable ten round draw with fellow-Canadian Steve Wilcox for the WBC International Silver title but two majority draws in 2013 with low level opposition were poor results. Campillo, 28, had lost only one of his last eleven fights and provided a good test. Hussain vs. Garcia Hussain makes a good start but in the end has to settle for a wide unanimous verdict. “Superman” was on the verge of a knockout win in the second round but just could not finish his Mexican opponent. After that the talented Canadian was trying to get an inside the distance win and not working his opening which made the fight harder than it needed to be. Scores 79-71 twice and 80-70. The 25-year-old southpaw has been meeting some useful opponents and is making progress. The Canadian No 3 who is of Pakistani lineage was Canadian amateur champion and won a bronze medal at the PanAmerican Games losing to Oscar Molina in the semi-finals. Garcia was 9-0-1 in his last 10 fights. Hussain vs. Benito Ayaz made it a double for the Hussain family as he blew away Frenchman Benoit in 62 seconds. The 24-year-old “La Machine” a former Canadian amateur champion like his brother, has 5 wins by KO/TKO including a useful victory over Miguel Antoine (17-2-1). Second loss inside the distance in less than a month for Benito but the other was a retirement and he was not suspended. Kean vs. Bodo In front of his home fans Olympian Kean gets his pro career off to a quick start as he halts overmatched Hungarian in the first round. Kean had Bodo down three times before the fight was stopped. The 24-year-old 6’5” Canadian was close to having a leg amputated after an off-road vehicle accident in 2009 but confounded the doctors by recovering and going back to boxing. He was twice Canadian champion, competed at the 2012 Olympics where he beat Tony Yoka (now the World Amateur Champion) but lost to Ivan Dychko. He failed to medal at the Pan American Games in Toronto in July losing 2-1 to American Cam Awesome so has turned pro. Hungarian Bodo no sort of test. Frankfurt, Germany: Cruiser: Mairis Briedis (18-0) W TKO 2 Laszlo Hubert (41-17-1). Super Welter: Gerome Quigley (11-0) W TKO 1 Vito Vendetta (11-2-1). Heavy: Evgenios Lazaridis (9-0) W PTS 10 Boris Estenfelder (6-1-1) Briedis vs. Hubert A walk in the park for Breidis as he lets Hubert last into the second round. The Riga fighter could have ended it in the first as he scored three knockdowns. The first came with a combination inside the first minute the second from a light cuffing right to the head late in the round with Hubert very reluctantly getting up at nine and the third was a right uppercut inside but Briedis was pulling his punches at this stage. The shambles was worsened in that the round went 42 seconds over the three minutes. Briedis looked more purposeful in the second round but again Hubert was not set on taking too much punishment. A right from Breidis which landed just behind Hubert’s left ear brought the first knockdown and the second came from a right counter as Hubbert was actually coming forward and throwing some punches. The referee stopped the fight after the second knockdown but this was close to a farce. The 30-year-old from Latvia was back down to his real weight after a sensation kayo of world rated heavyweight Manuel Charr in August. He has 15 wins by KO/TKO and is rated WBC 8/WBO 10 at cruiser so a title chance seems a long way off. Hungarian southpaw Hubert, 40, has suffered 16 of his 17 losses by KO/TKO. Quigley vs. Vendetta Maryland’s Quigley wins the vacant IBA Inter-Continental title with first round stoppage of German. Vendetta came out swinging. He was rushing forward head down throwing wild hooks and Quigley was taken out of stride and forced to cover up. Vendetta kept swinging and then bundled Quigley to the canvas. The referee rightly ruled it a slip. Again the wild attacks of Vendetta had Quigley too busy defending himself and he was given a warning for holding. Finally Quigley cracked home a body shot and drove Vendetta back. A right to the head made Vendetta’s legs wobble and a left hook and a right cross sent Vendetta head first into the ropes and he tumbled down on his back. He tried to get up fell over again and managed to get to his feet at the second attempt but almost fell over and the referee stopped the fight. It is a bit difficult to label Quigley a prospect at 32 but when he finally managed to get off some punches he had speed and power. He has 10 wins by KO/TKO and this is his second fight in Germany and second win inside a round. Vendetta, 34, was born and lives in Frankfurt but is known as the “Italian Stallion” although he fought more like an enraged bull here. His record has been built against low level opposition with his last three victims having combined records of 11-106! Lazaridis vs. Estenfelder Lazaridis wins the vacant IBA Inter-Continental title with win over German Estenfelder. The Greek had lots of trouble with the all-out aggressive crude approach of the much bigger and stronger Estenfelder who constantly marched forward behind a high guard. The German looked on the point of over whelming Lazaridis a couple of times. Lazaridis only took control from the eighth as Estenfelder slowed but the Greek did not seem to have done enough to get the unanimous decision. Lazaridis, 27 and 6’5” (198cm) tall fought his first 5 pro fights in 5 different countries but is now based in Germany. He failed to make it to the 2012 Olympics being eliminated at the European Qualifier. Frankfurt native Estenfelder, 28, had only six four round fights and one six round going into this fight. Los Angeles, CA, USA: Welter: Martin Honorio (33-9-1) W PTS 10 Miguel A Huerta (28-14-1). Super Bantam: Joet Gonzalez (12-0) W KO 3 Marcos Rios (12-0-1). Honorio vs. Huerta Honorio gets revenge for a previous loss as he outpoints Huerta in all-Mexican clash. They were both looking to trade from the outset but Honorio’s work rate and accuracy enabled him to build up a lead. Southpaw Huerta tried hard to close the gap and had some success but in the end Honorio was a clear winner. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93. Honorio, 35, was having his first fight since taking a solid beating from Antonio Orozco in May 2014. Before that he climbed off the floor twice when losing a majority verdict to Juan Carlos Salgado for the IBF super feather title in April 2012 and dropped a decision against Algenis Mendez in an IBF eliminator in July 2012. When he and Huerta met in the early stages of both careers Huerta won the decision. Huerta, 35 took almost 5 years out after losing to Mike Alvarado in 2008 and had lost 3 of 4 tough fights since returning. Gonzalez vs. Rios Gonzalez marches on and looks a good prospect. Gonzalez was too quick for Rios and came close to ending it in the first when he put the Mexican down with a right to the jaw. Rios got and survived the round. Gonzalez was going to the body in the second and despite trying to fight back hard Rios was in over his head. Gonzalez ended it in the third. A left hook to the body dropped Rios and although he made it to his feet and tried to fight his way out of trouble another left hook put him down and this time he did not get up. The 22-year-old from Los Angeles has found his power. He won only one of his first six fights by KO/TKO but has now scored five wins by KO/TKO in his last six fights. He was a silver medal winner at the NGG’s but lost out at the US Trials for the 2012 Olympics. First fight outside of Tijuana for Rios who had only once been in a fight scheduled for more than four rounds and it showed. Junin, Argentina: Super Welter: Juan M Bonanni (28-6-3) W PTS 10 Luis A Moreno (18-11-5). Bonanni pleases his hometown fans with win over Moreno but takes no chances. The FAB No 2 settled for using his jab and better skills to control the fight on the outside but whilst his one-paced defence minded approach won him the fight it also meant that some rounds were closer than they should have been. Bonanni won the unanimous decision but no judge gave him more than five rounds. Scores 98-96 ½, 98-97 and 96-94. Bonanni has now won 8 of his last 9 fights. He beat Moreno on points back in January last year. Moreno is now 2-10 in his last 12 fights. Tapiales, Argentina: Super Bantam: Leandro D Esperante (14-5) W TKO 2 Ernesto Franzolini (5-5-1). Esperante again shows his punching power with stoppage of Franzolini. After taking the first round Esperante banged home a left hook to the body and followed that with an uppercut. Franzolini went down and although he just made it to his feet he was in no condition to continue. After a rocky start to his career the 26-year-old Esperante is 10-2 in his last 12 fights with the losses both being questionable. He lost a majority decision to Fabian O Orozco (23-3-2) for the Argentinian title in September last year and despite scoring a knockdown lost a split decision to former WBO bantam champion Paulus Ambunda for the vacant IBO title in Namibia in August. He has 11 wins by KO/TKO. Second loss inside the distance for prelim fighter Franzolini. November 7 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Welter: Tim Bradley (33-1-1,1ND) W TKO 9 Brandon Rios (33-3-1). Feather: Vasyl Lomachenko (5-1) W KO 10 Romulo Koasicha (25-5). Middle: Ryota Murata (8-0) W PTS 10 Gunnar Jackson (22-7-3). Feather: Miguel Marriaga (21-1) W PTS 8 Guillermo Avila (15-5). Super Light: Mike Reed (17-0) W KO 7 Rondale Hubbert (10-4-1). Welter: Egidijus Kavaliauskas (10-0) W TKO 1 Jake Giuriceo (17-5-1). Bradley vs. Rios Bradley retains his WBO welter title with stoppage of Rios. To a large extent this ceased to be a contest when Rios failed to make the weight at the first attempt and then put on 28lbs by fight time. Bradley was too quick and accurate for the sluggish Rios from the first bell. Fighting for the first time under his new trainer Teddy Atlas Bradley did not really seem to have changed much but he did look sharper and showed some more movement than in the past. The fight was one-sided with Bradley able to score with a whole range of punches against Rios who just walked onto the punishment. Defence has never been a strong point for Rios but this time it seemed to be missing altogether. Rios had his best round in the second when he was able to work inside and had a good spell in the third as he ploughed forward but Bradley was moving around Rios creating angles and countering quickly and accurately and Rios was going to struggle to win a round let alone the fight. Nevertheless Rios kept trying to get inside but was just not working hard when he did do so and his corner were pleading with him to let his hands go more. He could not get past or away from Bradley’s left jab and his punches were ending up where Bradley had been and not where he was Rios tried to up his pace in the eighth but Bradley was peppering him with jabs and then banging home quick combinations with Rios just not able to get close enough to do any scoring of his own. Rios started the ninth again coming forward and trying to get Bradley to stand and trade but Bradley was smothering any work Rios tries to do on the inside. Bradley hurt Rios with a left uppercut and then jerked his head back with two more. They started to maul and this time it was Rios holding on. You sensed that he had taken enough he was just going through the motions was gassed out and not punching back. Bradley landed a left hook to the body that drove Rios along the ropes and then a right and a left to the body which had Rios on his way down with a shot from Bradley clipping him on the chin on the way. He made it to his feet but had nothing left. When the fight recommenced Bradley took Rios to a corner and although Rios looked to be blocking the punches he was finished and slumped to the floor with the referee stopping the fight. The 32-year-old “Desert Storm” needed an impressive win after his draw with Diego Chaves and a less than scintillating victory over Jessie Vargas. He looked back to his best. His mandatory challenger is Sadam Ali which might be a hard sell and Bradley would love another shot at Pacquiao. Rios announced his retirement after the fight. The 29-year-old never recaptured the form he had as a lightweight. He was a lucky winner when Diego Chaves fouled his way out of a fight he was winning and both he and Mike Alvarado looked shop-worn when Rios won their fight in January. It remains to be seen whether he will stay retired. although wins over Lomachenko vs. Koasicha As expected Lomachenko was a class or two above Koasicha and battered the Mexican to defeat in ten one-sided rounds. To some extent Lomachenko was content to put on a boxing class as he out boxed the one0dimensional Koasicha. The Ukrainian was equally happy going forward or fighting on the back foot and constantly switched angles so that Koasicha could never be quite sure where the next punch was coming from. He kept Koasicha on the back foot pressing the action slipping and blocking the punches from Koasicha and then slotting home right jabs and quick combinations. Koasicha kept trying to get on the front foot stabbing out his jab and stepping up but whenever he did Lomachenko would make an adjustment and right jabs sharp uppercuts and crafty hooks would have Koasicha retreating again. It was obvious that Lomachenko was not looking to end this early but instead to showcase his talents and some of his punches were fast but not full power. There was nothing Koasicha could do to change the flow of the fight. He was too slow to try to counter punch and could not compete with the accuracy and variety of the Ukrainian’s attacks. You sensed that this fight would end when Lomachenko decided to end it. Koasicha’s work rate started to drop for the simple reason that every time he threw a punch he left a gap and Lomachenko was slamming home counters. From the seventh Koasicha was spending more and more time on the ropes as Lomachenko hunted him down increasing the pressure and even winding up his left before throwing the punch. Koasicha stayed in there taking the punishment and throwing enough punches of his own to justify the fight continuing but not for much longer. A left uppercut had Koasicha hurt in the ninth and the Mexican backed off with Lomachenko now looking for the finish. Koasicha actually did quite well at the start of the tenth sticking out his jab and landing with a series of hooks but after the one minute mark he was unable to get off the ropes as Lomachenko was letting go with both hands. Lomachenko landed a couple of long lefts to the body which visibly hurt Koasicha and had him bending at the waist and another long left to the body put him down. His face was a mass of bumps and bruises from Lomachenko’s punches and he rightly saw no point in continuing and was counted out. The 27-year-old Ukrainian southpaw was making the second defence of his WBO title and on this form it is difficult to see who can beat him at feather. Koasicha, 24, did his best. He showed guts to take punishment for ten rounds. He was also outclassed by current IBF champion Lee Selby for the WBC International title in May last year but went the full twelve rounds but there was no way he was going to take what Lomachenko was handing out for that long. Murata vs. Jackson Murata gets unanimous verdict over New Zealander Jackson. Murata had the edge in speed and skill and was able to outbox Jackson most of the way. The Japanese fighter targeted the body and seemed to be breaking Jackson down but Jackson banged back enough to be competitive and steal some rounds. However it was a comfortable win for Murata over a competent but limited opponent. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93. The 29-year-old Olympic gold medallist Murata seemed to have temporarily stalled as this is his only his second fight in almost a year but he should be more active in 2016. As an amateur he twice walked away from boxing but he won’t be doing that in the pro ranks. He is rated IBF 5(4)/WBC 5/WBO 5/WBA 14. Jackson, 29, keeps his record of not losing inside the distance but he was outclassed by Kerry Hope in June so a safe fight for Murata. Marriaga vs. Avila Colombian Marriaga returns with a win as he takes every round against Mexican Avila. “The Scorpion” did a lot of stinging as Marriaga’s accurate punches had Avila’s face like a relief map of the Rockies but Avila stuck to his task. The Colombian was hampered by a hand injury but breezed to victory. Scores 80-72 from all three judges. Marriaga, 29, climbed off the floor to go the distance with Nicolas Walters for the WBA secondary title in June when the Jamaican came in overweight and lost the title on the scales. Avila is 4-4 in his last 8 fights. Reed vs. Hubbert Reed gets another win as he halts late replacement Hubbard. The classy Maryland southpaw was in charge in every round as he took Hubbert apart. A right in the seventh floored Hubbert who struggled to beat the count. Reed cut loose with a barrage of punches and with nothing coming back from Hubbert the fight was stopped. The 22-year-old “Yes Indeed” Reed a former NGG champion has 10 wins by KO/TKO but no really threatening opposition so far. Hubbert was unbeaten in his first 11 fights but is 1-4 in his last 5. Kavaliauskas vs. Giuriceo Lithuanian Kavaliauskas needed just one overhand right to put Giuriceo down and out. The 27-year-old Kavaliauskas is a 2008 and 2012 Olympian and a World Championships bronze medallist. He has now won 9 contests in a row by KO/TKO and looks a top prospect. Ohioan “Bull” Giuriceo has lost 5 of his last 6 fights but went the distance with the now WBC champion Viktor Postol in April. Monte Carlo, Monaco: Welter: David Avanesyan (21-1-1) W TKO 9 Charlie Navarro (25-8). Bantam: Zhanat Zhakiyanov (26-1) W PTS 12 Yonfrez Parejo (17-2-1). Cruiser: Youri Kayembre Kalenga (22-2) W KO 9 Roberto F Bolonti (36-5,1ND). Super Light: Ruslan Provodnikov (25-4) W TKO 4 Jesus P Alvarez Rodriguez (14-1). Super Bantam: Jun Qiu Xiao (19-2) W TKO 11 Amor Belahdj Ali (14-4-1,1ND). Avanesyan vs. Navarro Avanesyan wins the vacant WBA interim title with stoppage of Navarro. This was an excellent match up of two boxers with good technical skills and punching power. Both started cautiously trying to get their jab established and fire off quick punches trying to get in land and get out with the result that it was a good boxing match but there were few sustained exchanges. Avanesyan was switching effortlessly between orthodox and southpaw and looked to have the quicker hands but Navarro had a stiff jab and was letting go with vicious body punches. Avanesyan had a good fifth round as he shook Navarro with a hard combination and the Venezuelan was then deducted a point for a very low right hook. Avanesyan ended the round with another sharp combination. There was some good exchanges and some farce in the sixth. Navarro managed to pin Avanesyan on the ropes and worked the body in the first sustained exchange and Avanesyan was lucky not to injure himself when he slipped on water in Navarro’s corner. The referee ordered Navarro’s second to mop up the water. Avanesyan banged back and then farcically Navarro slipped twice more in the same corner. Avanesyan took charge in the seventh. He was still constantly switching guard and Navarro was having difficulty dealing with the tactic. Avanesyan was coming forward and he shook Navarro with two hard lefts from his southpaw stance and he landed a choice uppercut at the end of the round. In the eighth Navarro seemed to be drifting out of the fight he was letting Avanesyan dictate the action and the Russian was stalking the retreating Venezuelan and was well on top. In the ninth Navarro tried to come forward and had some success but then Avanesyan clipped him with a right. Navarro was shaken and as he tried to take the fight to the Russian Avanesyan banged home a right uppercut and a straight left which sent Navarro back to the ropes. A thumping left to the body and a right to the head saw Navarro slump down to a sitting position on the bottom rope and he sat there pawing at his left eye. The referee started the count and although Navarro got up he then walked away towards his corner still dabbing at his left eye and the fight was over. As the doctor examined Navarro there was blood leaking out of his left eye socket. The 27-year-old Russian lost to future IBF super feather title challenger Andre Klimov in only his second pro fight so is on an unbeaten run of 20 wins and a draw with Aslanbek Kozaev, His opposition has not been strong but he showed plenty of skill and power and his constant guard switches will give others problems the way it did Navarro. The 36-year-old Venezuelan has only lost to very good opposition and registered a big win in June last year when he knocked out Alberto Mosquera (21-0-2). He is a quality fighter. Zhakiyanov Perez Zhakiyanov deservedly wins the interim WBA title with split decision over champion Perez that should have been unanimous. From the first bell to the last it was Ricky Hatton’s little Kazak who was making the fight. “ZZ” just kept tracking Perez around the ring with the Venezuelan never really taking the offensive. Perez had a reach advantage and was quick with both hands and feet but Zhakiyanov kept hunting him down and unleashing hooks to the body whenever he managed to catch the Venezuelan on the ropes. Both were smart in the way they applied their tactics. Zhakiyanov was relentless in his pursuit but too often when he did get Perez to stand and trade the Venezuelan was holding and he was warned for the offence a number of times over the last four rounds. They were both doing quality work Perez with an educated jab and hooks to the body and Zhakiyanov cleverly cutting off the ring and accurate and hurtful with his hooks. Zhakiyanov had a good ninth when he had Perez hurt and in confused retreat but Perez had returned to his skilful counter-punching by the tenth. Zhakiyanov had been the aggressor throughout and deserved the decision on that basis alone but he also landed the harder punches and for me was a clear winner in a good quality little fight. Scores 116-113 and 115-113 for Zhakiyanov and 116-112 for Perez. The 31-year-old Zhakiyanov has won 21 fights in a row. By lasting the distance Perez stopped Zhakiyanov’s current streak of wins by KO/TKO at 12. With Perez refusing to get involved in any toe-to-toe exchanges it was hard for Zhakiyanov to show his full quality but there is no one he should fear in the bantam division. Perez, who was making his first title defence, showed silky skills but he just did not do enough to deserve to hold onto the title. Kalenga vs. Bolonti Kalenga show frightening power as he crushes brave Bolonti. From the start Kalenga was dominating the action with stiff jabs and vicious rights with Bolonti trying to bang back but being forced most of the time to cover up under Kalenga’s studied violence. The second saw Bolonti trapped on the ropes with Kalenga unloading but Bolonti fought back with some counters of his own. The third was a big round for the DRC fighter. A left clipped Bolonti on the side of the head and he fell backwards into the ropes and down. He was up immediately and did not seem badly hurt. Later in the round as they traded a right from Kalenga landed just behind the ear of Bolonti and sent him crashing down. Again he was up quickly but badly shaken. Through the fourth and fifth Kalenga was stalking Bolonti and loading up with every punch but the Argentinian kept in the fight firing back when he could. Kalenga continued to come forward with a tiring Bolonti trying to tie the DRC fighter up whenever he could and his desperation showed in the seventh and eighth as he was deducted a point in each round for careless use of the head. Kalenga was a bit wild with some of his punches when in the ninth both were swinging and missing with hooks but after missing badly with a right Kalenga leapt forward with a thunderous left to the head. Bolonti went down heavily with his head ending up supported on the bottom rope. The referee started to count but realised that Bolonti was finished and needed immediate attention so waived the fight over. The 27-year-old Kalenga, a former interim WBA champion makes it 15 wins by KO/TKO. Kalenga won the interim WBA title with a win over Mariusz Masternak and defended it was a spectacular last round victory over Denton Daley. Those wins earned him a fight with Denis Lebedev for the full WBA title in April where both fighters were on the floor but Kalenga lost a unanimous decision. He is strong and has tremendous punching power. His only current rating is No 9 with the WBA but he is a real danger to anyone in the division. Bolonti, 36 gets his first loss by KO/TKO. He has done most of his fighting at light heavy where he was beaten by Tony Bellew and also by Juergen Brahmer for the secondary WBA light heavy title. He had a home win in July where he weighed 174 ¾ lbs lost a wide decision to Danny Green in August where he was 186 ¾ lbs and for this he was a fleshy 197 2/3 lbs. Provodnikov vs. Rodriguez Provodnikov takes his time but when he gets serious he quickly gets rid of Mexican novice. Hardly a punch was thrown in anger in the first round as Provodnikov stalked Rodriguez around the ring. The Mexican never came of the ropes and really only pushed out his jab being more intent on movement than scoring points. Provodnikov managed to land a couple of long rights but that was it. Rodriguez tried a few punches early in the second with Provodnikov still stalking but keeping his powder dry. He made Rodriguez stand and trade briefly and got through with a couple of long hooks but at the end of the round he had closed the distance and got through with a left uppercut and hard long right. Provodnikov upped his work rate in the third against scoring with left hooks to the body and right to the head and forcing Rodriguez to trade. The Mexican landed a quite classy straight left right cross late in the round but Provodnikov hardly noticed them and copied those two shots but with much more effect. Provodnikov trapped Rodriguez on the ropes early in the fourth and staggered him with a right cross. The Mexican stumbled back along the ropes and then cut losses with bludgeoning shots from both hands with Rodriguez slumping to his knees. Rodriguez was up at six and when the action recommenced Provodnikov took him to the ropes and with the Russian slamming home shots and Rodriguez sliding down the ropes the fight was stopped. Too easy for the 31-year-old former WBO champion Russian but no one can grudge an easy night now and then. Rodriguez showed some nice touches but there was a huge gap in class like sending someone out to fight a rhino with a pea shooter. Jun vs. Ali Jun retains the WBC Silver title with late stoppage of too brave Ali. Southpaw Ali came out firing punches trying to blow away his Chinese opponent in the first round but he was careless and a straight right from Jun put him down. In the second Ali was on top working on the inside forcing Jun to brawl and getting the better of the inside exchanges. However as in the first round he again stood in the pocket and Jun flashed out a series of hooks and uppercuts putting Ali down again. He looked more disgusted with himself than hurt and he was up quickly and they exchanged hard shots to the bell. In the fifth Jun unleashed a furious two handed attack slamming home uppercuts and hooks that had Ali’s head bouncing but the Frenchman just kept coming. Jun seemed to have punched himself out with that burst and Ali was able to get back into the groove coming forward and banging away to the body in the sixth and seventh. Jun had a good eighth at one time trapping Ali in a corner and unloading with heavy punches from both hands. In the ninth Jun suddenly started to dance around the ring just jabbing with the frustrated Ali actually appealing to the referee to tell Jun to stand and fight. A frustrated Ali left himself wide open in the tenth and was driven backwards across the ring by a stream of straight lefts and right. A final right put him down but was coming forward again by the bell. In the eleventh they were trading hard shots when a savage left hook from Jun stiffened Ali’s legs and the Chinese boxer drove Ali to the ropes and the referee stepped in to give Ali a standing count. When the action recommenced a left to the chin and straight right sent Ali down again and the fight was stopped. This was a savage battle between two low profile fighters but both deserve to be better known. Jun has done most of his fighting in China and although he did not have a sound defence the speed and power in his combinations was impressive. Ali showed, stamina, bravery and stupidity beyond the call of duty. He walked forward for three minutes of every round never stopped punching but never bothered with defence and paid for it in the end. A great little fight. Liverpool, England: Super Middle: Callum Smith (18-0) W TKO 1 Rocky Fielding (21-1). Light: Ricky Burns (39-5-1) W KO 11 Josh King (20-4). Light: Scott Cardle (19-0) W TKO 12 Sean Dodd (10-2). Middle: Tom Doran (16-0) W KO 3 Rod Smith (7-1). Smith vs. Fielding Both started out probing with their jab. Smith was short with two jabs but then landed a long right cross which staggered Fielding. He tried to duck out of trouble but a couple of hooks sent him stumbling back and down. Fielding was up at seven and tried to trade to get himself out of trouble. Instead a series of punches from Smith drove Fielding to the ropes Fielding shipped some punishment but made a couple of partially successful attempts to get back to centre ring but each time was met with hard hooks which drove him back. Fielding tried again to come forward but was clipped with right to the head which put him down. He got up but Smith jumped on him taking him to the ropes and landing long right hooks which put Fielding down again. When trying to rise he was pawing at the ropes to help himself get upright. He made it but was still very shaky and the fight was stopped. Smith’s beat and most impressive win to date. Both were known punchers but Smith got his in first and then showed cool, cruel finishing power. The 25-year-old retains his WBC Silver title and wins the vacant British title becoming the fourth member of the Smith family to win a British title. He is No 1 with the WBC so will get a shot at the title and will try to join brother Liam as a world champion although brother Stephen is hoping to beat him to it by winning a world title at super feather. Fielding, 28, had scored wins over Luke Blackledge, Noe Gonzalez Alcoba and Brian Vera and was rated IBF 5(4)/WBC 10/WBA 10 and can rebound from this and get back into contention. Burns vs. King Burns keeps his career alive with stoppage of Australian King. This was not a pretty fight but for Burns it was the result that mattered. The Scot found the crouching style of King a problem and the Australian was not short on tactics which sit just outside the rules. Burns was doing the cleaner scoring and winning the rounds but it was hard for the former double WBO champion to get any rhythm into his work. Over the first four rounds King is warned for low blows, careless use of the head and finally has a point deducted after he twice hits on the break. There was too much clinching and wrestling and Burns was guilty of forgetting his boxing and fighting inside when he did not need to. King was having some success with body punches but from the sixth the Australian seemed to tire and Burns began to box on the outside and use more body punching. So far the Scot had won every round without really dominating but in the ninth he was moving around the tiring Australian and getting through to head and body. Burns finds plenty of gaps in King’s defence in the tenth as he is slotting home jabs and body punches but he spoils his good work by being careless with his head and the referee deducts a point from the Scot. Burns opened King up with the jab in the eleventh and then a right to the head and a body punch land and King goes down on his knees and is counted out. The 32-year-old Scot wins the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title but he will have better nights and more entertaining fights hopefully. King 30, the WBO No 10 had won 17 of his last 18 fights with the loss being due to suffering a broken leg when he was knocked down in the first round against Jack Asis in 2011 but he had won 8 in a row since then. Burns was just that much higher quality than King had faced before. Cardle vs. Dodd Cardle makes a successful first defence of his British title in stirring scrap with unfancied Dodd which looked to be too close to call until the last round stoppage. Cardle was the better boxer and edged the first two rounds although it was evident that Dodd was going to give him a hard fight. As early as the second round Cardle was already showing a couple of small cuts by each eye. Cardle had an even better third as he was moving around Dodd and slotting home good jabs and wobbles Dodd with a left at the end of the round. The fourth saw Cardle cut over the left eye and Dodd has his best round so far as he gets to work inside. Dodd also looks to have taken the fifth as Cardle is now cut on the forehead and Dodd finishes the round strongly getting through with a good right late in the round. The referee had the doctor look at the cuts on Cardle’s face before the start of the sixth but the fight continues with Dodd now forcing Cardle to fight his fight and is coming out on top of the close quarters work and again getting through with rights. Somehow Cardle is cut again this time at the back of his head from a Dodd punch. Dodd takes the seventh to edge into the lead and as he is also cut there is a mess of blood about. The challenger also does enough to take the eighth and the fight seems to be slipping away from Cardle. He needs to rally and he does that in the ninth having his best round so far as he score with shots to head and body and goes back to his boxing. The tenth saw Cardle make a great start as Dodd seems to be tiring only for Dodd to get on top over the closing seconds to make it a hard round to score. The eleventh was almost a repeat with Cardle starting well but Dodd on top at the finish. It is anybody’s fight going into the last with Dodd probably just in front until Cardle nails Dodd with a big left and when a right send Dodd staggering back the referee stops the fight with just over one minute left. A controversial ending to a great little scrap. Cardle, 26, will rarely have a closer call but he did well to overcome the various cuts and find a punch to save his title. Dodd, 31, will feel he was unlucky and want a return which hopefully Cardle will give him when their cuts heal. Dodd’s other loss was to Andy Townend at super feather and he earned this title shot with a victory over Gary Buckland in September. Doran vs. Smith “Dazzlin” Doran continues to make progress but the win loses some of its dazzle as Doran comes in well over the contract weight. The fight was close over the first two rounds with both landing heavy punches. In the third Doran landed a devastating left hook to the body which put Smith down and he was unable to beat the count. The 28-year-old Welshman winner of the Prizefighter tournament in February says he know wants a shot at the British title. He put his weight problem down an injury which hindered his training. Smith, 24, was competitive over the first two rounds but is trying to form again after a spell of just one fight in 17 months. Miami, FL, USA: Welter: Kevin Bizier (25-2) W RTD 10 Frederic Lawson (24-1). Super Light: Walter Castillo (26-3-1) DREW 12 Keita Obara (15-1-1). Welter: Breidis Prescott (29-7) W PTS 8 Claudine Lacerda (17-12-1). Feather: Yaundale Evans (18-1) W TKO 1 Miguel Del Valle (10-23 ). Bizier vs. Lawson Bizier puts himself in line for a shot at Kell Brook with stoppage of Lawson. Both fighters started out with range finders and Bizier’s was working well enough for him to hurt Lawson at the end of the first with a left hook. The Canadian was taking the fight to the unbeaten Ghanaian working the body whilst Lawson was trying to get enough power in his jab to keep Bizier at distance and give himself some room to work. The tactics seemed to be working for Lawson in the fourth but in the fifth a right to the head put Lawson down. He got up but was nailed by another right which sent him into the ropes but the Ghanaian survived. Lawson was still sticking to his jab in the sixth and seventh but was taking no chances and not trading. Bizier was still coming forward targeting the body and he was outscoring Lawson but also standing in the pocket giving the Ghanaian chances to counter. The constant pressure and the body work from Bizier saw Lawson tiring and the Canadian was well on top by the end of the tenth. During the interval Lawson’s corner summoned the doctor who felt that the Ghanaian might have a fractured jaw and the fight was over. The 31-year-old Canadian makes it 17 wins by KO/TKO. Bizier was No 5 with the IBF and Lawson No 6. With positions 1 and 2 empty No 3 Sadam Ali the mandatory WBO challenger to Tim Bradley and No 4 Diego Chaves set to fight Brook once the champion’s injury heals Bizier is well placed for a title shot in 2016 but his two split decision losses to Ionut Dan Ion, who Brook destroyed inside four rounds mean that Bizier will have to find something extra to stand a chance. Lawson,26, had useful wins over Ray Narh and Breidis Prescott but his 20 wins inside the distance mean little as the matching in Ghana is sometimes terrible and 12 of his 20 wins came against fighters who had either never had a fight or never won a fight. Despite this he is a good quality fighter and can rebound from this loss. Castillo vs. Obara Obara puts in a good performance in his first fight in the USA and looks unlucky not to take the decision. The Japanese fight showed some nice touches and good movement over the first half of the bout but Nicaraguan Castillo was scoring with some good counters and the early rounds were close but with Obara looking to have edged four of the first 5. Obara’s punches were having the bigger effect with Castillo bleeding from his lip and from a cut over his right eye in the fifth. From there Obara took control moving well around the Nicaraguan and outboxing him. Castillo had good spells in the ninth but Obara’s quicker punches were finding gaps as Castillo tried to press the fight and in the eleventh the referee stopped the fight whilst the doctor examined the cut over the right of Castillo which was affecting the Nicaragua’s vision. The fight continued with Castillo looking tired and Obara still fresh and still getting home his punches. There was another halt in the eleventh for the doctor to examine a cut on Castillo’s left ear but the fight continued to the last bell with Obara looking to have done enough to take the verdict he had outworked and outscored Castillo. One judge gave it to the Japanese fighter 115-113 but the other two each scored it 114-114. This was an IBF eliminator so the results did not work for anyone. Obara, 28, the OPBF champion, lost his first fight on a stoppage but then won 15 in a row, 14 by KO/TKO. He is No 6(4) with the IBF. Castillo, 27, is now 10-1-1 in his last 11 fights. The loss was to Amir Imam in April but he had rebounded well with a stoppage of Ammeth Diaz in July. Prescott vs. Lacerda Prescott gets a needed win as he decisions Brazilian Lacerda. Prescott was always leading in this one and looked on his way to an inside the distance win when he put Lacerda down in the third but could not finish and had to go the distance. Scores 80-72, 79-72 and 78-73. The 32-year-old Colombian levels his recent score to 4-4 in his last 8 fights. “Volcano” Lacerda, 35, is 1-6-1 in his last 8 outings. Evans vs. Del Valle Evans continues to ease his way back into action with a quick stoppage of loser Del Valle. No knockdowns but Evans trapped Del Valle in a corner and unleashed a series of hard punches with the referee saving Del Valle. The 26-year-old “Money Man” from Cleveland dropped out of the scene after a one round blow out by Javier Fortuna in April 2012 and only returned to action four months ago with a win. del Valle, 39, is 2-17 in his last 19 fights. Dublin, Ireland: Super Middle: Jamie Cox (20-0) W KO 1 Ferenc Albert (20-8). Welter: Peter McDonagh (25-28-1) W PTS 10 Dean Byrne (17-6-2). Cruiser: Ian Tims (11-3) W PTS 8 Michael Sweeney (12-4-1).Super Fly: Jamie Conlan (15-0) W TKO 4 Adrian Dimas Garzon (10-19). Middle: Vijender Singh (2-0) W TKO 1 Dean Gillen (2-1). Super Light: Jamie Kavanagh (20-1-1) W TKO 7 Oskar Fiko (14-13). Cox vs. Albert Cox continues his comeback with easy stoppage of overmatched Romanian in the first defence of his WBO European title. Southpaw Cox put Albert down with a thunderous right hook. Albert was badly shaken and another right hook put him down and out after just 68 seconds. The 29-year-old Welsh former CBC champion makes it three first round wins since returning to action after 3 ½ years out due to hand injuries. He needs tougher opposition than this to measure his future in this division but he strengthens an already strong British division. Hungarian-based Albert had won his last 10 fights against low level opposition and this is now his fourth loss by KO/TKO. McDonagh vs. Byrne McDonagh continues his recent good run with a close points victory over Byrne. Over the early rounds McDonagh showed good movement and controlled much of the action with a stiff jab. Byrne had more success in the middle rounds as he managed to draw McDonagh into trading inside but when McDonagh went back to the jab he was boss. Byrne got back into contention as they exchanged shots in an outstanding eighth but in the ninth a frustrated Byrne lost a point for a couple of fouls. McDonagh stayed out of trouble in the tenth knowing he was in front with Byrne getting the round but not the stoppage he needed. Referee’s score 97-95. McDonagh, 37, the London-based “Connemara Kid” wins the vacant Irish title. With some generous matching he has gone from a run of six losses in a row to 7-0-1 in his last 8 fights. Byrne, also London-based is a former Australian super light champion but is going in the opposite direction career-wise being 2-6-2 in his last 10 fight. Tims vs. Sweeney Tims climbs off the floor and gets second win over Sweeney in this domestic clash. This was a tough brawl with both fighters trying to use their strength to dominate. It was untidy at times with too much holding. Sweeney had the better skills and tried to use the left jab right cross approach but too often missed with the right and Tims was working just that bit harder inside. In the fourth a clash of heads seemed to momentarily have Tims hurt and Sweeney finally connected with his right which put Tims on the floor. He was up at five and when the action recommenced had to ship a couple more rights before the bell. Over the closing rounds Tims proved the stronger he had a good sixth with Sweeney continually under pressure and despite a big effort from Sweeney Tims brawled his way to a paper-thin but deserved victory. Referee’s score 76-75. The 37-year-old from Dublin had outpointed Sweeney when they met in 2011 but then lost 3 of his next four fights. He took a year off after he was stretcher from the ring after injuring his leg when he was knocked down in the first round of his fight with Paul Drago, Sweeney, 32, drops to two losses in a row after being stopped by Stephen Simmons in May. Conlan vs. Garzon Conlan blows away Argentinian loser. The Belfast “Mexican” had Garzon under pressure in the first with Garzon already only looking to survive. Hard rights and left hooks had Garzon hurt in the second and the Argentinian soaked up more heavy shots in the third. Conlan ended it in the fourth as he put Garzon down with a body shot. Garzon did well to get up but he was trapped on the ropes and not fighting back when the fight was stopped. The 29-year-old WBO No 6 makes it 9 wins by KO/TKO. Good period for the family as his brother Michael became the first Irish male boxer to win a gold medal at the World Championships in Qatar last month. Garzon 39 has now lost 9 of his last ten fights so a lamb to the slaughter. Singh vs. Gillen Indian star Singh makes it two first round wins. He was streets ahead of novice Gillen. The first time he put Gillen down the refereed ruled it a slip but two more knockdowns from hard rights and yet another right put Guillen down and out at the end of the round. The 30-year-old is India’s most successful amateur to date winning medals at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and the Olympics. The hope is he will turn out to be India’s version of Zou Shiming. Guillen had only two four round fights behind him and was no match for Singh. Kavanagh vs. Fiko Kavanagh gets late stoppage over Romanian but makes it harder than it needed to be. Kavanagh had a big edge in skill but Fiko was a rough unorthodox opponent. Kavanagh was at his best when he boxed rocking Fiko at the end of the second round. Fiko’s crude efforts to survive saw him warned for a head butt in the second and deducted a point in the third for holding as Kavanagh got into his stride. Kavanagh allowed Fiko to drag him into a brawl in the fifth and paid the price in the form of a gash over the Dubliner’s right eye. Kavanagh went back to his boxing and Fiko continued his roughhouse tactics and lost another point in the seventh again for holding. A series of punches then put the tiring Romanian down . He made it to his feet but was finished and the referee stopped the fight. Fifth win for the Los Angeles-based Kavanagh since losing to more experienced Daniel Ruiz in December 2013. Hungarian-based Fiko, 22 gets his seventh loss by KO/TKO. Milan, Italy: Welter: Antonio Moscatiello (20-2-1) W PTS 6 Sasa Janjic (5-8). This six round fight was elevated to the top of the bill when Italian Giuseppe Brischetto simply failed to show up for his EBU title fight against Hadillah Mohoumadi. The local fighter had an easy time against Janjic. The Italian champion had Janjic over a few times but the Serb kept getting up and went the full six rounds. Moscatiello’s losses have been to good quality opposition in Leonard Bundu (25-0-2) for the EBU title and Gianluca Frezza (18-2-2) for the Italian title. He is EBU No 13 and he is 6-0-1 in his last 7 fights. Janjic has lost his last 3 fights. Hidalgo, Mexico: Light: Nery Saguilan (35-4-1) W TKO 7 Carlos Cardenas (21-10-1). Light: Miguel Roman (53-11) W TKO 3 Sam Amoako (21-5). Super Feather: Edgar Monarrez (22-3-1) W PTS 10 Jesus Silveira (5-2-1). Saguilan vs. Cardenas Saguilan gives his usual colourful performance on his way to retaining his WBC USNBC title with stoppage of Venezuelan Cardenas. The local idol was a bit more focused than usual as he felt he had to make amends for a poor performance in only just edging out veteran DeMarcus Corley in August. Saguilan was always in control and had built a good lead by the end of the fourth. He scored with some good shots in the fifth and came close to ending it with some ferocious attacks in the sixth which had Cardenas badly shaken. The Venezuelan “Prophet” showed good defensive skills to make it to the bell. In the seventh Saguilan poured on the punishment and had Cardenas in deep water when the referee stopped the fight. The 27-year-old Mexican “Panther” has won eight on the bounce and is rated No 6 by the WBC. Cardenas, 31, has now lost 5 of his last 6 fights all against very tough opposition and this was his first fight since losing on points against Juan Diaz in June last year. Roman vs. Amoako “Mickey” rolls on and makes it 15 wins in a row, 12 by KO/TKO after stoppage of Ghanaian Amoako. Roman was in a different class from the tough but limited African and he landed plenty of body punches over the first two rounds with Amoako showing courage but little more. In the third a body punch put Amoako down and he could not beat the count. The 29-year-old with his 64 fights is in the tradition of Mexican boxers such as Gaspar Ortega who fought anyone anywhere . His current good run includes win over Juan Carlos Salgado, Daniel Ponce De Leon and Edgar Puente which could give him the chance to bury the memory of a fifth round kayo loss to Antonio DeMarco for the WBC light title in 2012. Former CBC title challenger Amoako was having his first fight for nearly eleven months and this is his second loss by KO/TKO. Monarrez vs. Silveira Monarrez gets unanimous decision win but was given a good test by novice Silveira before receiving the verdict. The local fighter is 7-1-1 in his last nine fights with the loss being on points against WBO title challenger Romulo Koasicha in May when a point deduction for a butt cost him a draw. Silveira was going past six rounds for the first time. Tacoma, WA, USA: Middle: Dashon Johnson (18-10-3) W TKO 9 Mike Gavronski (20-2-1). It is not always a good idea to go over old ground as Gavronski found out when he gave Johnson a return having outpointed Johnson in January. Gavronski was coming forward from the off stalking Johnson and scoring with strong jabs with Johnson content to counter. A clash of heads saw Gavronski suffer a cut to right side of his head. The scenario was repeated in the second with both rounds being close. In the third Johnson was letting his hands go more and scoring with counters on the advancing Gavronski. The fourth saw Gavronski using his jab to edge the action only for Johnson to take the fifth being quicker to the punch and loading up in his shots more. The fight continued to see-saw in the sixth with Gavronski having good spells inside and Johnson scoring with heavier shots from the outside. Johnson finished the round strongly and seemed to be getting on top. Gavronski battled back in the seventh hurting Johnson with a left but by the end of the round Johnson was landing solid punches and things were looking bad for Gavronski. Johnson was in charge in the eighth and floored Gavronski with a heavy combination. Gavronski made it to his feet and lasted to the bell but did not come out for the ninth. Johnson, 27, wins the vacant WBA NABA title. He makes a good living as a travelling loser but on his night is a real handful. He had a 2-15 run but the two wins were over unbeaten Canadian hope Adam Trupish and Scottish hope Craig McEwan and he had Dominic Wade on the floor before losing to him. Johnson had also won his last two fights. If he goes on like this the fights will dry up. No one likes a loser who wins. Local hero Gavronski, 29, can come again. Saint-Malo, France: Light Heavy: Kevin Thomas Cojean (16-7-1) W PTS 10 Hakim Chioui (30-4-1). Welter: Damien Martin (24-8-4) W PTS 8 Tobia Giuseppe Loriga (28-6-2). Cojean vs. Chioui Cojean wins the vacant French title with close unanimous decision over Chioui. These guys got down to business immediately. The rounds were close with both having good spells but Cojean doing enough to be in the lead at the half way mark. Chioui was much the bigger puncher of the two but Cojean did a good job of blocking most of Chioui’s shots but Chioui was pressing hard to close the points gap. Both fighters tired due to the heat indoors with Cojean just doing enough to hold on to his lead to the bell. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 all for local fighter Cojean. He wins the French title at the second attempt. He is an in-and-out performer and had lost on points to Schiller Hyppolite in Canada in his last fight in June. Former undefeated French champion Chioui,28, was 23-1-1 at one time with 13 wins in a row by KO/TKO but has lost a bit of edge since then and was knocked out in nine rounds by Igor Mikhalkin for the EBU title in March. Martin vs. Loriga Hometown fighter Martin gets victory in yet another close contest. The Frenchman outboxed the visitor comfortably over the first four rounds but Loriga kept pressing. A lot of his shots were being blocked by Martin but his sheer aggression earned him a niche in the fight and he staged a strong finish to claw back most, but not all, of the lead Martin established early. Scores 77-75 twice and 78-75, The 29-year-old French champion, the EU No 16, is 12-1 in his last 13 fights and he reversed the loss. Italian Loriga, 38, is 1-3 in his last 4 but gave Martin a tough night. Ludwigsburg, Germany: Cruiser: Firat Arslan (36-8-2) W KO 2 Paata Adushvili (17-10-2). Arslan beats poor Georgian and holds back Father Time to win the vacant WBC EPBC title. The experienced German southpaw boxed cautiously in the first just getting in three minutes of ring time and then cut loose in the second. Arslan scored three knockdowns from a mixture of head and body punches to end the fight. The 45-year-old German southpaw a former WBA secondary champion lost a split decision to Yoan Pablo Hernandez for the IBF title in August last year and this is second win since returning from 10 months of inactivity. He has fallen out of the ratings but I guess the WBC will reinstate him to allow a challenge against their champion Grigory Drozd with the selling point being that Arslan is the only fighter to have beaten Drozd which he did on a fifth round stoppage in 2006. Adushvili, 20, a typical Georgian record of wins at home and losses away. This is his fifth loss by KO/TKO
0 Comments
The Past Week In Action 20 October 2015
October 14 Glendale, AZ, USA: Feather: Lee Selby (22-1) W PTS 12 Fernando Montiel (54-5-2). Welter: Aaron Martinez (20-4-1) W PTS 10 Devon Alexander (26-4). Super Light: Ivan Redkach (19-1) W KO 3 Eric Martinez (11-3-1). Cruiser: Lionell Thompson (16-3) W TKO 2 Thomas Hanshaw (6-7). Super Bantam: Alexis Santiago (20-3-1) W PTS 8 Gustavo Molina (20-9). Selby vs. Montiel Selby retains his IBF title with a wide unanimous verdict over Montiel and it may be an indication of his progress that he was disappointed with his performance against a future Hall of Fame fighter, Selby edged the first outscoring Montiel but already the Mexican veteran was getting home with some meaty left hooks. The second was close with Selby working the jab and although scoring not being as accurate as usual and Montiel aggressive in spurts. Selby had a good third. He shook Montiel with a right and seemed to have scored a knockdown when Montiel’s glove brushed the canvas after another accurate right but it was ruled a slip. The fourth also went to Selby as he was able to counter effectively as Montiel tried to increase his work rate. The challenger had success in the fifth with his quick rushes inside and bunches of left hooks. Things continued to go Montiel’s way in the six. He rocked Selby with an uppercut and dug in some more left hooks and after a clash of heads Selby was showing a cut over his right eye. The seventh and eighth could have been scored for either fighter but Montiel just had the edge again on the basis of his series of left hooks. Selby then took over the fight in the ninth and tenth scoring well with rights against a tiring Montiel and although he tumbled to the canvas after missing a wild punch in the tenth he was again getting home telling rights. Montiel tried to rally in the eleventh but this time it was left hooks from Selby that caught the eye. Montiel put everything into the early part of the last until a right from Selby stopped him in his tracks. Scores 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112 all for Selby. First defence of his IBF title for Welshman Selby. The result was booed by a heavily pro-Montiel crowd but Selby was a clear winner even if some of the scoring was a bit harsh on Montiel. The 27-year-old champion was disappointed with his own performance as he was looking to make a big impression on his first USA fight and may have been trying too hard. Montiel, 36, a three-division champion, is 17-4 in world title fights so has a wealth of experience and had won his last 8 fights mainly against a good level of opposition. It could mean retirement for Montiel although the lure of a title in a fourth division may still be strong. Alexander vs. Martinez This was supposed to be a way of getting Alexander a rebuilding win but Martinez had other ideas and took a well deserved unanimous decision. Alexander started like the favourite using his better boxing and strong southpaw jab to counter the forward marching Martinez. The second was also Alexander’s but only just. From the third Martinez was walking through Alexander’s leads, putting his head on Alexander’s shoulder and working inside. The fight had changed and instead of trying to keep Martinez out or work inside Alexander started holding and wrestling and was already looking dispirited as the fight degenerated into a brawl with the crowd booing the lack of action. Alexander should have expected this type of fight as Martinez fought the same fight as he did in losing a split decision to Robert Guerrero in June. With the fight constantly in close heads were banging together and Alexander was cut over his right eye in the seventh. The cut unsettled Alexander enough for him to complain about the blood running into his eye with his trainer threatening to pull him out of the fight if he continued to complain. Martinez shook Alexander with a left hook early in the eighth and a left hook as the round ended. Mexican Martinez continued to outwork the former champion in the ninth but with a big effort getting Alexander the tenth but it was not enough. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 for Martinez. The 33-year-old Martinez had been halted in five rounds by Josesito Lopez and outpointed by Guerrero in his last two fights but this win puts him line for some good paydays. Former WBC and IBF super light and IBF welter champion Alexander, 28, was having his first fight since losing a wide unanimous verdict to Amir Khan in December. That inactivity had seen him drop out of all of the ratings and now it his him with back-to-back losses to overcome and not Martinez. Alexander thought he won this one so will box on. Redkach vs. Martinez Redkach gets back into the winning column with win over Martinez. The Ukrainian southpaw was in control of this one for the outset and it was obvious from the gap in class that it would not last long. Redkach ended it with a left in the third with Martinez counted out with just one second left in the round. The 29-year-old Redkach was stopped in four round in June by little Dejan Zlaticanin in what was virtually a WBC eliminator. He is still rated WBC No 4 so still some hope of a title shot somewhere in the future. Martinez, from Tijuana, was having his first fight for 13 months. Thompson vs. Hanshaw Thompson beats Hanshaw in one-sided poor match. Thompson handed out a beating to Hanshaw before flooring him late in the second round. Hanshaw saw out the round but then retired. The 30-year-old “Lonnie B” from Buffalo had looked to be making real progress in 2013 but lost a split decision to Radivoje Kalajdzic in April last year and this is his first fight since then. He was a 5-time NY GG Champion but although competing in all of the big national tournaments never got past the quarter final stage. Now 4 losses in a row for “The Hillbilly” Hanshaw. Santiago vs. Molina Phoenix fighter Santiago moves to 9 wins in a row with unanimous decision over Mexican Molina. The 25-year-old “Beaver” took the decision on scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74. Santiago competed at the finals of the NGG’s twice without medalling. Mexican fly champion Molina had been 4-2 in his previous 6 fights. October 15 Auckland, New Zealand: Heavy: Joseph Parker (16-0) W KO 3 Kali Meehan (42-6). Welter: Jeff Horn (12-0-1) W PTS 10 Alfredo Blanco (15-4). Heavy: Izuagbe Ugonoh (14-0) W TKO 1 Ibrahim Labaran (13-4): Super Welter: Gunnar Jackson (22-6-3) W PTS 6 Daniel Roy Maxwell (5-33-2). Heavy: Wallis Meehan (4-0) W TKO 2 Leamy Tato (1-4). Parker vs. Meehan Parker marches on as he wins bragging right in Auckland with knockout of veteran Meehan. Parker took the first round but was too anxious to land his big punches and not working his openings. Meehan landed a couple of shots but nothing of substance. At the end of the first trainer Kevin Barry reminded Parker of the game plan not to rush things and Parker settled down in the second making more use of his jab and going to the body as well. In the third a thumping right to the side of the head sent Meehan slumping down to the canvas on his side. He struggled to get to his feet but was counted out just as he made it. Now 14 wins by KO/TKO for the 23-year-old New Zealander including 10 in his last 11 fights. He is rated WBO 6/WBA 13 (12)/WBC 14. As an amateur he took silver at the World Youth Olympics and bronze at the World Youth Games but failed to medal at the Commonwealth Games and World Championships. Former WBO title challenger Meehan, 45, loses inside the distance for the fourth time. He had won a tournament last year and beat Shane Cameron in his last fight in November. This fight was for 5 different minor titles but I am not going to bother listing them. Horn vs. Blanco After a slow start Horn wins every round against Argentinian Blanco. The awkward Argentinian started brightly winning the first round. A right from Blanco in the second seemed to wake Horn up and he then started to push Blanco back and thump home quick combinations. Although he continued to have problems with Blanco’s style with his switching guards and his longer reach Horn was working well inside and used his quicker hands to score at a distance. The Australian was dominating the fight walking Blanco down with the Argentinian’s work rate and opportunities becoming less and less with Horn emerging the clear winner. Scores 99-91 from all three judges. The 27-year-old “Hornet”, a school teacher and 2012 Olympian, was coming off a good win over Viktor Plotnykov in August. He is WBO 7/IBF 12(10)/WBA 13(12). Blanco 25 lost to Australian Cameron Hammond in July last year. He had won 4 of 5 since then but against low level opposition. Ugonoh vs. Labaran Ugonoh gets easy win over reluctant Labaran. The big Polish-born Ugonoh stalked Labaran around the ropes and landed a long straight right that sent Labaran down. He was up quickly and Ugonoh just prowled after him manoeuvring Labaran into a corner and a right to the head saw Labaran down again. He was up at four but at the end of the eight count he made no attempt to walk forward when asked and the referee stopped the fight. The 6’5” (196cm) Ugonoh, who is of Nigerian parentage, is a former world kickboxing champion who helps out as Parker’s sparring partner. He has 11 wins by KO/TKO and lifts the interim WBA Oceania and interim WBO African titles. Hong Kong-based Ghanaian Labaran was having his first fight for two years. Jackson vs. Maxwell Jackson eases his way back with unanimous decision over limited fellow-countryman Maxwell. Jackson was able to find regular gaps for punches to head and body and was rarely troubled by the very limited Maxwell. First win for 29-year-old Jackson since losing his WBO Oriental title to Kerry Hope in June. Five losses in a row for 38-year-old Maxwell. Meehan vs. Tato Meaningless win for Kali’s son as he halts late selection Tato. After a slow start to the first round Meehan then handed out severe punishment at the end of the round and the fight could have been stopped then. In the second Meehan immediately trapped Tato on the ropes and unloaded heavy punches to the head, too many heavy punches, until the referee stopped the fight with Meehan making it clear to the referee that he thought he should have stopped the fight earlier. Three wins by KO/TKO for the 20-year-old Auckland-born fighter. He is 6’5” (195cm) like his dad and was just over 278lbs for this fight. His first love is rugby league but he was sacked mid-season by the Sydney Roosters for off field incidents. He has converted to Islam, adjusted his behaviour and is hoping to return to rugby soon. The 41-year-old Tato should never have been allowed in the ring with Meehan. He is 5’10” (178cm) was outweighed by at least 36lbs, had not fought for 17 months and came in at short notice. October 16 Chicago, IL, USA: Light Heavy: Andrzej Fonfara (29-3,1ND) W PTS 12 Nathan Cleverly (29-3). Super Fly: Kohei Kono (31-8-1) W PTS 12 Koki Kameda (33-2). Super Welter: Patrick Szymanski (15-0) W PTS 10 Richard Gutierrez (28-17-1,2ND). Fonfara vs. Cleverly Fonfara gets close unanimous decision in bloody war of non-stop action. Both were trading from the off with Cleverly’s more accurate jabbing just giving him an edge and the Brit getting the better of the exchanges but neither fighter was paying much attention to defence. Fonfara had looked a bit sluggish over the first two rounds but he was starting to roll by taking the third and fourth as they continued to trade. Cleverly upped his work to edge the fifth and six at which point two judges had Cleverly in front 58-56 with the third having it 57-57. Fonfara had a big seventh importantly landing an uppercut which mashed Cleverly’s nose and it was later established it had been broken and he also opened a cut by Cleverly’s left ear. After that it was Fonfara’s fight although Cleverly never acknowledged that as they both continued to throw and land punch after punch setting a record for punches thrown in any light heavyweight bout registered by CompuBox. It was brutal and basic with neither fully using the skills they possessed and showing what can be achieved with heat and guts. Fonfara had the momentum but Cleverly had a good spell in the ninth. He had to pass a doctor’s inspection in the tenth as he consistently had blood splashed across his face from his injuries. Fonfara was the one landing the more eye catching shots and he pulled away over the championship rounds to win a well deserved decision. Scores 116-112 twice and 115-113 all for Fonfara. The effect of that seventh round was evident on the score cards with one judge giving Fonfara all six rounds from the seventh and onwards and the other two going 5-1 to Fonfara. The Chicago-based Pole retains his WBC International title. He is rated WBA 2/WBC 3/IBF 5(4)/WBO 5. Although he lost a wide unanimous decision to Adonis Stevenson for the WBC title in May 2014 his subsequent wins over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and now in the thrilling war over Cleverly mean that a return with Stevenson or a fight with Sergey Kovalev could be his in 2016. Former WBO champion Cleverly had moved up to cruiser but after losing to Tonty Bellew returned to light heavy. His injuries will take time to heal but the 28-year-old Welshman can point to that nose injury as a big factor in his defeat and being in a fight as entertaining as this will have raised his profile in the USA. Kono vs. Kameda Kono retains WBA title with unanimous decision over Kameda in the first world title fight between two Japanese fighters in the USA. Kameda seemed to take the first round boxing on the back foot and stabbing out a stiff right jab with Kono throwing a couple of combinations late in the round. In the second Kono was constantly throwing lead rights at southpaw Kameda and scoring with them. A left from Kameda was very low but after a moment’s hesitation Kono shrugged it off. Kono drove Kameda back with more rights only for Kameda to land three low punches. Kono was badly hurt and clinging to Kameda like a limpet forcing the referee to use both hands to get Kono to let go. Kameda was not warned at that point. After some more low shots from Kameda Kono sank to his knees. Kameda was waiving his arm in celebration of a knockdown only for the referee to order a time out so that Kono could recover. Immediately the fight restarted Kono’s first punch a straight right counter put Kameda down. Total confusion ensued as Kono was ordered to a neutral corner and Kameda got up and walked to the same neutral corner where they booth stood until the referee split them up with the bell going at that moment. At the start of the third Kameda again landed three left hooks low and the referee deducted a point. There was another break when the fighters bumped heads and when Kameda landed some more low left hooks he was deducted a second point. Both continued to trade heavy punches in some sustained action which was too often interrupted by some over officious refereeing. Both were guilty of various infractions as they fight for dominance and it got to a point in the seventh where the referee stopped the fight and warned them that he would disqualify them both if they continued to transgress. Kono was the one deducted a point in the ninth for continually pushing Kameda’s head down. As they tired both gave up boxing and began to brawl. Kono's main weapon was his orthodox right thrown straight or as a hook with Kameda relying more on his jab and placing his punches but Kono was the busier with Kameda throwing slightly less but with more accuracy. The fight was poised going into the last three rounds but Koko simply outworked Kameda who seemed to tire. Scores 116-108, 115-109 and 113-111. Second defence in his second reign for 34-year-old Kono after un-enterprising split draw with Norberto Jimenez in his first defence in December. He was much more impressive here. Kameda 28 a former WBA light fly and WBC fly was said to be trying to become a fourth division champion but that was based on his winning the secondary WBA title at bantam. He was taking about perhaps retiring. Szymanski vs. Gutierrez Polish prospect Szymanski moves up to ten rounds and cruises past Colombian veteran. Szymanski controlled the action and pace of the fight. Gutierrez tried to work his way inside but generally Szymanski was able to create space and even when Gutierrez did get inside the young Pole more than matched him in a mature performance. Scores 98-92 twice and 100-90. The 22-year-old former top amateur is a bit lacking in power but is making good progress. Gutierrez, 37, is a long way down the slope at 2-12 and one ND in his last 15 fights. New York, NY, USA: Light Heavy: Sean Monaghan (26-0) W PTS 10 Donovan George (25-4-2,1ND). Welter: Brad Solomon (26-0) W PTS 10 Ray Serrano (21-3). Light: John Joe Nevin (5-0) W TKO 3 Jose Guzman (6-12-1). Monaghan vs. George Monaghan was always favourite to win this one and with game George breaking his right hand in the second round is was really a test of George’s guts than Monaghan’s ability. Monaghan had the edge in skill and speed and he suffered his own misfortune in the second when a clash of heads left the New York fighter with a cut over right eye. Gradually the hand injury became more of a factor as Monaghan was able to exchange with less caution and was winning the rounds. The doctor reviewed the hand injury at the start of the fifth but George insisted on continuing. Monaghan was scoring with both hands but could not find the punch to halt George who ignored the injury to fight hard in the eighth and ninth and threw the right hand continually in the last trying for a knockout but in vain as Monaghan was a clear winner. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91. Monaghan, 34, retains the WBC Continental Americas title and wins the vacant WBO NABO title. He did his job in this one but George’s injury robbed the win of any significance. Monaghan is still to be put into a challenging fight but is rated WBA 4/IBF 6(5)/WBC 7/WBO 8 and is likely to get a title shot in 2016. Winning it is something else. George, 30, has had numerous operations on his right hand and must wonder if it is still worthwhile boxing. After 21 wins in a row George is now 5-5-1, 1ND in his last 12 fights. Solomon vs. Serrano Solomon remains unbeaten but just can’t set the ring alight. Solomon is hugely talented but lacks power and that means that a determined fight such as Serrano is always going to be able to come forward and put the Lafayette fighter under pressure. Serrano was very much in the fight early and was probably unlucky not to be credited with a knockdown ion the second when a punch followed by a push put Solomon down. Serrano then faded out of the fight as Solomon took control and shut Serrano out over the second half. Scores 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93 all for Solomon. When Solomon turned pro in 2008 he moved over as a former NGG champion in 2005, 2006 and 2007 with wins over Demetrius Andrade, Jessie Vargas and Danny Garcia but at 32 time is running out for him. Serrano hit a bad patch of back-to-back losses to Karim Mayfield and Emmanuel Taylor and then took almost two years out before returning in November last year since when he had scored three wins. Nevin vs. Guzman Nevin has to go through fights like this as he starts out as a pro. He is several classes above Guzman but got a few rounds under his belt before halting Guzman in the third. The 26-year-old member of the Irish Traveller’s community was a star of the Irish amateur boxing team won bronze medals at both the European and the European Union Championships, a silver at the World Championships and competed at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. He had to recover from having both legs broken in April last year in an attack relating to a dispute in his community and is a can’t miss prospect. Puerto Rican Guzman has lost 8 of his last 9 fights. Villa Mercedes, Argentina: Fly: Jonathan Gonzalez (17-1-1) W PTS 10 Carlos Ruiz (21-7). Puerto Rican Gonzalez outboxes limited local but has to settle for a split decision that should have been unanimous. Gonzalez used his right jab to make things difficult for the Argentinian and eased his way through the first three rounds. The fourth was more level but after that the skilful boxing and countering from Gonzalez had Ruiz frustrated as he has being caught with quick accurate punches without being able to land anything significant of his own. Gonzalez was brilliant in the eight and a clash of heads saw Ruiz cut over his right eye in the ninth with Gonzalez taking no chances in the last. Scores 98-92 twice for Gonzalez and an amazing 96-94 for Ruiz. Bronx-born 24-year-old “Bomba” Gonzalez was stopped in four rounds in an overly ambitious fight with Giovani Segura in 2013 but has clawed his way back with four wins and a draw and is No 12 with the IBF. “Bad Boy” Ruiz, 29, the FAB No 2 had rebounded from 3 losses in a row with a low level win in August. Ituzaingo, Argentina: Super Light: Jonathan Chavez (15-1-1) W PTS 10 Claudio Esperante (6-6-2). Ituzaingo fighter Chavez gets second points win over Esperante. Chavez controlled this fight and was able to score freely in most rounds with Esperante only being competitive in the sixth and seventh. Chavez’s lack of any real punch allowed southpaw Esperante to last the full distance and he was scoring so freely that it led to Esperante losing a point for holding in the eighth and almost stopped him in the tenth. Scores 99-90, 99 ½-90 ½, and 99 ½-91 ½ for 27-year-old Chavez who had outpointed Esperante over six rounds in October last year. He has now won his last 9 fights, 8 of them on points. Only one win in his last 5 fights for Esperante. Mexico City, Mexico: Super Fly: David Carmona (20-2-5) W PTS 10 Ricardo Rodriguez (12-3). Carmona gets important second win over Rodriguez. It was Rodriguez who pocketed the early rounds before Carmona got rolling in the fifth. A right uppercut to the chin put Rodriguez down in the sixth and from then Carmona was the one collecting the rounds as they scrapped hard to the last bell. Scores 97-92 twice for Carmona and 96-93 for Rodriguez. Mexican Carmona, 24, the WBO No 2, had taken a unanimous decision over Rodriguez in July last year. He was halted in seven rounds by Omar Narvaez in a challenge for the WBO title in 2013 and drew with Warlito Parrenas for the vacant interim title in July. He is hoping for a straight shot at champion Naoya Inoue next year. Fellow-Mexican Rodriguez, 26, the WBO No 10 had scored good wins over Jonathan Vidal and Daniel Lozano but this loss cost him his WBO Latino title and any hope of taking Carmona’s title chance. Edinburgh, Scotland: Super Feather: Anthony Cacace (13-0) W TKO 10 Ronnie Clark (13-3-2). Welter: Josh Taylor (2-0) W TKO 1 Adam Mate (17-6). Cacace vs. Clark In a lively first round both did more missing than hitting with the much taller Cacace prodding his jab and trying some long rights and southpaw Clark jabbing and throwing occasional lefts. That’s how the fight continued with Clark taking the fight to Cacace trying to get inside and Cacace dangerous with straight right crosses. Neither fighter was interested in working the body and they were both head hunting. Cacace was often using his left not as a jab but as a stiff arm to measure Clark for the rights and Clark was slipping inside and scoring with hooks. As the fight progressed Clark was having more and more trouble getting inside and Cacace was no longer just prodding the jab and throwing the right but letting his hands go in bursts. Clark scored with a couple of hard left hooks in the sixth and seemed to be timing his attacks better in the eighth and ninth constantly putting Cacace under pressur. It was the same in the tenth as Clark was throwing punches form both hands. Cacace was more controlled and as Clark left himself open Cacace shook Clark with a series of head punches. Clark seemed to have absorbed them but suddenly a three-punch combination saw Clark collapse back into the ropes and slip to his knees badly hurt and the referee made a well-timed stoppage. The 26-year-old from Belfast wins the BBBof C Celtic title. First loss inside the distance for Clark who was very much in the fight until that last round. Taylor vs. Mate Taylor gets rid of Hungarian quickly. The highly publicised new hope of Scottish boxing hurt Mate early and never let him recover. Taylor had Mate down twice before the fight was stopped after just 85 seconds. Managed by Barry McGuigan “The Tartan Tornado” Taylor, 24, a former Commonwealth Games gold medal winner who also competed at two European Championships, two World Championships and the 2012 Olympics was plagued with hand injuries as an amateur but if he can avoid any such troubles as a pro then he could emulate other Edinburgh boxers Ken Buchanan and Alex Arthur. Poor Mate was halted inside a round by Stephen Ormond for the WBO European title in 2013 but in lower level competition had won 5 of his last 6 fights. East London, South Africa: Feather: Lusanda Komanisi (19-3) W KO 5 Roli Gasca (23-7-1). Light: Mzonke Fana (36-8) W PTS 12 Sipho Taliwe -5-1). Super Bantam: Toto Hlebe (17-5) W TKO 11 Siphosethu Mvula (7-2). Komanisi vs. Gasca “Schoolboy” Komanisi retains the IBO title with kayo of Filipino Gasca. When theses two met in December Komanisi only held on to his title with a split decision this time he settled matters with a kayo. The South African now has 17 wins by KO/TKO and after going 4-3 in his first 7 fights has won 15 in a row. Gasca is now 0-3 in fights in South Africa and this is his first loss by KO/TKO. Fana vs. Taliwe Veteran Fana wins some sort of version of the South African title with revenge victory over Taliwe. Fana used his superior skills to take this by unanimous decision over his much younger opponent. The 41-year-old former undefeated IBF super feather champion just goes on and on. This was billed as for the interim title with disputes and law suits threatened after a fighter above Fana in the BSA rating was passed over. There was some suggestion of the other fighter’s “punishment index” being too high for him to be allowed to take this fight with the supervisor of the previous fight denying there was anything about a punishment index in his fight report. Situation normal in South Africa. Former South African and WBC International super feather champion Taliwe had beaten Fana in a WBC International title defence in 2012. He was unlucky to lose a split decision to Daud Yordan for the IBO light title on a split decision in Indonesia in 2013 and then was inactive for a year. Hlebe vs. Mvula South African bantam champion Hlebe moves up and wins the interim WBA Pan African title at super bantam title with late stoppage of inexperienced Mvula. After consecutive losses to Thabo Sonjica and Thabo Sishwane in 2014 Hlebe has rebounded nicely with three wins this year. Mvula is still shown as the South African super fly champion so he was out of his division here. October 17 New York, NY, USA: Middle: Gennady Golovkin (34-0) W TKO 8 David Lemieux (34-3). Fly: Roman Gonzalez (44-0) W TKO 9 Brian Viloria (36-5). Heavy: Luis Ortiz (23-0,1ND) W KO 3 Matias Vidondo (20-2-1). Middle: Tureano Johnson (19-1) W PTS 12 Eamonn O’Kane (14-2-1). Light: Maurice Hooker (19-0-2) W PTS 10Ghislain Maduma (17-1) . Golovkin vs. Lemieux Golovkin beats down a brave Lemieux to defeat to unify the WBA and IBF titles. Golovkin showed that despite his impressive knockout statistics it is a powerful left jab that sets the opponents up. He demonstrated this in the first snapping the Canadian’s head back time and again with a ramrod left that Lemieux could not find a way past. The jab was doing more than just stopping Lemieux in the second, it was forcing him back and letting Golovkin work his other punches and he had Lemieux on the ropes and hurt with a left to the body. Both fighters score with good rights in the third but Golovkin sharper and more accurate and there is no sign of Lemieux finding a way into the fight. The fourth sees Golovkin opening up in earnest crashing home rights to the head and forcing Lemieux to the ropes where he can work the Canadian over. In the fifth Lemieux starts out trying to trade with Golovkin and although he scores with a good combination the return fire from Golovkin is hellacious and a body punch puts Lemieux down and Golovkin commits the grievous sin of landing a punch just after Lemieux’s knees touch the floor. Golovkin apologises profusely to the referee and gets away with the misdemeanour. Lemieux does well to get up and the bell goes before Golovkin can capitalise on the knockdown. Lemieux actually gets into the fight in the sixth landing a hard body punch that makes Golovkin pause but by the end of the round the Kazakh fighter is again the one landing the heavy punches which are starting to make Lemieux’s face a mess. The referee has the doctor examine Lemieux in the seventh with the Canadian possibly having suffered a broken nose, but the fight continues with Golovkin again landing with heavy artillery. Early in the eighth a left hook to the body and a right from Golovkin sets Lemieux back on his heels and the referee stops the fight. The mark of a great fighter is whether he carries his punch into successively tougher fights and Golovkin has now won 21 fights in a row by KO/TKO with 16 of those fights being for some version off the world title. Everyone thinks they have a way to beat GGG until they get in the ring. He has not unified the WBC title as he is only their interim title a gesture they made so that they could hang onto the Kazakh’s coattails. Lemieux only ever had a punchers chance in this which against GGG is no chance but the Canadian fought hard and loudly protested the stoppage but it was the right decision as he was only going to take even more punishment. He is an exciting fighter and there are plenty of big fights out there for him-but not against GGG. Gonzalez vs. Viloria Gonzalez just grinds down a brave Viloria and retains his WBC title. Viloria was willing to stand and trade with Gonzalez and scored with enough good straight shots and hooks to probably edge the first round and be competitive in the second after that it was a case of Gonzalez waging a war of attrition. The Nicaraguan just kept pressing and pressing getting in close and thudding home hooks and uppercuts. Viloria had no choice but to fight inside with Gonzalez but the power gap was evident. In the third a right dropped Viloria and although he got up he suffered more heavy punishment before the round ended. When he was working inside Viloria was probably doing well enough to give him the edge over almost any other flyweight but Gonzalez was unmoved and relentless banging away at the head and body with those short hooks and uppercuts which were slowly wearing the “Hawaiian Punch” down. Viloria was able to land some hard counters of his own and fire off jabs and hooks when he could make some space but he could not match the power or work rate of Gonzalez and began to tire and the punches from Gonzalez were starting to bust up Vilonia’s face. At the end of the eighth round the doctor had a look at the damage and swelling to the right side of Viloria’s face but let the fight continue. The ninth was a painful ending for Viloria as he was just being overwhelmed by the hooks and uppercuts from Gonzalez and being driven backwards around the ropes until the referee had seen enough and stepped in to save Viloria. Third defence of his WBC title for 28-year-old Gonzalez, who is 14-0 in title fights over three divisions, has 38 wins by KO/TKO and has won inside the distance in 15 of his last 16 fights. By the end of 2016 he could have erased both Rocky Marciano and Floyd Mayweather Jr from the record books as it is difficult to see anyone capable of beating him in the lower divisions. At 34 perhaps it is time for two division champion Viloria to retire. He did his best here but was up against the best little man in the world. He might fancy a second fight with WBA/WBO champion Juan Francisco Estrada who only beat him on a split decision in the title fight in 2013 but then there would still be Gonzalez to face. Ortiz vs. Vidondo Ortiz wins the interim WBA title with too easy stoppage of limited Argentinian Vidondo. The first round lacked any action as both just prodded with their respective jab with Ortiz trying the occasional long southpaw left. Ortiz was more focused in the second putting some snap into his jab and letting the left go. Vidondo was standing and trading but his punches lacked power and was leaving himself open to counters. Two straight lefts from Ortiz sent Vidondo staggering back to the ropes and as he rebounded forward a short right from Ortiz put Vidondo down on his hands and knees. He was up at six but was wobbling and he was shaken again just at the bell. In the third Ortiz again sent Vidondo into the ropes and landed a right and a left to the temple of Vidondo who collapsed face down on the canvas and the referee did not bother to count. The 36-year-old Cuban “Real King Kong” now has 20 wins by KO/TKO. Vidondo, 39, was having his first fight in a year. It is a sign of how the WBA regards drug cheats in that Ortiz fought and won this same title only 13 months ago only to be stripped for a positive test and is here fighting for the title again. Disgraceful. It is also incredible that a fight for the interim title can be fought between someone rated as low as 8 (Ortiz) and someone inactive for a year and down at 15 (Vidondo) it makes a nonsense of the ratings. Johnson vs. O’Kane Johnson wins what is essentially an IBF eliminator with O’Kane. It was almost over inside the first three minutes as Johnson slammed home a left to the head and a right hook which put O’Kane down. The Irish fighter made it to the vertical only for Johnson to curve some hooks around O’Kane’s guard and put him down for a second time. Somehow O’Kane made it out of the round but Johnson was on top again in the second to already have a commanding lead. However, O’Kane showed some Irish fighting spirit as he steadied himself in the third and by working inside nullified the power of Johnson’s punches. Johnson came awake enough to take the fourth but O’Kane was getting into his stride and edged the fifth and sixth. Johnson’s power came into play again in the seventh as he rocked O’Kane but the Irishman again forced Johnson to fight his fight inside in the eighth. From there Johnson took over again switching guards and threading spiteful punches through O’Kane’s guard as he boxed his way to the wide unanimous verdict. Scores 119-107, 118-108 and 117-109 all for Johnson. The Bahamian 31-year-old was on the cusp of a title fight when he was well in front against Curtis Stevens until a controversial stoppage with less than a minute to go in the last round of their fight in April 2014. Since then Johnson has now won 5 in a row. He was rated IBF 4(2) and was also No 3 with both the WBC and WBA. However O’Kane, 33, was IBF 3(1) making him the top rated fighter by the IBF and Johnson’s win over another rated fighter means he can now be moved to No 1 and the mandatory challenger for new IBF champion Golovkin. Hooker vs. Maduma Hooker retains his WBO NABO title with split decision over Maduma. This was a close hard fight with a decision that was not popular with all. Hooker made a quick start shaking Maduma with left in the first and clearly taking the second. Maduma got into the fight by edging the third. Hooker had a big fourth as he floored the Canadian with a right to build a big lead. Things changed in the sixth with Maduma staggering Hooker and then trapping him on the ropes and battering away at him with shots to head and body. Hooker was in deep water and only survived by clinging to Maduma for dear life and then spitting out his gumshield for additional respite. He got away with that without being penalised and Hooker then tried to use his jab to keep Maduma out. The Canadian had much the better of the second half of the fight and it looked to be anyone’s fight going into the last but Hooker staged the stronger finish to take the decision. Scores 