By - George Delis (@Delisketo) Strawweight: -Samuel Salva (17-0): IBF #1 / WBO #1 / WBA #10 Salva scored a major victory over Rene Mark Cuarto (16-2), on March 23rd, to secure a future IBF world title shot. - Rhenrob Andales (9-0): WBA #9 ”ArAr” captured the vacant WBA Asia title earlier this year and defended it for the first time on April 13 against Cris Ganoza (17-3). -Joey Canoy (14-3): WBO #10 Canoy will take on Frans Damur Palue (15-22) on May 11 for the WBA Asia & WBC Asia Silver belts. -Lito Dante (16-10): WBC #10 / IBF #13 In a shocking turn of events, Dante managed to TKO top contender Tsubasa Koura (14-1) and not only become the OPBF champion but also place himself in the world rankings. -Melvin Jerusalem (14-2): WBC #2 / IBF #8 / WBO #11 Jerusalem got a unanimous decision victory over 2 time world title challenger Toto Landero (10-4) this past November. -Robert Paradero (18-0): WBO #2 Paradero’s beat Jonathan Almacen (5-3) on April 5th. -Pedro Taduran (13-2): IBF #5 / WBC #6 / WBO #8 Taduran hasn’t competed since last year. -Rene Mark Cuarto (16-2): IBF #7 As mentioned above, Cuarto lost to Samuel Salva (17-0) in Manila. -Mark Anthony Barriga (9-1): IBF #3 / WBC #8 Barriga failed to capture the vacant IBF World Championship in December. Light Flyweight: -Jonathan Taconing (28-3): WBC #1 / WBA #3 / WBO #3 / IBF #12 The WBC International champion Taconing is expected to be challenging the WBC World champion Ken Shiro (15-0) on July 12, in Japan. -Tanawat Nakoon (11-0): WBA #11 Muay Thai phenom turned pro boxer, the former Lumpinee & Rajadamnern Stadium champion earns his place at the world rankings as he challenges Hiroto Kyoguchi (12-0) for the WBA Super World championship, on June 19. -Jing Xiang (16-4): WBO #8 / WBA #8 / WBC #9 Xiang successfully defended his WBC Silver title against 2 division World champion Suriyan Satorn (59-7), on January 5th, in China. -Edward Heno (14-0): WBO #2 / WBC #2 / WBA #4 Heno made his third successful OPBF title defense, in February, against Koji Itagaki (18-14). -Christian Araneta (17-0): IBF #4 / WBA #9 / WBC #11 / WBO #12 Araneta added 3 more wins to his perfect record, in 2018. -Randy Petalcorin (29-3): IBF #9 / WBA #15 The former interim WBA World champion has been inactive since losing to Felix Alvarado. -Ivan Soriano (20-2): IBF #10 Soriano has won twice since losing to Wenfeng Ge (11-1) in 2018. Flyweight: -Wulan Tuolehazi (11-3): WBA #4 The WBC Silver champion fought Japanese standout Ryota Yamauchi (4-1), on March 30, to win the vacant WBA International title. He will mark his inaugural WBA defense against former OPBF champion Ardin Diale (35-13) on May 26. -Sarawut Thawornkham (20-1): WBA #1 Undefeated since September of 2014, Thawornkham will go on to challenge Artem Dalakian (18-0) for the WBA World championship on June 15. -Giemel Magramo (23-1): WBO #2 / WBC #4 / IBF #5 / WBA #9 Magramo defeated Wenfeng Ge (11-1) for the WBO International title on January 5th. - Jayson Mama (12-0): WBO #10 / IBF #10 The undefeated Filipino prospect earned the biggest win of his young career this past March over the IBF Pan Pacific champion & 2 time world title contender Teeraphong Utaida (38-7). -Nare Yianleang (70-5): WBA #2 / WBC #8 Since losing to Kazuto Ioka in 2017, Yianleang has won 8 fights in a row. -Komgrich Nantapech (25-5): IBF #3 No news yet on what’s next for the former IBF Pan Pacific champion. -Sirichai Thaiyen (53-4): WBA #8 The former WBA interim World champion has been 3-0 since losing to Dalakian. Super Flyweight: -Aston Palicte (25-2): WBO #1 / WBC #7 Palicte stopped Jose Martinez (20-1) on January 31st, in a WBO world title eliminator. He is set to meet Kazuto Ioka (23-2) for the vacant championship, on June 19. -Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (47-5): WBA #3 The former WBC, The Ring & Lineal champion already finds himself again at the top of the world rankings. -Donnie Nietes (42-1): IBF #4 / WBC #5 The 4 division world champion decided to relinquish his