95-93 and 95-94 for Hooker and 95-93 for Maduma. Texan “Mighty Mo” Hooper, 26, was in his first real test and just about deserved the decision. DRC-born Maduma was rebuilding. He took a year out after losing to Kevin Mitchell in April 2014 and had won against low level opposition in June. Fairfax, VA, USA: Welter: Lamont Peterson (34-3-1) W PTS 12 Felix Diaz (17-1). Welter: Terrel Williams (15-0) W DISQ 9 Prichard Colon (16-1). Super Light: Anthony Peterson (36-1) W KO 1 Mike Oliver (26-7-1). Super Middle: Lennox Allen (20-0-1) W TKO 2 Istvan Zeller (24-9). Peterson vs. Diaz Peterson gets majority decision over Diaz in a tight fight of contrasting styles. Southpaw Diaz was effective early with fast combination punching which earned him the first round but over the next four rounds Peterson was busier and more accurate and was outscoring the little Dominican. Diaz had a good spell in the middle rounds as he allowed Peterson to come forward and countered again with those quick bursts of combination punching and was confident enough to do some showboating. Peterson stuck to his task and was still pressing the fight. Diaz scored with some hard counters in the seventh. Normally strong in the later rounds after a good ninth it looked as though Peterson would pull away over the last three rounds but instead it was the clever boxing and speed of Diaz that came to the fore and he easily took the last round to seemingly put the verdict very much in doubt-but not for the judges. Scores 117-111 and 116-112 for Peterson and 114-114. It was close enough not to argue over the result but certainly over the scoring which did not reflect the trouble that the better boxing of Diaz had given Peterson. The 31-year-old from Washington was stripped of his IBF title in April and was rebounding from a controversial majority decision loss to Danny Garcia in April. The IBF still have him rated at super light in the No 4(2) position with only Antonio Orozco above him. Diaz, 31, the DR’s only boxing gold medal winner, turned pro after the 2008 Olympics and has spent six years effectively getting nowhere. He fought well in this one and showed plenty of skill so hopefully will get more high profile fights. Williams vs. Colon Williams gets the win but with Colon fighting for his life in hospital that almost seems insignificant. The unbeaten Colon took the first two rounds being quicker to the punch. Williams clawed back the third with some good left hooks only for Colon to take the fourth with a late flourish. The fifth turned ugly with Colon rocked early and then landing a low punch which put Williams down in agony. The referee gave Williams time to recover and then deducted two points from Colon as he considered the punch to be deliberate. A fired up Williams finishes the round strongly. The bad feeling carried on into the sixth with the referee warning of a double disqualification if they continue the dirty stuff and Williams again finishing strongly staggering Colon with a left hook. Williams is chasing Colon down in the seventh with the young Puerto Rican short on confidence and being rocked by a right. Another right puts Colon down but as Colon rightly argues it landed on the back of his head. The referee deducted a point from Williams gave Colon some recovery time and Colon did some good work to the bell to edge the round. The eighth was an even round with both having some success but the ninth is another big round for Williams. He shakes Colon with a left hook and then floors him with a combination. Another hard combination sends Colon down face first but he rolls over and gets up and is saved by the bell. Colon’s corner then started to remove their fighter’s gloves thinking that that was the tenth round. By the time they realise their mistake and get him gloved again they have taken too long and as their man is not ready to fight at the end of the one minute interval Colon is disqualified. Back in his dressing room Colon became unwell and was quickly transferred to a nearby hospital. He had suffered a subdural hematoma (brain bleed) and was operated on. As I write he is in an induced coma and in a critical condition. Peterson vs. Oliver Peterson gets predictable first round win over Oliver. Peterson needed only one hard right to put Oliver down and Oliver made no attempt to beat the count. Inactivity has led to Anthony taking a back seat to elder brother Lamont and this was only his sixth fight in the last five years. Oliver 35 was inactive for 13 months and since his return in August has now lost two fights inside the distance. Allen vs. Zeller Allen finally seems to be serious about his career as he gets his third win of the year. The Guyanan southpaw gave Zeller a broken nose with a right in the first and floored him in the second with the referee stopping the fig ht. The 30-yerar-old Allen has been a pro for 11 years. He had just one fight in 2012 one in 2013 and was inactive in 2014. Hungarian Zeller now has 8 losses by KO/TKO. Carson, CA, USA: Light Fly: Donnie Nietes (37-1-4) W PTS 12 Juan Alejo (21-4). Super Bantam: Albert Pagara (25-0) W KO 6 William Gonzalez (27-6). Super Light: Jason Pagara (37-2) W KO 2 Santos Benavides (25-8-2). Feather: Mark Magsayo (12-0)0) W KO 1 Yardley Suarez (13-1). Nietes vs. Alejo Nietes retains his WBO title with wide decision over Mexican Alejo in his first fight in the USA. The Filipino was a class or two above Alejo and used slick boxing to open Alejo’s defence and score with punches from both hands. He opened a cut under the Mexican’s eye with a punch in the second. The fourth saw Nietes slotting punch after punch through Alejo’s defence with right uppercuts catching the eye and Alejo’s attention and another punch saw Alejo cut under his right eye. A right from Alejo opened a slight cut over Nietes’ left eye in the sixth. Nietes had a big seventh as he unloaded rights and left hooks with Alejo’s knees buckling but the Mexican refused to fold despite the punishment. It was a one-sided fight as Nietes was able to pierce Alejo’s guard time and again. An overhand right from Alejo did momentarily shake Nietes but it was his only success and the only doubt left in the fight was whether Alejo could last the distance. Scores 119-109 twice and 120-108 for 33-year-old Nietes who was making the eighth defence of his WBO title. When his reign as WBO minimumweight is taken into account he is 14-0-1 in 15 title fights and he beat the man who put the draw there inside the distance in a return. He is unbeaten for over 11 years and the one fight he did lose was a split decision to an Indonesian in Indonesia. A remarkable record. “Pinky” Alejo had recovered well from losing his first three pro fights but there are no bog names in his record so this was a huge, too big, step up in class for him. Pagara vs. Gonzalez Pagara finds Gonzalez unfazed by the young Filipino’s reputation as a puncher and Pagara is forced to prove he can box as well as punch before halting Gonzalez in the sixth. Nicaraguan southpaw Gonzalez tried to overwhelm the younger man from the start marching forward throwing punches and forcing Pagara on to the back foot by the sheer ferocity of his attacks. Pagara slammed home counter after counter as Gonzalez advanced. In the second round Pagara floored Gonzalez with a hard combination but ruined the good work by landing the last punch in the combination after Gonzalez was down. That punch cost Pagara a point deduction and gained Gonzalez a five minute recovery time. Pagara continued to let Gonzalez do the leading and the Nicaraguan had some success with hard rights. In the fifth Pagara chose to go toe-to-toe and although it allowed Gonzalez more opportunities it also led to Pagara sitting down on his punches and punishing Gonzalez with hard rights. In the sixth the punishment caught up with Gonzalez and a straight right from Pagara saw Gonzalez slump to the floor. He had nothing left and just sat out the count. For me the 21-year-old “Prince Albert”, the younger brother of Jason, has the skill, determination and punch to be a world champion if not in 2016 then in 2017 but he needs some stiffer tests first. This is his 18th win by KO/TKO and he wins the WBC Youth Inter-Continental title (that really is scraping the bottom of the barrel to needlessly make this a title fight) and he is rated IBF 3(2)/WBC 6/WBO 6. Gonzalez, 34, lost a majority decision to Joseph Agbeko for the IBF bantam title in 2008 but then had some indifferent form until beating Cornelius Lock in May 2014 which was his last fight. This is his third loss by KO/TKO the others being to Ricardo Cordoba and Jhonny Gonzalez. Pagara vs. Benavides Jason makes it a winning family double as he stops experienced Benavides in two rounds. In the first Pagara was boxing cleverly and slotting home quick combinations as Benavides pressed forward with crude swings. In the second a combination to the head put Benavides down. He made it to his feet badly shaken. A body punch sent him down again and with just seven seconds remaining in the round another raid fire combination had Benavides down and the referee did not bother with the count. Now ten wins in a row for 27-year-old Pagara and 23 wins by KO/TKO. He has lost only one of his last 26 fights and reversed that with an inside the distance victory. He has wins over Aaron Herrera (25-1), Vlad Baez (19-1-2) And Mario Meraz (21-3). He is rated No 4 by the WBO. Nicaraguan southpaw Benavides, 33, has now lost 5 in a row, 4 by KO/TKO but against world rated opposition. Magsayo vs. Suarez Hot Filipino prospect Magsayo blows away Mexican Suarez in two minutes. Magsayo drove Suarez to the ropes and unleashed a storm of punches with Suarez flopping down to the canvas under the bottom rope. He was up at 6 and when the fight restarted Magsayo just blasted away until Suarez dropped down in a corner propped up by the ropes and the referee waived the fight over. The 22-year-old “Magnifico” retains his IBF Youth title and has 10 wins by KO/TKO including 8 in his last 9 fights but Suarez was no test and had built his record against weak opposition. Birmingham, England: Super Fly: Khalid Yafai (17-0) W PTS 12 Jason Cunningham (17-3). Welter: Sam Eggington (17-2) W PTS 12 Dale Evans (10-2-2). Super Welter: Matthew Macklin (34-6) W PTS 10 Jason Welborn (17-4). Super Bantam: Gamal Yafai (8-0) W PTS 10 Nasibu Ramadhani (18-8-1). Welter: Karl Wiggins (7-1) W TKO 2 Rob Hunt (22-4-2). Yafai vs. Cunningham Yafai just too quick and clever for Cunningham as he wins the vacant British title. The exquisite skills of Yafai never allowed southpaw Cunningham a foothold in the fight. Scoring with ease Yafai shook Cunningham with a left hooks in the fifth and scored a dubious knockdown in the sixth from a left that looked to land on the back of Cunningham’s head and with their legs also getting tangled. Cunningham got up complaining but the knockdown stood and was not really a factor due to the dominance of local fighter Yafai. Yafai was comfortable enough to indulge in some showboating on his way to the verdict. Scores 120-107 twice and 119-108. The 26-year-olsd former undefeated CBC champion who competed at the 2008 Olympics and 2009 World Championships has the talent to go all the way. CBC champion Cunningham, 26 is s good fighter but Yafai a much better one. Eggington vs. Evans Eggington retains the CBC and British titles but has to climb off the floor against late substitute Davies to do it. After a feeling out first round the fight came to life in the second when an overhand right from Davies floored Eggington. The champion got up and fired back with punches of his own to the bell. Eggington took over the fight in the third landing accurately to head and body from distance but then allowed himself to be drawn inside by Davies in the fourth where he was less effective. The pace dropped in the fifth and sixth before Eggington again got on top scoring with hard rights and using his strength to put Davies on the back foot in the seventh and eighth. Both fighters suffered cuts in a clash of heads in the ninth and with his face bloodied Davies had to soak up some punishment in the tenth and eleventh as Eggington landed thumping head punches and uppercuts. Davies needed a knockout in the last and he landed a short series of punches that definitely rocked the champion but it came too late and Eggington ran out a clear winner. Scores 117-110 twice and 116-110. Second defence of his CBC title for 22-year-old Eggington and revenge for one of his two pro losses as Davies beat him a Prizefighter Tournament in 2013. His only other loss also came in a Prizefighter Tournament but he has now won 8 fights on the bounce including victories over former CBC champion Denton Vassell (20-1) and Shane Singleton (20-0). His big test could come in a re-scheduled fight against Frankie Gavin in December. Welshman Davies, 23, came in at short notice of just ten days when Gavin had to withdraw with a foot injury. He was coming off a win over Adil Anwar (21-4) and he gave Eggington a hard fight and can rebound from this loss. Macklin vs. Welborn Macklin finds things tough as he moves down to super welter and he fails to impress as Welborn pushes him hard all the way. Welborn forced Macklin to trade from the outset with both fighters scoring to the body and the fight produced plenty of excitement and some controversy. They battled away over the first four rounds with little between them. Welborn had been warned for a low left hook in the third and in the fifth during a sustained bout of pressure from Welborn and with Macklin on the ropes Welborn landed another low left hook. The referee stopped the action and after walking a couple of paces Macklin went down on one knee. The referee deducted a point from Welborn and gave Macklin time to recover. Welborn again had Macklin under pressure on the ropes and landed a left hook on the band of Macklin’s trunks. The referee stopped the action and again Macklin walked a few paces and went down on one knee. The referee ruled it was a low punch but did not deduct a point nor count it as a knockdown and again gave Macklin recovery time so Welborn lost the chance of a 10-8 round which would have been important with the fight so close and Macklin got another breather. Macklin was trying something new in attempting to let Welborn come forward and counter him and whilst he was scoring well to the body it was allowing Welborn to gain momentum. They fought hard to the final bell with most rounds being very close as they fought a fierce battle with a clash of heads in the tenth momentarily stunning Macklin but Macklin held on for victory. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 all for Macklin who wins the vacant WBC International title. Third win for Macklin, 33, since suffering a shock kayo loss to Jorge Heiland in November. He had a struggle to get the decision in this one with many seeing Welborn as the winner so he still has work to do to convince people he can be a force at super welter. Welborn, 29, may have lost the decision but he also improved his status. His two other losses were against Frankie Gavin for the British welter title and new WBO champion Liam Smith for the British super middle title and he was coming off a good win over Ryan Aston. Yafai vs. Ramadhani A bit of a rocky ride for younger brother Gamal. He injured his left hand early in the fight and it threw him off his game for a while. However he still had enough skill with just one hand to stop southpaw Ramadhani getting into the fight and by the fifth round had completed his adjustment to not being able to use the jab and mainly having to use right leads and right hooks. Ramadhani tried hard but just could not pin down the elusive Yafai and lost a point for holding in the eighth and was well beaten. Referee’s score 99-91 for the Birmingham 24-year-old a former British amateur champion. He has suffered from hand injuries in the past so may be sidelined for a while. Tanzanian Ramadhani lost to Cunningham for the vacant CBC title in May and was also beaten on points by prospect Thomas Patrick Ward in September. Wiggins vs. Hunt Wiggins pulls off minor upset as he flattens Hunt in two to lift Hunt’s BBB of C Midlands Area title. Wiggins was aggressive from the start putting Hunt under pressure and trying to land with some big punches. He finally landed a big right late in the second round that put Hunt down and out cold with the referee immediately waiving the fight off and Hunt needing medical attention and help to get back to his corner. Wiggins, 35, had never been in a bout schedule for more than six round and had been halted inside a round by Daza Usher in March. He had also scored only one other inside the distance victory so this one really came out of the blue. After 5 wins in a row Hunt had been hoping for a shot at the British title but this, his fourth loss by KO/TKO, shattered that dream for now. Karlsruhe, Germany: Super Middle: Vincent Feigenbutz (21-1) W PTS 12 Giovanni De Carolis (23-6). Middle: Nuhu Lawal (21-0) W PTS 12 Arman Torosyan (16-2-1). Heavy: Kubrat Pulev (21-1) W PTS 8 George Arias (56-14). Light: Richard Commey (23-0) W TKO 5 Ramaz Bebnadze (16-3). Light Heavy: Enrico Koelling (19-1) W PTS 8 Karel Horejsek (4-4-1). Feigenbutz vs. De Carolis Feigenbutz scrapes past De Carolis with unpopular decision which shows the flaws in the German fighter. In the first round De Carolis was all fire pressing Feigenbutz and getting through with rights. He drilled one straight right through the German’s guard which sent Feigenbutz tumbling backwards to the canvas. Feigenbutz was up immediately and indicating angrily that it was not a knockdown but it was. De Carolis continued to come forward landing more rights with Feigenbutz getting caught by the punches but dropping his hands and urging De Carolis to hit him again which the Italian did. It was a bad start for Feigenbutz and the momentum was with Carolis. He was able to force Feigenbutz back with a stiff jab and strong rights. Feigenbutz looked to have hurt De Carolis with a body punch at the end of the third but De Carolis had edged the round. In the fourth the Italian knocked out Feigenbutz’s gumshield with a punch and then landed a huge right which had Feigenbutz staggering back in to the ropes badly shaken. De Carolis kept punching away and landed some more rights but Feigenbutz fought his way to the bell. At that stage all four judges had De Carolis in front 39-36. Feigenbutz used his strength and hard rights to take the fifth and sixth rounds on all three cards but De Carolis took over again as Feigenbutz tired. De Carolis did better in the seventh which was a closer round. De Carolis had the better of the eighth and at that point was still ahead on two cards and level on the third. The German fought back hard in the tenth as De Carolis was now dropping his hands and singing wildly. He was still catching Feigenbutz but the German began to claw back the deficit being busier and more accurate but. He did not seem to have done enough to overcome the Italian’s early lead but the judges saw it differently with two of them giving Feigenbutz the ninth, tenth and eleventh rounds and they voted 2-1 for Feigenbutz in the last. Scores 115-113 twice and 114-113 for Feigenbutz. Despite that strong finish he looked very lucky to hold on to his interim WBA title and to collect the GBU title. He had been carefully matched and rarely pushed in his other fights and this succession of easy wins had covered up flaws in his technique which De Carolis exploited. The challenger was able to hit Feigenbutz in every round with his stiff jab and long rights and Feigenbutz looked slow and had no plan B. Still only 20 he has time to tighten his defence and smooth out his other faults but was lucky to hold on to his title. The 31-year-old De Carolis was very much a live challenger. The 31-year-old Italian was 11-1- going in with the loss on points to Arthur Abraham for the WBO Inter-Continental title in 2013 and was coming off a good win over Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (24-2-1) and as normal WBA shenanigans was slipped into the August ratings just in time for the title fight. Lawal vs. Torosyan Nigerian-born Lawal gets another upset wins as he decisions favoured Torosyan to collect the vacant GBU title. In a grudge match Lawal bossed the fight with Torosyan never really competitive as Lawal shut him down and floored the Armenian. Scores 119-109, 117-111 and 116-111. The 33-year-old Lawal, now a German citizen, is a former undefeated GBC champion and had outpointed Ronny Mittag (23-1-1) in July. He is hoping for some big fights but even this good win is unlikely to raise his profile a great deal. Berlin-based Torosyan, 32, had beaten Reda Zam Zam (27-2) and knocked out then unbeaten Danish prospect Torben Keller inside a round but admitted he was well beaten here. Pulev vs. Arias Pulev unimpressive in his return to action but wins wide unanimous decision over Brazilian veteran. It was a messy fight with the limited Arias having trouble getting inside the guard of the much taller Pulev losing a point for a head butt in the second and Pulev at times looking flustered when Arias did attack. The big Bulgarian was slow and his normally powerful right rarely found the target as he plodded his way to a boring victory. Scores 80-71 twice and 79-73. First fight for Pulev since being knocked out in five round by Wlad Klitschko in November in a fight in which only Klitschko’s IBF title was on the line. The 44-year-old Arias is really just a fat cruiser but with highly honed survival skills. Commey vs. Bebnadze Commey marches on. The dangerous Ghanaian makes it 21 wins by KO/TKO with stoppage of very modest Georgian. The unbeaten 28-year-old CBC champion is rated IBF 4(3)/WBC 11 but has largely remained under the radar as this is the sixth different country he has fought in his last seven contests. He sits right up there alongside Frederick Lawson as one of the most promising Ghanaian fighters. Bebnadze, 38, has a typical Georgian record-three fights outside Georgian and three losses by KO/TKO. Koelling vs. Horejsek Koelling wins clearly but still fails to impress. The WBO rated German outpointed Czech Horejsek on scores of 78-74 twice and 77-75 but made hard work of what should have been an easy assignment as he rebuilds after losing his unbeaten tag against Mirco Ricci in February. He is somehow still No 12 with the WBO. Horejsek is 2-4-1 in his last 7 fights. Uncasville, CT, USA: Super Welter: Demetrius Andrade (22-0) W TKO 2 Dario Pucheta (20-3). Light: Henry Lundy (26-5-1) W TKO 5 Carlos W Velasquez (23-22-1). Andrade vs. Pucheta Andrade returns to action for the first time in 16 months and easy halts Pucheta in two rounds. No sign of rust as Andrade floored Pucheta twice in the first round. It was over early in the second as a right dropped Pucheta for the third time and the referee just waived the fight over. The 27-year-old Providence southpaw allowed himself to be stripped of his WBO title now he will have to win it all over again. He collects the vacant WBA and WBO International titles and makes it 16 wins by KO/TKO. He will almost certainly fight for a version of a title next year. Argentinian Pucheta 28 loses by KO/TKO for the first time. He was coming off an upset stoppage of WBO rated welter Bethuel Ushona in October last year, but he had no chance here. Apart from the big edges Andrade had in power and skill Pucheta was a little 5’6” (165cm) guy facing a 6’1” (185cm) guy so had nothing at all going for him. Lundy vs. Velasquez Lundy gets back on track with stoppage of Velasquez and collects the vacant WBC Continental Americas title. Lundy was slightly the more enterprising in a slow first round but he was firing heavy punches in the second. A left had Velasquez wobbling early in the round and Lundy closed it with another heavy left. Velasquez decided to attack in the second and risk some more of those Lundy lefts but after some early success a series of left hooks from Lundy had Velasquez over and although Velasquez made it to his feet Lundy still had time to land a hurtful right before the bell. Velasquez almost managed to get through the fourth unscathed but just before the bell yet another left hook had him down. Lundy launched an all-out attack in the fifth and with nothing coming back from Velasquez the fight was halted. The 31-year-old from Philadelphia has tended to come up painfully short in the big fights and was coming back after consecutive losses, a split decision against Thomas Dulorme and a majority technical decision against Mauricio Herrera. He is an exciting competitive fighter so could yet land a title shot if he gets the breaks Nicaraguan Velasquez is 3-8 in his last 11 fights so just the right level for Lundy to rebuild on. Budapest, Hungary: Cruiser: Imre Szello (9-0) W TKO 5 Alejandro Valori (17-9). Heavy: Joszef Darmos (1-0-1) W TKO 1 George Ubah (1-4-2). Szello vs. Valori Szello gets tough test from Valori before the Argentinian’s corner throws in the towel. In the first round Valori showed he came to fight walking in throwing punches but Szell did most of the scoring with his jab/straight right combinations. Both had success in the second with Szello again slotting home jabs and rights and Valori landing a couple of clubbing shots to the head. but he generally had trouble find a way past the local fighters jab. In the third Valori forced Szello to brawl instead of standing off and using his skill. A low punch from Szello saw the referee give the Argentinian time to recover and then it was back to brawling. It was more close action in the fourth until Szell landed a left which put Valori on the floor. He was up at five and after the eight count walked straight back at Szell scoring with a swinging left and a right. Now Szello was stepping back and countering and he shook Valori with a right late in the round. In the fifth Valori was constantly walking into counters as he marched forward and just before the bell Szello landed a thumping left uppercut and a following right as the Argentinian slumped to his knees. As the referee was still counting the towel came in from Valori’s corner. The 32-year-old former amateur star Szello makes it 5 wins by KO/TKO. Former Argentinian champion Valori showed plenty of aggression and made Szello fight hard. He is 2-4 in his last 6 fights having lost to Nat Cleverly, Noel Gevor and Micki Nielsen in those 6 fights. Darmos vs. Ubah Darmos dominated the 91kg scene in Hungary as an amateur from 2004 to 2011 and landed a couple of bronze medals at the European championships. However he could only get a draw with Ubah in his first pro fight. He registered his first win here by halting Ubah. Darmos drove Ubah into a corner with a long right and then banged home a series of head punches until the referee stopped the fight. At 30 Darmos has left it late to turn pro. Ubah protested the stoppage but he was in deep water at the time. Wieliczka, Poland: Heavy: Krzys Zimnoch (18-0-1) W KO 1 Gbenga Oluokun (19-13). Light Heavy: Bart Grafka (15-18-1) W PTS 8 Pawel Glazewski (23-5). Light Heavy: Marek Matyja (10-0) W PTS 8 Michal Ludwiczak (12-2). Zimnoch vs. Oluokun Zimnoch makes short work of used-up Nigerian. Zimnoch came out fast and put Oluokun down with a right with the Nigerian up at nine and only just surviving the round. In the second Zimnoch landed a left/right combination and a short right to the head that put Oluokun down and out. First fight for two years for the 32-year-old Pole and win No 12 by KO/TKO. Oluokun is 3-13 in his last 16 fights with six losses by KO/TKO. Grafka vs. Glazewski Grafka gets revenge with an upset win over fellow-Pole Glazewski. Glazewski wanted to keep this an open fight where he could use his jab but Grafka used all-out pressure to force the better boxer to trade. A punch from Grafka opened a cut on Glazewski’s right eyelid but he then lost a point in the same round for a butt. Glazewski took the sixth but Grafka outfought him over the last two rounds to get the split verdict. Scores 78-73 and 76-75 for Grafka and 78-75 for Glazewski. Grafka, 27, was 4-8 in his previous 12 fights but did have a victory over German hope Dustin Dirks (27-1-1) in July. Glazewski, 33, had won every one of the ten rounds when they fought in 2013 but he was knocked out in one round by Juergen Brahmer in a fight for the WBA secondary title in December and been clearly outpointed by Maciej Miszkin in April. Matyja vs. Ludwiczak Matyja remains a winner with unanimous decision over Ludwiczak. Matyja made a good start to the first round only for a punch from Ludwiczak to open a cut on his eyebrow. For a couple of rounds Matyja lost his cool over the cut but once he settled he was scoring with good left hooks and shook Ludwiczak with a right cross in the fifth. The sixth was even but Matyja took the seventh and a body punch in the last had Ludwiczak hanging on desperately to the finish. Scores 78-74 twice and 79-73. Good win for the 25-year-old former Polish Junior champion and EU No 17. Ludwiczak, also a former Polish Junior champion has lost 2 of his last 3 fights now. Mafikeng, South Africa: Super Feather: Jasper Seroka (26-4) W TKO 10 David Rajuili (6-3-1). Seroka retains the South African title with stoppage of game but limited challenger Rajuili. It was a one-sided fight with only Rajuili’s courage keeping him in the fight. The referee was considering stopping the fight in the eighth but Rajuili was not ready to surrender and insisted in fighting on. He stood up to the punishment in the ninth but the fight was finally stopped just before the bell in the tenth. Second defence of his title for Seroka and fifth win in a row in domestic fights. The 23-year-old Rajuili was No 4 in the BSA rankings and had won his last 5 fights but had never gone past four rounds before and was having his first fight for ten months. Torrelavega, Spain: Super Welter: Sergio Garcia (19-0) W TKO 6 Alan Casillas (5-9). Hometown fighter Garcia has no trouble with inexperienced Mexican. The Sergio Martinez managed Garcia floored Casillas in the first and only the ropes prevented him going down for a second time. Garcia continued to wear the Mexican down spearing him with left jabs and banging home rights to the body until the referee stopped the fight in the sixth. Now eleven wins by KO/TKO for the lanky 23-year-old from Torrelavega. Four losses in a row for Casillas. London, England: Cruiser: Matty Askin (18-3-1) TEC DRAW 1 Lawrence Burnett (7-1-1). Super Middle: Leon McKenzie (7-0-1) W RTD 6 John McCallum (7-1). Middle: Joe Mullender (9-1) W RTD 6 Ben Davies (7-3-1). Light: Floyd Moore (12-6-1) W TKO 4 Danny Carter (6-2). Super Welter: Kris Agyei-Dua (8-3-2) W TKO 3 Freddie Turner (11-0). Askin vs. Burnett Askin retains his English title after bizarre ending that sees both fighters fall out of the ring in the first round. Both landed a punch early Askin a strong right and southpaw Burnett a counter left. As Askin moved in Burnett swatted him on the side of the head with a right and Askin slipped down on one knee. The referee did not count it as a knockdown. After a couple of more exchanges Burnett pushed forward into Askin with his head under Akins right arm. They both stumbled back to and through the two top ropes landing outside the ring with Burnett on top. Aston got the worse of it being underneath and he was taken to the local hospital where it was reported he had suffered severe bruising to his ribs and back. Askin’s camp are lodging a protest saying that Bennett should be disqualified for deliberately barging Askin out of the ring. A disappointing ending for both fighters. McKenzie vs. McCallum The first round was close with both southpaw McKenzie and McCallum trying to establish their respective jabs. McKenzie started the second round well but McCallum finished it strongly to take the round. McKenzie had the better of the third and fourth rounds forcing McCallum back with his right jab dominating from ring centre and scoring with straight rights. It was all McKenzie in the sixth as he sent McCallum staggering backwards three times from straight lefts and although McCallum rallied at the end of the round a cut he had suffered over his left eye was too severe for him to continue and he did not answer the bell for the seventh round. McKenzie, 37, a former professional footballer with Crystal Palace, Norwich, Coventry City and Peterborough wins this British title eliminator. He did not turn pro until he was 35 and is still very raw but strong. Scot McCallum was having his first ten round fight and his first fight in 17 months which must have affected his sharpness. Mullender vs. Davies “Smokin Joe” Mullender wins English title eliminator with stoppage of Barnsley’s Davies to rack-up his fourth win in a row. Second loss by KO/TKO for Davies who had won his last two fights. Moore vs. Carter Moore wins the BBB of C Southern Area title for the second round with stoppage of gutsy Carter. The Fareham fighter used a sustained body attack to break down southpaw Carter and perhaps even break his ribs. Carter was competitive but lacked the power to hold Moore off and paid for it. In the fourth a storm of body punches put Carter down in a corner. He did well to get up but never got out of the corner as another volley of body punches from Moore saw him drop down again and the referee waived the fight off without a count. Remarkable win for Moore who broke his collar bone in a cycling accident and was only able to resume sparring four weeks before the fight. Second win for the 25-year-old “Pacman” after a disappointing run of three losses. Carter took a year out after losing to Andy Keats but had returned with a win in March. Agyei-Dua vs. Turner As with the main event this one too had an unfortunate ending. Turner started well flooring Agyei-Dua with a body punch in the first. Agyei-Dua got up and gave Turner some of his own medicine with a knockdown in the third. Turner twisted his knee when going down and was unable to continue. After a draw and two losses Agyei-Dua finally wins the Southern Area title at the fourth attempt. He had lost to Turner in a title challenge in July last year and this was his first fight since then. That win over Agyei-Dua was also Turner‘s last fight and he will feel unlucky to lose his unbeaten record and his title this way. Belfast, Northern Ireland: Light: Paul Hyland Jr (8-0) W PTS 8 Bence Molnar (13-6). Feather: James Tennyson (14-1) W KO 2 George Gachechiladze (18-21-1). Hyland vs. Molnar Hyland wins wide decision over Molnar but the Hungarian was always willing to trade and made it a good test for Hyland. After Hyland shaded the first round both fighters racked up the action in the next two with Hyland just out scoring Molnar but with both landing heavy punches. The action slowed a little in the fourth with the cleaner work of Hyland giving him those rounds. He also took the fifth but Molnar signalled he was still in the fight with a series of good uppercuts which shook Hyland briefly as the round ended. Hyland used his better skills to make room and outbox Molnar in the sixth and they fought hard over the closing rounds with Hyland having the edge but Molnar forcing the Belfast man to fight hard to the final bell. Referee’s score 80-73 for Hyland. Good eight rounds of work for the 25-year-old Hyland but a lack of a big punch makes these fights harder than they should be. Molnar, 20, keeps his record of never losing by KO/TKO. Tennyson vs. Gachechiladze Tennyson’s power too much for little Georgian. The first round was mainly one of feeling out with Tennyson trying to figure out how to deal with the spoiling tactics of the 5’3” (160cm) Gachechiladze. Once he figured that out the fight was over. A right put Gachechiladze down early in the second and a left to the body had the Georgian writhing in agony on the mat as he was counted out. Now eleven wins by KO/TKO for 22-year-old Tennyson. Since suffering a “just one of those things” stoppage loss to a fighter with a 2-64-5 record in 2013 Tennyson has scored 6 wins including a victory over Kris Hughes for the BBB of C Celtic title. Gachechiladze is 3-10 in his last 13 fights. Rotherham, England: Fly: Thomas Essomba (6-1) W TKO 11 Waleed Din (7-1). Super Middle: Liam Cameron (19-4) W TKO 4 George Beroshvili (21-7-2). Essomba vs. Din Essomba wins the vacant CBC title with late stoppage of Din. The Cameroon fighter was just too strong for Din and to some extent bullied his way to victory. He had Din on the back foot for much of the fight. He put the clever boxing Din down in the fourth and never really allowed the Sheffield fighter to use his skill. He was pushing Din around in the clinches and sometimes wrestling him over with Din not able to establish any rhythm. The pressure also saw Din spitting out his gumshield a couple of times as he tired and two knockdowns in the eleventh round saw Din’s corner throw in the towel. The 27-year-old Essomba has a curious background. After competing in the World Military Championships, the Commonwealth Games the 2008 Olympics and the 2009 World Championships BoxRec has him losing his first pro fight against Frenchman Yoan Boyeaux at the end of 2009. However he then represent Cameroons at both the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics in London where after losing to Paddy Barnes he absconded from the team finally settling in the North East of England where he “resumed” his pro career in July last year. Din was going past six rounds for the first time but just found Essomba too strong. Cameron vs. Beroshvili Cameron returned to the winning column with stoppage of yet another Georgian. The Sheffield fighter used a stiff jab to control the action and mixed in a good array of hard hooks to the body. The action was one-sided and the hooks to the body took their toll and a discouraged Beroshvili went down in the fourth with the fight being halted. . First fight for Cameron since losing a close verdict to Luke Blackledge for the vacant CBC title in April and his seventh win by KO/TKO. Beroshvili, 23, had won 5 of his last 6 fights and was knocked out in two rounds by Martin Murray in June. Phoenix, AZ, USA: Super Bantam: Jessie Magdaleno (22-1) W TKO 1 Vergel Nebran (14-10-1). Light Heavy: Trevor McCumby (21-0) W PTS 8 Dustin Craig Echard (11-,1ND). Magdaleno vs. Nebran No way was Magdaleno going to let it be two losses for the family in the month. He just blew Nebran away flooring the Filipino with a left to the body. Nebran made it to his feet but another body punch put him down and he was counted out. The 23-year-old southpaw, a former NGG and US National champion, has 16 wins by KO/TKO exactly half of them being first round endings. He is rated WBA 3/IBF (4)/WBC 11 and should get a chance late in 2016 to try to bring home a title after elder brother Diego failed to do so for the second time being stopped in two rounds by Terry Flanagan on 10 October. Nebran is 3-6 in his last 9 fights but has been in tough matches with Tomas Rojas, Rey Vargas and Cris Mijares in a fight in which he had Mijares on the floor. McCumby vs. Echard McCumby moves to 21 wins but has to come off the floor. The big puncher from Arizona has been used to seeing his opponent on the floor but this time it was McCumby who ended up there in the third round. He dusted himself off and although not being able to replay the favour and put Echard down he did box his way to a comfortable victory. Scores 79-73 for all three judges. First time the 23-year-old former US Under-19 champion has gone past the sixth round for a win. Echard, 29, had been stopped in two rounds by unbeaten Ahmed Elbiali in February. Quincy, MA, USA: Cruiser: Chris Traietti (19-3) W TKO 3 Gary Tapusoa (7-5-1). Traietti has to overcome an early shock to halt hard-punching Tapusoa. Early in the first a right from Tapusoa put Traietti on the floor. The local fighter was badly shaken when he got up but Tapusoa was wild with his follow-up punches and as Traietti’s head cleared he was able to bang back at the bell. Traietti made a fresh start in the second doing what he had planned to do in the first using his jab to set Tapusoa up and then banging home straight rights. That worked with a right putting Tapusoa down late in the round. It was all over in the third as Traietti scored three knockdowns and the fight was stopped. The 30-year-old Quincy fighter wins the WBC USNBC title and makes it 9 wins in a row by KO/TKO since losing inside the distance to Edwin Rodriguez in 2011. Tapusoa does not do distance fights as he has 6 wins inside the distance and now 5 losses by KO/TKO. Carlton, MN, USA: Light Heavy: Cornelius White (22-4) W Marcus Oliveira (26-1-1). White vs. Oliveira White just gets past Oliveira with a majority decision in a fight between two fighters trying to rebuild. Scores 97-92 twice and 95-95. Second win for the tall Texan White, 33, after a run of losses to Sergey Kovalev, Thomas Williams and Marcus Browne. Oliveira, 36, lost on points to Juergen Braehmer for the WBA secondary title in December 2013 and was then inactive until returning with a routine win in August this year. Vera Cruz, Mexico: Feather: Tomas Rojas (46-14-1,1ND) W TKO 9 Edward Mansito (13-3-2). Super Middle: Marco Periban (23-3-1) W KO 2 Joshua Okine (28-5-1). Rojas vs. Mansito Rojas rides out an early storm to stop Filipino. Mansito spent most of the fight trying to pin down the clever and elusive Mexican southpaw without much luck. He used up plenty of energy in the chase and as he tired Rojas began to slam home counter after counter. Mansito kept throwing punches but was taking too much incoming fire and the referee stopped the fight in the ninth. The 35-year-old former WBC super fly champion wins the vacant WBC Continental Americas title up at feather. He has won 10 of his last 11 fights with the loss being against Shinsuke Yamanaka for the WBC bantam title in 2012. Mansito, the GAB No 11 feather, had a ten bout winning streak broken when he lost to world rated Mexican Rey Vargas in May. Periban vs. Okine Periban takes out overmatched Ghanaian in second. Former CBC welter champion Okine was fighting way above his normal division and normal quality of opposition as well as having his first fight since May 2013. He was never in with a chance and a right from Periban put him down and out in the second which probably saved him from a more prolonged beating. Periban, 31, lost a majority verdict to Sakio Bika for the vacant WBC title in 2013 and drew with current WBC champion Badou Jack in the same year. Things went downhill from there with losses against J’Leon Love and James DeGale but he has won three fights this year so hopes to get a title shot against Jack in 2016. Fights had dried up for 35-year-old Okine in Ghana but this was a bad start to an attempt to get more fights. Auvillers-les-Forges, France: Light Heavy: Mehdi Amar (32-4-2) W PTS 12 Serhiy Demchenko (15-8-1). Cruiser: Arsen Goulamirian (12-0) W PTS 8 Lukasz Rusiewicz (20-22) Amar vs. Demchenko Amar retains his EU title with unanimous decision over Rome-based Ukrainian Demchenko. The champion made the better start showing more movement and accuracy than Demchenko who was pressing the fight and trying to keep it in close. At the end of four rounds Amar was ahead comfortably on two cards at 40-36 and 39-37 but the third judge was more impressed by the aggression of the challenger and had them even. Demchenko tried hard over the next four rounds to swing things his way as he stepped up his attacks but Amar was outboxing him and by the end of the eighth was in front on all three cards 78-74, 77-75 and 76-74. With only two points separating them it was close but Amar had a good ninth to taking it on all three cards leaving Demchenko with a tough task. The Ukrainian clawed his way back into the fight by being the busier fighter over the tenth and eleventh but Amar shut him out with a dominating last round. Scores 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113.Good testing first defence for the 33-year-old from Marseilles as he prepares for a defence against fellow-Frenchman Hakim Zoulikha on November 21. Amar is now 9-0-2 in his last 11 fights. Demchenko was lucky to land the title shot after a run of 4 losses in 5 fights but a win and a draw against useful Finnish fighter Juho Haapoja had seen him creep into the EU ratings at No 22. Goulamirian vs. Rusiewicz French-based Armenian “Feroz” Goulamirian continues to make steady progress as he takes the unanimous decision over Pole. Goulamirian took the verdict on scores of 80-73, 78-74 and 77-75. He deserved the win; his fifth of the year but the rugged Rusiewicz gave his usual gritty showing and has only lost twice by KO/TKO A huge thanks to our good friend Eric Armit for this, as always.
The Past Week In Action 12 October 2015 Kissimmee, FL, USA: Feather: Orlando Cruz (22-4-1) W PTS 10 Gabion Cota (18-5-1). Super Welter: Emmanuel De Jesus (16-0) W TKO 4 Cosme Rivera (38-22-3,1ND). Cruz vs. Cota Cruz outpoints Cota but the Mexican makes him fight hard all of the way. The clever southpaw boxing of Cruz was allowing the Puerto Rican to get off first and Cota found Cruz an elusive target. Cota kept coming forward trying to get Cruz trapped on the ropes but Cruz was ducking and diving and countering with Cota wild with his punches. In the fifth both a left and right from Cota landed low and Cruz was given some recovery time. Cota continued to press the action in the sixth but was reaching with his punches and leaving himself open for bursts of combination punches from Cruz and the Mexican shipped a hard right hook and straight left at the end of the eighth. Cota started the ninth with a concerted ferocious attack pinning Cruz on the ropes for almost a minute with Cruz only able to block or absorb Cota’s punches with no chance to counter. That effort left Cota punched out and as the round closed it was Cruz hunting down Cota and trapping the Mexican on the ropes and unloading. Cruz landed a low punch and was given a stern warning to keep his punches up. Cota was walking Cruz down in the tenth taking the Puerto Rican to the ropes and swinging wide hooks from both hands. As in the ninth when the storm blew itself out Cruz was the one forcing Cota back and landing from both hands. As they tired Cruz missed a punch and slipped to the canvas but it was rightly not counted and Cruz finished strongly. Scores 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94 all for Cruz. The first score was unfair on Cota and the last too close. Cota had struggled to make the weight but it did not seem to affect him. The 34-year-old Cruz wins the vacant WBO NABO super feather title. He suffered back-to-back losses against Omar Salido for the WBO title in October 2013 and a ten rounder against Gamaliel Rodriguez in April last year. He was then inactive until returning in June with a win. “ Flash” Cota, 22, has lost 4 of his last 5 fights but Cruz was never able to relax against the young man from south of the border. De Jesus vs. Rivera De Jesus remains unbeaten with win over veteran Rivera. The bout was halted at the end of the fourth round due to a bad cut under the right eye of Rivera. The tall 22-year-old Puerto Rican “Pirate” now has 10 wins by KO/TKO. He was Puerto Rican amateur champion, Pan American Junior champion and represented Puerto Rico at both the World Youth Championships and the Pan American Games. He is one of the hottest prospects in Puerto Rico. Rivera is a former IBF/WBC/WBA welter title challenger but at 39 that is history and he is 3-7 in his last 10 fights. Ghent, Belgium: Cruiser: Dmytro Kucher (23-1-1) DREW 12 Bilal Laggoune (19-0-2). Super Welter: Sasha Yengoyan (33-2-1) W TKO 7 Fouad El Massoudi (13-6). Kucher vs. Laggoune The European title remains vacant after Kucher and Laggoune finish all even. Kucher was the favourite and started out that way forcing the fight and taking the early rounds. It was mid-fight before Laggoune sorted out a response and then he got into the fight and picked up a few rounds. Kucher got back into the fight and although Laggoune had a good ninth and looked to have edged the eleventh Kucher took the tenth and then the last round and with his early superiority looked to have won comfortably. The judges could not agree amongst themselves. Scores 118-112 for Kucher, 115-113 for Laggoune and 114-114 denying Kucher a deserved victory. It can be tough to win in the other guy’s backyard even with neutral judges. Hopefully the EBU will order a return. Ukrainian Kucher, 31, dropped a majority decision to Illunga Makabu for the vacant WBC Silver title in July 2013 and this is only his third fight since then. He is No 9 with the WBC. Former undefeated European Union champion Laggoune, 22, was in his first real tests. He was lucky to keep his unbeaten tag but Kucher was a tough opponent and he is young enough to take any lessons on board and can only improve. Yengoyan vs. El Massoudi “The Beast from the East” finally wears down and stops El Massoudi. There is nothing fancy about Yengoyan’s style which is built on strength and punching power rather than skill and accuracy. El Massoudi had the edge in those departments and after a couple of even rounds the Frenchman built a lead. Yengoyan’s strength began to tell, in the sixth as he was landing some heavy shots. A left in the seventh had El Massoudi on the ropes and in deep trouble. Yengoyan’s follow up barrage saw the referee stop the fight over the protests of El Massoudi but it looked a timely stoppage. The 30-year-old Armenian-born Yengoyan, a former WBFed champion, makes it 22 wins by KO/TKO. He has won 12 of his last 13 fights with the loss in there being to former IBF welter champion Jan Zavcek in a defence of the WBFed title in April. El Massoudi, 27, was 8-2 in his last 10 fights going into this one and this is his first loss by KO/TKO. Cerete, Colombia: Bantam: Vargas Yeison (8-0) W PTS 10 Elkin Rosario (4-11-2). Super Bantam: Luis Diaz (16-2-1) W KO 3 Yael Made (6-2). Yeison vs. Rosario Yeison wins vacant national title with unanimous decision over Rosario. The unbeaten Yeison made his usual fast start having Rosario in trouble in the first from a series of hard lefts with Rosario only just lasting to the bell. Yeison continued to be on top in the next three rounds but Rosario banged back in the fifth with a series of hard body punches. The fight was more even from that point with both trading bombs in the eighth but with Yeison finishing stronger top take the decision and the national title. First ten round fight for promising 26-year-old former Colombian amateur champion Yeison. Four losses in a row for Rosario. Diaz vs. Made Local fighter Diaz extends his unbeaten run to 14 with knockout of Made. Diaz jumped on Mead in the first round and had the DR fighter under fire for the whole three minutes. Mead had a better second round but it was still Diaz landing the heavier punches. Within the first minute of the third a series of punches put Made down. He made it to his feet but a right from Diaz put him down again and Made was counted out. Now 9 wins by KO/TKO for the 22-year-old “Machete” Diaz. Second loss by KO/TKO for Dominican Made. Dojo, France: Light: Daouda Sow (18-0) W PTS 8 Bibi Ondoua (11-6). Former undefeated French champion Sow given eight goods rounds of work by Ondoua. The classy Sow, fresh from three weeks training in Florida, landed some hard shots in the first but fellow Frenchman Ondoua shook them off. The high pace set in the first continued through the eight rounds. Southpaw Sow’s speed, accuracy and pressure threatened to overwhelm Ondoua at times. Sow’s skills often had Ondoua swishing air but Ondoua was able land more punches than might have been expected against Sow but Ondoua is a light puncher. Sow won the unanimous decision but Ondoua also came out with credit. Only the referee scored this one and he had it 79-73 for Sow. The 32-year-old Sow was a silver medallist at the 2008 Olympics beating current IBF super feather champ Jose Pedraza in one of the early bouts in the series. He has also competed in the WSB and AIBI Professional League. His big test will come in November when he faces fellow Frenchman Yves Mendy. Ondoua had won 7 of his last 8 fights. Marcken Calais, France: Middle: Joffrey Jacob (11-0) W PTS 8 Nodar Robakidze (14-15-3). The Jacob clan’s youngest active member continues unbeaten but is given a good fight by travelling loser Robakidze. Jacob had to overcome a facial cut caused by an accidental elbow in the first. He is a quick stylish boxer but lacks real power and the good and the bad showed here as he generally dominated but never looked like stopping Robakidze. Scores 78-72 twice and 77-75 all for local fighter. For Jacob, 22, it was his second time over eight rounds. Robakidze, 22, is 0-6 in fights in Britain and is heading that way in France. Clermont-Ferrand, France: Light Heavy: Igor Mikhalkin (17-1) W PTS 12 Hugo Kasperski (26-6-1). Mikhalkin retains European title with convincing unanimous decision over hometown fighter Kasperski. Kasperski shook Mikhalkin with right early but the Russian southpaw had the superior technique outboxing and out-jabbing the Frenchman who just could not find an answer to the Russians southpaw jab and accurate lefts. Mikhalkin kept getting through with choice uppercuts and left hooks. He had his tactics spot on and even Kasperski admitted he had not been able to find an answer. Kasperski tried to find the punch he needed in the last round but even then he was walking onto counters as Mikhalkin picked him off in an impressive performance. Scores 117-111, 117-111 and 116-113. Second defence of his EBU title by 30-year-old Hamburg-based Mikhalkin, the WBC No 11, but he needs to be more active with just 6 fights in the last 5 years. The 28-year-old Kasperski had won his last 5 fights but says he will review with his coaches where he goes from here. Osaka, Japan: Feather: Hiroshige Osawa (28-3-4) W TKO 5 Shota Yamaguchi (13-2). Osawa beats Yamaguchi on a cut. Yamaguchi tried to use his youth, aggression and a body attack to wear down the more experienced Osawa. In the second a punch from Osawa opened a bad cut over the left eye of Yamaguchi. Knowing the cut was bad Yamaguchi launched wild attacks in the third and fourth forcing Osawa to the ropes but not being to land a decisive punch and Osawa was in control at the end of the fourth. In the fifth punches worsened Yamaguchi’s cut and at the end of the round the referee stopped the fight despite the protests from Yamaguchi’s corner. The 30-year-old former OPBF champion, the WBO No 11, is 12-0-1 in his last 13 fights. Yamaguchi, 25, had won 5 of his last 6 fights and was moving up to ten rounds for the first time. Prachuap, Thailand: Minimumweight: Samartlek (23-5) W TKO 8 Oscar Raknafa (12-12). Super Fly: Norasingh (17-0-1) W TKO 2 Kichang Kim (6-3-1). Samartlek vs. Raknafa Samartlek wins the vacant WBC ABC title with stoppage of Indonesian Raknafa in a poor match. The 30-year-old Thai was stopped in eleven rounds by Japanese star Naoya Inoue in a challenge for the WBC light fly title in September last year. This is his sixth win since then. Now 9 losses in a row for Raknafa. Norasingh vs. Kim Another bit of rubbish sees Norasingh halt Indonesian teenager Kim in two rounds. Norasingh, 29, retains his WBC ABC Silver title and has won 8 of his last 9 fights by KO/TKO. He is rated WBA 3/WBC 13. Kim, 19, “The Lion of Borneo”!! Goes to 3 losses by KO/TKO but as with many Indonesians I am not sure his record is complete. A pity to see the WBC lending its name to rubbish like this. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Super Feather: Victor M Rodriguez (38-4-1) W TKO 9 Diego Chaves (14-11-4). Rodriguez has to shed some rust before beating Chaves. In his first fight for 19 months Rodriguez made a slow start conceding the first round to Chaves and sharing the next two as Chaves looked quicker and sharper. Rodriguez got rolling in the sixth as Chaves seemed to tire. A right to the chin put Chaves down in the seventh and had him badly shaken and in real trouble with a right to the chin in the eighth and a follow-up shower of punches. Chaves was finished and he did not answer the bell for the ninth round. Rodriguez, 30 was beaten in three rounds by Adrien Broner for the vacant WBO feather title in 2011. Third loss by KO/TKO for Chaves who is 4-2 in his last 6 fights. October 10 Manchester, England: Light: Terry Flanagan (29-0) W TKO 2 Diego Magdaleno (28-2). Super Welter: Liam Smith (21-0-1 ) W TKO 7 John Thompson (17-2). Super Middle Luke Blackledge (20-2-2) W PTS 12 Lee Markham (14-3-1). Light Thomas Stalker (10-1-2) DREW 10 Craig Evans (14-2). Super Welter: Jimmy Kilrain Kelley (16-0) W PTS 10 Martin Fidel Rios (16-7-3). Super Light: Jack Catterall (13-0) W PTS 10 Jarkko Putkonen (12-1). Super Feather: Adrian Gonzalez (12-1) W TKO 4 Jon Kays (21-5-1).Bantam: Ryan Burnett (11-0) W KO 2 Robert Kanalas (10-5). Middle: Vijender Singh (1-0) W TKO 3 Sonny Whiting (2-2). Flanagan vs. Magdaleno Hugely impressive win by Flanagan as he retains his WBO title with second round stoppage of Magdaleno. Flanagan made a confident start establishing his jab early and with Magdaleno seeming to have trouble with his footing as he slipped to the canvas twice in the opening round. Magdaleno was down again from a slip at the start of the second but the next time he went down it was no slip. A heavy right hook from Flanagan put Magdaleno down. He was up and took the eight count but had not really recovered. Flanagan leapt on the challenger with a left uppercut and a fusillade of hooks with Magdaleno again going down. He got up but when the action restarted Flanagan had him trapped on the ropes and continued to unload punches from both hands to force Magdaleno to the canvas for the third time. The referee might have stopped it then but he gave Magdaleno every chance allowing the fight to continue but with Magdaleno again trapped on the ropes and not fighting back the fight was stopped. Great win for the 26-year-old local fighter. He won the title in unfortunate circumstances when Jose Zepeda suffered a dislocated shoulder in the second round of their fight for the vacant title in July but if that left with Flanagan with a feeling he had something to prove he did it here in the way he blasted out his No 1 challenger. He must feel he would have a good chance in unification fights with either WBC champion Jorge Linares or the winner of the WBA title fight between champion Darleys Perez and fellow-Brit Anthony Crolla if either fight can be made. Magdaleno, 28, had lost on a split decision against Roman Martinez for the WBO super feather title in 2013 but had successfully rebuilt with five wins. Smith vs. Thompson Smith overcomes a pedestrian start to catch up with and dispose of Thompson to win the vacant WBO title. He becomes the first of the four Smith brothers to win a world crown. The taller and quicker Thompson was the busier in the first round and although not always accurate he could put the first round in the bank. Thompson continued to utilise his long reach to score with jabs and straight rights and although Smith always looked dangerous Thompson was pocketing the rounds and building a good lead. Smith managed to score with some rights in the fourth but Thompson was proving an elusive target and Smith was having trouble getting past the jab as the American edged the fifth. Smith finally began to let his hands go in the sixth. He was stalking Thompson shaking him with a right and thumping home heavy rights and lefts. Thompson slipped over late in the round but was nailed by some brutal punches and was glad to hear the bell. Smith knew he had hurt Thompson badly in the sixth and went out to end it in the seventh. Smith had Thompson under fire but the American was trying to fight back until a crunching right put him face down on the canvas. Thompson tried to get up but pitched down onto the canvas again and the fight was over. Twenty-seven-year-old Liverpudlian Smith, a former undefeated CBC and British champion, was not a noted puncher in his early fights getting only 5 wins by KO/TKO in his first 16 fights but that has changed and he has won 6 on the bounce inside the distance. Brother Paul has failed in two shots at the WBO super middle title but his other siblings, Callum and Stephen could soon follow in Liam’s footsteps. “Apollo Kid” Thompson,26, had done nothing until he climbed off the floor to win the ESPN Boxcino Tournament in May but was No 5 with the WBO with other fighters above him unavailable. Blackledge vs. Markham Blackledge retains the CBC title with very close unanimous decision over Markham. This one was close all the way with neither boxer really opening a gap in the points. It started badly for Blackledge as he emerged from the first round with a cut over his right eye. He then began to pick up points when boxing from a distance and the injury situation was levelled up as Markham had a swelling by his left eye in another clash of heads. It was a very open fight with both fighters trying to dominate the ring centre with Markham making Blackledge fight in close and looking to be the heavier puncher. Blackledge gradually began to increase his work rate and was going to the body more. The contest was gruelling but not really catching fire but with neither dominating it was hard to score. Both tried to swing things their way over the closing rounds with Markham looking to have shaken Blackledge with a right in the eleventh but Blackledge outworking Markham in the last. Scores 116-113, 116-114 and 115-114 for Blackledge. First defence of his CBC title for the 25-year-old from Accrington. His losses were a close decision against Erik Skoglund in Denmark and a first round stoppage against Rocky Fielding for the CBC title in 2013. Since then Blackledge has won 6 in a row including a close unanimous verdict over Liam Cameron for the vacant CBC title. “ Banjo” Markham, 27, had shared a split draw with Frank Buglioni in May and deserves a return. Stalker vs. Evans Once more Stalker gets a disappointing outcome as he tries to fulfil the promise he showed as an amateur. Evans took the first round looking sharp and surprising Stalker with his fast start as he had Stalker stumbling. Stalker was unfazed by a hard right in the second and did enough to offset the deficit from the first round. Both landed some good punches in the third but Evans shaded it with a flourish at the end. After an even fourth Stalker took the next three rounds upping his work rate and making good use of his edges in height and reach to outbox the Welshman. Evans was not finished as he edged the eighth and looked unlucky not to be credited with a knockdown in the ninth when he seemed to land a punch before Stalker went down but it was ruled a slip. Stalker seemed to have made the decision safe by decisively winning the last round knocking out the Welshman’s gumshield with a left and landing some good combinations to round off a good fight. The judges were divided at the end of this entertaining all-southpaw contest with scores of 97-93 for Stalker, 96-94 for Evans and 95-95. The WBO European title remains vacant. The 31-year-old former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, European silver medallist and World Championships bronze medallist is now 1-1-2 in his last 4 fights having been stopped by Jack Catterall in October in a fight for the vacant WBO European title at lightweight. Evans, 26, was no slouch as an amateur himself being Welsh and British champion and getting a bronze medal at the EU championships and competing at the World Championships. He was coming off a creditable points loss to Scott Cardle for the vacant British title. Kelley vs. Rios Kelly wins the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title with decision over Argentinian Rios. The Wythenshawe fighter came close to ending this in both the second round when he floored Rios with a left and when he put the Argentinian down again in the third. A resolute Rios recovered to have good spells in the sixth and seventh but never really threatened Kelley’s victory. Scores 100-87, 99-89 and 98-89. Good win for Kelley as he goes ten rounds for the first time and looks strong. Former Argentinian middleweight champion Rios,23, lifted the Argentinian title in 2014 with an upset kayo of Billi Godoy(29-2) but is now going through a rocky spell and is 3-6-1 in his last 10 fights Catterall vs. Putkonen Classy southpaw Catterall wins but with a sub-standard performance. Catterall won every round but never seemed to be stretching himself. The Finn had no answer to Catterall’s jab to head and body and the Chorley southpaw was soon also slotting home right and left hooks. To his credit Putkonen stuck to his thankless task as Catterall clinically ground down his resistance on his way to the decision. Scores 100-90 from all three judges. Catterall retains his WBO Inter-Continental title for the second time. Perhaps the 22-year-old WBO No 9 needs better opposition to bring out the best in him. First ten round bout for Putkonen who was out of his depth. Gonzalez vs. Kays Gonzalez wins grudge match as he floors Keys four times to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title. The danger signs were there for Keys in the first as Gonzalez puts him over with a right late in the round. Kays tries to impose himself in the second but Gonzalez slams home a left/right combination and Kays finds himself on the floor again. The third again saw a determined Kays trying to take control and he has a better round getting through with some punches. Kays is forcing the fight again in the fourth but is floored twice by thumping rights from Gonzalez and the fight is halted. The 24-year-old Gonzalez was born in California but has an English mother, an adopted English father in trainer Lee Beard and has spent long periods training in the USA so has his feet planted on both sides of the Atlantic. He turned pro at 17 but after losing to journeyman James Ancliff in 2010 did not fight again for almost 30 months. Since returning to action he has won 7 fights the last 3 by KO/TKO. Third loss by KO/TKO for 32-year-old Kays a former English featherweight champion. Burnett vs. Kanalas Burnett wins the vacant WBO European title with ridiculously easy stoppage of late substitute Kanalas. Burnett spent the first round walking Kanalas down with the Hungarian just going backwards around the ring and pushing out an occasional southpaw jab. Burnett threw some fast rights but was unable to land solidly. At the start of the second Burnett caught Kanalas with a vicious right to the chin as the Hungarian was trying to slide along the ropes out of harm. Kanalas got up and convinced the referee he was able to continue. Burnett stepped in and Kanalas went down again under a series of punches. Again he got up and was allowed to continue but he was punched/bundled to the floor again and the referee stopped the fight without a count. Ten wins by KO/TKO for the 23-year-old Belfast prospect but this was a poor match-up and a waste of an opportunity for Burnett to get in some rounds before his fight with Jason Booth next month. Kanalas has now lost 4 of his last 5 fights three of those by KO/TKO and in his last fight in August he lost in a fight for the Hungarian light flyweight title! Singh vs. Whiting Indian Singh gets his pro career off to a flying start with a stoppage. Singh showed some classy movement in the first and had Whiting under fire at the end of the round. Whiting tried to take the fight to Singh in the second but as Singh settled he was looking more relaxed and bossing the bout. Whiting came out punching in the third but Singh let the storm blow itself out and then had Whiting eating punches until the referee stopped the one-sided beating. The tall 29-year-old was India’s most successful amateur, he represented them at three Olympic Games, five World Championships and the Commonwe4alth Games and Asian Games. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games and at the 2009 World Championships and the 2010 Commonwealth Games and was a multi-time gold medallist at the Asian Games. He scored wins over Badou Jack and Sergey Derevyanchenko in his vested days. It will be interesting to see how he makes out as a pro. Caracas, Venezuela: Light: Jorge Linares (40-3) W KO 4 Ivan Cano (23-7-2). Middle: Alfonso Blanco (12-0) W PTS 12 Sergey Khomitsky (30-12-3). Heavy: Alex Ustinov (32-1) W KO 1 Maurice Harris (26-20-3,1ND). Light Fly: Carlos Canizales (10-0) W PTS 11 Robert Barrera (12-1). Cruiser: Max Vlasov (31-2) W PTS 6 Gusmyl Perdomo (22-6). Linares vs. Cano Linares gets an easy home defence of his WBC title and beats Mexican Cano inside four rounds. Linares shook Cano in the first and fired home some body punches on the inside with Cano getting through with a couple of rights. Cano ploughed forward in the second throwing plenty of punches but leaving himself open to counters from the sharper Venezuelan. The breakdown gets going in the third as a body punch puts Cano down late in the round. Cano tries to come forward again in the fourth but Linares fires a right to the head followed by a vicious left hook to the short ribs. Cano takes two or three steps back and then goes down on one knee clutching his right side. As the referee is counting it is obvious that Cano is in agony and is not going to get up and the count is completed. Second defence of his WBC title for the 30-year-old “Golden Boy” in his first fight in his homeland since 2010. He was due an easy defence after the vicious blood-filled match with brave Kevin Mitchell and this gives him 27 wins by KO/TKO. He seemed to be living up to that “Golden Boy “tag in winning his first 27 fights and collecting the WBC feather and WBA super feather titles but after inside the distance losses to Juan Carlos Salgado (73 seconds of the first round), Antonio DeMarco and Sergio Thompson he looked likely to fall short. However he is now a three division champion and has won 9 in a row so going in the right direction. Cano gave it a try but in his last six fights had won two, lost two and drawn two so was never really going to threaten Linares.. Blanco vs. Khomitsky Blanco wins the interim WBA title but not yet!. The Venezuelan was too quick and skilful for the Ukrainian and he was clever enough to stay off the ropes and stay centre ring where he had room to use his reach to spear Khomitsky with his jabs. He has a hands down constantly moving style that Khomitsky never really solved. Blanco would lean in with his hands at belt level pull back from Khomitsky’s punches and then with his superior hand speed score with quick combinations. Khomitsky just kept rumbling forwards banging to the body when he could but Blanco was an elusive target. The Venezuelan would occasionally take the lead forcing Khomitsky back with swinging hooks from both hands and then be moving again before Khomitsky could counter. One thing in Khomitsky’s favour was that Blanco is not a hard puncher. He tends to swing his punches rather than snapping them so that they are sweeping and spectacular but not powerful. Despite his best efforts, and he made plenty, Khomitsky was never really in the fight with a chance and Blanco was confident enough to dance his way through the last round with his hands way below his waist taunting Khomitsky with the Minsk-based Khomitsky not being able to land the bombs that have won him in other fights. Scores 119-109 twice and 118-112. The 29-year-old Blanco has had only 12 pro fights but he had a very successful time as an amateur winning silver and bronze medals at the World Championships and competing at the 2008 Olympics. He scored wins over James DeGale, Vijender Singh, Darren Sutherland, Ezequiel Maderna, Marco Periban, Shawn Porter and Dmitry Chudinov and was a gold medal winner at the South American Games. Khomitsky, 41, lost to Martin Murray on points in 2013 and was stopped inside the distance by Robert Stieglitz in July last year. However he had become a bit of a scourge for unbeaten British fights stopping Frank Buglioni and knocking out Adam Etches. The WBA title? Well only the idiots at the WBA could tie themselves in knots this way. This fight was for the interim WBA title. Yes that’s the one that Chris Eubank Jr currently holds and is going to defend against the WBA No 13 Tony Jeter on 24 October. However because he had not defended the title since winning it on 28 February (these are the guys who have allowed Andre Ward to go almost two years without a defence) they are going to take the title away from him and give it to Blanco-but not until after the Jeter fight!! That makes it a meaningless fight for Eubank as he losses the title whether he wins or loses and then there is the question of what happens if Jeter should win? He wins a title that the WBA have said will automatically be given to Blanco on 25 October. Only the idiots at the WBA are capable of tying themselves into such knots !!! Ustinov vs. Harris Ustinov wins in farcical fight. The Russian towered over Harris and used his height and strength to push Harris back to the ropes a couple of time throwing some cuffing punches with Harris complaining they landed on the back of his head. Harris prodded out a couple of jabs but Ustinov took him to the ropes threw a left hook to the side of Harris’s head and as Harris stumbled backwards Ustinov threw a right that made minor contact with the top of Harris’s head. Harris went down spread-eagled on the canvas and the referee waived the fight off. It was a long way from a convincing finish. The 38-year-old 6’7 ½” (202cm) Russian wins the vacant WBA International title. He has 23 wins by KO/TKO and wins over David Tua, Chauncy Welliver and Travis Walked but was halted in 11 rounds by Kubrat Pulev in 2012. Harris, 39, a pro for 22 years has 13 losses by KO/TKO. Canizales vs. Barrera Canizales wins the WBA Fedelatin title with majority decision over Colombian Barrera in a clash of unbeaten Latin American prospects. This was a close hard-fought contest that really could have gone either way. In Colombian Barrera would probably have got the verdict but in Venezuela it went to Canizales with two judges giving him the fight and the other seeing it as a draw. Canizales had won his previous 9 fights by KO/TKO without having to go beyond the third round. Barrera, the defending champion, had a win over world rated Gilbert Pedroza and was rated WBA 4/IBF 15(13). Both have talent and both will be heard from again. Vlasov v. Perdomo Vlasov outpoints Perdomo in pedestrian paced six rounder. Their styles did not mix well with Vlasov having trouble sustaining his attacks again the DR southpaw. Perdomo fought only in spurts and spent too much time with his back to the ropes and rarely raised his pace. The DR fight suffered a cut over his right eye and survived a doctor’s inspection but it remained a low key fight with Vlasov strolling to victory. Scores 60-54 twice and 59-55. Lowell, MA, USA: Welter: Gabriel Bracero (24-2) W KO 1 Danny O’Connor (26-3). Super Bantam: Jonathan Guzman (20-0,1ND) W TKO 9 Danny Aquino (17-3). Super Feather: Ryan Kielczewski (24-1) W PTS 10 Rafael Vazquez (16-2). Middle: Gary O’Sullivan (22-1) W KO 2 David Toribio (21-16).Light: Stephen Ormond (19-2) W KO 1 Michael Clark (44-14-1). Light: Patrick Hyland (31-1) W TKO 8 David Martinez (18-7-1). Heavy: Adam Kownacki (12-0) W PTS 8 Rodney Hernandez (8-3-1). Light: Fernando D Saucedo (57-6-3) W TKO 2 Carlos Fulgencio (19-17-1). Bracero vs. O’Connor Bracero ruins O’Connor’s plans for a revenge win as he knocks out the local star with one punch. They circled each other with southpaw O’Connor pushing out some tentative jabs and Bracero throwing a couple of rights that missed. O’Connor tried a straight left but without much menace behind it and as it slid past the right side of Bracero’s head Bracero threw a beautiful timed right over the left. O’Connor never saw the punch coming and after it slammed into his chin he went down and out after just 41 seconds with the referee immediately waiving the fight off and summoning aid for O’Connor. It was some time before O’Connor recovered enough to be helped to his feet and taken to his corner. The 34-year-old Brooklyn-born Bracero needed the win after being floored a couple of times and outpointed by Felix Diaz in his last fight in April. He is not a noted puncher with just 5 wins by KO/TKO. When these two met back in 2011 Bracero gave O’Connor his first pro loss on a wide unanimous decision. First loss by KO/TKO for 30-year-old O’Connor. He had gone 12-1 since losing that first fight against Bracero but may now have to consider his future. Guzman vs. Aquino Guzman impresses with stoppage of Aquino. The Dominican Republic (DR) fighter showed style and substance as he outboxed and out powered the useful Aquino. Guzman came close to finishing it when he had Aquino down twice with rights in the second round. Aquino got up and fought back hard but was aided by Guzman hurting both hands in that second round. The DR fight then settled down to showcase some excellent skills and slowly grinding down Aquino. However Aquino is too good a fighter to fold easily and gave Guzman a few problems and stayed competitive. Guzman was on top in the ninth when a right put Aquino down. He was badly shaken but protested bitterly when the referee stopped the fight without even giving him a count. Guzman, 26, has secured all of his victories by KO/TKO with only a No Decision scarring his otherwise 100% record. This is his fourth win in New England rings and he already has useful victories over Juan Guzman and Christian Esquivel. Connecticut-based Mexican Aquino, 26, loses inside the distance for the first time. He was coming off an upset victory over Ryan Kielczewski (22-0) in April. Kielczewski vs. Vazquez Kielczewski gets unanimous decision over Vazquez. Over the first two rounds Kielczewski peppered the slower Vazquez with a succession of jabs, straight rights and quick combinations. He had Vazquez in trouble in the third but Vazquez took the punishment and then finished the round strongly. Kielczewski again had Vazquez in trouble in the sixth but again Vazquez refused to fold and banged back to hurt Kielczewski in the best round of the fight. Vazquez was being outworked but kept plugging away and by the end of the ninth both fighters were showing the signs of battle with Vazquez showing swelling below both eyes and Kielczewski cut over his left eye. Vazquez needed a knockout in the last round and shook Kielczewski with a big left hook but the local fighter survived. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 for Kielczewski. The 26-year-old “Polish Prince” makes it two wins since that split decision loss to Aquino in April. Puerto Rican-born Vazquez, 37, had won his last 8 fights 7 by KO/TKO. He did not turn pro until he was 32. O’Sullivan vs. Toribio “Spike” O’Sullivan wins this one with a thudding body punch in the second round. The Irish fighter had Toribio down in the first before putting the DR fighter on the floor in agony with a body shot in the second and the referee waived the fight off. The 31-year-old from Cork makes it 15 wins by KO/TKO. Since being well beaten by Billy Joe Saunders in 2013 and stuttering to a majority verdict over modest journeyman Joe Medina in June 2014 O’Sullivan has scored 5 inside the distance wins in a row with none going past the third round. He is rated No 11 by the WBA. Toribio had been stopped inside a round by Immanuwel Aleem in May and has 9 losses by KO/TKO. Ormond vs. Clark Ormond disposes off oldie Clark inside a round. The Dublin “Rock” targeted the body immediately and Clark just could not take it. He was sent to the canvas twice and the fight was over in 109 seconds. First fight for 32-year-old Ormond under the Al Haymon banner and tenth win by KO/TKO. The former BBB of C Celtic and WBO European champion lost his European title when he was thrown out in the tenth round for illegal use of the head in a fight he was losing against the now WBO world champion Terry Flanagan. Clark, 42, has lost his last 6 fights by KO/TKO. Hyland vs. Martinez Hyland gets through an emotional night with late stoppage of Martinez. Fighting for the first time since the death in spring of his father and in his first fight in his time as an amateur and a professional without his father in his corner Hyland ground out a stoppage win over Martinez early in the eighth round. The 32-year-old “Punisher” from Dublin took 19 months out of the ring after losing on points to Javier Fortuna in December 2012 and this is his fourth win since then. Martinez, 32, was out for almost 7 years before returning to the ring in July with a stoppage loss against Miguel Roman. Kownacki vs. Hernandez Kownacki continues unbeaten with unanimous decision over Hernandez. The 26-year-old New York-based Pole took the decision on scores of 78-74 from all three judges. Twice a winner of the NY Golden Gloves the 6’3” (191cm) 260lbs Kownacki has yet to be put in against anything except modest opposition. Californian Hernandez had won his last 3 fights. Saucedo vs. Fulgencio Argentinian veteran Saucedo gets rare inside the distance win as he halts DR fighter Fulgencio in two rounds. “El Vasco”, 33, failed in challenges to Chris John foe the WBA feather title and Rances Barthelemy for the IBF super feather crown his only losses in his last 44 fights but only 10 of his wins have come by KO/TKO. Fuklgencio,34, needs to find another job. He has lost his last 12 fights 10 of them by KO/TKO. Caseros, Argentina: Super Fly: Omar Narvaez (44-2-2) W PTS 10 Diego L Pichardo L (16-7-1). Narvaez shows there is still life in the old boy as he gets wide unanimous verdict over Pichardo in this all-southpaw scrap. The little former double WBO champion started slowly with Pichardo probably doing just enough to edge the opening round as he switched guards to try to confuse Narvaez but after that it was Narvaez doing most of the scoring. As early as the third there was already signs of a swelling under Pichardo’s right eye which would be a concern throughout the fight. Whether swarming forward with quick combinations or counter punching Narvaez was the boss. Pichardo had to survive a doctor’s examination late in the fight and he did well to keep going with only limited vision out of that eye. Narvaez showed his trade mark stamina and although always in control he just could not find the punch to end it early. Scores 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91 as Narvaez wins the WBO International title. First fight for the 40-year-old Argentinian since losing his WBO title to Naoya Inoue in December now he wants a chance for revenge. The 30-year-old Buenos Aires-based Dominican Pichardo had won his last four fights. Rome, Italy: Super Bantam: Abigail Medina (15-3-2) W TKO 6 Emiliano Salvini (17-21-2) W. Light: Pasquale Di Silvio (19-7-1) W Vincenzo Finiello (10-1-2). Middle: Emanuele Blandamura (23-2) W Mugurel Sebe (18-79-4). Medina vs. Salvini Medina retains his EU title with stoppage of Italian veteran. Medina used his advantages in height and reach to score freely banging in punches to head and body with Salvini having difficulty getting onto the fight. Over the next three rounds Medina seemed to ease up and Salvini finally had some success. The Italian tried switching guards in the fifth but Medina came alive again in earnest in the sixth switching on the power and driving Salvini around the ring with a succession of heavy shots. The referee seemed willing to let it continue but Salvini’s corner climbed on the ring apron and the referee then halted the beating. Dominican-born “Bebe” Medina, 27, was making the first defence of his title. He put up a good performance when losing an eight rounder against Jamie McDonnell in 2013 and has rebounded with six wins. His mandatory challenger is Brit James Dickens which will be a tough test. Local fighter Salvini, 36, the Italian champion is now 2-4-1 in his last 7 fights. Di Silvio vs. Finiello Di Silvio makes successful defence of his Italian title. These two got to it straight away slugging away toe-to-toe with a few bits outside the rules thrown in. Di Silvio suffered a bad gash on his right eyebrow in the third round and despite Finiello having a good fifth round Di Silvio had the better of the action in the sixth and seventh. At the end of the eighth the doctor had a look at the wound on Di Silvio’s eyebrow and the fight was stopped and went to the scorecards. Scores 77-75 twice and 79-74 all for Di Silvio. First defence in his second reign as champion for the 36-year-old “Puma “from Rome. Two losses in consecutive fights in two shots at this title for Finiello. Blandamura vs. Sebe Blandamura eases back with points victory over Romanian veteran Sebe. The Italian started slowly and then wound things up in successive rounds. Sebe is a very experienced loser and knows how to slip, slide, duck and dive his way through six rounds and was never in real trouble. Blandamura, 35, was having his fight since a brutal knockout loss to Michel Soro for the vacant European title in June. Sebe, 39, has a whole heap of losses but only seven of those have been by KO/TKO. Los Cabos, Mexico: Bantam: Alberto Guevara (22-2) W TKO 6 Rolando Magbanua (25-4). Minimumweight: Luis Ceja (28-5-3) W TKO 3 Valentin Leon (38-31-3,1ND). Guevara vs. Magbanua Guevara halts Filipino to keep his hopes of another world title shot alive. Magbanua was looking to trade with Guevara from the outset feeling he had the harder punch. Guevara cleverly nullified the Filipino’s attacks and slotted home punches of his own. Magbanua kept forcing but Guevara continued to find gaps in the Filipino’s defence and eventually Magbanua began to wilt. By the sixth it was a one-sided fight and the referee stepped-in to save Magbanua from further grief. Guevara, 25, the IBF No 10(8) lost on points to Leo Santa Cruz for the IBF bantam title in 2012 and in 2013 was knocked out in nine rounds by Shinsuke Yamanaka in a challenge for the WBC title. He took a year out after that loss and this is his fourth win since then.”Smooth Operator” Magbanua, 30, won 6 on the bounce before being stopped by modest Rey Laspinas in June so now two inside the distance losses in a row. Ceja vs. Leon Ceja stops experienced Leon. Ceja had Leon down from a right in the first round and continued to chop away at Leon until the referee stopped the fight in the third round. Ceja lost only one of his first 26 fights but then went 2-4 in his next 6. He has started to rebuild with 4 wins. Leon, 36, has 19 losses by KO/TKO. Mexico City, Mexico: Super Welter: Ramon Alvarez (22-4-2) W TKO 4 Ben Tackie (30-13-1). Fly: Martin Tecuapetia (13-6-3) W TKO 3 Ronald Ramos (37-15-4). Welter: Alejandro Barrera (28-2) W PTS 10 Jose de Jesus Macias (18-3-3). Alvarez vs. Tackie Predictable inside the distance win for Alvarez over Ghanaian veteran. Alvarez was looking to take Tackie out in the first round with punches to head and body. From the second his main focus was the Ghanaian’s body and that quickly had an effect with an already slow Tackie slowing even further. Tackie was a bit more competitive in the third landing a few counters. Alvarez ended it in the four driving Tackie into a corner and unloading with both hands until the referee stopped the fight. “Inocente” Alvarez, the elder brother of Saul, has 7 wins and a No Decision in his last 8 fights with victories over Omar Chavez and Vivian Harris. He was to have fought Jorge Paez Jr but when Paez was injured Tackie stepped-in. The 42-year-old Ghanaian, a former IBF/WBA/WBC super light title challenger, was having his first fight for four years. Tecuapetia vs. Ramos Tecuapetia comes in as a late sub and halts Colombian. When former light fly champion Francisco Rodriguez was ruled out Tecuapetia stepped in a very short notice. He punched too hard for the veteran southpaw and halted Ramos in the third. He floored the Colombian who took the mandatory count whilst on his knees but was still unsteady when he got up and the fight was stopped. The Mexican “Devil” moves to 10 wins by KO/TKO. He lost to top rated Filipino Milam Melindo on a majority decision in May last year and has two wins and a draw since then. Southpaw Ramos, 39, lost to Julio Cesar Miranda in a challenge for the WBO fly title in 2010 Barrera vs. Macias Barrera wins the most competitive fight on the show with split decision over Macias. It was an even fight over the first five rounds but from the sixth although it remained close Barrera looked to have the edge. Scores 97-93 and 96-95 for Barrera and 97-94 for Macias. The Ignacio Beristan trained Barrera, 29, has now won 8 of his last 9 fights including good victories over Abner Lopez and Juan Macias Montiel but does not really seem to be going anywhere. Macias, 23, was a very live opponent being 13-0-1 in his last 14 fights. Managua, Nicaragua: Super Feather: Rene Alvarado (23-5) W TKO 1 Eusebio Osejo (28-16-2). “Twin” Alvarado wipes out Osejo inside a round in an all local battle. These two had fought each other back in 2012 when Alvarado halted Osejo in seven rounds. Osejo had claimed he was sick before that fight. This time he probably felt sick after the fight. A big right from Alvarado put Osejo down heavily. He made it to his feet but after the mandatory count but was defenceless against the follow up attack from Alvarado and the fight was halted. The 26-year-old former WBC Silver champion gets win No 16 by KO/TKO. He needed the win after going 2-3 in his previous 5 fights with the losses in important fights against Rocky Juarez, Eric Hunter and Joseph Diaz. Osejo, 29, a former Nicaraguan Feather champion, now has 6 losses by KO/TKO. Laviana, Spain: Super Middle: Jose Manuel Iglesias (10-4) W PTS 10 Blas Miguel Martinez (21-9-1). Iglesias wins the Spanish title with points victory over champion Martinez. The hometown fighter had huge physical advantages over Martinez (6’5” 196cm vs. 5’9” 175cm). Despite those advantages Iglesias often chose to fight inside making things harder for himself than they needed to be. Swiss-born Martinez was the harder puncher and he fought his usual aggressive style but with a sound defence. The fight was hard fought and close with the home advantage perhaps a factor as Iglesias took the unanimous decision. The 34-year-old “Punky” had lost to Xesus Ferreiro in 2014 in a previous shot at the national title and was knocked out in 77 seconds by Callum Smith in April. Martinez 34, was making the first defence of the title he won from Ferreiro in May and was coming off a one round stoppage loss to Brit Jamie Cox in July. London, England: ). Super Light: Johnny Coyle (11-0-1) W PTS 10 AJ Faizy (6-2-1). Middle: John Ryder (21-2) W PTS 6 Adam Jones (5-11-4 Coyle vs. Faizy Coyle wins the WBC Youth Inter-Continental title with unanimous victory over Faizy. Basically Coyle won this one on the basis of his better skills and excellent use of his southpaw right jab. Faizy pressed hard trying to get past the jab but never really had much success. As the rounds progressed whether on the front foot or the back foot Coyle scored well to the body and landed plenty of fast combinations. Faizy kept applying the pressure putting in a big effort in the seventh but Coyle blocked most of the shots and scored with uppercuts of his own. A left had Faizy hurt in the last but he was never really in any danger of failing to go the distance. Scores 100-90 twice and 100-89 for Coyle. The 22-year-old Southern Area champion from Essex is making good progress. Faizy, 22, put everything into this one but was just up against a much better boxer on the night. Ryder vs. Jones Ryder gets back to winning ways with decision over Jones. Ryder forced Jones to the ropes with some stiff jabs and worked the body in the first. Ryder continued those tactics over the remaining five rounds throwing in some wicked uppercuts along with hooks from both hands. Jones tried unsuccessfully to smother Ryder’s work inside but also fired some hard right hand counters to earn a round and show he was still in the fight. Referee’s score 59-56. The 27-year-old “Gorilla” Ryder only lost to world title challenger Billy Joe Saunders on a wafer-thin decision and scored a stoppage over Billi Godoy but lost last time out against Luke Blackledge for the vacant British title in May so his first win on his way back. Jones, 23, was coming off a good with over Anthony Fitzgerald. Newport, Wales: Light Heavy: Enzo Maccarinelli (40-7) W TKO 5 Jiri Svacina (12-167. Super Light: Mitch Buckland (10-0) W PTS 10 Ally Black (5-2). Maccarinelli vs. Svacina Maccarinelli has no trouble handling Czech Svacina. Maccarinelli eased his way into the fight without putting in full effort. By the third body punches already had Svacina looking as though he wished he was somewhere else. The Czech was down three times before the referee took pity on him in the fifth. Now 32 wins by KO/TKO for the 35-year-old former EBU, CBC and WBO cruiser champion and his second victory since his loss to Juergen Braehmer for the secondary WBA light heavy title in April last year. He is No 2 with the EBU and there is talk of a fight with Roy Jones. Svacina is 1-14 in his last 15 fights. Buckland vs. Black Cardiff fighter Buckland wins the vacant BBB of C Celtic title with decision over previous victim Black. Southpaw Buckland controlled the fight with his jab. Black was competitive without ever seeming to challenge Buckland’s ascendancy. The tough Scot had lost on a nose injury against Buckland in July and Buckland’s accurate punches again had Black’s nose a mess and he also had bruising around an eye by the end of the fight. Scores 99-92 and 100-91 for Buckland the 22-year-old brother of former British super feather champion Gary. Mitch is a former Celtic champion at lightweight. Black was up at ten rounds for the first time A HUGE thanks to Eric Armit for his latest results column.