WBO strap. No news on his return yet. Bantamweight: -Michael Dasmarinas (29-2): IBF #1 / WBC #11 Tsarinas picked up a unanimous decision win over Kenny Demecillo (14-5), on March 23rd, to become the #1 contender for the IBF World title. -Sukpraserd Ponpitak (22-9): IBF #5 “Sukkasem Kietyongyuth’s” toughest challenge will take place on May 8, as he takes on the former IBF Super Bantamweight World champion Yukinori Oguni (20-2) in Japan. - Ben Mananquil (17-1): WBA #8 / IBF #8 / WBO #10 The Filipino earned a huge win against Japanese star Tenta Kiyoshe (15-3), on February 10, to win the WBO Asia Pacific championship. He will defend it for the first time against Yuki Strong Kobayashi (14-8), on May 26. -Tasana Salapat (49-1): WBC #8 After failing to capture the interim WBC title in December, Salapat returned to the ring on April 24 to defeat Nicky Jordan Nainggolan (6-1) and become the OPBF Silver champion. -Kenny Demecillo (14-5): IBF #9 Demecillo lost to Michael Dasmarinas (29-2) in Singapore, as mentioned above. -Arthur Villanueva (32-3): WBO #6 / WBC #14 Villanueva has one win and one draw in 2018. Super Bantamweight: -Juan Miguel Elorde (28-1): WBO #2 Elorde has won the WBO Asia Pacific championship in 2015 and has defended it successfully 4 times since then, most recently against Shohei Kawashima (17-3). -Nawaphon Kaikanha (44-1): WBC #7 Kaikanha went 5-0 in 2018 and even scored a TKO victory over former IBF World champion Amnat Ruenroeng (20-3). He will make his 1st appearance in 2019, on May 18, as he faces former WBC World champion Sonny Boy Jaro (45-14). -Marlon Tapales (32-2): IBF #4 / WBO #4 The former WBO Bantamweight World champion has been 2-0 since moving up a weight class. -Albert Pagara (31-1): WBO #1 / IBF #7 The WBO Intercontinental champion hasn’t been active close to 6 months now. -Jeo Santisima (17-2): WBO #10 The Filipino won the vacant WBO Oriental title this past summer and has defended it only once. Super Featherweight: -Joe Noynay (17-2): WBO #8 The Filipino rising star TKOed Kosuke Saka (18-5), on April 20, to win the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title. Super Lightweight: -Apinun Khongsong (15-0): IBF #1 The undefeated Thai fighter stopped former WBO Asia Pacific champion Akihiro Kondo (31-8) with a thunderous uppercut, to become the #1 contender for the IBF World title. Light Heavyweight: -Meng Fanlong (14-0): IBF #7 / WBA #12 / WBO #12 Meng stopped the former British & Commonwealth champion Frank Buglioni (22-4) in November of 2018, to defend his IBF Intercontinental title for the first time. Heavyweight: -Zhilei Zhang (20-0): WBO #5 The 2008 Olympic Silver Medalist has signed with Matchroom Boxing.
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By - George Delis (@Delisketo) Strawweight: -Tatsuya Fukuhara (21-6): WBC #4 The former World champion will get another shot at Chayaphon Moonsri (52-0) and the WBC title, May 31st in Thailand. -Masataka Taniguchi (11-3): WBO #6 Taniguchi defeated Joel Lino (10-1), back in November, for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title. He unsuccessfully challenged Vic Saludar (19-3) on February 26 for the WBO World title. - Norihito Tanaka (18-7): WBC #7 / IBF #9 / WBO #9 / WBA #13 Tanaka won the Japanese title, this past January, and will defend it on June 13 against Naoya Haruguchi (15-10). Light Flyweight: -Sho Kimura (18-2): WBA #2 The former WBO Flyweight World champion dominated Thai veteran Wicha Phulaikhao (60-11) on March 30. In a surprising move, Kimura decided to move to the Light Flyweight division and he will now challenge Carlos Canizales (21-0) for the WBA (Regular) World championship on May 26, in the country he became famous China. -Reiya Konishi (17-1): IBF #3 / WBC #6 The WBO Asia Pacific champion will clash with Felix Alvarado (34-2) for the IBF World title, on May 19. -Tetsuya Hisada (34-9): WBA #1 / WBO #1 / WBC #3 / IBF #8 Hisada is rumored to be challenging Angel Acosta (19-1) for the WBO title, potentially this Summer. -Kenichi Horikawa (39-18): WBC #5 / IBF #7 Horikawa won Japanese title, on February 14, for the second time in his career. He will make his inaugural defense on May 19 against Masashi Tada (13-5). Flyweight: -Masayuki Kuroda (30-7): IBF #4 Kuroda, who is currently on a 6 fight winning streak, will meet Moruti Mthalane (37-2) for the IBF World title on May 13. -Junto Nakatani (18-0): WBO #3 / WBC #3 / IBF #12 / WBA #15 Nakatani stopped Naoki Mochizuki (15-4), on February 2nd, for the vacant Japanese crown. He will mark his first defense against Wolf Nakano (6-7) on June 1st. Super Flyweight: -Kazuto Ioka (23-2): WBO #2 / WBC #4 The 3 division world champion will meet Aston Palicte (25-2) at the Makuhari Messe arena in Japan, for the vacant WBO World championship. -Akira Yaegashi (28-6): WBA #9 / WBO #10 Yaegashi moved up to Super Flyweight in 2018 and has since been undefeated in the division with 3 consecutive TKO victories. He finally makes it back in the world rankings as he aims to become a 4 division champion. -Koki Eto (24-4): WBO #4 / WBA #7 / IBF #8 / WBC #9 Eto’s getting closer to the world title again as he faces Jeyvier Cintron (10-0) on May 25th for the right to challenge the winner of Ioka/Palicte. -Sho Ishida (28-1): WBO #3 / IBF #5 / WBA #6 / WBC #11 Since losing to Khalid Yafai (25-0) in 2017, Ishida has earned 4 victories over the likes of Ratchanon Sawangsoda (12-3), Richard Claveras (18-6), world title contender Warlito Parrenas (26-9) as well as Ikuro Sadatsune (9-4). Super Bantamweight: -Ryosuke Iwasa (26-3): IBF #1 Iwasa won an IBF title eliminator against Cesar Juarez (23-7), on February 16. -Shingo Wake (26-5): WBC #2 / IBF #3 The former Japanese & OPBF champion has been on a 6 fight winning streak since losing to Jonathan Guzman (23-1) in 2016. -Hiroaki Teshigawara (19-2): IBF #9 / WBO #15 Teshigawara made his Super Bantamweight debut last year, stopping Glenn Suminguit (21-4) to win the OPBF championship. He marked his first successful title defense on February 14, against Yuki Iriguchi (10-3). -Yukinori Oguni (20-2): WBA #4 The former IBF World champion will compete on May 8, in Japan, as he takes on Sukpraserd Ponpitak (22-9). Featherweight: -Shun Kubo (13-1): WBA #10 The former WBA Super Bantamweight World champion moved up a weight class last year, defeating Hiroshige Osawa on his Featherweight debut. He will now get the opportunity to challenge Can Xu (16-2), in China, for the WBA (Regular) World title on May 26. -Satoshi Shimizu (8-0): IBF #3 The 2012 Olympic Bronze Medalist has made 3 successful title defenses of the OPBF crown in 2018, against Kyung Min Kwon (6-5), Shingo Kawamura (16-5) and Takuya Uehara (16-1). -Hiroshige Osawa (35-5): WBA #1 / IBF #13 The former OPBF & WBO Asia Pacific champion finds himself once again in the world rankings, since losing to WBO World champion Oscar Valdez (24-0) in 2016. He fought Indonesian journeyman Ahmad Lahizab (4-8) on April 7. -Reiya Abe (19-2): IBF #4 / WBC #9 Abe fought the Japanese champion Taiki Minamoto (16-5), on May 1st, to a draw. Super Featherweight: -Masaru Sueyoshi (19-1): WBO #3 Sueyoshi defended his Japanese championship for the 4th time, against Ken Osato (15-3), on May 4th. -Kenichi Ogawa (23-1): IBF #4 The former Japanese champion returned to ring, after his one year suspension, and defeated Roldan Aldea (12-7) on February 2nd. Ogawa is expected to face the undefeated IBF Intercontinental champion Azinga Fuzile (14-0) in an IBF world title eliminator. Lightweight: -Masayoshi Nakatani (18-0): IBF #3 / WBC #8 / WBO #12 Nakatani marked his 11th successful OPBF title defense this past December, by stopping former WBC International champion Hurricane Futa (25-8). He takes on Teofimo Lopez (13-0), on July 19, for a future shot at the IBF World championship. -Nihito Arakawa (32-7): WBO #8 The former Japanese, OPBF & WBO Asia Pacific champion failed to obtain the WBO International title from Denys Berinchyk (11-0) on April 20. Super Welterweight: -Takeshi Inoue (13-1): WBO #9 The former Japanese, OPBF & WBO Asia Pacific champion unsuccessfully challenged Jaime Munguia (32-0) for the WBO World title this January. He is scheduled to return to the ring on August 3rd. Middleweight: -Ryota Murata (14-2): WBA #3 / WBC #5 / WBO #9 The 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist will get his chance for revenge on July 12 as he goes up against Rob Brant (25-1) in Osaka for the WBA (Regular) World championship. Heavyweight: -Kyotaro Fujimoto (20-1): WBO #10 / WBA #11 The former K-1 champion has unified the Japanese, OPBF & WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight titles. He is now looking for a World championship fight before he retires from the sport. One thing we will never deny is that we are huge admirerers of Naoto Takahashi and his career was short but incredible and he gave us more action in what was a very short career than most fighters will give us in career thrice as long. For the second time in this Closet Classic series we look at one of Takahahi's amazing bouts from the 1980's, and again get the chance to see why his 23 fight career is remembered so fondly by Japanese fight fans from the era. This time around we look at arguably his most famous bout and one of the best bouts form 1989. The Fight Mark Horikoshi (17-1, 13) vs Naoto Takahashi (15-2, 10) If you read last weeks Closet Classic you'll be aware that Naoto Takahashi had some how pulled out a victory in a bout with Noree Jockeygym in May 1989. His bout prior to that one was just as good, if not even better, as he challenged Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Mark Horikoshi. Coming into the bout Takahashi was looking to become a 2-weight national champion, following a short but exciting reign as the Japanese Bantamweight king. Horikoshi on the other hand was a Japanese based American born fighter, who was also known as Mark Anthony Brooks. Despite being born in Califnornia Horikoshi fought 19 of his 27 professional bouts in Japan, including his debut. In just his 11th bout Horikoshi would stop Yoshiyuki Nomaguchi for the Japanese Super Bantamweight title. Following his title win he had gone 7-0 (6) making 6 defenses, and ending them all inside the distance. The only man he failed to stop was Filipino tough guy Flash Emmanuel. He had been destructive but had also shown some frailty, with his sole loss coming by stoppage back in 1986. The fight started at a high pace with both men unloading busy jabs. Takahashi was trying to establish distance, snappign his jab into Horikoshi's face, whilst Horikoshi was using his jab to try and back up Takahashi and go to work with heavier artillery. It was two different styles, yet both were dependent on jabs and they gelled excellently. As the bout went on the pace increased. The exchanges became more intense and both men would find themselves hurting the other. The boxing skills never vanished, but the clean punches increased, and they took it in turns to hurt the other, with Takahashi being hurt in rounds 3 and 4, Horikoshi being dropped when Takahashi was hurt, both men showing incredible heart, determination and will to win. The bout saw both men being dropped, it saw both men needing to over-come advertcity and it saw both digging deep to give us an amazing action packed and drama filled war. Enjoy this slice of classic Japanese action! By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Canelo Alvarez unifies the IBF, WBA and WBC middleweight titles with close unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs -Jerwin Ancajas retains the IBF super fly title with stoppage of Ryuichi Funai -Artur Beterbiev crushes Radivoje Kalajdzic in IBF light heavyweight title defence -John Ryder wins the vacant interim WBA super middleweight title with stoppage of Bilal Akkawy -Joseph Diaz moves up to super feather and halts Freddy Fonseca -Anthony Young pulls off an upset inside the distance win over Sadam Ali -Prospects Gabriel Flores, Vergil