The Past Week In Action 6 October 2015 October 2 Benavidez, Argentina: Cruiser: Victor E Ramirez (22-2-1) DREW 12 Ovill McKenzie (25-12-1). Despite a career best effort McKenzie has to settle for a draw and Ramirez retains the IBF title. It seems strange to be talking about the clever boxing on the back foot by McKenzie and his jab being a dominant punch but the British fighter fought the right fight and stuck to his game plan. The pattern of the fight rarely varied. Ramirez was rumbling forward trying to cut down the ring and work McKenzie over on the ropes. McKenzie was using his jab both to score points, set Ramirez up for counters and to unsettle him and take away the Argentinian’s jab and it worked well. When Ramirez did trap McKenzie on the ropes he scored with clubbing shots to the head and those shots sometimes had McKenzie scrambling along the ropes to escape. In mid ring McKenzie was the more accurate but it was Ramirez’s shots which were the more eye-catching. After shaking Ramirez with a right in the second McKenzie certainly seemed to have built a lead by the half way mark with Ramirez landing big shots in the fourth and sixth but being outworked by McKenzie in those rounds. Ramirez had his best period in the middle rounds with McKenzie seeming to tire in the eighth but more than matching Ramirez over the closing rounds. It could be that by constantly trying to walk McKenzie down together with his aggression and clubbing shots when he had McKenzie on the ropes impressed the judges and home advantage was a big plus for Ramirez. McKenzie looked to have done enough to win whilst Ramirez looked lucky to escape with a home draw. With the IBF President Daryl Peoples as the fight supervisor hopefully the appeal for a return might be received favourably. The 31-year-old Ramirez “El Tyson del Abasto” certainly did not have one of his better nights and fought well below the level he showed in beating Ola Afolabi for the interim title in April. He was to have fought Yoan Pablo Hernandez for the full title but when Hernandez decided to retire Ramirez was made full champion and this was his first defence of the title. McKenzie’s performance was an eye-opener. “The Upsetter” is more known for his robust style and battering opponents down rather than out boxing them. The 35-year-old Jamaican-born three-time CBC champion had only 11 days notice for the fight and stayed in London the Friday before the fight to received the prestigious Denny Mancini trophy from the CBC for his spells as their title holder. Right now Ramirez has no mandatory challenger as the first two positions in the IBF cruiserweight ratings are vacant so there is nothing to prevent him granting McKenzie the return he deserves. Not bad for a guy who was 5-6 in his first 11 fights. Los Angeles, CA, USA: Middle: Patrick Teixeira (26-0) W TKO 7 Don Mouton (14-10-1). Middle: Antonio Gutierrez (19-1-1) W PTS 6 Victor Fonesca (9-7-1). Welter: Zach Ochoa (13-0) W KO 3 Alejandro Rodriguez (24-19-1). Teixeira vs. Mouton Teixeira extends his winning run with stoppage of game Mouton. Over the early rounds Mouton was full of fire but the Brazilian southpaw was showing good skills and was more accurate and busier. Slowly Teixeira was making it a one-sided fight breaking Mouton down and with his right eye vision being badly affected by a swelling Mouton was warned at the end of the fifth that the fight would be stopped if it continued to be one-sided. Mouton had his high-water mark in the sixth when a left hook had Teixeira badly shaken and holding on to the bell. In the seventh Teixeira cut loose banging home punch after punch and with Mouton’s trapped on the ropes and with his right eye shut by the swelling the referee stopped the fight. The tall 24-year-old Teixeira goes to 22 wins by KO/TKO but so far he has not met any really testing opposition. He is a tall, loose-limbed fighter who certainly has power but due to the lack of any creditable opposition when attacking he leaves himself wide open to counters and against better opposition he could pay for that. Mouton came in as a late sub and the durable 37-year-old Texan suffers only his second loss by KO/TKO. He is 2-6 in his last 8 fights but in that opposition is Brandon Gonzales, Badou Jack, Anthony Dirrell and Antoine Douglas all of whom he took the distance. Gutierrez vs. Fonesca Gutierrez cleans up the draw in his record with unanimous verdict over fellow citizen of Tijuana. Gutierrez had a big edge in speed and skill and comfortably took the early rounds despite suffering a cut from a punch in the third. Fonesca landed a hard right in the fourth which shook Gutierrez but was himself cut over his left eye in a clash of heads. Gutierrez stood and traded more over the last two rounds and clearly won those rounds. Scores 59-55 twice and 60-54. Gutierrez, 21, was unbeaten in his first 19 fight before losing a majority decision to Paul Valenzuela in May. The draw in his record was against Fonesca back in 2012. Four losses in a row for Fonesca with the other three being against unbeaten fighters. Ochoa vs. Rodriguez Ochoa destroys experienced Rodriguez in three rounds. Ochoa landed some range-finding punches in the first and then exploded in the second. A combination dropped Rodriguez late in the third with what looked a possible second flooring ruled a slip. Immediately after the bell to start the third a right put Rodriguez down again. Rodriguez struggled to make it to the vertical and a series of follow-up punches from Ochoa put Rodriguez down again and the fight was stopped. The 22-year-old “Zungary” from Brooklyn has 6 wins by KO/TKO. Now ten losses by KO/TKO for Rodriguez. Philadelphia, USA: Super Feather: Jason Sosa (18-1-3) W KO 6 Jorge Pazos (14-9-1). Sosa dominates all the way before cutting down Pazos in the sixth. The Camden prospect put the Mexican under pressure from the first bell and round by round chopped away at the body with Pazos weakening. The Mexican tried to keep Sosa out but Sosa was relentless. He ended it in the sixth landing a booming left hook that saw Pazos go down on one knee and just stay there whilst the referee counted to ten. Now the 27-year-old Sosa is unbeaten in his last 17 fights and has 13 wins in a row by KO/TKO including an impressive first round kayo of Jerry Belmontes in August. Six losses in a row for Pazos all against top flight opposition. Mercedes, Argentina: Light Heavy: Walter G Sequeira (16-2) W PTS 10 Eli Heraldo Trosch (11-4-1). Sequeira retains his WBC Latino title with unanimous decision over Trosch. It was Trosch who made the better start edging the first two rounds. Sequeira had his jab working and took the third and fourth despite some roughhouse work from Trosch Those tactics began to count against Trosch as he seemed to have taken the sixth but was deducted a point for low punches. From then on Sequeira ran the fight. He took control of the ring centre and out boxed Trosch over the last four rounds with Trosch losing another point in the last and being lucky not to lose a third. Scores 98-90 twice and 95-93. Sequeira, 28, had a 14 bout winning streak broken in a split decision loss to Patricio Pitto in July and this is his second win since then. Trosch is 4-4 in his last 8 fights. Madrid, Spain: Super Light: Nicolas Gonzalez (15-0) W KO 3 Petar Zivkovic (17-2). Super Feather: Ruddy Encarnacion (35-23-4) W PTS 8 Santiago Bustos (7-8-1). Gonzalez vs. Zivkovic Gonzalez again shows both his power and his limitations. Over the first two rounds Gonzalez was trying to force the fight but Serb Zivkovic was scoring well with his jab a rights and showing the better skills. In the third Gonzalez decided to let Zivkovic take him to ropes and counter. Zivkovic landed a hard right but was nailed with a right from Gonzalez which put him down. Zivkovic complained that the punch had landed on the back of his neck. After Zivkovic got up and the eight count was completed a punch from Gonzalez put the Serb down and again he complained that the punch had landed on the back of the neck as he sat out the count. The 27-year-old Spanish champion from Madrid has 11 wins by KO/TKO and collects the vacant WBC Mediterranean title. Zivkovic, 32, loses inside the distance for the second time. His record had been built on low level opposition and this was only his second fight after 20 months of inactivity. Encarnacion vs. Bustos Encarnacion given a hard night by Bustos. He gets the majority decision but looked a clear winner. Bustos had early success when he shook Encarnacion with a right in the second. The third and fourth were close as Bustos kept rumbling forward but at the end of the fifth a right from Encarnacion had Bustos badly wobbling and he also crashed home a right uppercut but the bell went before he could capitalise of that success. Encarnacion then took the closing rounds to get the decision. Scores 79-75, 78-75 and 75-75. Warm-up win for the “Black Wolf” who is set to face Sofiane Takoucht for the vacant European title. The 36-year-old Dominican is 11-0-2 in his last 13 fights. Bustos, 32, has lost of his last 7 fights in tough matches away from home. Bangyai, Thailand: Feather: Cosmas Cheka (15-4-4) W TKO 7 Thewa Onesongchaigym (10-3). Super Feather: Chonlatarn (57-2) W KO 4 Samongkol (0-1). Super Fly: Kwanpichit (33-1-2) W TKO 4 Srisomdech (0-2). Cheka vs. Thewa Cheka gets upset win as he batters local fighter Thewa to defeat in seven rounds. Cheka was fleet-footed and had fast hands and danced around the plodding Thai. Thewa just kept walking forward eating counters trying to trap Cheka on the ropes and work to the body. Cheka was able to slot home punch after punch and as his confidence increased he was using hooks and uppercuts to catch Thewa as he ploughed forward. For a while it looked as though Thewa would overwhelm the skinny African but in the fifth a left hook had the Thai staggering back into the ropes which must have worried the Thai’s corner. Thewa scored with some clubbing rights in the sixth but Cheka ended the round with a barrage of hooks and uppercuts. Early in the seventh a series of punches had Thewa badly staggered and he grabbed Cheka. The African pushed him off and Thewa crashed to the floor. The referee halted the action to help Thewa up but he was finished. A four-punch combination to the head saw the Thai collapsing backward with referee catching him on the way down and immediately waiving the fight over. Indonesian-born Tanzanian Cheka gets only his second win by KO/TKO. He is 11-1-2 in his last 14 fights. Thewa, 25, showed his limitations and gets his second loss by KO/TKO. Chonlatarn vs. Samongkol Chonlatarn flattens novice Samongkol in four. Despite his total lack of experience Samongkol showed a willingness to walk forward throwing punches and had some success scoring with long rights. Chonlatarn was getting home with meaty hits to the body which were slowing Samongkol. In the fourth Chonlatarn landed a thumping left hook to the body and followed that with a perfect right uppercut which put Samongkol down and out cold. The 30-year-old Chonlatarn has had two unsuccessful shots at the feather title losing to Chris John and Vasyl Lomachenko. Nothing to say about Samongkol who should not have been in the ring with Chonlatarn. Kwanpichit vs. Srisomdech Another mismatch. Srisomdech scored with some straight lefts but was as green as grass. In the third a left to the chin put him down and he showed his lack of experience by getting up immediately. He was caught by another left and put down again but it was ruled a slip. In the fourth a left put Srisomdech down again and after he got up Kwanpichit battered him around the ring landing head punch after head punch until the referee stopped the massacre. Kwanpichit’s only loss came against Zou Shiming in November. Lvov, Ukraine: Welter: Viktor Plotnykov (33-3) W PTS 8 Nikolz Gviniashvili (10-3-3). Plotnykov boxes his way to wide unanimous decision over Georgian Gviniashvili. The visitor tried to take the fight to the tall local but Plotnykov boxed cleverly on the back foot. When the Ukrainian veteran started to dominate the exchanges and come forward Gviniashvili in his turn showed some good defensives movement and did his job in lasting the distance. Scores 79-73 twice and 80-73. They tall 37-year-old EBU No 1 has had a mixed year beating Brit Denton Vassell in February but the losing a technical decision to Jeff Horn in Australia in August. Gviniashvili, 26, has two visits to Ukraine and two losses. London, England: Super Middle: Darryll Williams (12-0) W TKO 1 Richard Horton (9-5). Middle: Elliott Matthews (15-0-1) W TKO 3 Ferenc Hafner (24-8). Williams vs. Horton Williams wins the vacant BBB of C Southern Area title with quick stoppage of Horton. Williams was pressing Horton from the start and scoring with some good body punches. A hard right uppercut sent Horton back to the ropes and a crunching right had Horton on unsteady legs with only the ropes keeping him vertical. The referee gave him a standing count but Horton was still wobbly and the referee halted the contest. The 26-year-old “Ferocious” Londoner makes it 5 wins by KO/TKO. He has won 4 of his last 5 fights that way including 3 in the first round. Horton, 33, has now failed in three attempts to win a Southern Area title. The last one was up at light heavy and in his last bout in May he was 181lbs. He had said he would retire if he did not win so this could be his last fight. Matthews vs. Hafner Matthews much too powerful for Hungarian southpaw. The local boxer used a good jab to control the first as Hafner just rushed in swinging wildly and walking onto counters. In the second a left to the body from Matthews put Hafner down. He beat the count but a left/right combination put him down again. Hafner gamely got up again only to be hammered with a right hook that floored him for the third time. Again he got up and was saved by the bell. The Hungarian came out swinging wildly in the third but a combination from Matthews opened a bad cut over Hafner’s right eye and another series of punches put him down. The visitor made it to his feet for the fourth time in the fight and when another combination saw him slump to the canvas the referee stopped the fight. The 34-year-old from Rickmansworth has 9 wins by KO/TKO and the draw was of the technical variety. He did not turn pro until he was 30 and has made good progress. Hafner, 39, now has 7 losses by KO/TKO and has been in with good opposition in Jan Zavek and Eamonn O’Kane. October 3 Carson, CA, USA: Super Light: Viktor Postol (28-0) W KO 10 Lucas M Matthysse (37-4,1ND). Super Light: Antonio Orozco (23-0) W PTS 10 Humberto Soto (65-9-2,1ND). Light: Mercito Gesta (29-1-2) W PTS 10 Miguel A Mendoza (22-7-2). Feather: Julian Ramirez (15-0) W PTS 10 Hugo Partida (21-6-2). Light Heavy: D’Mitrius Ballard (10-0) W PTS 6 Juan Carlos Rojas (10-13-1). Light: Marcelino N Lopez (32-1-1) W KO 3 David Rodela (17-12-3). Postol vs. Matthysse “Iceman” Postol springs major surprise as he out boxes and outlasts Matthysse to win the vacant WBC title. With Postol having big edges in height and reach but apparently lacking power it looked obvious that the fight would consist of Matthysse trying to pressurise the Ukrainian so that he could get inside and work the body with Postol using his jab and movement to fight on the outside. It pretty well worked that way for most of the fight. Over the early rounds Postol was slotting home jabs and tying Matthysse up when the Argentinian got inside. Matthysse was the harder puncher but Postol was busier and more accurate and was doing some good body punching of his own. With Postol aiming to dent Matthysse leverage by holding inside the fight was often dirty with both fighters landing numerous punches to the back of the head with some pushing and wrestling going on. The back-and-forth nature of the fight made it hard to score and there was never much of a margin between them with the styles not making for a good spectacle. Matthysse finally seemed to be taking charge in the sixth rocking Postol with a right and he had the Ukrainian hurt in the seventh with a similar punch but lost some momentum when he came out worst in a clash of heads. However far from fading Postol seemed to absorb the punches and get stronger and he landed some quick combinations to take the eighth and ninth. A tiring Matthysse must have realised the fight was getting away with him and he took more chances in the tenth and paid for it. As he walked in Postol feinted with his left and then drilled home a straight right that caught Matthysse on his head on the left side directly on the eye. Matthysse sank to the canvas and was pawing at his left eye. He was up on one knee and could have climbed up but instead sat out the ten count. The scores to the end of the ninth were 86-85 twice for Postol and 86-85 for Matthysse which shows how close the fight was and makes Matthysse’s surrender that more puzzling. Postol’s jab had been a huge factor but he was also clever at shutting down Matthysse on the inside for which a lot of credit has to go to his star corner tactician Freddie Roach. The tall slim 31-year-old from Kiev was hardly a high profile fighter with his best wins being over Hank Lundy and Selcuk Aydin but he boxed an intelligent fight, showed he had good punch resistance and a more than useful jab and will be a difficult handful for the top names in the division. Matthysse explained his failure to get up to the fact that he had felt a pop in his left eye and was worried that he had suffered serious damage to the eye and could endanger his sight if he fought on. The problem for the 33-year-old Argentinian is that whilst the eye has not suffered serious injury his reputation has as he blew any chance of a big money fight with Manny Pacquiao or Terrence Crawford etc. Orozco vs. Soto Orozco gets his best win so far but is given a tough test by veteran Soto which is not reflected in the scores. The action was hot from the start with Orozco full of confidence taking the fight to the former WBC champion with Soto showing his experience by scoring with well crafted counters. Orozco, a natural super light was the bigger and stronger man and he focused on Soto’s body hoping to tire the older fighter over the later rounds. To some extent Soto’s aim was the same as he blocked and countered hoping to cash in over the closing rounds as Orozco’s work rate might cause him to slow down. Orozco did show some signs of flagging in the eighth and Soto got a big boost in the ninth. What looked a legitimate body punch landed on Soto’s belt line and Soto went down claiming a low blow. The referee agreed and took a point off Orozco but in the end it was not important. Both fought hard in the last round with Orozco firing off hard combinations and Soto landing some sharp counters. Scores 97-92 twice and 98-91. The 27-year-old San Diego-based Mexican Orozco has wins over Ivan Hernandez, Martin Honorio, Steve Forbes and Emmanuel Taylor which is useful but not outstanding work. His problem is that after the IBF was caught fixing their ratings in the days of Bobby Lee Snr. those put in house to make them clean up their act made them put in place a rule that in order to be No 1 and the mandatory challenger you have to have beaten someone in the top 15 and as yet Orozco has still not managed that so he is their highest rated contender at No 3 with places 1 and 2 “Vacant”. At 35 former WBC super feather and light champ Soto has plenty left. This was his first fight for eleven months a proposed fight with Frankie Gomez was aborted when Gomez was well over the weight and a fight with Ray Beltran was nixed when results showed Beltran tested positive after beating Takahiro Ao. He was rated No 7 by the WBC going into this fight. Gesta vs. Mendoza Gesta gets up to win. The hard punching Filipino found himself on the floor in the second round from a right cross but he argued that it was a case of their feet getting tangled rather than a punch from Mendoza. The Mexican was dangerous with his roughhouse wild swinging aggressive style with too many of those swings getting through for the comfort of Gesta. Mendoza was leaving himself open to counters and his work rate dropped as he tired. Gesta was quicker and more accurate and was able to do enough to claw back the two points from the second round and won the unanimous decision. Scores 97-92 twice and 96-93. The 27-year-old southpaw was well beaten by Miguel Vazquez in an IBF title fight in 2012. He was then inactive for 16 months and now has 3 wins and a split draw with Carlos Moreno since his return. Mendoza had rebounded from 4 losses in tough fights to score a low level win in August so is now 1-5 in his last 6. Ramirez vs. Partida Ramirez wins wide decision. The undefeated nephew of the late great Genaro Hernandez out worked and out fought Partida who took some hard shots but stayed the full ten rounds. They exchanged hard punches over the first two rounds but after that southpaw Ramirez took over completely. He is a busy, busy fighter with both skill and power and Partida constantly found himself trapped on the ropes and getting a pounding. Ramirez had Partida on shaky foundations in the fifth and eighth but just could not get him out of there and had to settle for the points win. Scores 100-90 twice and 98-91. Second ten round fight for the 22-year-old former 4-time PAL champion. Mexican Partida, 27, had won 4 of his last 5 fights. Ballard vs. Rojas Ballard gets another win. The former top amateur was just too strong and aggressive for the tall Mexican. Ballard exerted the pressure in the first round and was still doing the same in the sixth. The only time the pressure eased was in the second when a low punch from Rojas put Ballard down. Rojas was deducted a point and Ballard got back to work. Scores 60-53, 59-54 and 58-55. The 22-year-old from Maryland was NGG champion in 2012 but lost out to Jesse Hart in the US Olympic Trials for London. Third loss in a row for Rojas. Lopez vs. Rodela Former Argentinian champion Lopez finishes Rodela in three. Lopez did some good body work in the first and then put the Oxnard fighter down in the second with a left hook. Rodela got up and fought back strongly to the bell. In the third Lopez landed a left hook to the body and followed that up with a left/right combination that put Rodela down for the count. Now 16 wins by KO/TKO for the 29-year-old South American champion. Rodela, 33, is 2-8 in his last ten fights. Cincinnati, OH, USA: Super Light: Adrien Broner (31-2) W TKO 12 Khabib Allakhverdiev (19-2). Super Feather: Jose Pedraza (21-0) W PTS 12 Edner Cherry (34-7-2,1ND). Light: Robert Easter (16-0) W TKO 3 Juan R Solis (25-10,1ND). Light: Jamal Herring (14-0) W PTS 10 Yakubu Amidu (21-8-2).Welter Jamontay Clark (8-0) W TKO 2 Joe Wilson (3-3). Light Raynell Williams (10-0) W PTS 8 Eduardo Reyes (0-2). Broner vs. Allakhverdiev Some of the old Broner returns but some of the old arrogance is also on show as he halts limited Russian southpaw Allakhverdiev in the last round to win the vacant WBA title. Both fighters made a cautious start with only a few exchanges. In the second Allakhverdiev was looking to control things from ring centre and Broner seemed content to let him do so but already Broner’s punches brought the beginnings of bruising around Allakhverdiev right eye. Things heated up in the third with both letting their hands go and with Broner finding the target with rights and Allakhverdiev banging back with rights of his own. Allakhverdiev had a good fourth and did enough to share the fifth as the pace continues to increase with Broner showing his skills but Allakhverdiev always scoring enough to stay competitive. Broner began to open a gap in the sixth and by the end of the round his hard rights were beginning to mark up the face of Allakhverdiev and he had built a good lead. The seventh was Broner’s as he was threading rights and lefts through the Russian’s guard and even finding time for some show-boating and interaction with the crowd and ringsiders (old habits die hard). Allakhverdiev rallied in the ninth but it was really a last fling and he was showing swellings around both eyes. Broner again handed out punishment in the tenth and a barrage of punches at the end of the eleventh had Allakhverdiev shaky. It started to look as though Allakhverdiev might make it to the final bell but Broner thudded home a collection of head shots in the last and the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight. Broner is now a three division champion and the 26-year-old “Problem” seems to be making an effort to improve his image but has a long way to go. Allakhverdiev is a former undefeated IBO and WBA secondary title holder and was in the fight early but once Broner was rolling he just did not have the power or skills to stay competitive. Pedraza vs. Cherry Pedraza retains his IBF title but needs a strong finish and a split decision to do so. The champion made the better start being quicker and slicker than the older challenger and mixing his punches well from head to body. Most of the exchanges consisted of hooks from both hands by both men with Pedraza having the edge. Cherry began to roll over the middle rounds by getting in close smothering Pedraza’s work and getting home with body punches. After seven rounds it looked as though Cherry had turned things around and had the momentum with Pedraza showing a growing swelling under his right eye. Pedraza then switched to southpaw and although Cherry was still strong in the ninth the new angles Pedroza was giving Cherry saw the Puerto Rican end the tenth strongly focusing on body punches and doing enough to share the eleventh and take the last. Scores 117-111 twice for Pedraza and 116-112 for Cherry. The decision was roundly booed but the fight was close and did not look a bad one. The 26-year-old “Sniper” was making the first defence of his IBF title and has said that he would be willing to give Cherry a return. Bahamian Cherry, 33, lost on points to Tim Bradley for the WBC light title in 2008 but was then inactive for 15 months. His best wins after returning were a stoppage of Vicente Escobedo in 2013 and kayo of Luis Cruz in July this year. He thought he won but was philosophical saying he should have ended the fight inside the distance and not left the decision to the judges. Easter vs. Solis This was supposed to be a testing fight for Easter but he simply overwhelmed the experienced Argentinian. From the first bell Easter was scoring with scorching body punches and having just as much success when he targeted the head. Solis survived two rounds of punishment but in the third a left to the body prompted the Argentinian’s corner ask for the fight to be stopped. The lanky 24-year-old from Toledo has 13 wins by KO/TKO including 5 in his last 6 fights. An elite amateur he just missed out at the US Trials but was Team Alternate i.e. first reserve. Solis had won 6 of his last 7 fights and was FAB No 9 at super feather. Herring vs. Amidu Herring just has too much speed and class for tough Ghanaian Amidu. Herring was able to pierce the Ghanaian’s guard all night with quick shots to head and boy and was rarely there when Amidu threw his counters. He had fast combinations bouncing off Amidu in round after round and if there was a downer it was Herrings inability to turn that dominance into an inside the distance win. Despite never really being in the fight Amidu never gave in and made Herring work hard in every round. Herring was going ten rounds for the first time and was still strong at the end. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91. The tall “Semper Fi” a former US Marine was Armed Services Champion and USA National champion in 2012 beating Jamontay Clark and Julian Ramirez and that took him to the US Olympic Trials and through to the Olympics in London but he failed to medal there. The 30-year-old “Black Mamba” Amidu has only lost twice by KO/TKO against Ricky Burns and Ivan Redkach but is now 1-6-1 in his last 8 fights. Clark vs. Wilson Southpaw Clark halts Wilson in two rounds. The 6’2” (188cm) Clark floored Wilson twice in the first before putting him down again early in the second to force the stoppage. The 21-year-old “Quiet Assassin” has 5 wins by KO/TKO and Wilson was way out of his league. Clark was US Amateur champion and competed for the USA at the 2013 World Championships. Second loss by KO/TKO for Wilson. Williams vs. Reyes Olympian Williams remains unbeaten as he boxes his way to win over late stand-in Reyes. No real highlights here. Williams used his stiff jab to control the action with Reyes just too slow with his counters. Williams wrapped up the win with a strong finish. Scores 80-72 twice and 79-73. Williams, a former US National C champion fought at the 2008 Olympics and in the WSB but lost to Juan Carlos Ramirez at the 2012 Trials. First fight in 16 months for Reyes. Quilmes, Argentina: Super Light: Gustavo D Vittori (17-2) W TKO 2 Elias L Vallejos (17-5-1). Vittori wins the interim WBO Latino tile as he destroys champion Vallejos with body punches. After an even first round a long southpaw left from Vittori saw Vallejos collapse down by the ropes in obvious pain. He got to his knees and crawled across to a corner and used the ropes to drag himself up to beat the count. Vittori moved in with another devastating straight left to the body and as Vallejos fell to his knees on the canvas the referee immediately stopped the fight. Vittori, 26, gets his fourth victory by KO/TKO and has now won 13 of his last 14 fights that way. Hometown fighter Vallejos, also a former interim WBO Latino champion at welter, takes his second loss by KO/TKO. Perry Park, Australia: Super Bantam: TJ Doheny (13-0) W TKO 5 Denkaosan (63-6-1). Bantam: Vic Darchinyan (41-8-1) W TKO 2 Mongkolchai (12-5). Light: Darragh Foley (7-1) W TKO 6 Valentine Borg (10-2). Welter: Cameron Hammond (14-0) W KO 7 Denkamon (22-7). Doheny vs. Denkaosan Irish southpaw Doheny gets a “name” on his record as he stops Thai veteran in five rounds. Doheny was in charge of this one from the start flooring Denkaosan in the first. The Australian-based Irishman maintained the pressure and had Denkaosan under constant pressure until he put Denkaosan down again in the fifth and the fight was stopped. Fifth defence of his WBA PABA title for the 28-year-old “Power” and ninth win by KO/TKO. He is rated No 11 by the WBA. Thai Denkaosan, 39, a former WBA fly and WBA interim super fly champion has now lost 3 of his last four fight all inside the distance but one of those was a WBA title fight and the other against an outstanding Japanese prospect. Darchinyan vs. Mongkolchai Easy fight for Darchinyan as he floors Thai twice before the referee stops the fight in the second round. The 39-year-old “Raging Bull” was having his first fight since his kayo loss to Jesus Cuellar for the WBA secondary feather title. He was 3-5 in a succession of high profile bouts so is still very much in the picture but will need stiffer tests than this before we know how much he has left. Poor Mongkolchai gets his third loss in a row by KO/TKO in fights in Australia having failed to last one round against Corey McConnell and Doheny. Foley vs. Borg Foley wins battle of young prospects in the most anticipated fight of the night. As with Doheny Foley put down a marker in the first round by flooring Borg twice. The fight was by no means over as they swapped knockdowns later in the fight . Foley had Borg down again in the fourth only for Borg to rebound and floor Foley in the fifth. Foley closed in style in the sixth. As Borg threw a left Foley crashed home a straight right that sent Borg staggering into the ropes. Borg tried to fight back but was nailed by a series of head punches before a right uppercut scythed through his guard and sent him staggering sideward with the referee jumping and stopping the fight. The Kentish-born Foley, 27, the New South Wales State champion gets his fifth win by KO/TKO. Borg has to take his second loss by KO/TKO which will cost him his No 15 rating with the WBO. Hammond vs. Denkamon Hammond keeps on track for his aim of a shot at the CBC title. “The Hammer” had the Thai down in the fifth and forced a standing count in the sixth. He was well on his way to a points win when he uncorked a wicked left hook that put the experienced Thai down and out cold. The 26-year-old from Brisbane, the WBA No 14 and a member of Team Hatton, makes it 8 wins by KO/TKO the last four on the bounce. A visit to the UK for a CBC title fight would give him the chance to erase the disappointment of not medalling at the 2012 Olympics in London. Denkamon is a man on the slide with 4 losses in his last 5 fights. Kotka, Finland: Super Middle: Niklas Rasanen (11-1) W TKO 2 Sergey Beloshapkin (12-16-1). Middle: Paul Klemetti (5-0) W PTS 10 Timo Laine (10-6). Light Heavy: Janne Forsman (21-2) W PTS 6 Dmitry Shovenko (0-6). Rasanen vs. Beloshapkin In an all-southpaw fight Rasanen disposes off late substitute Beloshapkin in quick time. After a probing first round Rasanen lashed out with a straight left and a right hook which sent Beloshapkin flying backwards to the canvas. The Russian managed to drag himself up but was in no condition to continue. Sixth win by KO/TKO for Rasanen who has a win over useful Geard Ajetovic in August. The 29-year-old won a bronze and two silvers before finally winning the Finnish amateur title in 2013. He was to have fought Brit Tobias Webb but there was a problem with Webb’s clearance. Six losses in a row for Beloshapkin and his third loss in seven weeks. In fairness he had less than 24 hours notice for this fight. Klemetti vs. Laine Klemetti makes it a good night for Finnish southpaw as he wins the vacant national title with wide unanimous decision over Laine. Scores 100-90, 100-91 and 98-92. Klemetti’s four previous fights had been 2 of 4 rounds and 2 of 6 rounds so it was new territory for him. Laine, 31, had failed in a previous attempt at this title and has now lost 4 of his last 5 fights. Forsman vs. Shovenko Forsman takes another easy fight as he rebuilds. The Finn won every round and punctuated his victory by flooring the Uzbek-born Russian in the fifth. Scores 60-53 twice and 60-54. The 32-year-old Forsman was halted in two rounds by Ovill McKenzie in July. Other than that he has been carefully protected with his last two opponents now having combined records of 0-8. First fight in 10 months for Shovenko who is still looking for his first win. Compiegne, France: Middle: Karim Achour (20-4-3) W PTS 10 Jose Yebes (12-7-1). Light: Yvan Mendy (32-4-1,1ND) W TKO 3 Rey Mora (7-6-1). Light: Guillaume Frenois (38-1) W PTS 6 Dame Seck (9-11-2). Achour vs. Yebes “Amazigh” Achour out boxes solid Spanish opponent to extend his current unbeaten run to 7 fights. The local boxer started strongly and kept control of the fight although Yebes had a measure of success in the middle rounds. Achour paced the fight well and was the stronger over the closing rounds. Scores 98-92 twice and 99-91 for the 28-year-old from Picardy. Algerian-born Achour moved to France at the age of eleven having already trained in the martial art of Budo. He is now a licensed master of sports training and disability sport. Rated No 5 by the EBU he is looking to challenge for the European title. Yebes has lost 5 of his last 6 fights but has never lost by KO/TKO. Mendy vs. Mora Mendy forces Nica boxer Mora out of the fight in the third round. Mendy was trying too hard over the first two rounds and not working his openings. He took a pace back at the start of the third, worked an opening and floored Mora with Mora’s corner throwing in the sponge. Mark-time win No 16 by KO/TKO for the former undefeated French champion and EBU title challenger and second win since losing on points to Edis Tatli for the EBU title in April. Spanish-based 21-year-old Mora has now lost his last 6 fights Frenois vs. Seck Frenois also keeps in shape with a routine win over fellow-Frenchman Seck. The experienced southpaw landed plenty of lefts but is not a puncher. Seck soaked up a lot of punches and was never in the fight. Scores 60-54 from all three judges. Frenois’s lone loss came against Devis Boschiero for the EBU title in 2013 and he has won 7 fights since then and is now No 1 with the EBU. Six losses in his last seven fights for Seck. Braamkamp, Germany: Middle: Rafael Bejaran (19-2) W PTS 8 Bart Grafka (14-18-1). Super Middle: Juergen Doberstein (19-2-1) W TKO 7 Daniel Regi (26-13). Light Heavy: Abel Gevor (11-0) W PTS 8 Steve Kroekel (19-28-3). Bejaran vs. Grafka Hamburg-based Dominican Republican fighter Bejaran has to go the distance for victory over Grafka. Bejaran was quickly on the offensive with Grafka showing a stiff jab and some good movement. Bejaran sent a couple of rights whizzing past the chin of Grafka but at the end of the first connected with one which sent Grafka stumbling back across the ring and down. The Pole was up quickly and the bell went as the referee completed the eight count. From then on the technically superior and quicker Bejaran was pressurising Grafka with the Pole showing some good survival skills, a solid chin and a modicum of skill but losing every round against the dangerous and accomplished Bejaran who took a comfortable unanimous decision. The 33-year-old Bejaran is a former WBO European champion and has won 8 of his last 9 fights with the loss to Ante Bilic (26-2) in 2012 costing him his WBO title. Grafka, 27, is better than his record indicates and in July scored an upset victory over German hope Dustin Dirks (27-1-1). Doberstein vs. Regi Doberstein gets inside the distance win over Hungarian. Doberstein worked his jab well and scored with some hefty rights but Regi was only looking to defend and frustrated the local ticket seller. It took Doberstein some time before he broke down the Hungarian’s resistance but by the seventh round Regi had nothing left and the fight was stopped. The 26-year-old Kazak-born Doberstein had a 12-0-1 streak broken when losing a wafer-thin decision to modest Cagri Ermis in February and this is his second win since then and his sixth win by KO/TKO. Regi 34 was 4-3 in his last 7 fights with the wins being against very low level opposition and his losses to Dominic Boesel, Enrico Koelling and Sean Monaghan. Gevor vs. Krokel Gevor boxes his way to unanimous decision over Krokel. Gevor, the younger brother of world rated Noel, fought almost all of the fight on the back foot. As Krokel plodded forward Gevor was spearing him with southpaw jabs and firing 4/5 punch combinations. Gevor was showing plenty of lateral movement, sometimes too much, slotting jabs home with Krokel just too slow to cut off the ring. Finally in the seventh Gevor started to go toe-to-toe and although it gave Krokel a chance to land some punches the hand speed of Gevor meant that he was out-landing Krokel in the exchanges but never really had Krokel hurt. Gevor won every round. He has lots of skill and speed but perhaps is a bit light in the rower department. Krokel/Kroekel, 33, was slow and static and an easy target but he never stopped coming forward. He is 2-6-1 in his last 9 fights. Rome, Italy: Light: Manuel Lancia (13-1-1) W PTS 12 Jean Pierre Bauwens (37-2-1). Middle: Salvatore Annunziata (18-7-6) W PTS 10 Daniele Moruzzi (16-2). Lancia vs. Bauwens Lancia wins the European Union title with split decision over champion Bauwens. After an even first round it was almost all over in the second. Bauwens floored the local fighter heavily and it seemed impossible for the badly hurt Italian to last out the round. Somehow he did and really never looked back. It must have shaken the champion to find Lancia so full of fight after just a one minute rest from near disaster. Lancia was coming forward taking the fight to Bauwens. The Belgian was the better boxer and the heavier puncher and eventually he brought out a swelling under the left eye of Lancia that slightly affected the Italians vision. Lancia’s heart and aggression saw him take rounds three through seven but then Bauwens stemmed the tide and fought back hard over the latter rounds scoring well with his jab and counters with Lancia having to absorb some hard shots but doing his scoring with hooks from both hands. They traded punches all the way to the last bell in an exciting scrap which could have gone either way but the decision went to Lancia. Scores 115-113 twice for Lancia and 115-113 for Bauwens. When Lancia went down in the second round it looked as though it was going to be a repeat of his eighth round stoppage loss against Massimiliano Ballisai in December which cost Lancia his Italian title and his unbeaten record but he showed real strength of character to get up and win. The Italians were calling the 28-year-old from Guidonia a small town “Rocky” after this. Bauwens had to be disappointed. I am sure he felt he won this fight and the loss of his EU title is a big blow to the 27-year-old from Ghent as it will also cost him his No 5 rating with the EBU. He has strong support back home and will go back and start to climb again. Annunziata vs. Moruzzi Unfancied Annunziata wins the vacant WBC Mediterranean title with split decision over Moruzzi. It was the aggression of the Naples southpaw over the better technical boxing of Moruzzi. Annunziata was not as accurate with his punching but he had an edge in quantity that outweighed Moruzzi’s edge in cleaner but less frequent counters. Annunziata was handicapped by a cut over his left eye but kept up the pressure and although it was close he looked to deserve the decision. Scores 96-93 and 95-94 to Annunziata and 96-94 to Moruzzi. The 32-year-old Annunziata is a former WBC Mediterranean super welter champion but moved up to middle after losing in a challenge for the Italian title. He had been inconsistent going 3-4-3 in his last 10 fights. Local fighter Moruzzi, 31, had won 9 in a row but this was his first ten round fight. Tokyo, Japan: Feather: Akifumi Shimoda (30-4-2) W TKO 5 Jerry Nardo (21-8). Super Welter: Yoshihiro Kamegai (26-3-1) W TKO 3 Nelson Gulpe (8-6). After some indifferent form Shimoda finally seems to be settling down at feather. He showcased some of his old skills to completely out box the limited Filipino. Shimoda floored Nardo in the second and opened a cut over the Filipino’s left eye in the fourth. The Japanese fighter remained in control until a series of punches in the fifth brought the referee’s intervention. After dropping his WBA super bantam title in a shock kayo loss against Rico Ramos in 2011 he moved up to feather. He won 5 fights but a draw with Roli Gasca and a kayo loss to Marvin Sonsona made him take time out. He was inactive between the loss to Sonsona in February 2014 until coming back with a win this year. He has dropped out of the world rating and those of the OPBF but is No 2 with the JBC. Only the second loss by KO/TKO for Nardo the GAB No 12 super bantam. Kamegai vs. Gulpe Kamegai gets back into the winners circle with knockout of Filipino Gulpe. Kamegai had an impressive first round as he scored with a right uppercut and a left hook which shook the Filipino. Kamegai weakened Gulpe with good body punches in the second and he put Gulpe down with a right to the body at the end of the third with the count continuing after the bell. Now 23 wins by KO/TKO for Kamegai. He was 22-0-1 in his first 23 fights before losing to Johan Perez in 2013 and then went on to lost to Robert Guerrero in a slam bang war in 2014 and to Alfonso Gomez in March this year. Gulpe has now lost his last six fights. Merida, Mexico: Super Fly: Junior Granados (14-3-1) W PTS 10 Samuel Gutierrez (12-13-4). Neighbourhood fighter Granados gets a win but has to settle for a majority verdict over experienced Gutierrez. Granados did most of the leading but he found Gutierrez an elusive target and had to eat numerous counters as he pressed the fight. If he made a mistake it was not using his trade mark body punches enough but he just deserved the decision. Scores 97-93, 97-94 and 95-95. First fight for 22-year-old Granados since he gave Jamie Conlan a very difficult time in Dublin in July. Granados had Conlan down twice from body punches in the seventh round of their fight but the Belfast boxer recovered to win the decision. Gutierrez, 27, is the reigning WBC Fecombox champion and was 4-0-1 in his last 5 fights going in to the contest. Wolverhampton, England: Middle: Tommy Langford (14-0) W PTS 10 Cristian Rios (20-673). Super Welter: Ryan Aston (17-2-2) W TKO 4 Nathan Graham (17-7-1). Super Bantam: Paul Butler (19-1) W KO 1 Hector R Guzman (14-2). Langford vs. Rios Langford continues to improve and impress as he retains his WBO Inter-Continental title with near shut-out of Argentinian. Langford set the scene in the first landing a cracking right to the chin. Langford out boxed the South American southpaw clearly in the second and although he edged the third and fourth Rios got home with some good body punches of his own as the traded. Langford took the fifth and in the sixth as he shook Rios with some hard combinations and a tasty left hook. Langford took the seventh and eighth and although Rios staged a strong finish and Langford was taken beyond the eighth round for the first time in his career he showed he had paced the fight well taking the ninth and tenth. Scores 100-90 twice and 100-91. Double joy for the 26-year-old WBO No 7 as he was recently advised that his wife was pregnant so plenty to be pleased about for the Birmingham fighter. Argentinian champion Rios,32, was 7-0-1 going into this one and preserved his record of never losing inside the distance. Aston vs. Graham The “Tank” rolls over Graham in English title eliminator. Dudley southpaw Aston took a couple of rounds before he began to break down Graham. In the third it was one-way traffic as Aston took complete control of the fight. Early in the fourth he hurt Graham with a left and then trapped him in a corner and kept punching until the referee stopped the fight. Now 8 wins by KO/TKO for Aston who is 9-1-2 in his last 12 fights with the loss in those figures being a very close decision against Jason Welborn. Aston has a win over Langford from their amateur days. Former Southern Area champion Graham, 33, loses by KO/TKO for the second time. He had won 4 of his last 5 fights but had trouble making weight here having to shed 2 ½ lbs Butler vs. Guzman Former undefeated IBF bantam champion Paul Butler was a late addition to the card but did not hang around long. One left hook to the body put Guzman down and the fight was over in just 30 seconds. Second win for 26-year-old Butler since his crushing loss to Zolani Tete in March. Butler has talent and power and will fight for a world title again for sure. Second loss by KO/TKO in consecutive fights for Argentinian Guzman. He was knocked out in six rounds by world rated Zhanat Zhakiyanov in May but had Zhakiyanov on the floor in the fight. Oklahoma City, OK, USA: Light: Zapir Rasulov (30-0) W TKO 7 Rene Mahling (20-3-1). Rasulov adds to his already substantial total of win inside the distance as he halts Mahling in seven rounds. Mahling was doing the boxing making good use of his jab and fast combinations with Rasulov just that bit slower but the one with the punch. Mahling was working around the flat-footed Rasulov jabbing and moving with bombs from Rasulov just whistling past his chin. At the start of the sixth it looked as though Mahling might box his way to victory but late in the round Rasulov land a series of head punches that sent Mahling skittering along the ropes. Mahling recovered quickly and avoided any more trouble in the round. In the seventh as Mahling came forward Rasulov landed a heavy left hook inside. Mahling was badly shaken and Rasulov fired 4 or 5 head punches with Mahling tottering sideward and down. He managed to get up but after the eight count the referee took a good look at Mahling and stopped the fight. The 28-year-old Russian has 27 wins by KO/TKO including 17 in his last 18 fights but had only one fight in 2012 and one in 2013 and has yet to face a name opponent. German Mahling is the same. He had won 9 of his last 10 fights but the wins were against low level opposition. 4 October Incheon, South Korea: Welter: Randall Bailey (46-8,1ND) W TKO 7 Shusaku Fujinaka (12-6-2). Super Light: Ryan Sermona (18-7) W TKO 2 Taek-Min Kim (15-8). Bailey vs. Fujinaka Bailey shows he is still a fearsome puncher as he halts brave Japanese fighter in seven rounds. Both had their moments in an even first round but in the second a punch from Bailey opened a gash on the Japanese fighters left eyelid. Fujinaka was taking the fight to Bailey and scored with some good body punches in the third. The doctor examined Fujinaka’s cut but allowed the fight to continue. Fujinaka increased his attacks in the fourth and fifth knowing that the cut, which later required almost a dozen stitches, was too severe for the fight to go the full route but Bailey was the one doing most of the scoring and was ahead 58-56 on all three cards at the end of the sixth round.. That attacking spirit was the undoing of the Japanese fighter in the seventh. As he came forward Bailey backed towards the ropes. Fujinaka then threw a right which Bailey ducked under and as Fujinaka threw a left Bailey came up under the punch with a left hook that thudded into Fujinaka’s chin. The Japanese fighter went down heavily lying spread-eagled on the canvas. Somehow he got up but was in no condition to continue. The 41-year-old “Knockout King” gets win No 39 by KO/TKO and collects the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title. He has signed a contract with promoter Andy Kim so will continue his career in fights out there. Fujinaka, 28, is a reasonable level Japanese prelim fighter who gave it his best shot but that punch would have put any fighter down. Sermona vs. Kim Filipino Sermona ends this one with one punch. Sermona was getting the better of the battle of the jabs over the first round. In the second a crunching southpaw straight left from Sermons dumped Kim down into the ropes. Kim climbed to his feet but could not stand upright and was obviously incapable of defending himself. He did not know what had happened and was waiving his arms trying to get them in front of his face. Amazingly the referee actually pulled Kim’s gloves into the correct position and let the fight continue. Sermona leapt in with another straight left and a couple more head punches with the referee stopping a fight that should never have restarted. Filipino Sermona, 27, a former GAB and WBC International champion makes it 11 wins by KO/TKO. Kim, 29, gets his fourth loss by KO/TKO in his last 5 fights This coming Saturday sees a number of great fights in the US with 3 world title bouts and and another really mout watering match up.
On paper the bout of the night is to take place in California where power punching Argentinian Lucas Martin Matthysse (37-3-0-1, 34) takes on unbeaten Ukrainian boxer Viktor Postol (27-0, 11) in a bout for the WBC Light Welterweight title. This is a puncher Vs boxer bout and really could see both men go through some spells, however the result really depends on whether Postol can make Matthysse respect him or not. If Postol's jab can be effective then he could well claim the title here, if not Matthysse will likely score a late stoppage again the talented, but light punching, Ukrainian. On the same card in California fans will see the all action Antonio Orozco (22-0, 15) take on Mexican veteran Humberto Soto (65-8-2-1, 35), who is fighting for the 77th time! Whilst we've loved following Soto's career we're expecting his 35 year old body to simply wear away here against the very aggressive Orozco who will be hoping to announce himself on the world stage with a win here. A second US show, in Ohio, features a couple of world title bouts in what could end up being a very entertaining show. The main event sees local enigma Adrien Broner (30-2, 22) take on Russian fighter Khabib Allakhverdiev (19-1, 9) in a bout for the vacant WBA Light Welterweight title. Both men come in to this one following a loss last time out but should make for a good match up together. Broner, looking for a 4th divisional world title, will likely need to let his hands go more than he has in recent bouts, whilst Allakhverdiev will be looking to become a 2-weight world champion but will know that he needs to dominate to win. This really could be something brilliant to watch. In the co-feature IBF Super Featherweight champion Jose Pedraza (20-0, 12) will be defending his belt against the in form Edner Cherry (34-6-0-1, 19). On paper it's hard to bet against the wonderful Pedraza who can box, brawl, fight or move however if there is a weakness it could be his chin and Cherry, who has won his last 6, can certainly punch at 130lbs. This could be a shut out for Pedraza or it could be a knockout for Cherry, it really is one of those bouts where one punch could see the title change. Saying that however we're expecting to see Pedraza retain his title. This coming Friday international fans have a few things to look forward to.
In Argentina we get the most notable fight of the day as the heavy handed Argentinian slugger Victor Emilio Ramirez (22-2-0-1, 17) takes on Britain's likable Ovill McKenzie (25-12, 13) in a bout for the IBF Cruiserweight crown. McKenzie got the bout at late notice, following the pull out of Yoan Pablo Hernandez, who was supposed to fight Ramirez before announcing his shock retirement recently. It's going to be a huge ask for the 35 year old Brit, however he has been dubbed the “Upsetter” and may well pull out the performance of his life against the very aggressive Ramirez. Another major bout on Friday comes from Germany where female star Susi Kentikian (34-2-0-1, 17) looks to defend her WBA female Flyweight title against Mexican challenger Susana Cruz Perez (17-6, 8), who is coming into this one following a shock win over Anne Sophie De Costa. Coming into this one Kentikian is in form and has won 5 in a row, following back-to-back losses in 2012 and she'll be hoping to prove she is still one of the best female boxers on the planet. The Mexican on the other hand is in her biggest fight to date, though not her first world title bout. The Past Week In Action 29 September 2015
24 September Moscow, Russia: Cruiser: Rakhim Chakhkiev (24-1) W PTS 8 Hamilton Ventura (14-2-1). Chakhkiev comes off the floor to get unimpressive unanimous decision over modest Brazilian. Over the first two rounds Chakhkiev was trying to walk down the taller Brazilian but was crude usually employing long lunging southpaw lefts with Ventura slow and boxing by numbers. His long jab whilst lacking power had nuisance value as Chakhkiev did not seem to be able to get past it. In the third Ventura pawed with the jab but then sent a straight right down the pipe and a surprised Chakhkiev was knocked on his butt. He was up quickly but for the rest of that round and much of the fourth it was Ventura coming forward and looking to get home with another right. Chakhkiev was unsettled and cut but then slammed home a left hook that dumped Ventura into the ropes and down with just one second left in that fourth round. The Brazilian survived and although Chakhkiev edged the sixth and seventh just before the bell at the end of the eighth Ventura landed a right to the chest and again Chakhkiev went down. The referee had sent Ventura to a neutral corner and was about to start a count but Chakhkiev leapt up and waived his arms to indicate he slipped and the referee fell for it and Ventura lost the benefit of a genuine knockdown. Scores 77-73, 77-74 and 76-75. The 32-year-old Russian gets his eighth win since losing to Krzys Wlodarczyk for the WBC title in 2013. He is rated WBC 3/IBF 4 (2) WBA 11 but will have to do better than this if he is going to win a title. Ventura, 32, was slow and predictable and lasted less than one round against Yunier Dorticos last year and was having his first fight since last September so should not have been this tough. September 25 East London: South Africa: Fly: Makazole Tete (14-0-1) W PTS 12 Armando Torres (21-15). Light: Xolani Mcotheli (13-2) W KO 4 Vusumzi Tyatyeka (18-5,1ND). Feather: Macbute Sinyabi (26-4) W PTS 12 Sydney Maluleka (15-7). Super Feather: Aphiwe Mboyiya (11-2-1) W PTS 12 Sibusiso Zingange (6-1-1). Super Bantam: Bongani Mahlangu (17-6) W PTS 12 Mfusi Maxhayi (11-6-1). Tete vs. Torres Tete gets the unanimous points win but the scores don’t reflect how close the fight was. Tete found the Mexican journeyman a tougher than expected opponent. When he had space Tete was comfortable with his superior skills but too often he found himself backed up to the ropes and under pressure. Tete had gone to the body early but never really sustained his attacks and was constantly caught by counters from the more experienced visitor. The South African probably had a small lead at the half way point but Torres was stronger over the second half of the fight. It looked close and Tete might expect to benefit from home advantage and did but the scores were no reflection of what was a hard, close fight. Scores 119-109, 118-110 and a much more realistic 115-113. Tete, the brother of Zolani Tete, retains his IBO Inter-Continental title. He is known as “The Professor” and is studying at a University looking to get a degree in sports management but he should have been smart enough to make this an easier fight. Torres, 34, lost inside the distance in fights for the interim WBA and minimumweight titles and is now 2-6 in his last 8 fights. Mcotheli vs. Tyatyeka Mcotheli wins the vacant IBO International title with inside the distance win over Tyatyeka. Mcotheli had promised to end this one quickly and he did. He was too fast and accurate for Tyatyeka who looked a badly used fighter. Mcotheli won the first three rounds and then slammed home a body punch in the fourth that ended the fight. The local fighter, a former IBO Inter-Continental champion at super feather, now has 10 wins by KO/TKO. His losses have been against the much more experienced Jasper Seroka for the South African super feather title and a tenth round stoppage against former IBF champion Malcolm Klassen in April this year. Former South African title challenger Tyatyeka was inactive in 2014 and was 0-1-0,1ND this year. Sinyabi vs. Maluleka Sinyabi retains his IBO Inter-Continental title with close unanimous decision over Maluleka. Sinyabi was to have faced former IBF champion Takalani Ndlovu but ended up against a late sub Maluleka who is rated at super feather by the BSA but is really a featherweight. It looked a gift for Sinyabi but in the end he had to fight hard to avoid defeat. Sinyabi opened well building a big lead by the mid-point of the fight but then things changed. Maluleka fought back hard landing heavy overhand rights to get back into the fight and by the end it was very close. If Maluleka had stuck to his task and cut out the clowning he could have sprung an upset. Scores 115-113 twice and 115-112. Former South African super bantam champion Sinyabi looked close to a world title shot when he ran up 12 wins in a row by KO/TKO but lost a IBF eliminator in Thailand and was beaten in 2014 for the IBO world title. Former South African champion Maluleka was 2-3 in his last fights going in but performed above expectations. Mboyiya vs. Zingange Mboyiya continued the IBO jamboree by winning their vacant All-African title. Former South African feather champion Mboyiya had a slight edge in experience and an even slighter edge in a very closely fought contest. It could have gone either way but southpaw Mboyiya got the judges verdict on scores of 115-113 twice and 115-114. After consecutive losses in tough fights against Sinyabi and Lusanda Komanisi Mboyiya is 3-0-1 in his last 4 fights. Zingange, another last sub, was jumping from six rounds to twelve at short notice so put up a good performance. Mahlangu vs. Maxhayi Mahlangu retains his South African title with close verdict over his No 8 challenger Maxhayi. They put up a good scrap with Mahlangu just doing enough in the torrid exchanges to edge the decision. Scores 116-112, 116-113 and 115-113. First defence of his title for the 35-year-old southpaw “Mr Dancing Shoes” who has won 5 of his last 6 fights. Maxhayi, also a southpaw, had won his last 8 fights. Ontario, CA, USA: Super Bantam: Daniel Roman (17-2-1) W PTS 10 Erik Ruiz (14-4). Welter: Giovanni Santillan (17-0) W PTS 8 Ernesto Ortiz (10-3). Roman vs. Ortiz Roman retains NABF Junior title with wide unanimous decision over Ruiz. In the first round it was a case of good news/bad news for Ruiz as he did enough to make it clearly his round but also had his nose damaged by a punch. From the second to the forth Roman clearly outpunched Ruiz in the exchanges being quicker and more accurate. Ruiz fought back hard in the fifth upping his work rate and was barrelling forward and competitive in the sixth but without really doing enough to win either round. Roman shook Ruiz with a right early in the seventh but they fought on equal terms in the eighth. Ruiz was rocked again in the ninth but did enough to edge the round and they went toe-to-toe for the three minutes of the last round. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92. The 25-year-old “Baby Faced Assassin” makes it 9 wins in a row. He has wins over Giovanni Caro and Chris Martin and is rated No 15 by the WBA. Ruiz, 24, was 13-1 in his first 14 fights but is now 1-3 in fights in 2015 having suffered losses to Jessie Magdaleno and Manuel Avila in consecutive contests. Santillan vs. Ortiz “Gallo de Oro” Santillan given eight hard rounds by Ortiz and gets by on a majority verdict.. The San Diego southpaw took this one with a good start and a good finish but Ortiz took the middle rounds. Over the early rounds Santillan was busier and more accurate particular with body punches but then seemed to go off the boil and the middle rounds generally belonged to Ortiz. By the end of the sixth the fight looked about even. Santillan was the stronger over the last two rounds forcing Ortiz to fight with his back to the ropes and he dealt well with any counters Ortiz tried. Scores 80-72, 78-74 and 76-76. Santillan deserved the win but the first two scores were too wide. The 23-year-old remains a winner but after seven fights at eight rounds should be ready to move up.”Fantastico” Ortiz, 21, did not live up to his nickname but gave Santillan a tough test. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Welter: Ricardo R Villalba (15-2-1,1ND) W TKO 6 Carlos S Chumbita (15-5). Villalba wins the vacant South American title with stoppage of Chumbita. Villalba used a sharp jab and some tasty rights to take the first three rounds. Chumbita came into the fight in the fourth with hooks to head and body but Villalba was still getting the better of the exchanges. Chumbita had some success in the fifth as Villalba abandoned his jab which allowed the smaller fighter to get inside. The success was short-lived and in the sixth a quick left/right followed by a right cross to the chin put Chumbita down. He made it to his feet but was on shaky legs and the referee stopped the fight. Local fighter Villalba, 25, the FAB No 3, welter has recovered from a shaky 1-2 run in three fights with three wins in a row. Second loss by KO/TKO for Chumbita who is 3-3 against reasonable level domestic opposition September 26 Birmingham, ALB, USA: Heavy: Deontay Wilder (35-0) W TKO 11 Johann Duhaupas (32-3). Heavy: Charles Martin (22-0-1) W TKO 3 Vicente Sandez (15-5). Heavy: Andrzej Wawrzyk (31-1) W TKO 3 Mike Sheppard (24-19-1). Heavy: Dominic Breazeale (16-0) W PTS 10 Fred Kassi (18-4-1). Welter: Bryant Perrella (11-0) W TKO 5 Patrick Boozer (11-4). Super Welter: Terrell Gausha (16-0) W PTS 8 Eliezer Gonzalez (15-2). Super Feather: Mario Barrios (12-0) W KO 1 Eduardo Rivera (10-3-2). Wilder vs. Duhaupas Wilder retains the WBC title with stoppage of too brave but limited Duhaupas. The only things Duhaupas had going for him were a good chin and grim determination and that was never going to be enough to make this any other than a one-sided contest. In the first round a punch from Wilder opened a cut on the bridge of the Frenchman’s nose and the cut bled throughout the fight. Duhaupas got a measure of revenge in the second when a punch started a swelling below Wilder’s left eye. Despite bravely walking forward throwing punches when he could Duhaupas was never able to add to that damage. Over those first three rounds Duhaupas was walking into jabs, uppercuts and hooks. He blocked some with his typical European high guard but a lot got through and the jabs and uppercuts were jerking his head back in round after round. The fourth saw Wilder warming to the task and landing more uppercuts and a flood of uppercuts in the fifth had Duhaupas soaking up some ferocious punishment and only just making it out of the round. In the sixth Wilder seemed to lose focus and forget what he was there for as he did some showboating to his local fans. He was back on song in the seventh spearing Duhaupas with jabs and hooks and although Duhaupas started the eighth with a flurry of punches at the end of the round the referee warned Duhaupas that he might stop the fight if it continued to be so one-sided. Wilder piled on the punishment in the ninth and after shaking Duhaupas with a left hook in the tenth drove the challenger back around the ring. At the end of that round the doctor examined Duhaupas looking at the cut on his nose but let the fight continue. Wilder came out firing in the eleventh a succession of head punches which had Duhaupas covering up on the ropes which then saw the referee stop the fight over the protests from Duhaupas. Second defence of his WBC title for the 29-year-old “Bronze Bomber” and 34th win by KO/TKO. He showed some improvements in the way he made more use of his uppercuts but this was a fight against a hand-picked opponent who had limited time to prepare and had nothing in his arsenal to threaten Wilder. Alex Povetkin will be a much tougher opponent. Duhaupas, 34, had earned his title shot with a points win over Manuel Charr which without being unkind probably said more about Charr than it did Duhaupas. The Frenchman showed courage but nothing else really. Martin vs. Sandez Martin marches on but Sandez was one very short step on the road to a title shot. This was a poor match. Martin had height, reach and skill to spare over the rotund Mexican. In the first “Prince” Charles could hardly miss Sandez with his southpaw rights jabs and straight lefts. It was a stroll in the park for Martin and he had Sandez hurt with a series of punches over the last ten seconds of the round. In the second Martin floored Sandez with a straight left to the chin. Sandez was up at 9 ½ but fought on and Martin did not really press things which allowed Sandez to see out the round. In the third as Sandez was walking in Martin nailed him with a straight left that dumped Sandez on his backside. Once again Sandez got his feet reluctantly at 9 ½ and was obviously neither wanting to nor able to continue and this one-sided/learn nothing fight was over. The 29-year-old Carson southpaw again showcased his skills and power but once against a very sub-standard opponent. He has won his last 11 fights by KO/TKO and somehow the WBO have moved him all the way up to No 2 because he fights for their WBO NABO title. Fight low-climb high-only in boxing. Mexican Sandez was just too slow and short to pose any threat. Wawrzyk vs. Sheppard Another poor fight sees tall Pole Wawrzyk floor Sheppard flour times before the fight is waived off. The 6’5” (195cm) Pole was able to control the first three rounds by just plodding forward and prodding/.snapping out his left jab. Shepherd was too small and too slow to be competitive. In the third Wawrzyk landed a thunderous overhand right that dumped Sheppard down against the ropes. Sheppard got up at nine and when the action resumed he was put down by another right. Once again Sheppard arose slowly at about 9 ½ but the referee decided he was okay and the fight continued. A right to the top of the head put Sheppard down for a third time and the referee did not realise that Sheppard’s body language said get me out of here and again let him continue. Two thudding rights to the head saw Sheppard go down for the fourth time and finally the referee just waived the fight over. The 28-year-old Wawrzyk was destroyed in three rounds by Alex Povetkin in a fight for the secondary WBA title in 2013. He had two wins early in 2014 against oldies Danny Williams and Frans Botha and was then out for 14 months due to injury before returning with a win in July this year. There had been talk of a fight with Wilder but thankfully Duhaupas got the job instead as I doubt Wawrzyk would have lasted more than three rounds. Sheppard, 40, now has 13 losses by KO/TKO. He is OK at a medium level but always gets well beaten when he is moved up. Breazeale vs. Kassi Breazeale gets the win but also a wake-up call as the shorter and older Kassi showed that the former Olympian is still very much a work in progress. Breazeale towered over Kassi and looked confident enough at the start and was letting his hands go over the first three rounds. That changed when Kassi began to confuse things with guard changes and good lateral movement that took Breazeale out of his comfort zone and out of his battle plan. Breazeale was still able to find the target with his jab and some heavy body punches but was unable to string any combinations together with Kassi ducking and diving his way inside and scoring with short hooks picking up the points and making the bigger man look slow. Although Breazeale had never been past the eighth round in a fight and only once past the sixth he had relative youth and strength on his side and was fresher over the last couple of rounds but at the end it looked as though it was a fight that could have gone either way. Once again the scores were not reflective of the action as the judges saw it a ridiculous 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93 all for Breazeale. The 30-year-old 6’7” (201cm) “Trouble” extends his winning streak and probably learned more about himself in this fight than any of his previous 15. He was coming off wins over Victor Bisbal (21-2) and Yasmany Consegura (17-0) and Kassi had drawn with Chris Arreola in his last fight so on paper this looks a good win. Cameroon-born “Big Fred” Kassi, 36, and just 6’0” (183cm) tall is getting used to giving away height, reach and weight-36lbs here and 21lbs against Arreola-but his main problem has been inactivity with just one fight in 2013 and one in 2014 but his showings against Arreola and Breazeale should get him some more assignments. Perrella vs. Boozer Perrella gets another inside the distance win in this all-southpaw scrap. Boozer was taking the fight to Perrella in the first and forcing Perrella onto the back foot. Perrella was boxing coolly and landing counters whenever he saw a gap. Perrella hurt Boozer with a chopping left in the second that had Boozer backing up with Perrella scoring with hooks to the head and body. In the third it was one-way traffic with Perrella walking Boozer down. He was opening Boozer up with his right jab and then stepping inside with hard punches from both hands and there was little coming back from Boozer. Perrella was going to the body more in the fourth and Boozer was taking quite a bit of punishment and looking tired. Boozer came out firing in the fifth but was walking onto uppercuts which quickly doused his fire. Perrella landed two thudding lefts to the head that sent Boozer staggering back across the ring to the ropes. A volley of punches put Boozer down on his knees. He got up and was very shaky but was allowed to continue until he was staggering around under a rain of punches and the fight was stopped. The 26-year-old former top amateur Perrella has 10 wins by KO/TKO including eight in a row now. Boozer, 26, showed some good skills but could not match Perrella’s power. Gausha vs. Gonzalez Olympian Gausha also extends his winning run with hard fought points victory over tough Puerto Rican Gonzalez. Scores 77-73 twice and 78-72. The fight was closer than that as Gausha scored a knockdown in the fifth and Gonzalez was deducted a point for low punches. The 28-year-old from Cleveland has scored good wins over Luis Grajeda and Norberto Gonzalez. Puerto Rican Gonzalez was very much a live opponent having only lost on points to sill unbeaten Julian Williams who halted Luciano Cuello in one round earlier in the week. Barrios vs. Rivera Highly touted Texan prospect Barrios takes just over 2 minutes to get rid of Rivera. The tall Texan needed one overhand right and it was all over with Rivera down and out. The 6’0” (183cm) Barrios has seven wins by KO/TKO and is tipped to be a future star. Stronger tests are need. Mexican Rivera is 1-3-1 in his last 5 fights with all three losses coming inside one round. London, England: Super Middle: Fedor Chudinov (14-0) W PTS 12 Frank Buglioni (17-2-1Feather: Ryan Walsh (19-1-1) W PTS 12 Samir Mouneimne (15-2-1). Super Bantam: Bobby Jenkinson (9-1-1) W TKO 11 Lewis Pettitt (17-2). Super Welter: Gary Corcoran (14-0) W PTS 10 Rick Skelton (13-1). Super Welter: Ahmet Patterson (16-0) W TKO 8 Giorgi Ungiadze (31-25). Welter: Bradley Skeete (21-1) W TKO 3 Mark Thompson (27-5). Dereck Chisora (22-5) W PTS 10 Marcel Nascimento (18-11). Chudinov vs. Buglioni Chudinov retains his secondary WBA title with clear points victory over game Buglioni. Southpaw Chudinov took the first round by edging the battle of the jabs with his right being just that bit sharper and more accurate than Buglioni’s orthodox left. Chudinov was coming forward and forcing Buglioni on the back foot but the challenger scored with some good combinations in the second. Chudinov got into his stride in the third and also dominated the fourth and fifth thumping home his right jab and slotting punches through a not too solid defence of Buglioni. The challenger was also getting through with counters but Chudinov shrugged the shots off and continued to march forward. The sixth was a case of good news/bad news for Buglioni. He was finally able to get home some of his best shots including his right to the body and at the end of the round a right seemed to shake Chudinov. The crowd was in uproar and Buglioni was throwing punches trying to capitalise on his success. Unfortunately he landed another right after the bell which put Chudinov down. Buglioni may not have heard the bell due to the crowd baying in excitement at his success but the referee deducted two points for the infringement. Buglioni was on top again at the start of the seventh with Chudinov’s confidence momentarily shaken. That was short lived and Chudinov ended the round strongly. That was the high point for Buglioni. Chudinov was back in control with Buglioni looking tired. The challenger managed to hurt Chudinov just before the bell in the eighth but Chudinov had done enough in the early part of the round to make it his. The ninth saw Chudinov focusing on the body and hurting Buglioni with a series of lefts and rights with the fight slowly draining out of a tired looking Buglioni. Over the last three rounds Chudinov had Buglioni constantly under pressure as he tried to end the fight inside the distance. Buglioni had very little left over those rounds and showed guts to stay on his feet and last to the final bell. Scores 120-106, 118-108 and 117-109 which show the Russian’s dominance. Chudinov, 28, won the vacant secondary WBA title with a split decision over Felix Sturm in May his only win of note so far. The plan is for a return with Sturm later this year and a convincing win there would heighten his profile. His brother Dmitry lost his interim WBA title to Chris Eubank Jr in Britain so a modicum of revenge against Brits for the Chudinov family. “Wise Guy” Buglioni was steered into the title chance by some shrewd management as he had done little of note since losing to Sergey Khomitsky in 2014 and only getting a split draw with unrated Lee Markham in May. He gave it his best shot here and had Chudinov shaken a couple of times but was well beaten in the end. He is a popular fighter and has a big following so could get steered to another title shot next year. Walsh vs. Mouneimne Walsh makes history as together with his twin Liam they become the first twins to hold British titles at the same time. Having said that this was a controversial decision in a close, hard fought contest. Mouneimne got the jump on fast starter Walsh by coming out throwing punches to edge the first round. The next three rounds were close with neither really dominating. Walsh had a big round in the fifth when he floored Mouneimne with a hard combination a punch of which also opened a cut over the left eye of Mouneimne who lost his momentum for a while. When Mouneimne got back on an even keel he stuck to the ring centre utilising his jab to blunt the attacks from Walsh and looked to have closed the points gap from the knockdown. Both fought hard over the closing rounds to capture the eyes of the judges and although again many rounds were close Mouneimne looked to have secured at worst a draw. Two of the judges saw it differently scoring the fight 117-111 and 116-112 for Walsh whilst the third had Mouneimne the winner at 114-113. The only loss for the 29-year-old Walsh came in 2012 when he lost on points to Lee Selby, the current IBF champion for the British and CBC titles. He had returned with two low level wins last year and this was his first fight since November. Conversely Mouneimne, 28, is the only fighter to have beaten Selby which he did in 2009 when they were both novices. His only loss was against Josh Warrington, also in 2013, for the vacant CBC title and he had won three minor fights since then. Mouneimne was so angered by the decision that he stated he is retiring but hopefully he will reconsider and rebuild. Jenkinson vs. Pettitt Jenkinson gets upset come-from-behind win over favourite house fighter Pettitt. The fight went as planned until the eleventh round. Pettitt was able to outbox his less experienced foe most of the way being too quick and slick for Jenkinson. The longer the fight went the more the odds should have favoured Pettitt as he had experience of fights going into the championship rounds whereas Jenkinson had only once gone past round six. Pettitt had Jenkinson hurt on a number of occasions and used good body punching to give him an edge but he seemed to tire from the ninth round. All of that good work and the strategy counted for nothing in the eleventh round. Despite being outboxed Jenkinson had never been discouraged and seemed to be getting stronger. Although not a noted puncher when he saw an opening in the eleventh he slammed home a wicked left hook that put Pettitt down. Pettitt made it to his feet but Jenkinson jumped on him and landed a series of hard punches and the referee rightly stopped the fight. Jenkinson, 23, the BBB of C Midland Area champion wins the vacant CBC belt and gets only his second win by KO/TKO. Just 18 months ago Jenkinson was floored twice and stopped in two rounds by Spaniard Francisco Rodriguez who had a 1-2 record at the time in his 5 fights since then Jenkinson had gone 4-0-1 but those 5 inexperienced opponents had combined records of just 14-1 so this looked a safe fight for Pettitt. That’s boxing. Pettitt, 25, had won his last 9 fights and although the opposition had not been strong winning the WBA Inter-Continental title had seen him elevated to No 4 in their ratings. This loss was a big blow to him but he is young enough to rebuild. Corcoran vs. Skelton Corcoran wins this clash of unbeaten British fighters in a disappointing fight. Their styles did not mix well with Corcoran having difficulty settling against the southpaw stance of Skelton. Corcoran was the aggressor forcing Skelton on the back foot and often pinning him on the ropes but not really landing much when he had him there. Corcoran was scoring with body punches but Skelton was boxing well and presenting a difficult target whilst scoring with good counters of his own. Late on Skelton suffered a cut over his right eye and the fight was a mixture of good exchanges and untidy clinches with Corcoran doing enough to be a clear winner. Referee’s score 97-94 for the 24-year-old “Hellraiser”. Corcoran really was the local fighter here living just a short distance from Wembley but he did not need home advantage and was coming off a good win over Rick Godding (21-0-1) in July. He is now in line for a shot at the British title. Cumbrian Skelton’s best win had come against veteran Bradley Pryce in February but he was second best here. Patterson vs. Ungiadze Patterson gets stoppage win over awkward Georgian. Patterson had the perfect start when he floored the usually durable Ungiadze in the first round. Ungiadze got up and showed his best survival manoeuvres to stay out of trouble for the rest of the round. Patterson had a hard time against a fighter solely concentrating on surviving and was frustrated in round after round. Finally in the eighth Patterson manages to carry through a sustained attack landing some hard rights and the referee stepped in to stop the fight. Turkish-born “Punch Picker” Patterson,27 goes to five wins by KO/TKO . There are no big names on his record so far but he has made good progress. Ungiadze, 31, has only lost four times by KO/TKO in his 25 defeats so a reliable if frustrating travelling loser. Skeete vs. Thompson Skeete retains his WBO European title with third round injury win over Thompson who retired early in the third with a suspected broken hip. Second successful defence for 27-year-old from South London who is No 9 with the WBO and coming off a win over experienced Brunet Zamora. Bad luck for 34-year-old Thompson who had returned from 15 months inactivity with a win in June. Chisora vs. Nascimento Chisora gets 10 rounds of work and that is about all that came out of this fight. The former undefeated European champion and WBC title challenger was at his heaviest since losing to Tyson Fury back in 2011 and did not look sharp. He had an awkward opponent in the 6’5” Brazilian who had come to survive and Chisora just lacked that determination to get Nascimento out of there. There was too much clinching and mauling against the ropes for the fight to generate any excitement and in the end it was a boring fight from which Chisora got some ring time and Nascimento avoided a stoppage loss so is able to take another assignment anytime soon. At 31 Chisora is not old for a heavyweight and he gets a chance to resurrect his career when he fights either the EBU champion Erkan Teper or challenger Robert Helenius. That fight is on December 19 and Chisora is EBU mandatory challenger so will get a shot at the winner. Nascimento, 34, has now lost 9 of his last 11 fights and as boxing needs losers will be kept busy. Milan, Italy: Welter: Paul Malignaggi (34-7) W PTS 8 Laszlo Fazekas (27-22-1). Super Light: Renato De Donato (16-3) W KO 4 Gyula Tallosi (9-6). Welter: Antonio Moscatiello (19-2-1) W KO 3 Jozsef Gerebecz (7-14-2,1ND). Malignaggi vs. Fazekas Malignaggi eases to win over willing but outclassed Hungarian. Malignaggi was in a different class too quick and clever for Fazekas and won without every stretching himself. Fazekas tried to force the fight over the first two rounds but had little success and it was even worse in the third when he had a point deducted for low blows. Malignaggi showed his class in the fourth when he rocked Fazekas with an uppercut and a right hook but he did not follow through. Fazekas kept pressing in the fifth and sixth but was constantly caught by fast, hard combinations from Malignaggi. Over the last two rounds Malignaggi was just putting on an exhibition and cruising to victory. Scores 80-71 twice and 79-72. The fight was a sell-out and Malignaggi seems set to have a last fling European campaign. He is eligible to fight for the European title and is already rated No 3 by the EBU. The EBU title is currently vacant but Italians Gianluca Branco and Leonard Bundu meet for the title on November 22 so a fight against the winner would be a big draw in Italy. Fazekas, 25, has already had over 50 fights and is 5-5 in his 10 fights this year. Typically it is 5 home wins and 5 away losses and all on points which makes him the perfect visitor. De Donato vs. Tallosi Just a chump change keep busy fight for “The Surgeon” and a rare win by KO/TKO. De Donato had Tallosi down twice in the second round and down and out in the fourth. Only the second win by KO/TKO for the tall 29-year-old southpaw who does not make it into the EBU top 16 and is down at 22 in the EU rankings. Hungarian Tallosi now has six losses by KO/TKO. Moscatiello vs. Gerebecz On the other hand EBU No 13 Moscatiello is a puncher and he quickly disposed of Hungarian veteran Gerebecz. After a slow first round he put Gerebecz down in the second and ended it with three more knockdowns in the third. Now 14 wins by KO/TKO for the 32-year-old Italian champion. Gerebecz , 37, has lost 5 of his last 6 fights. Puerto Penasco, Mexico: Fly: Juan Francisco Estrada (33-2) W KO 10 Hernan Marquez (39-6-1). Light: Miguel Berchelt (27-1) W TKO 5 Josue Bendana (9-6-4). Bantam: Luis Nery (17-0) W KO 2 John Mark Apolinario (18-6-3). Estrada vs. Marquez Estrada floors Marquez seven times on his way to successful fifth defence of his WBA/WBO titles. The short-armed Marquez had to get close to stand any chance as Estrada had a big reach advantage and real power. Over the first five rounds Marquez was going toe-to-toe and was competitive with the crowd on its feet after thrilling punch-fests in the third and fifth rounds. Both were firing body punches but Estrada was blocking those from Marquez and softening up the challenger and dominating the exchanges and eventually Estrada’s power began to tell. In the sixth after hurting Marquez with a right body punches put Marquez down twice. Estrada continued to go to the body and scored two more knockdowns in the seventh. Estrada seemed to change tactics in the eight working to the head but he returned to the body in the ninth and floored Marquez with a left hook. The end was near and two more knockdowns in the tenth. The last knockdown was from a thunderous right to the head which put Marquez down on the canvas face first as the referee waived the fight over. The 25-year-old “El Gallo” moves to 24 wins by KO/TKO and badly wants a shot at the last man to beat him Roman Gonzalez who outpointed Estrada back in 2012. Marquez, 27, a former WBA fly champion, gets his fifth loss by KO/TKO. He had done nothing of note since losing in eleven rounds against McJoe Arroyo in June last year but the WBA “ratings elevator suddenly jumped him from nowhere to No 3. Berchelt vs. Bendana Berchelt gets another inside the distance win as he slowly dismantles Nica Bendana. Over the first round Bendana used his jab to keep Berchelt out but from the second the beat down began. Berchelt has improved getting more variety into his work but as with Estrada it was the body punches which got the job done. He put Bandana down in the third and punished him in the fourth before putting him down with a series of punches in the fifth. The referee started the count but the local commissioner rang the buzzer telling the referee to stop the fight. The 23-year-old “Scorpion” the WBC No 6 makes it 24 wins by KO/TKO including 6 in a row since his shock 99 seconds blow away loss to Luis Eduardo Flores in March last year. Bandana, 20, was 6-0-2 in his last 8 fights but way out of his league here. Nery vs. Apolinario Nery gets impressive win over Filipino Apolinario. After an even first round Nery landed a bomb that put Apolinario down and out in the second. The young prospect from Tijuana has recorded 12 wins by KO/TKO including 7 in his last 8 fights . His last two opponents were Carlos Fontes (19-2) and Filipino Jether Oliva (22-2-2) so he is being tested instead of protected. First loss inside the distance for Apolinario who drew twice with Roberto Vazquez for the interim WBA bantam title and lost on points to Koki Kameda for the secondary WBA title. Lodz, Poland: Heavy: Tomasz Adamek (50-4) W TKO 5 Przemyslaw Saleta (44-8). Heavy: Nagy Aguilera (19-9) W TKO 10 Marcin Rekowski (16-2). Light Heavy: Dariusz Sek (24-2-1) W PTS 10 Pedro Otas (30-2). Super Middle: Kamil Szeremeta (12-0) W PTS 8 Patrick Mendy (16-9-1). Cruiser: Michal Cieslak (10-0) W KO 1 Shawn Cox (18-7). Light Heavy: Maciej Miszkin (18-3) W TKO 4 Tomasz Gargula (17-1-1). Adamek vs. Saleta Although taller and with a longer reach Saleta was coming forward over the early rounds but was not really throwing or landing much. Adamek was scoring with counters but they had very little effect on Saleta. The bigger man kept coming forward in the second and third but was just too slow and Adamek was getting through with jabs and hooks. The fight was effectively over at this point Saleta was already cut under his left eye but more importantly had suffered an injury to his left shoulder which turned out to be a fractured collar bone. He tried to pull out a win with big right hands but had no success and retired at the end of the fifth round. Adamek will try to revive his career but at 38 time is not on his side. Saleta, 47, was having his first fight since beating Andy Golota in February 2013 Aguilera vs. Rekowski Aguilera gets controversial late stoppage win over Rekowski. Aguilera showed his danger from the start as he put the local boxer down with a right to the body in the first round. Rekowski had a better second round but Aguilera took the third. Rekowski finally got his act together and was busier and outboxing the slower Dominican fighter. Rekowski was shaking Aguilera with some tasty right uppercuts through the fifth and sixth. In the eighth a clash of heads saw Aguilera cut over his left eye. Later in the round he deliberately butted Rekowski and had a point deducted. The round got even worse when a shot from Rekowski put Aguilera down with a left hook and in the interval between the eighth and ninth Aguilera was complaining of blurred vision in his left eye. Rekowski took the ninth and only needed to stay on his feet in the tenth to win the fight. With the bell imminent Aguilera landed a right hook the sent Rekowski staggering into the ropes badly hurt. The referee could have stopped the fight immediately as Rekowski was out on his feet but instead he gave him a standing count. When the action resumed and before Aguilera could land another meaningful punch the referee stopped the fight with just two seconds left in the last round. Aguilera, 29, suffered back-to-back points losses in 2014 to Dominic Breazeale and Gerald Washington but this win should get him a couple of useful pay-days including a return if Rekowski wants it. As for the 37-year-old Pole who did not turn pro until he was 34 he was naturally angry at the stoppage when he was so close to victory. He had reversed his only loss by outpointing Oliver McCall so this was quite a set-back and he will want to reverse this one as well. Sek vs. Otas Sek gets wide unanimous decision over limited Brazilian. The Polish southpaw controlled the fight from the start getting through Otas defence with punches to head and body. Otas was wild with his attacks and had to eat counters for his troubles. Sek was mainly on the back foot but slotting home counter after counter with ease. Sek made a big effort to finish it with a barrage of punches in the ninth but Otas survived to the last bell. Scores 100-90 from all three judges. Third win in 2015 for the 29-year-old southpaw. The EBU No 7’s losses have been to Robert Woge and Robin Krasniqi. Otas , 37, is typical of so many Brazilian boxer, he wins at home and flops on the road. Szeremeta vs. Mendy Szeremeta gets unanimous verdict but Mendy makes him work hard for the win. Szeremeta took a few rounds to come up with an answer to the Gambian’s unorthodox style but with the use of some hefty left hooks he finally took control and did enough over the second half of the fight to deserve the decision. Scores 78-74 twice and 79-73. The 25-year-old is a former Polish amateur champion who represented Poland at the European and World Championships. As a pro he has useful wins over Lukasz Wawrzyczek and Rafal Jackiewicz. Mendy, 24, is a tough opponent on his night having drawn with Dmitry Chudinov and beaten Virgilijus Stapulionis (22-2). Cieslak vs. Cox Cieslak destroys Cox in 84 seconds. Cox came out aggressively only to get hammered by two right hooks. Cox was badly shaken and Cieslak jumped on him with a barrage of punches which put Cox down and the referee did not even bother with the count. Two first round wins in a row for the 26-year-old 6’3” (190cm) Pole following his 106 seconds stoppage of Jarno Rosberg last month.. Barbadian southpaw Cox, 40, was knocked out in two rounds by Denis Lebedev for the interim WBA title in 2012 and has lost 5 of his last 6 fights by KO/TKO with none of the fights going past the third round. Miszkin vs. Gargula “Handsome” Miszkin too good for previously unbeaten Gargula. Miszkin had his left jab working from the start and added more right crosses and uppercuts. Gargula had no answer to the younger man’s attacks and quickly went into survival mode. A succession of hard punch in the fourth had Gargula just covering up and with nothing coming back the referee stopped the fight. After winning his first 15 fights Miszkin then lost three on the bounce in 2013/2014, but has recovered well with three wins this year including a good domestic victory over Pawel Glazewski ((23-3) in April. Gargula, 41, turned pro in 2000 but was inactive from February 2004 until returning with a couple of low level wins this year. Ekaterinburg, Russia: Super Feather: Evgeny Chuprakov (14-0) W KO 8 Dmitry Kirilov (31-7-1). Chuprakov wins the vacant WBO European title with kayo of experienced Kirilov. Chuprakov was forcing the fight but Kirilov, a former IBF super fly champion, used his wide experience to blunt the attacks of his fellow Russian. Chuprakov got on top from the start of the fifth as he attacked the body and had Kirilov in trouble. The body attack took its toll and a left hook to the body in the eighth dumped Kirilov against the ropes and he was counted out. The 25-year-old local fighter with the strange nickname of “Happy Gilmore” makes it 8 wins by KO/TKO but he has not really yet been tested but will still get a stupid top 15 rating from the WBO just for being their European champion. Kirilov, 36, was IBF super fly champion in 2007/8 but was inactive for five years between 2008 and 2013. He had lost to Marco McCullough in his only fight in 2014 and was beaten by Denis Ceylan in March this year. Lemoore, CA, USA: Heavy: Andy Ruiz (25-0) W PTS 8 Joel Godfrey (17-15-1). Super Welter: Danny Valdivia (9-0) W KO 6 Jeremy Ramos (9-2). Middle: Esquiva Falcao (11-0) W KO 2 Zoltan Papp (7-2-1). Ruiz vs. Godfrey Ruiz returns to the ring and sheds some rust on the way to a win over late stand-in Godfrey. This one was a bore. The Mexican prospect looked slow and ponderous despite his efforts to reduce his weight. Godfrey was there to survive and in round after rounds he allowed Ruiz to back him up to the ropes where he just covered up and let Ruiz bang away at his gloves and body. That was pretty much the story of the fight. Scores 80-72 from all three judges. At 6’2” and almost 250lbs Ruiz lacks mobility and will have problems when he comes up a fighter with any real speed and skill. This was the 26-year-old Ruiz’s first fight for nine months and coming down 20lbs from when he beat Siarhei Liakhovich in December is progress of a sort. He retains the NABF title but they are not usually 8 round fights. Godfrey, really just a tall cruiser has lost 6 of his last 7 fights. Valdivia vs. Ramos Valdivia stops Ramos in an exciting scrap. After some fiery exchanges in the first round an explosive second saw Valdivia flooring Ramos and then Ramos getting up and putting Valdivia down. The fight steadied down to an entertaining fight. Valdivia has the power but not the defence to go with it so his fights do tend to be exciting. He ended this one with a thumping right in the sixth which had Ramos badly shaken and opened a cut over his right eye. When follow-up punches put Ramos down the referee stopped the fight. The 23-year-old Californian wins the vacant NABF Junior title and has 7 wins by KO/TKO. First loss by KO/TKO for Ramos who had won his last 5 fights. Falcao vs. Papp Brazilian Falcao beats outclassed Hungarian in two rounds. Southpaw Falcao spent the first round trying to walk down the Hungarian who was asking for trouble with his casual style holding his left at hip level. Papp showed a sharp jab but Falcao staged a strong finish to the round with Papp under pressure. In the second Falcao was looking to wrap things up. He had Papp tapped in the ropes early and then landed two chopping rights and a left to the head that saw Papp slump to the canvas with his head out under the ropes. He was obviously not going to get up but the referee decided to toll the ten instead of getting Papp help. The 25-year-old Olympic silver and World Championships bronze medallist has won 7 of his last 8 fights by KO/TKO and should be ready for ten rounds fights next year. Papp, also a southpaw, loses inside the distance for the second time in a row. Bahia Blanco, Argentina: Fly: Juan Carlos Reveco (36-2) W PTS 10 Breilor Teran (14-13-1). Reveco keeps busy whilst waiting for a title shot and easily outpoints Venezuelan Teran. Reveco took command of centre ring from the start and had no trouble getting through with his left jab, straight rights and trademark left hooks to the body. Teran was careful to keep his right stuck to his side to block those left hooks but was doing very little scoring of his own. Reveco occasionally let go some spectacular combinations and turned up the heat in the ninth and tenth looking to end it early but had to settle for a distance win. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91. The 32-year-old “Coton” is now in line for a revenge fight against Kazuto Ioka who took the secondary WBA title off the Argentinian with a majority decision in Japan in April. Teran, 30, lost against David Sanchez for the interim WBA super fly title last year has now lost 4 of his last 5 fights. Puerto Colombia, Colombia: Super Bantam: Hugo Berrio (20-5-1) W PTS 10 Nelson Suarez (3-2-2). Berrio gets unanimous decision over late stand-in Suarez. The Colombian had Suarez in deep trouble in the third and only the bell saved Suarez in the fifth. It was not all one-way traffic with the clever boxing of Suarez frustrating the home boxer and allowing the Venezuelan to pick up a couple of rounds but an overhand right from Berrio in the ninth again rocked Suarez. Scores 98-92, 98-93 and 97-92. Berrio is 4-1-1 in his last 6 fights and has been in with tough opposition in the past such as Oscar Escandon, Nehomar Cermeno and Andres Gutierrez. As a late sub and lacking experience Suarez performed better than expected. Caivano, Italy: Feather: Carmine Tommasone (15-0) W PTS 12 Jon Slowey (19-2). Bantam: Gianpetro Marceddu (6-3-2) DREW 10 10 Pio Antonio Nettuno (7-8-2). Super Welter: Orlando Fiordigiglio (22-1) W PTS 6 Nikola Matic (13-29). Tommasone vs. Slowey Local fighter Tommasone wins vacant EU title with wide unanimous verdict over Scot Slowey. The first two rounds were close with Tommasone just letting his hands got a bit more to edge them. Slowey had his southpaw right jab working well in the third as he closed the points gap. The fourth and fifth were good rounds for Tommasone as he scored well with hooks from both hands to put Slowey on the back foot and a right to the chin in the fifth shook the Scot. The Italian was totally in command in the sixth and seventh and it is lucky for Slowey that Tommasone is a light puncher as he pierced the Scot’s guard with a number of hard punches. Slowey kept fighting back hard but Tommasone was in the groove and if anything increasing his work rate. Slowey made a big effort to turn the tide in the tenth and eleventh rounds but Tommasone remained in control and ended the twelfth with a series of right hooks to confirm his superiority. Scores 119-110, 119-111 and 118-110. The 31-year-old former undefeated Italian champion “Mr Wolf” will be hoping to get a shot at the winner of the fight between Sofiane Takoucht and Rudy Encarnacion. Slowey, 25, had won his first 16 fights before losing his Scottish title to Kris Hughes in June last year. He had scored three low level wins since then and just came up against a better fighter this night. Marceddu vs. Nettuno Marceddu and Nettuno end up all even with the Italian title remaining vacant. It was a close fight with Nettuno generally taking the fight to Marceddu and Marceddu boxing on the back foot and showing more skill. He needed those skills after a right from Nettuno put him on the floor in the third round and rocked him again in the fourth. Marceddu survive those worrying moments and staged a strong finish as Nettuno tired but seemed lucky to get away with a draw. Scores 96-93 to Marceddu, 97-93 to Nettuno and 95-95. They will have to do it all again. Marceddu, 40, a three-time kick-boxing world champion, did not turn pro until he was 35 and had lost his last two fights. Nettuno, 29, had lost his last 8 fights and was making his fifth attempt to win this title. Fiordigiglio vs. Matic Fiordigiglio almost ends it in the first but then takes it easy. An uppercut to the body put Matic down in the opening round and it looked like an early night. However a hand injury suffered by Fiordigiglio caused the Italian to box more cautiously and he settled for winning every round and getting six rounds of work. First fight for the 31-year-old from Tuscany since having a 21 bout winning streak ended when he was stopped in eleven rounds by Cedric Vitu for the vacant EBU title in June. Croatian-born B&H champion Matic is 3-7 in his last 10 fights. Pavia, Italy: Welter: Gianluca Frezza (24-3-2,2 ND) W PTS 6 Cristian Pastarini (3-10). Milanese boxer Frezza puts in six not too demanding rounds against Pastarini. Frezza was too quick and accurate for the aged Pastarini and boxed his way to a unanimous verdict winning every round. The 35-year-old former unbeaten Italian champion was having his first fight since a loss to Charles Manyuchi for the WBC International in July which broke a 13 bout unbeaten run. Nine losses in a row for 40-year-old Pastarini but all on points. September 27 Osaka, Japan: Fly: Kazuto Ioka (18-1) W PTS 12 Roberto Domingo Sosa (26-3-1). Minimum: Katsunari Takayama (30-7) W TKO 8 Ryuji Hara (19-2). Ioka vs. Sosa Easy defence of his secondary WBA title for Ioka in front of his home crowd. He was just too quick and too skilful for Sosa who swished air for all twelve rounds. Ioka showcased his excellent defensive skills slipping parrying and dodging all of Sosa’s attempts to land any meaningful punchers. Sosa never gave up trying but he was eating counters in round after round. He had a good sixth round but other than that it was Ioka all the way. The local fighter tried to finish it in the last after hurting Sosa with a body punch but the challenger survived to the bell. Scores 119-109 twice and 120-108. First defence of the secondary title he won with a majority verdict over Argentinian Juan Carlos Reveco in April. Sosa, 30, won his first 24 fights but is now 2-3-1 in his last six. Takayama vs. Hara Takayama makes it a double for boxers from Osaka as he overcomes a slow start to halt fellow-countryman Hara. After an even first round Hara got through with punches to head and body to take the second and third rounds. An additional problem for Takayama was a bad cut under his left eye after a clash of heads in the third. Takayama woke up in the fourth and from then on dominated the action. His continuous two-handed attacks were just too much for Hara to handle. Takayama quickly wore Hara down, had him badly hurt in the seventh and ready to go in the eighth when the referee stopped the fight. The 32-year-old Takayama first won the WBC minimum title in 2005 and after losing that won the IBF title. He lost that in a unification fight with WBO champion Francisco Rodriguez in August 2014 and then won both titles by beating Go Odaira for the vacant title in December. This is his second defence. Hara, 25, a former OPBF champion was lucky to get the title shot after losing his OPBF title to 3-0 Kosei Tanaka in October. Tonight's international action doesn't look to be the greatest but there is quite a bit of it across a number of divisions.
Arguably the best of the bouts comes at Flyweight where unified WBA “super “ and WBO champion Juan Francisco Estrada (32-2, 23) defends his title against former champion Hernan Marquez (39-5-1, 28). In some ways this could end up being a massive disappointment, afterall Marquez has been through more wars than most, but he may still have the power to make this one semi-interesting with the excellent Estrada. This could be disappointing or it could be a FOTY contender, just depends on how much the 27 year old Marquez has left in the tank. Staying in Mexico fans will get the chance to see WBC female Super Flyweight champion Zulina Munoz (44-1-2, 27) defend her title against former IBF female Flyweight champion Gabriela Bouvier (12-5-1, 2). It's hard to see Munoz losing here if we're being honest. There a few mismatches at the world level tonight, one of which comes from the UK where the genuinely talented Fedor Chudinov (13-0, 10) faces big under-dog Frank Buglioni (17-1-1, 13). Whilst Chudinov is a bit of an unknown to some fans he is a monstrous puncher, as seen by his 2014 KO of the Year contender against Ben McCulloch, and given Buglioni's weak defense this could be over quickly and in spectacular fashion. Arguably the most disappointing bout of the weekend, at least at the top level, comes at Heavyweight where WBC champion Deontay Wilder (34-0, 33) defends his title against Frenchman Johann Duhaupas (32-2, 20). The bout was essentially made after Wilder's team left it too late to sign a good opponent and were left scrambling looking for someone. Saying that Duhaupas did beat Manuel Charr last time out and has a few under-rated qualities, though shouldn't have anything to test “the champ”. Another bout of some interest comes from Italy where former 2-weight world champion Paulie Malignaggi (33-7, 7) is expected to end his career with a bout against the limited Laszlo Fazekas (27-21-1, 17). This looks to be a mismatch but Malignaggi is 1-3 in his last 4 and has taken a lot of recent damage with many now considering him shot. It would be a big upset if Fazekas won but it's looking more likely than a win for Duhaupas against Wilder. This weekend is certainly not a busy one, but there some real highlights taking place through out Saturday.
For many hardcore fans the stand out fight comes from Sonora where WBA “interim” Super Flyweight champion David Sanchez (28-2-2, 22) defends his title against the always fun to watch Luis Concepcion (32-4, 23). Both men have the ability to put on thrillers so we're hoping that this one lives up to the expectation and delivers and all out war. The winner will be the top contender for the upcoming “regular” title fight between Kohei Kono and Koki Kameda, who fight next month in the US. Staying in Mexico there is brilliant female world title bout between the fantastic Arely Mucino (21-2-2, 10) and the equally brilliant Jessica Chavez (23-4-3, 4). On paper this is brilliantly matched, especially give their 2013 split decision draw, and we're expecting a lot of high paced action between these two. Coming in Mucino is the WBC female Flyweight champion and will be defending her title for the first time since claiming it from Shindo Go earlier this year. South African boxing certainly isn't thriving but with Rodney Berman they do have a promoter willing to really invest in their fighters and the national scene. Today Berman puts his Minimumweight world champion Hekkie Budler (28-1, 9) up against fellow South African Simphiwe Khonco (15-4, 7) in a WBA title defense for the “Hexecutioner”. On paper it looks like a mismatch but Khonco is better than his record suggests, and has won his last 9, whilst Budler may not quite be as good as the numbers suggest. Hopefully the winner of this will agree to a unification bout with one of the other champions, such as Kosei Tanaka or Wanheng Menayothin, or face WBA #1 ranked contender Knockout CP Freshmart. In England we get an excellent Super Featherweight bout as local favourite Stephen Smith (22-1, 12) faces Italian visitor Devis Boschiero (37-3-1, 19). Smith, the younger brother of 2-time world title challenger Paul Smith, is hoping to get a world title fight if he wins here and although he's a big betting favourite there are a number of fans picking the visitor. As for Boschiero the under-rated visitor has challenged for a world title, losing a very close one to Takahiro Ao, and lost twice in very close bouts to European champion Romain Jacob. Potentially this is the fight of the night and the winner is expected to face IBF king pin Jose Pedraza in 2016 The Past Week in Action 15 September 2015
September 9 Polomolok, Philippines: Minimum: Vic Saludar ((11-1) W TKO 1 Rizky Pratama (6-4). Fly: Froilan Saludar (23-1-1) W TKO 6 Mike Escobia (10-11-1). Saludar vs. Pratama “Vicious” Saludar gets a quick win. The local banger floored the inexperienced Indonesian early. When Pratama got up he indicated that he had suffered a shoulder injury and the fight was stopped. The 24-year-old Saludar wins the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title and has 9 wins by KO/TKO. His loss came in 2013 when he suffered a fractured hand and could not continue. He has won nine in a row since then and is No 1 with the GAB. Saludar vs. Escobia Saludar makes it a family double as he gets win over former victim Escobia. A cut ended this one. It was opened by a punch and in the sixth round it was affecting the vision of Escobia and he wisely decided to retire. The 26-year-old “Sniper” lost to McWilliams Arroyo in two rounds in June last year but has bounced back with 4 wins and is now at No 2 with the WBO. No 1 Brian Viloria is going to fight Roman Gonzalez for the WBC title which should put Saludar in line for a shot at Juan Francisco Estrada. Eight losses in a row for Escobia including a points defeat against Saludar in February. September 10 Westbury, NY, USA: Cruiser: Steve Geffrard (13-2) W TKO 5 Cory Cummings (18-10-1). Welter: Tommy Rainone (24-6-1) W PTS 6 Francisco Javier Reza (15-15). Geffrard vs. Cummings Geffrard continues his winning run with stoppage of experienced Cummings. The former top amateur came close to ending it in the third but let Cummings off the hook. He kept up the pressure in a one-sided match and when he shook Cummings again in the fifth the referee stopped the fight. After losing his first two fights Geffrard has run up 13 wins in a row 8 by KO/TKO. The 25-year-old from Boca Raton was US Boxing Athlete of the Year in 2010 after winning the US National Championships, the NGG’s and the PAL tournaments in the same year. However he failed at the Trials for the 2012 Olympics. Trained by Ronnie Shields the 6’2” (188cm) business school graduate is worth keeping an eye on. “Black Ice” Cummings, 35 was giving away a lot of height as he falls to 1-6-1 in his last 8 fights. Rainone vs. Reza Rainone survives a cut to win every round against Reza. Ironically it was “The Razor” Rainone who came out of a clash of heads in the second round with a cut. Luckily it was under his right eye so not affecting his vision. Rainone proceeded to hand out a steady beating to Reza who only just managed to see out the full distance. Scores 60-54 from all three judges. The 35-year-old Rainone is 7-1-1 in his last 9 fight with the loss being to unbeaten Dusty Hernandez Harrison. Mexican Reza is 3-10 in his last 13 fights. September 11 Toronto, Canada: Light Heavy: Adonis Stevenson (27-1) W TKO 3 Tommy Karpency (25-5-1). Welter: Errol Spence (18-0) W TKO 8 Chris van Heerden (23-2-1). Heavy: Dillon Carman (9-2) W KO 3 Donovan Ruddock (40-6-1). Super Welter: Prichard Colon (16-0) W TKO 4 Vivian Harris (32-11-2,1ND). Welter: Ionut Dan Ion (35-3) W PTS 8 Jake Giuriceo (17-5-1). Stevenson vs. Karpency Predictably easy defence for Stevenson as he retains the WBC title with early stoppage in all-southpaw contest. Karpency did not come to lie down and landed a few good punches of his own but the power of Stevenson was just too much. Both started cautiously probing with their jab and with plenty of feinting trying to get the other guy to make a mistake. Karpency landed a couple of rights but Stevenson banged back with one of his own then they went back to prodding and probing with the jab. More jabbing at the start of the second but Karpency landed a solid overhand left. They traded briefly half way through the round and Karpency tried a wild left which missed. Karpency was leaping in but his punches were wild. Stevenson caught Karpency with a hard left but Karpency seemed to absorb it only for Stevenson to the nail him with another left inside. That unhinged Karpency’s legs and he stumbled back to the ropes. Stevenson landed a thudding right which catapulted Karpency off the ropes and sent the challenger down on his hands and knees on the canvas with just four seconds left in the round. Karpency tried to rise but tumbled over. At the second attempt he made it to his feet just at the count of nine (there was no 8 count in use). The round had completed its three minutes whilst he was on the floor but the fighter could not be saved by the bell. As soon as he got up the referee sent both fighters to their corners. Stevenson came out fast in the third looking to finish the job. He drove Karpency to the ropes and landed three clubbing lefts which sent Karpency falling to his side and down face first on the canvas. He managed to get up at eight and took a couple of steps forward when asked to do so but the referee took a hard look at him and waived the fight over. Sixth defence for 37-year-old Haitian-born Stevenson and win No 22 by KO/TKO. Now he says he wants Sergey Kovalev-we all want that one. Twenty-nine-year-old “Kryptonite” Karpency lost every round against Net Cleverly in a challenge for the WBO title in 2012 and been stopped by Andrzej Fonfara for the vacant IBO title. Despite those losses he earned his chance with a split decision over Chad Dawson and was WBC No 9. Spence vs. van Heerden Spence again shows he is a real threat in this division as he brushes aside van Heerden. The hand speed of Spence was a big factor in this another all-southpaw scrap. Her was using a stiff right jab to open up the South African and then banging home punches to head and body. He was out-throwing and out-landing van Heerden although the South African did enough scoring of his own to stay in the fight and be competitive up to a point. van Heerden‘s left eye was being affected by a swelling from the second round and combinations from Spence rocked the South African in the third. In the fourth a right from Spence saw van Heerden’s mouthguard fly out but the referee decided it was deliberate and deducted a point. Despite his left eye now being virtually closed van Heerden stood and traded with Spence in the fight but got much the worse of the exchanges. The sixth was one-sided with Spence scoring with both hands to head and body and it was becoming a case of how much longer van Heerden could keep soaking up the punishment. A right to the side of the head put van Heerden down in the seventh and after the South African get up a body punch put him down for the second time. He made a brave attempt to get back in the fight in the eighth but Spence cut that short by hammering home a volley of punches that brought the referee’s intervention. The 25-year-old Texan has now won 8 of his last 9 fights by KO/TKO. The former 2009/2010/2011 US National champion and 2012 Olympian shows he is ready to move up. He is No 8 with the WBA and ready for any other rated fighter.van Heerden, 28, a former IBO welter champion had not lost since 2010 and was on a nine bout winning streak but Spence was better in every department. Carman vs. Ruddock Hopefully Carman has put an end to Ruddock’s return to the ring. The Canadian champion took the first round and then stepped-up his attacks in the second. He ended things emphatically in the third. A couple of rights saw Ruddock slump down on one knee. Although he got up another right saw Ruddock stretched out on his back on the canvas for the full count. Ruddock may be 51 but for Carman this was a win over someone with a “name” and will have raised his profile. The 6’5” (196cm) 29-year-old “Big Country” was making the first defence of his Canadian title. All of his last 8 fights have ended by KO/TKO-unfortunately one of those was a loss to Sylvera Louis but he beat Louis inside a round in their return bout. Ruddock had not impressed in his two other comeback fights and hopefully he will retire again. Colon vs. Harris Puerto Rican hope Colon too young and quick for Harris and scores crushing kayo in fourth. The flashy Colon’s movement and hand speed were just too much for Harris. From the start he was shooting out his jab and looking for openings for his long rights. Harris was giving away reach and either had to get inside or draw Colon onto counters. He chose the latter but was too slow with his counters and was not letting his hands go. In the second Colon was coming forward looking to find a home for his rights. He took Harris to the ropes and landed three hard rights to the head but Harris escaped and stayed out of trouble for the rest of the round, In the fourth Colon was mixing in left hooks but that right cross was still the punch he was looking to land. He got through with a couple near the end of the round but Harris jabbed his way to safety. Colon finished it in style in the fourth. After all of his head hunting it was a long right to the body that stiffened Harris and then Colon unleashed a series of head punches that put Harris down on the canvas face first and he was counted out. The 22-year-old “Digget” a protégé of Felix Trinidad and a former top amateur, has 13 wins by KO/TKO. With his height, reach and power he is a real danger in this division. Guyanan Harris, 37, was never in the fight. He is 3-8-1 in his last 12 fights but two of those 3 wins were over Danny O’Connor and Jorge Paez Jr. Ion vs. Giuriceo Ion gets through his first fight since being crushed by Kell Brook. The Romanian southpaw took a little while to shake a bit of rust but was generally in command and took the wide unanimous decision on scores of 79-73 from all three judges. Ion, 34, dismissed any suggestion he had considered retiring after being down four times and retiring after four rounds in his challenge to IBF champion Brook. He has at least taken the first step on the road back. Giuriceo came in as a very late sub and has lost 5 of his last 6 fights but gave Ion eight rounds of work. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Feather: Oscar Valdez (17-0) W TKO 5 Chris Avalos (26-4). Super Middle: Jess Hart (18-0) W TKO 9 Aaron Pryor Jr (19-9-1). Light Heavy: Egor Mekhontsev (10-0) W PTS 8 Jackson Junior (18-4,1ND). Super Light: Mike Reed (16-0) W TKO 5 Antonio Canas (10-1-1,1ND). Super Feather: Erick De Leon (11-0) W PTS 6 Angel Hernandez (9-5-1,1ND). Valdez vs. Avalos Valdez marches on. The outstanding young Mexican talent dismantled former IBF super bantam challenger Avalos inside five rounds. From the first Valdez just could not miss Avalos with a variety of jabs, hooks and uppercuts. Avalos was as ever willing to stand and trade but could do nothing to get himself in with a chance. Left hooks, straight rights all got through. The first knockdown came late in the third round as Valdez put the finishing touch to a one-sided round by nailing Avalos with a left hook which turned his legs to jelly with Avalos taking a step forward a step back and then tumbling to the canvas. Avalos is a tough guy and he got up but he was lucky that the bell went before Valdez could do any more damage. Avalos tried to fight back in the fourth but was again shaken badly near the end of the round. Valdez wrapped matters up in the fifth as he slammed home a left jab that snapped back the head of Avalos and when he staggered him again with a shot to the head the referee stopped the fight. The 24-year-old Valdez has 15 wins by KO/TKO and is already rated No 2 by the WBO which is overgenerous on the basis of his opposition but he should be ready for a title shot by late 2016. He was one of Mexico’s most successful amateurs winning a World Youth gold medal, a silver at the PanAmerican Games and a bronze at the World Championships. A world title as a pro should ease some of the hurt from unsuccessful shots at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Avalos, 25, suffers his second loss by KO/TKO with the other being against Carl Frampton in a challenge for the IBF super bantam title in February. He had won last time out beating reasonable opposition in Filipino Rey Perez. Hart vs. Pryor Hart gets another inside the distance win as he halts Aaron Pryor Jr in nine rounds. Hart started well and finished well but the bit in between was not so hot. Hart was always looking for the big punch but Pryor was looking to survive and their styles did not mix at all. Hart just could not nail Pryor down or get him to stand and trade so it was a fight that lacked highlights and became messy. Hart was winning every round because he was the only one doing any fighting but he just could not find a way to cut Pryor off and force him to fight. When he got inside he lacked ideas and Pryor was smothering his work. Hart finally found the punch he had been seeking in the ninth. Having missed in round after round with rights Hart landed a looping one which shook Pryor and forced him back to the ropes. Hart then cut loose driving Pryor along the ropes landing a succession of thudding head punches with Pryor not trying to fight back until the referee stopped the fight. Hart, 26, retains the IBF USBA and WBO NABO titles. He has 15 wins by KO/TKO. The son of one Philly’s great pros “Cyclone” Hart he is a former NGG champion. He came so close to getting on the 2012 Olympic Team. He won 5 fights at the trials over 5 fighters who are all now unbeaten pros but lost to yet another one Terrell Gausha 3-2 in the final box-off. Hart is making his dad proud but I am not sure about how the great Aaron Pryor views his son’s efforts. Now 37 Pryor Jr is 4-7-1 in his last 12 fights and is going nowhere. Mekhontsev vs. Junior Russian Mekhontsev gets a wake-up call as he hits the floor for the first time as a pro but gets up to win. After flooring Junior in the first Mekhontsev was comfortably in control and cruising to victory but after Junior put him down in the sixth the Russian had a fight on his hands but he ran out a clear winner. Scores 77-74 twice and 77-73. The 30-year-old Mekhontsev may have left it a bit late to turn pro but after winning gold medals at the European Championships (twice) the World Championships and the 2012 Olympics there was nothing left for him to aim for. Junior, 29, was unbeaten in his first 16 fights but is 3-4 in his last 7 after losses to Mekhontsev, Vasily Lepikhin, Rakhim Chakhkiev and Isidro Ranoni Prieto. Reed vs. Canas Southpaw Reed adds another inside the distance win. The Maryland prospect had Canas shaky in the first round but he survived and began to take the fight to Reed looking to work inside. Reed was content boxing on the outside and controlling the action. In the fifth a vicious right to the body put Canas down. He got up but Reed unleashed a barrage of punches and the referee stopped the fight. The 22-year-old from Waldorf, a former NGG champion, has 9 wins by KO/TKO. Canas grandly nicknamed “The Aztec God of War” had gone 4-0-1ND in his previous 5 fights. De Leon vs. Hernandez Yet another Top Rank with great amateur credentials adds to his winning total. De Leon won every round and walked away with the unanimous decision on scores of 60-54 from all three judges. The Mexican-born Detroit-raised 23-year-old southpaw is a former three-time NGG champion in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Texan Hernandez is 1-4-1 in his last 6 but the guys he lost to have had combined records of 50-0 going in. Bahia Blanca, Argentina: Super Middle: Ruben E Acosta (31-12-5) W TKO 2 Pablo Nievas Zamora (30-13-1). Acosta brushes Nievas aside to retain South American title. He had more trouble making the weight than he did with Nievas and the referee stepped into save Nievas half way through the second round. The 37-year-old local fighter was making the fifth defence of his title and gets his eleventh win by KO/TKO. He is 4-4 in his last 8 fights but the four losses have been in tough company against Callum Smith, Max Vlasov, Isidro R Prieto and Patrick Nielsen. He is No 1 with the FAB. Zamora, 34, the FAB No 9 lost to Anthony Mundine on points for the WBA secondary title back in 2007. Rio Cuarto, Argentina: Feather: Claudio F Echegaray (14-0-1) W TKO 4 Mario Villalobos (8-9-1). Echegaray retains the WBA Fedebol title with stoppage of Villalobos. It was an easy night for Echegaray as Villalobos was a last minute substitute after Oscar Nievas pulled out. Echegaray pressured from the start working inside and attacking the body. Villalobos was never in the fight and taking a beating when the referee stopped the fight in the fourth. Second defence for 25-year-old southpaw Echegaray and eighth win by KO/TKO. He is FAB No 3. “Little Duck” Villalobos is 1-6-1 in his last 8 fights and this is loss No 5 by KO/TKO. Hangshou, China: Super Bantam: Qiu Xiao Jun (18-2) W KO 6 Diarh Gabutan (19-5-2). Super Feather: Kaewfah Tor Buamas (20-0) W PTS 10 Andrew Wallace (10-6-1). Jun vs. Gabutan Highly-touted Jun wins but fails to impress in a slow fight. Jun was making the first defence of his WBC Silver title and was up against very modest opposition in Filipino southpaw Gabutan. Jun did what landing there was in a featureless first round and although he tried to put pressure on in the second Gabutan was never in any trouble. In the third Gabutan landed a right just as Jun’s foot slipped and although he touched the canvas it was not seen as a knockdown but did seem to shake Jun a little. Jun managed to get home with a hard right in the fourth but Gabutan again was not in any trouble from it and boxed his way to the bell. The fifth was the worst round so far with Gabutan doing very little and Jun doing even less. It looked as though the fight had flat-lined as far as action was concerned but in the sixth Jun landed a left hook that put Gabutan down and out. The 25-year-old Chinese fighter lost twice early in his career to Filipino Jonathan Baat but beat Baat in their third match. He has now won his last 10 fights and the WBC somehow have him as No 1 at super bantam which is just ridiculous based on his opposition-but China is a big market. Gabutan loses by KO/TKO for the third time and has lost 4 of his last 5 fights and is not in the top 20 Filipino’s in this division so well qualified to fight for this highly prized WBC title!. Buamas vs. Wallace Thai Buamas wins the vacant WBC ABC title with unanimous decision over English-born Wallace. Buamas was a clear winner but Wallace put up a good effort despite losing. Scores 97-93, 98-95 and 96-94. These title fights are usually 12 rounds so that is a query. Buamas, 29, has impressive figures but 12 of his victims had never had a fight, two had combined record of 0-13-1-well you get the picture. Wolverhampton-born Wallace, 37, based in Australia, has now lost 6 of his last 7 fights. Corby, England: Cruiser: Simon Barclay (7-0) W TKO 7 Micky Steeds (13-7-1). Local prospect Barclay moves up to ten rounds class but only needs seven of them for a win. Barclay got off to a great start flooring Steeds with a combination in the first round. He also shook Steeds with another combination in the second. Steeds fought back hard taking the fight to Barclay but despite two small cuts over each eye Barclay was well in command and worked Steeds over in the sixth. By that stage the referee had Barclay ahead 59-54 but instead of coasting to victory he banged home a succession of hard punches in the seventh and at the end of the round Steeds retired. The tall 26-year-old Barclay gets his first win by KO/TKO and the double ABA champion is making good progress. Steeds, 31, a former British title challenger at both cruiser and light heavyweight had only been stopped once before and that was by Yoan Pablo Hernandez. Huntington, NY, USA: Light Heavy: Joe Smith Jr (19-1) W TKO 9 Dion Savage (12-8). Smith halts Savage in tough exciting scrap. Smith had the power but Savage refused to fold and was more than willing to get into trading punches. Smith nearly ended it in the third as a volley of punches sent Savage tumbling through the ropes. Savage made it back through the ropes and into the ring but when the action resumed he was staggered again by a right and saved from further punishment by the bell. Smith was taking the fight to Savage looking to exploit his success but Savage banged back with punches of his own to stay competitive. Smith had been grinding Savage down and in the ninth he came out throwing punch after punch until Savage was forced to go down or out. Savage made it to his feet and went straight into trading punches only to be bombarded with a series of hard punches that saw the referee stop the fight. After an early career loss the 25-year-old from Long Island has won 13 on the bounce and has won his last five fights by KO/TKO. Savage, or Shujja El Amin as he is now known, has lost his last 5 fights against tough opposition. Edmonton, Canada: Light: Cam O’Connell (8-0-1) W PTS 8 Randy Lozano (10-7-2). Local hope O’Connell has to get off the floor to stay unbeaten. The boxer from Red Deer found himself on the canvas in the first compliments of an over hand right from Mexican Lozano. O’Connell got up and then took the fight to Lozano. He found Lozano a tough and awkward opponent who kept ducking inside the Canadian’s punches which resulted in a few punches to the back of the head from O’Connell. He was warned and did not try it again and outboxed Lozano to take the unanimous decision. Scores 77-74 twice and 76-75. Second eight round bout for O’Connell who had just one fight between December 2013 and June this year. O’Connell was Canadian amateur champion in 2010. Lozano, 22, was 2-3 in his last five fights but was coming off a stoppage win over former IBF/WBA/WBO title challenger Cecilio Santos. September 12 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Welter: Floyd Mayweather Jr (49-0) W PTS 12 Andre Berto (30-4). Super Middle: Badou Jack (20-1-1) W PTS 12 George Groves (21-3). Super Feather: Roman Martinez (29-2-3) DREW 12 Orlando Salido (42-13-3,1ND). Super Welter: Vanes Martirosyan (36-2-1) W PTS 10 Ishe Smith (27-8). Super Feather: Jonathan Oquendo (26-4) W PTS 10 Jhonny Gonzalez (58-10). Middle: Chris Pearson (13-0,1ND) W TKO 7 Janks Trotter (9-2-1,1ND). Super Light: Ronald Gavril (14-1) W TKO 8 Scott Sigmon (25-8-1). Super Light: Ashley Theophane (39-6-1) W PTS 10 Steve Upsher Chambers (25-5-1,1ND). Super Feather: Gervonta Davis (12-0) W TKO 1 Recky Dulay (8-2,1ND). Mayweather vs. Berto Mayweather bows out with victory No 49 as he easily outscores Berto to no one’s surprise and retains the WBC and WBA titles. Mayweather showed his trade mark hand speed in the first working well to head and body and landing a couple of choice left hooks. Berto announced his presence in the fight with a choice right in the second but he was just not quick enough. Mayweather took the fight to Berto in the third and both scored with good punches. There was a moment of shock in the round as Mayweather went down but it was rightly ruled a slip and he was up quickly and back in charge. Berto’s only chance in the fight was if he could cut the ring down and force Mayweather to the ropes and he did that briefly in the fourth but he was also leaving gaps for Mayweather to exploit and paid for that as Mayweather banged home a hard right counter. Berto was warned for a low blow in the fifth and despite his constant pressure Mayweather was beating him to the punch and easily evading many of Berto’s punches as he eased his way through the sixth. Mayweather chose to stand and trade shots in the seventh but again the hand speed and clever defensive work meant that Mayweather was showing that Berto’s only chance of winning was no chance at all. Not all of the exchanges involved punches as they were also exchanging words. Mayweather took the eighth and drilled home punch after punch in the ninth as it was getting to be more like an exhibition than a contest. At the end of the ninth Mayweather seemed to indicate to his corner he was suffering some pain in his left hand and he chose to coast through the tenth with the only moment of note when the referee called the fighters together and told them to cut out the talking and get on with the fighting. In the eleventh Mayweather was in cruise control playing to the balcony and showcasing his skills with Berto not able to do anything about it. Mayweather briefly traded with Berto in the last landing some crisp shots just to show he could when he wanted to and then backpedalled over the closing stages of the round until the bell signalled the end of his career. Scores 120-108, 118-110 and 117-111 with the last seeming generous to Berto. Now 38 Mayweather was adamant that this was his last fight. He had equalled Rocky Marciano’s record of 49-0 and won 26 world title fights and achieved everything he wanted to achieve and was finished with fighting. He may be serious and really believe he can and will just walk away from ring competition but we have seen so many great boxers say the same and find the urge to return just too strong. Many will believe him but even more will expect to see him fight again in 2016. Berto, 32, is a good fighter and it must have been irritating to hear himself so heavily criticised as an opponent before the fight. A spell of three losses, to Victor Ortiz, Robert Guerrero and Jesus Soto Karass, in four fights were a clear indication that he stood no chance against Mayweather but it was no fault of his that Mayweather picked him and there was no way he was going to walk away from a $4 million payday so in taking the fight he was blameless but to show how unhappy people were with Mayweather taking a fight he knew he would win for his farewell Berto was on the receiving end of a lot of negativity about his ability. He is a former WBC and IBF welter champion it was just that boxing fans unrealistically expected Mayweather to bow out on a high risk fight-no way. Jack vs. Groves Jack floors Groves in the first on his way to a split decision to retain his WBC title. Despite being champion Jack was a slight outsider in the betting but he proved in the first round that he saw things differently as he floored Groves with two rights