Ortiz, Abass Baraou and Qais Ashfaq score inside the distance wins WORLD TITLE SHOWS 4 May Las Vegas, NV, USA: Middle: Saul Alvarez (52-1-2) W PTS 12 Daniel Jacobs (35-3). Super Middle: John Ryder (28-4) W TKO 3 Bilal Akkawy (20-1-1). Super Feather: Joseph Diaz (29-1) W TKO 7 Freddy Fonseca (26-3-1,1ND). Super Light: Vergil Ortiz (13-0) W TKO 3Mauricio Herrera (24-9). Super Feather: Lamont Roach (19-0-1) W PTS 10 Jonathan Oquendo (30-6). Welter: Anthony Young (21-2) WTKO 3 Sadam Ali (27-3). Alvarez vs. Jacobs Alvarez unifies three of the four title belts with close but deserved unanimous decision victory over Jacobs. Round 1 Alvarez was shadowing Jacobs throughout the round and landed a couple of hard body punches. Jacobs was on the back foot using jabbing well and he scored with a couple of punches in the middle of the round and then came forward at the end and connected with a good combination. Score: 10-9 Jacobs Round 2 A better round for Alvarez. He was still coming forward and was strong with his jab and landed some beefy body punches. Jacobs was still on the back foot and switched to southpaw but was not using his jab effectively. Score:10-9 Alvarez Tied 19-19 Round 3 More pressure from Alvarez. Jacobs tried to stay in the middle of the ring but strong jabs from Alvarez again had him backing up. Alvarez was getting through with lefts to the body and right hooks and although Jacobs, now back to orthodox, scored with a nice combination again Alvarez was landing more.. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 29-28 Round 4 Jacobs threw plenty of jabs in this one but Alvarez did a great job of blocking or ducking them and then leaping forward and scoring with left hooks. It was a close round because Alvarez made a slow start but he was connecting with the better shots once he opened up. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 39-37 Official Scores: Judge Dave Moretti 39-37 Alvarez, Judge Glenn Feldman 40-36 Alvarez, Judge Steve Weisfeld 39-37 Alvarez Round 5 A close round. Jacobs switched to southpaw again and did better early in the round with his jab and quick rights. Alvarez came on stronger as the round progressed and his jabs and hooks to the body just gave him a slight advantage. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 49-46 Round 6 Alvarez attacked hard early but a crisp left hook from Jacobs had him backing off. For the first time in the fight it was Jacobs taking Alvarez to the ropes and unloading on him with both hands. Still as a southpaw Jacobs was finding gaps for straight lefts in a round in which Alvarez was largely ineffective. Score: 10-9 Jacobs Alvarez 58-56 Round 7 Best round of the fight so far. Alvarez picked up the pace coming in behind a stiff jab and connecting with left hooks. Jacobs was landing hooks and uppercuts inside and they then stood and exchanged punches. Jacobs held his own then Alvarez connected again with hooks until Jacobs staged a strong finish but just not enough to take the close round. . Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 68-65 Round 8 Boxing southpaw Jacobs was landing straight lefts early but then Alvarez seemed to hurt him with a left hook and connected with some hooks on the back of that success. Jacobs seemed determined to stand and trade and they both scored with some hard hooks to the head with Alvarez just taking the round. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 78-74 Official Scores: Moretti 78-74 Alvarez, Feldman 78-74 Alvarez, Weisfeld 78-74 Alvarez Round 9 Jacobs took this one. He was moving well and looked fresher. Alvarez was throwing powerful single punches with Jacobs letting fly with bursts and he twice had Alvarez against the ropes and connected with a big right cross but he was leaving this rally late. Score: 10-9 Jacobs Alvarez 87-84 Round 10 Alvarez was stepping up quicker in this round and was landing with his jab straight rights and left hooks with Jacobs throwing very little. Over the third minute Jacobs came to life forcing Alvarez to the ropes and opening up with hooks from both hands but Alvarez was finding the target with counters. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 97-93 Round 11 Jacobs outworked Alvarez. He was pumping out his jab and firing bunches of hooks with Alvarez often forced onto the retreat. Alvarez was scoring with hard single shots but that was not enough. Score: 10-9 Jacobs Alvarez 106-103 Round 12 No last round heroics in this one again it was the hardest punches from Alvarez and the quantity from Jacobs with his accuracy with his jab and hooks just giving Jacobs the round. Score: 10-9 Jacobs Alvarez 115-113 Official Scores: Moretti 115-113 Alvarez, Feldman 116-112 Alvarez, Weisfeld 115-113 Alvarez. Alvarez retains the WBA and WBC titles and lifts the IBF title from Jacobs. That leaves the WBO belt as the only one missing from his collection and Alvarez said he was interested in completing the collection which would a mean a big payday for WBO champion Demetrius Andrade. Alvarez had his tactics spot on in this fight but Jacobs let the fight get away from him from the second round to the eighth. Two judges had Alvarez winning six of those seven rounds and the third gave Alvarez 5 of them. Before the fight Jacobs had to pay a forfeit of $750,000. He made the weight at the official weight-in on the day before the fight but the contract stipulated that there would be a penalty of $250,000 payable by either fighter for every pound over 170lbs at a weigh-in on the day of the fight. Alvarez weighed 169lbs but Jacobs was 173.6lbs and had to pay $750,000. Jacobs has said he will now move up to super middleweight Ryder vs. Akkawy Ryder wins the interim WBA title with stoppage of Australian Akkawy. Southpaw Ryder had a slight edge over the first two rounds due to some good work with his jab. In the third he caught Akkawy with a booming right that put Akkawy on the floor. Akkawy did not look in too serious a condition when he got up but when the action restarted Ryder rocked him badly with an uppercut. Akkawy tried to punch with Ryder but was on the floor again from right hook. This time he was decidedly shaky when he made it to his feet. Ryder jumped on him drove him to a corner and a pair of uppercuts had Akkawy on the verge of going down when the referee stepped in to save him. Ryder’s career looked to be going nowhere after domestic defeats against Nick Blackwell, Jack Arnfield and Rocky Fielding but he turned the situation around with wins over 29-1 Patrick Nielsen, 25-1 Jamie Cox and unbeaten Andrey Sirotkin. A fight with the real WBA champion Callum Smith would be a big attraction. Akkawy came in at relatively short notice after David Lemieux withdrew with an injury three weeks before the fight with Ryder. At 25 Akkawy can rebound from this. Diaz vs. Fonseca Moving up to super feather and conceding height and reach proves no problem for Diaz as he stops Fonseca. From the opening bell Diaz was connecting with southpaw left hooks and uppercuts on a slower Fonseca. In the second and third Fonseca switched to southpaw and landed a couple of clubbing punches but Diaz with superior hand speed was scoring with right jabs and hooks to the body and forcing Fonseca back. Fonseca tried to stand in close and trade with Diaz over the fourth and fifth but did not have the power or a sound enough defence for that to work and he continued to take punishment. Diaz rocked Fonseca badly with a right and then two left hooks late in the sixth and Fonseca dropped to his knees. Fonseca got up and there was not enough time left for Diaz to finish things before the bell. Diaz did the business in the seventh. He was landing some solid lefts to the head and then a series of hard rights and lefts saw the towel coming in from Fonseca’s corner. The former Olympian lost to Gary Russell for the WBC title in May last year but then beat Jesus Rojas in August in a fight for the secondary WBA title but Diaz had failed to make the weight so could not win the title. The move to super feather is a sensible decision and he wins the vacant WBA Gold title. Nicaraguan Fonseca suffers his first loss by KO/TKO. He was No 5 with the WBA but there were no names or real tests on his record. Ortiz vs. Herrera Ortiz bombs out a shop-worn Herrera inside three rounds. The first saw an unexpectedly cautious Ortiz not really pressing his attacks against a fleshy-looking Herrera. Ortiz let his hands go more in the second and just before the bell he landed a vicious chopping right to the head that staggered Herrera and then cut loose with hooks and uppercuts until Herrera slumped to the floor by the ropes. Herrera used the ropes to get vertical and passed the referees examination and the bell had already gone. At the start of the third Ortiz staggered Herrera again with a right and then a booming right rendered Herrera out whilst still on his feet and he dropped back into the ropes and down with the referee instantly waiving the fight off. The tall 21-year-old Texan has won all of his fights by KO/TKO and has only once had to go beyond the third round. He has victories over experienced pros Juan Carlos Salgado and Roberto Ortiz. He is ranked No 9 by the WBO. At 38 Herrera is no longer the fighter who lost on a majority decision to Danny Garcia for the WBA and WBC titles back in 2014 Roach vs. Oquendo Roach remains unbeaten with a decision over Oquendo that was unpopular with the crowd. Oquendo threw Roach off his game plan with a strong start. He was working his way inside and scoring with hard body shots. Despite being rocked by a right in the fourth Roach began to get into the fight. He was using movement and sharp jabs to work on the outside and was successful in countering Oquendo as he rolled forward. Oquendo was still getting past the jab often enough to make these rounds close but some careless headwork cost him a point in the eighth. Both fighters stuck to their tactics over the last two rounds with Oquendo still bustling his way inside and Roach firing jabs and counters. It looked as though the decision could have gone either way but the judges gave it clearly to Roach. Scores 97-92 twice and 96-93 for Roach. The draw on Roach’s record was against Orlando Cruz in April 2018 and this is his third win in a row since then. He retains the WBO NABO and International titles. Oquendo was beaten by Jesus Cuellar for the secondary WBA feather title in 2015 and had lost important fights against Juan Manuel Lopez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr and Abner Mares but had won his three fights last year. Young vs. Ali Young halts former WBO champion Ali in a major upset. No sign of the early stoppage over the first two rounds as they traded punches. Young looked to just doing better in the exchanges but Ali was competing hard. Young broke through in the third with a series of body punches before forcing Ali into a corner with a couple of hard hooks. He then just pounded away until the referee came in and halted the barrage. Huge win for Young, 31, who had won his last eight contests against mediocre opposition. When Ali beat Miguel Cotto for the WBO super welter title in December 2017 the “World Kid” was on top of the world but with the crushing defeat against Jaime Munguia and now this loss to Young it is questionable whether he has a future. Stockton, CA, USA: Super Fly: Jerwin Ancajas (31-1-2) W KO 7 Ryuichi Funai (31-8). Light Heavy: Artur Beterbiev (14-0) W KO 5 Radivoje Kalajdzic (24-2).Light Heavy: Felix Valera (18-2) W TKO 4 Mario Aguilar (20-7). Welter: Brian Mendoza (17-0) W KO 2 Carlos Rodriguez (12-8-1). Light: Gabriel Flores Jr (13-0) W KO 3 Eduardo Pereira dos Reis (23-6). Ancajas vs. Funai Ancajas breaks down and stops a very limited Funai in the seventh defence of the IBF title Round 1 Ancajas was into his stride quickly spearing Funai with right jabs and lending straight lefts . Funai was overreaching with his jabs and paying for it with short hooks from Ancajas. Score: 