late in the round. Groves was badly shaken but made it to his feet and the bell went soon after. Groves recovered quickly from that early shock and showed he had the better skills as he landed well with the jab and found a home for some quick combinations. Jack had shown he was the bigger puncher but Groves was willing to trade over the next three rounds and looked to have made up for the 10-8 first round and edged ahead. Certainly Groves was using a higher work rate to take control but he was not as accurate as usual and a lot of his energy was wasted energy. Groves also had a good sixth round but then he seemed to tire and Jack’s harder punching and more accurate work began to swing the fight his way. The eighth was close but Jack took the ninth with a couple of damaging rights and Groves was letting the fight slip away. Jack was on the front foot more now and again getting through with those strong right hand punches with Groves visibly wilting. Groves found the energy for a resurgence in the eleventh cracking home a good right but by the end of the round Jack was the one doing most of the scoring. They both fought hard in the last although Groves seemed to be avoiding getting too involved and may have felt that his work over the early rounds had been enough to outweigh the knockdown, Jack’s more accurate work and the champion’s strong finish. The judges did not all agree on that. Scores 116-111 and 115-112 for Jack and 114-113 for Groves. Jack was making the first defence of the WBC title he had won with an upset majority points victory over Anthony Dirrell in April. Swedish-born with a Gambian father the 31-year-old “Ripper” has now met his mandatory obligations and is hoping for some fights against the big names in the division. He would start as an outsider against Andre Ward but he has Julio Cesar Chavez and Lucien Bute in the WBC ratings which would be good pay days or he could take the chance of clashing with some of the young lions such as Callum Smith and Gilberto Ramirez. Groves, 27, was having his third shot at a title title having been beaten twice inside the distance in fights with Carl Froch for the IBF and WBA titles with their second fight being one of the biggest attractions in British boxing history. Now he has to rebuild for a fourth shot and he is young enough to do just that. Martinez vs. Salido Martinez retains the WBO title with questionable draw against Salido. Their fight in April which saw Martinez get a deserved decision was a classic contender for fight of the year and over the first three rounds this one looked like matching it. Both fighters were looking to land heavy punches from the opening bell and after that entertaining start Salido started to force the pace of the fight. He knew Martinez was the better technician so had to get the Puerto Rican into the trenches and he pressed hard in the second round. In the third Salido was credited with a knockdown which wasn’t. it was Salido stepping on Martinez’s foot that sent the Puerto Rican down. Martinez literally put that right later in the round as he landed a right that put Salido down on his knees. Martinez had a good fourth shaking Salido early but the fifth was Salido’s round and he looked to have had the better of the exchanges in the sixth. The seventh was even better for Salido as this time he rocked Martinez. The challenger was out-throwing and out-landing Martinez and getting home some energy sapping body punches. Martinez was more accurate with his punches but just not able to establish any dominance. In round after round they were waging a battle of attrition but it was Salido who was coming out on top in most of the exchanges and pressing and pressing and forcing Martinez to fight on his terms. Martinez was battling hard to try to hold on to his title as the fought toe-to-toe over the championship rounds but it seemed to most observers that Salido had done more than enough to secure the win but only one of the judges agreed with that scenario. Scores 115-113 for Martinez, 115-113 for Salido and 114-114. It was a good exciting fight and both parties seem to be agreeable to a rematch and Salido certainly deserves one although Martinez had said he would move up to lightweight irrespective of whether he won or lost so who knows. Now 32, “Rocky” Martinez is in his third reign as WBO super feather champion having lost the title in the past to Ricky Burns and Mikey Garcia but becoming a three-time champion when he beat Salido in April.”Siri” Salido, 34, had four spells as feather champion two with the IBF one of which was short-lived as he tested positive for a banned substance after winning the title and was promptly stripped, and two with the WBO. He was also WBO super feather champion until losing to Martinez. He has every chance of getting that WBO title if he gets a rematch or if Martinez relinquishes. Martirosyan vs. Smith Martirosyan gets majority decision of Smith but looks the clear winner. Martirosyan began by controlling the bout boxing on the outside with Smith landing some shots but generally having problems dealing with Martirosyan’s educated and sharp jab. Smith was trying to come in low to nullify the jab but in the third Martirosyan used that tactic against Smith catching the former IBF champion with a hard downward chopping right as Smith was coming in low. The punch looked to land far back on Smith’s head but the referee had no problem with it and so it counted as a knockdown. Smith got up and was not in serious trouble but by now Martirosyan had built a commanding lead. Smith began to have some success in the middle rounds as Martirosyan was troubled by a swelling which was threatening to close his right eye. It looked as though Smith’s mid fight charge might sweep him to victory but Martirosyan regrouped and had a match winning eighth round when he floored Smith with a left/right combination that put Smith down heavily. Smith got up but had lost the momentum and Martirosyan went on to box his way to what looked a clear victory. Two judges agreed giving the fight to Martirosyan by 97-91but the third judge somehow saw it all even at 96-96. The win puts the 29-year-old Armenian-born “Nightmare” back into the title mix after his loss to Jermell Charlo on a close unanimous decision in March. He is rated WBC3/IBF 10/WBO 13 so with Floyd Mayweather retiring the WBC title will be vacant and with No 1 Saul Alvarez tied up in a fight with Miguel Cotta for the WBC middle title in November he could be in line for a shot at the title in a return against No 2 Jermell Charlo and a chance to make amends for his loss to Demetrius Andrade for the vacant WBO title in 2013. Former champion Smith, 37, is 2-3 in his last 5 fights having lost his IBF title to Carlos Molino in 2013 and beaten by Erislandy Lara for the WBA secondary title in December. His options are few. Gonzalez vs. Oquendo Oquendo was unfazed by Gonzalez reputation as a big puncher and took the fight to the Mexican straight away. Gonzalez was backing off and under pressure until he threw a straight right and a left uppercut through Oquendo’s defence which sent the Puerto Rican stumbling back and down. He was up immediately and when the action resumed he took the fight to Gonzalez again with Gonzalez trading with Oquendo and throwing a barrage of hooks to try to capitalise on the knockdown. In the second Gonzalez was again forced onto the back foot. He was trying to use his jab to keep Oquendo out but Oquendo threw a left jab of his own and a right over the extended left of Gonzalez that put him down heavily on his back. Gonzalez got up badly shaken and at the bell went back to the wrong corner. He had also suffered a gash over his right eye in a clash of heads in the round. There were no more knockdowns and from the third round onwards there was back and forwards action with Oquendo most effective inside and Gonzalez at his best when slotting home his jabs and hooks when he had space for leverage. Neither fighter dominated with both having good spells and both getting home hard punches when they traded. They both showed the wear and tear from those bruising exchanges with Gonzalez cut over both eyes and with bumps and bruises on his face and Oquendo with a bad cut on his left eyelid from the eighth round. It was more of a war than a boxing match with Oquendo just managing to convince the judges he had done enough to earn the decision with one judge seeing it as one-sided which it never was. Scores an unrepresentative 98-90 and a more accurate 95-93 for Oquendo and 95-95. Important losses to Wilfredo Vazquez and Abner Mares had seen Oquendo drop out of the ratings but this win will propel him back in. Gonzalez was having his second fight at super feather after moving up following his crushing defeat by Gary Russell in March which cost him his WBC feather title. He had been given an easy route into the upper reaches of the WBC ratings with a victory over Japanese fighter Kazuki Hashimoto for the WBC Silver title which got him a No 3 spot. The Silver title was not a stake here but Oquendo should get into the top ten at least. Gonzalez has been around for so long I found myself feeling that Oquendo’s “youth” might be a factor then I realised that there was in fact less than two years age difference. Oquendo was 32 on 3 August and Gonzalez 33 at fight time but 34 on 15 September. What fooled me was Oquendo’s 153 total rounds of fighting in his career and Gonzalez 340. Pearson vs. Trotter Trotter gives Pearson some tough rounds before class come to the fore and Pearson gets another win. Canadian champion Trotter was aggressive over the early rounds trying to bully Pearson onto the back foot and close down the prospects punching leverage. That worked to a degree in that Pearson spent more time on the ropes than he was comfortable with but it also resulted in Trotter eating a lot of counters as he barged forward. In the sixth a counter southpaw right caught Trotter coming in and put him down heavily. The Canadian made it his feet and just last out the round. Pearson continued the dismantling job in the seventh and had Trotter staggering and the referee stopped the fight right at the bell. The former 24-year-old US National and PAL champion makes it ten wins by KO/TKO. The ND was when he took a split decision over Lanardo Tyner in a fight in February 2014 only for them both to test positive for a banned substance. Trotter, 31, took 2 ½ years out after losing inside a round to Adam Trupish in January 2010 but was coming off a one round stoppage of Walid Smitchet for the vacant Canadian title in October. Gavril vs. Sigmon Romanian Gavril continues to rebuild after losing his unbeaten record against Elvin Ayala in March. Gavril showed a tight defence and some blazing combinations as he worked Sigmon over. Sigmon was trying to fire home counters to keep Gavril on the outside but Gavril was just too quick firing home hooks to the body and uppercuts before Sigmon could retaliate. It was a gradual breaking down process and by the end of the eighth round Sigmon’s corner got the message and pulled their man out of the fight. The Ayala loss still leaves a question mark over Gavril but with three wins over reasonable if not too testing opposition he is heading in the right direction. When Sigmon move up in class he loses as successive defeats against Caleb Truax and J’Leon Love showed but he is an experienced fighter who has faced some tough opposition. Theophane vs. Chambers Brit Theophane is another on the road to recovery. The height and long reach of Chambers often gives his opponents problems but “Treasure” is an experienced and skilled fighter. He was far quicker getting inside Chambers’ reach and scoring with a whole range of hooks and uppercuts. His defence was also solid so Chambers was never really able to get into the fight. Chambers had some success with his jab and long rights but it was limited to one or two rounds with Theophane bossing the rest of the fight. Theophane never had Chambers in any serious trouble but other than that it was a punch perfect display as Theophane rolls up his sixth win in a row. Scores 100-90. 98-92 and 97-93.The 35-year-old Las Vegas-based Londoner only lost on split decision against Danny Garcia back in 2010 but hit a couple of bumps in the road after that losing close decisions to Darren Hamilton and Pablo Cesar Cano. He is now boxing as well as he ever has. After an early career loss Philadelphian Chambers had an unbeaten run of 21 fights before losing three on the bounce against Luis Collazo, Eddie Gomez and Andre Berto but he had returned with a win in May. Davis vs. Dulay Baltimore prospect Davis ends this one in just 94 seconds. Davis came out firing and a straight left shook Dulay who took a knee. He got up but was badly dazed and it did not get any better as Davis used another powerful left to send Dulay down for a second time. He made it to his feet but the referee decided he had seen enough and stopped the fight. Another former NGG champion and two-time PAL winner, the 20 year-old Davis has 11 wins by KO/TKO and 4 of his last 5 fights have each lasted less than two minutes. Filipino novice Dulay really just a 4 and 6 round prelim fighter who was overmatched by a long way. Mashantucket, CN, USA: Super Welter: Jermall Charlo (22-0) W KO 3 Cornelius Bundrage (34-6,1ND) W. Light Heavy: Marcus Browne (16-0) W KO 1 Gabriel Campillo (25-8-1). Middle: Hugo Centeno Jr (23-0,1ND) W PTS 8 Lukasz Maciec (22-3-1). Middle: Peter Quillin (32-0-1) W KO 5 Mike Zerafa (17-2). Super Feather: Bryant Cruz (16-0) W PTS 8 Jonathan Perez (33-13,1ND) Bundrage vs. Charlo Charlo wins the IBF title as he floors Bundrage in each round before the fight is stopped. Both fighters were using jabs to feel each other out. Charlo had height and reach over Bundrage and was staying ring centre whilst Bundrage worked around him. On the two minute mark Bundrage stepped in under a Charlo left only to get caught with a chopping right to the side of the head which sent him tumbling back to the floor. He was up quickly and Charlo seemed to hold back his punches looking for an opening and Bundrage was able to see out the rest of the round without further trouble. Bundrage was keeping out of trouble in the second backing off and rarely trying to throw any punches. Charlo was also not letting his hands go looking for an opportunity to throw his right. In fact it was a short, stiff left jab the put Bundrage down skidding on his backside to the ropes. He was again up quickly and showed a bit more aggression as Charlo was being too cool and not exploiting the knockdown. In the third a wide left hook from Charlo staggered Bundrage and finally Charlo was throwing punches as he drove Bundrage across the ring and down in a corner. Bundrage was up quickly again and when the action resumed Charlo was chasing Bundrage around the ring with Bundrage bobbing and weaving and clinching to deny Charlo a clean shot. That could not go on and with Bundrage on the ropes Charlo landed a long hard right cross that sent the champion down on his side and the referee waived the fight off although Bundrage protested the stoppage. Charlo, 25, now has 17 wins by KO/TKO including 15 in his last 16 fights but has come up the easy way with no outstanding victims so still has to prove himself against a less worn boxer than Bundrage. He showed good skills a cool head and a strong punch. Not sure what is next as his No 1 challenger is his twin brother Jermell who in some ways has better qualifications having beaten Vanes Martirosyan. I don’t think twins have ever fought each other for a world title. “K9” Bundrage looked all of his 42 years and this was only his second fight in the last 20 months which is hardly the best preparation. Having said that he has been IBF champion twice and to some extent has overachieved. Time to put the gloves away Cornelius. Browns vs. Campillo Brown finishes former WBA light heavy champion Campillo with a copy of devastating body punches. After some feeling out Browne fired a right/left/right combination to the head through Campillo’s guard. The Spaniard stumbled back and Browne drove him to the ropes following up with three left hands that did not really get home but the left in the earlier three-punch combination had shaken Campillo and he went down on one knee to escape the punches. Campillo was up at five and after counting to eighth the referee had a good look at Campillo to make sure he was OK to continue. Browne then slammed home a brutal left to the short ribs of Campillo and dug a right into the solar plexus. Campillo was doubled up in pain and dropped to one knee and the referee immediately waived the fight off. Impressive performance by 24-year-old Olympian Brown who could soon be a player in a quality division. At 36 perhaps it is time for Campillo to put the gloves away as he is now 4-5 in his last 9 fights. Centeno vs. Maciec The Physical differences between the two fighters dictated the pattern of the fight and it remained that way for all eight rounds. The tall, skinny Centeno had loads of height and reach over stocky Pole Maciec who is really just a welter so was much the smaller man all around.. Centeno needed to keep Maciec out and Maciec needed to get inside. Using a stiff jab and plenty of movement Centeno generally succeeded although when Maciec did get close he was thumping home body punches that eventually tired Centeno. The Oxnard fighter was also digging in some good left hooks to the body but neither he nor Maciec are power punchers so it was fatigue rather than power that affected both over the closing rounds. Centeno’s work had been the cleaner and more eye-catching and he took the unanimous decision on scores of 79-73 twice and 78-74. Centeno was coming off a good win over James De La Rosa in December but his lack of power is his Achilles heel. Maciec, 26, had lost only one of his last 13 fights and that he been to Gianluca Branco for the EBU title in 2013 and he had won five fights since then but Centeno was just too big physically. Quillin vs. Zerafa Quillin sets up a fight with Daniel Jacobs for the secondary WBA title with chilling kayo of Australian Zerafa. Both had some success in the first round but the highlight was a left hook from Quillin which staggered Zerafa. The same punch had Zerafa stumbling in the second. He was out-gunned but he banged back with punches of his own. Zerafa had his best round so far in the third scoring with an overhand right and a neat uppercut. Quillin was the one handing out punishment in the fourth as he again staggered Zerafa. Zerafa made a bright start to the fifth but a left hook backed him up to the ropes and a laser guided right crashed straight through the guard of Zerafa and exploded on his chin sending him down heavily. It was immediately apparent that Zerafa was in trouble and the referee waived off the fight to get Zerafa medical aid and the young Australian was fitted with a neck brace and stretchered out of the ring to hospital. Later he contacted Quillin to let him know that he was OK. First fight for “Kid Chocolate” since he came in overweight when challenging Andy Lee for the WBO title and fought out a draw in the fight. It is difficult to see the sense in him vacating his WBO title only to come back and take the challengers end of the purse when fighting Lee. However his fight with Jacobs will not just be for the secondary WBA title but also for bragging rights in Brooklyn. Zerafa, 23, gave it a good try here but was taking a step too far in class but hopefully when fully recovered he will be back again. Cruz vs. Perez Cruz gets another win but is given eight good testing rounds by “Popeye” Perez as the judges all see a different fight. Scores 80-72, 79-73 and 77-75. The 25-year-old “Pee Wee” a former NGG silver medallist is making steady progress. Four losses in a row for former Colombian super bantam Perez. Those four opponents had collective record of 75-0 so no one expects Perez to win these days. London. England: Heavy Anthony Joshua (14-0) W TKO 1 Gary Cornish (21-1). Heavy: Dillian Whyte (16-0) W KO 3 Brian Minto (41-10). Super Light: John Wayne Hibbert (16-3) W TKO 10 David Ryan (17-9). Tommy Martin (13-0) W TKO 10 Mike Devine (13-4-1). Super Light: Cassius Connor (13-9-2) W PTS 10 Ricky Boylan (13-3) . Fly: Charlie Edwards (5-0) W PTS 10 Louis Norman (10-1-1). Joshua vs. Cornish Joshua crushes Cornish to win his second major title. Cornish made a positive and brave start, perhaps too brave coming out and throwing some long hard jabs and putting Joshua on the back foot. He then tried mixing-it with Joshua and was nailed by a short right hook and went down. He took the eight count on one knee and then tried to fend off a predatory Joshua. As Cornish came forward he was caught by three successive rights and went down in the corner facing out into the crowd. He made it to his feet at nine but the referee had seen enough and Cornish did not protest and it was all over in 97 seconds. Joshua wins the vacant CBC title and retains his WBC International crown. That makes it 14 wins by KO/TKO scored in less than 25 rounds of boxing and no one has stayed around long enough to hear the bell for the fourth round. The 25-year-old Olympic gold medallist is rated WBC2/WBO 3/WBA 13 (12)/IBF 13(12). He faces a real test against the hard punching Whyte in December. The 28-year-old, 6’7” (201) “Highlander” Cornish was thrown in over his head which is strange after such a carefully planned career up to this point and he will need to go back and rebuild from here. Whyte vs. Minto Whyte shows his strengths and weaknesses as his power proves too much for the much lighter and smaller Minto. Whyte started out forcing Minto back with his jab and being a bit right hand happy looking to land a big bomb. Minto was ducking under them and over the last minute of the round the American was getting through with punches to head and body. He had a good degree of success getting inside the bigger man and landing a few punches and driving Whyte back for a short while but also put himself in the firing line. With just seconds to go Whyte finally landed a right that put Minto down on his knees, He was up at eight and as the bell had already sounded was able to walk back to his corner. Both came out aggressively in the second. Whyte was still looking to take Minto out with one punch rather than working his openings and Minto was coming forward to get inside and work there. Whyte shook Minto with two clubbing punches and then turned his attention to the body slamming home hooks from both hands. Minto was managing to avoid the worst on the punishment by laying his head on Whyte chest denying the big man room for leverage. Minto just kept pushing White onto the back foot and was getting through with some wild swings. In the first exchange in the third White landed a clubbing right inside. Minto’s knees wobbled and in delayed action he took a couple of steps back and went down on one knee and was counted out. The 27-year-old 6’4” (193cm) Londoner Whyte wins the vacant WBC International Silver title. He has won his last 12 fights by KO/TKO and no opponent on that run has survived to hear the bell for the fifth round. His opposition has been of lower quality than some of Joshua’s opponents but you can be sure their 12 December fight will be a bombs away event. Minto, 40, was giving away 5” in height and 37lbs in weight but managed to land enough punches to show that Whyte needs to tighten his defence. The former WBO cruiser title challenger was halted in seven rounds by New Zealand hope Joseph Parker in July last year and his only action since then had been in a Super 8 cruiserweight tournament in New Zealand in March where he lost to a fighter with a 1-2 record in the final. Hibbert vs. Ryan This was the third time these two have clashed and Hibbert won this time to reduce the deficit in their matches to 1-2 and wins the CBC and WBC International titles. Ryan looked to be on his way to retaining his titles for most of the fight he was outboxing Hibbert and scoring feely. Ryan had the superior power and he put Hibbert down with a left to the body in the sixth and with Hibbert also cut the champion was well ahead and on his way to victory. That changed in the tenth when Ryan suddenly suffered a back injury and found it difficult to manoeuvre. He went down on one knee and when he got up Hibbert sensed the change and the chance and exploded with a series of punches and when a big right had Ryan in deep trouble the referee stopped the fight. The 30-year-old new champion from Essex was 8-2 in his last 10 fights with both losses being to Ryan. Their fight in May was a war with Ryan down twice and then putting Hibbert down twice to win on a ninth round stoppage and defend his CBC title and lift Hibbert’s WBC International title. This fight was not quite up to that standard as Ryan had things well in hand until that tenth round injury. Now the holder of two prestigious titles Hibbert has plenty of options open to him. Ryan can feel very unlucky. Success had come late in his career for the 32-year-old from Derby but wins over Paul McCloskey (24-2), Tyrone Nurse (29-1 ) and Hibbert had turned things around for him so now he has to rebuild. Martin vs. Devine English champion Martin wins the vacant WBA Continental title with stoppage of Devine. Martin looked to be on his way to a points win until a dramatic last round. Martin had lost a point in the ninth for some low blows and in the tenth another low blow put Devine down. The referee deducted another point and gave Devine some recovery time. However when the action resumed Martin banged away at Devine and had him in deep water when the referee stopped the fight. A controversial ending but Martin had been in control and looked the likeliest winner if it had gone to the scorecards. Martin, 21, the EU No 17, also has a win over Rick Boylan and will be looking to go upwards from here. Devine 26 has lost his last three. One of those in the Prizefighter Tournament last year and another to useful Adam Dingsdale. Connor vs. Boylan Connor wins battle of Surrey fighters. Connor used his boxing skills to keep Boylan out and that worked for most of the time. Boylan was constantly coming forward trying to cut Connor’s space and punish him on the ropes but Connor managed to stay off the ropes and on the move and was a clear winner. Referee’s score 97-94. Connor a former Southern Area super light champion had been 2-4-1 going in but improves his figures with this well deserved victory. Boylan, 27, also a former Southern Area super light champion falls to 1-3 in his last 4 fights. Edwards vs. Norman Former top amateur star Edwards wins the English title in only his fifth fight. Edwards was quicker than Norman over the early rounds boxing cleverly on the back foot and scoring repeatedly with left hooks and short rights. Norman was trying to walk down the challenger and had some success as Edwards seemed to take a breather in the middle rounds. However he was still doing the cleaner and more eye-catching work landing his punches and not being there when Norman tried to counter. Norman tried to put in a big effort over the last couple of rounds but his desperation was just presenting Edwards with more chances to counter. Scores 100-90,99-91 and 99-92. The 22-year-old former double ABA champion and European bronze medallist was a member of the English Elite Athlete programme and will be a threat in this division. Norman, 21, was making the second defence of his English title he won back in 2013. He has usually had to give up lots of weight to stay busy but here he met a better man at his own weight. Frederikshavn, Denmark: Cruiser: Micki Nielsen (19-0) W KO 4 Alejandro E Valori (17-8). Super Middle: Patrick Nielsen (27-1) W KO 4 Samir Santos Barbosa (36-13-3). Super Middle: Tim Robin Lihaug (14-1) W PTS 8 Baptiste Castegnaro (6-5). Light Heavy: Rudy Markussen (39-3,1ND) W KO 1 Ramazi Gogichashvili (19-7-2). Feather: Dennis Ceylan (16-0-1) W PTS 8 Elvis Guillen (9-12-4,1ND). Light: Rashid Kassem (9-0) W KO 2 Roberto Priore (7-7). Nielsen vs. Valori Nielsen gets a win but not before Valori gets in a few punches of his own. In fact the Argentinian probably just shaded the first round and he was willing to stand toe-to-toe with Nielsen in the second and third rounds. The local fighter found his big punch in the fourth. A southpaw left sent Valori tumbling through the ropes and he was counted out. Exciting whilst it lasted, perhaps too exciting for the local fans. The 22-year-old 6’3” (190cm) Dane gets back on the KO/TKO trail after three points wins in a row. He has 13 wins by KO/TKO and is still very much on a learning curve. Former Argentinian champion Valori, 32, has not found Europe a welcoming place as in his previous two trips across the Atlantic he has been stopped by Nathan Cleverly and outpointed by Noel Gevor but he was coming off a win at home. Nielsen vs. Barbosa A predictable family double and both inside four rounds. Nielsen used his educated southpaw jab to control the opening round although Barbosa looked lively and useful. Nielsen opened up in the second and then it was a different matter as Barbosa was punished heavily. A left to the head put Barbosa down and he did well to survive the round. In the third the Brazilian used his experience to slow the fight and survive. Nielsen came out in the fourth to finish things and a left to the body put Barbosa down and he could not beat the count. The 24-year-old elder brother of Micki lost to Dmitry Chudinov for the interim WBA middle title in June last year and has since moved up to super middle and has won 5 in a row. He now has 13 wins by KO/TKO. The drums are now beating for a huge local fight with Rudy Markussen. Nielsen has said there are still a few details to be agreed but he is up for the fight. Barbosa, 35, is really just a middleweight being a former Brazilian champion. He suffered consecutive losses last year in fights against Adam Etches and Les Sherrington. Lihaug vs. Castegnaro Norwegian Lihaug gets unanimous decision but not an impressive performance. Frenchman Castegnaro started well enough and over the first two rounds it was a fairly equal fight. However from the third Castegnaro’s work rate dropped and Lihaug started to edge ahead. The Norwegian was winning the rounds but Castegnaro remained very much in the fight and was catching Lihaug with punches too often for it to be comfortable for Lihaug. The Norwegian stepped up the pace over the last two rounds and was a clear winner but at a struggle. Scores 79-73 for Lihaug from all three judges. Now 11 wins in a row for the 22-year-old Lihaug. Castegnaro, 24 has now lost 3 of his last 4 fights and is really just a 4 & 6 round fighter. Markussen vs. Gogichashvili Markussen swats aside Georgian on his return to the ring and clears the way for a fight with Patrick Nielsen. In his first fight since December 2012 Markussen wasted no time in disposing off Gogichashvili. An overhand right from the “Big Hitter” floored Gogichashvili early and although he got up he was put down again and the referee stopped the fight with just one second left in the first round. The 38-year-old former IBF title challenger and undefeated EBU champion was pushed into semi-retirement by a fifth round kayo loss to Brian Magee for the interim WBA title in February 2012. He made a brief re-appearance with a low level first round win in December that year. It remains to be seen how much he has left as this win just showed he could punch which has never been in doubt. Now six losses by KO/TKO for Gogichashvili who like most Georgians wins at home and losses away. Ceylan vs. Guillen Really just paid sparring for the classy Ceylan. The Dane had height, reach and far superior skill. Guillen had a willingness to take punishment, go the eight rounds and get paid. There were a couple of occasions when it looked as though Ceylan might end it inside the distance. He made a big effort in the seventh but Guillen took the punches and stayed to the final bell. Scores 80-71 twice and 80-72. The 26-year-old former Olympian is rated No 5 with the EBU but is not ready for a title fight yet. First fight outside Nicaragua for Guillen. Curiously in his last 10 fights before this one seven had ended in split or majority verdicts. Kassem vs. Priore Too easy for hard punching hope Kassem. The young Dane scored with jolting punches from both hands in the first round with Priore already resorting to spitting out his mouthguard to gain some breathing space. It did not really help him as Kassem put him down and out with a right in the second. Now 7 wins by KO/TKO for the 24-year-old Kassem “The Dream” including four inside the distance finishes in his last 4 fights. Italian Priore has lost his last three and suffered his second loss by KO/TKO. Bruay-la-Buissiere, France: Fly: Thomas Masson (14-3-1) W PTS 12 Silvio Olteanu (15-8-1). Fly: Vincent Legrand (18-0) W PTS 6 Arnoldo Solano (14-12). Masson vs. Olteanu Masson adds another European title to the French collection with points win over Romanian veteran Olteanu for the vacant EBU title. This was always going to be a battle between the left jab of Masson and the hooks and uppercuts of Olteanu. The Frenchman had height and reach (5’6” 170cm vs. 5’2” 158cm) on his side with Olteanu having to get inside and work the body to wins. Yet another factor was that Masson had never gone twelve rounds before. The nett result was an aggressive start by Spanish-based Olteanu having some success using clever movement to get inside and a cautious one by local fighter Masson making good use of his physical advantages. Olteanu did enough to build a small lead before fading in the middle rounds as Masson got his range and used good uppercuts to catch Olteanu as he tried to get close. The twelve year age difference told as over the late rounds Masson remained strong and Olteanu slowed a little but was always competitive and dangerous with his hooks. In the end Masson was a clear winner on scores of 117-111, 117-113 and 116-113 and along with Michel Soro, Cedric Vitu, Romain Jacob and Hadillah Mohoumadi gives France five current European champions. The 25-year-old home town fighter was beaten by Brit Ashley Sexton back in 2012 but had racked up six good domestic wins on his way to the title. He is a smart boxer but his lack of power will be a drawback at a higher level. I feel sorry for little Olteanu as at 37 he may be near the end of the road. Back in 2010 a win over world rated Bernard Inom (20-1-1) led later that year to a challenge to Daiki Kameda for the WBA title. He went to Japan and only lost on a split decision with one judge (not European) having him the winner by 118-110. He lost on a majority decision to Wilbert Uicab for the WBC Silver title but won the EBU title and defended it with a win over former world title challenger Andrea Sarritzu in 2012. Then the fights dried up and he never defended the title and had only one fight in the next 2 ½ years. He just never got the breaks. Legrand vs. Solano Legrand stays unbeaten with unanimous victory over Nicaraguan Solano. As with Masson European Union champion Legrand is tall for a flyweight at 5’8 ½” 174cm, and he had no trouble in outboxing the willing but limited Solano. Scores 59-55 twice and 60-54. There could be a complication here as I believe the 24-year-old southpaw is the son of Masson’s trainer and comes from the same home town as Masson. He is No 3 in the EBU ratings but whether the two gym mates would fight each other I don’t know. Spanish-based Solano has lost his last 8 fights. No weights given but when Solano fought Stuart Hell seven days earlier he was 122lbs! Preston, England: Feather: Tshifihiwa Munyai (27-4-1) W KO 10 Oscar Chauke (34-10-3) . Light: Malcolm Klassen (31-6-2) W PTS 6 Rey Cajina (13-28-4). Chauke vs. Munyai This all-South African contest was to have been a defence of his IBF Inter-Continental title for Chauke but after making the weight at the first weigh-in Munyai was over the allowed increase under IBF rules at the check weigh so it was a non-title fight. These two were well matched and Chauke made the better start using a strong left jab to put Munyai on the back foot and pressing the fight. In the second Munyai was trying to duck under Chauke’s jab and work the body but Chauke was still in control. That was also the case for much of the third until Munyai worked Chauke into a corner and slammed over a left to the head and a right to the body which put Chauke down. He was up at and looked shaky but Munyai was wild with a couple of his punches and it was Chauke slamming home hooks and crosses and Munyai under fire as the round ended. From that point the fight changed. Chauke’s jab lost its sting and Munyai now knew he could hurt Chauke and was bossing the action. Chauke remained competitive still trying to work the jab but more often Munyai was ducking under it and banging home punches to the body. In the last round Munyai was allowing Chauke to do the leading but the big punches were coming from Munyai. He was muscling Chauke around the ring and when Chauke missed with a tired right Munyai came up with a left hook to Chauke’s unprotected chin. Chauke took a couple of steps back and then went down on his backside propped up by the ropes. He managed to roll up to his knees but could get no further and was counted out, “The Atomic Spider” Munyai, 30, makes it 15 wins by KO/TKO. The former undefeated CBC bantam champion suffered back-to-back losses last year in tough assignments against Scott Quigg and Paulus Ambunda but has now scored three wins since moving his base to England. “Golden Boy” Chauke, 34, the South African and WBFound super bantam champion was 6-1-1 in his last 8 fights going in but was out-powered here. Klassen vs. Cajina Klassen starts his British campaign with a wide unanimous verdict over perennial loser Cajina. The gap in glass here was more of a chasm than a gap. After a slow start Klassen took over and easily outboxed the Nicaraguan who rarely wins but usually goes the distance. The perfect foil for Klassen as he continues his settling down process at lightweight. He won clearly 59-56 on the referee’s card and after beating former WBC secondary title holder Paulus Moses in March the 33-year-old former two-time IBF super feather champion will be looking for sterner tests in future. Cajina, 32, is 0-11-1 in his last 12 fights but he is not there to win but to lose and stay as many rounds as possible and give the home opponent some rounds of work. Job done. Catamarca, Argentina: Welter: Cesar M Barrionuevo (28-3-2.1ND) W TKO 8 Victor H Velasquez (17-8). Barrionuevo wins the Argentinian title and defends his WBC Latino title with stoppage of Argentinian champion Velazquez. Southpaw Barrionuevo had a psychological edge having stopped Velasquez inside a round in their previous meeting. That was back in 2011 but the way Barrionuevo started it might have been only yesterday. He was unloading hooks and uppercuts over the first two rounds and in the third a right to the head put Velasquez down. Velasquez survived and tried to turn the tide but Barrionuevo was pelting him with hard combinations to head and body and by the eighth Velasquez was unravelling. By the end of the round he was well beaten and could hardly see through the swelling by his right eye. The doctor examined him in his corner and would not let Velasquez come out for the eighth. The 26-year-old from Salta makes it 19 wins by KO/TKO. He has lost only one of his last 26 fights and he reversed that with an inside the distance victory. Velasquez, 33, was making the second defence of the national title he won with a victory over Sebastian Lujan. Paranque City, Philippines: Light Fly: Jonathan Taconing (22-2-1) W TEC DEC 10 Jomar Fajardo (14-9-2). Super Feather: Juan Martin Elorde (18-1-1) W TKO 6 Yakobus Heluka (8-13-2). Super Bantam: Juan Miguel Elorde (19-1) W KO 1 Arnold Mau. Taconing vs. Fajardo “Lightning” Taconing well on his way to victory when a cut suffered in a clash of heads earlier in the fight becomes too bad for him to continue. One of the top Filipino talents Taconing used a stiff jab to control the early rounds and he put Fajardo down in the second only for the referee to rule it a slip. There was no argument about the knockdown Taconing scored in the fourth and a desperate Fajardo was given his first warning over low punches. A clash of heads saw both fighters suffer cuts in the fifth with Taconing coming off worst with cuts over both eyes. Fajardo halted Taconing’s march with a hard uppercut in the sixth but he spoiled his good work with a couple of barrages of low punches which saw the referee deduct two points from Fajardo. They were exchanging punches constantly in the eighth and ninth but by the tenth Taconing’s cuts were too bad for the fight to continue and it went to the cards. Scores 98-90, 97-91 and 96-91 all for Taconing. The 28-year-old southpaw retains the OPBF title. He has lost only one of his last 20 fights and that was a technical decision in a challenge to Thai Kompayak for the WBC title in 2012. He has scored 9 wins since then 8 of them by KO/TKO. He is No 1 with the WBC so mandatory challenger to Pedro Guevara. Fajardo, 23, has 5 losses and a draw in his last 6 fights but the draw was a real surprise. The unsung Filipino fought former undefeated IBF/WBO champion Francisco Rodriguez to a split draw in November but lost on points to Rodriguez in January. Elorde vs. Heluka It is difficult to imagine boxing in the Philippines without an Elorde. Elorde found Indonesian Heluka an awkward but not threatening opponent. He stuck to his task flooring Heluka in the first and third rounds and ended with two knockdowns in the sixth. The 30-year-old southpaw, the WBO No 6, has 6 wins and a technical draw in his last 7 fights. He is the grandson of the late great Flash Elorde. Indonesian Heluka has lost 8 of his last 9 fights but his record is probably incomplete. Elorde vs. Mau Younger brother Juan Miguel took only 90 seconds to put Indonesian Mau down and out. Now 9 wins in a row for the WBO No 11. Mau came in as a late replacement and again His record is probably incomplete |
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
December 2015
Categories
All
|