10-9 Ancajas Round 2 A more even round. Funai was landing some jabs and Ancajas was off target with his. Funai kept throwing lead rights off the wrong foot so there was no power in them. Late in the round Ancajas found the range and banged home some straight lefts. Score: 10-9 Ancajas Ancajas 20-18 Round 3 Plenty of action in this round as Funai resolved to walk through the champion’s punches to work inside. Ancajas was in the groove now. He was punishing Funai with jabs and countering the advancing challenger with hooks and uppercuts. Funai did some good work inside but did not have the power to hurt Ancajas. Score: 10-9 Ancajas Ancajas 30-27 Round 4 Ancajas started this round with a ferocious attack. He pinned Funai in a corner and pounded him with hooks and uppercuts. Funai was getting caught with booming punches and was rocked but managed to fight his way out of the corner. He kept trying to get close but was being caught with counters with a right staggering him and after a vicious straight left he was now bleeding heavily from the nose. Score: 10-9 Ancajas Ancajas 40-36 Official Scores: Judge Jonathan Davis 40-36 Ancajas, Judge Daniel Sandoval 40-36 Ancajas, Judge Kermit Bayless 40-36 Ancajas Round 5 The referee had the doctor examine Funai at the start of the round but he was cleared to continue. Not so much action in this round. Funai was a lot more cautious never really trying to get inside and Ancajas was a little less accurate . He landed an occasional straight left but not many. Score: 10 -9 Ancajas Ancajas 50-45 Round 6 The dismantling process continued in this round. Funai initially again tried to walk inside but Ancajas could not miss him with straight lefts and Funai was forced to go on the defensive. Ancajas was really loading up on his punches and staggered Funai twice late in the round. Score: 10-9 Ancajas Ancajas 60-54 The referee and the doctor consulted before the start of the seventh and before the bell Funai was taken over to where the doctor was standing and after examining Funai the doctor recommended the fight be stopped and it was over. Too easy for the powerful and talented 27-year-old Filipino who has 21 wins by KO/TKO. He has kept busy with three defences in 2017 and three in 2018. A fight with WBC champion Juan Francisco Estrada would be a big attraction as would one against either fellow-Filipino Aston Palicte or Kazuto Ioka who contest the vacant WBO title in June. Funai was outclassed here. He had won his last seven fights and was the IBF No 1but that was a false rating. Beterbiev vs. Kalajdzic Beterbiev overpowers Kalajdzic with crude but effective tactics and real power. Round 1 Beterbiev came out throwing punches sending Kalajdzic back into the ropes with a left hook. Kalajdzic took possession of the centre of the ring probing with jabs. Beterbiev circled him launching occasional attacks. A push from Kalajdzic sent Beterbiev down but obviously no count. Kalajdzic showed some flash dancing with his hands down but Beterbiev had done the scoring. Score: 10-9 Beterbiev Round 2 Beterbiev was wild with his attacks and Kalajdzic was able to score with jabs and with hooks when he came inside. Beterbiev was tracking Kalajdzic but has no real footwork. When he got close he was landing some clubbing shots but was warned twice for punches to the back of the head but did enough to make the round his. Score: 10-9 Beterbiev 20-18 Round 3 After some bull-like rushes from Beterbiev Kalajdzic decided to stand his ground and trade punches. Not a good choice. He was landing but did not have the power to trade with Beterbiev. Kalajdzic broke off the exchanges but was then dragged back and as they exchanged shots heavy rights from Beterbiev had Kalajdzic turning away and he went down on one knee. After the count he managed to hold out to the bell but was unsteady. Again Beterbiev got away with some punches to the back of the head and that needs to be picked up on by referee’s before some gets badly injured. Score: 10-8 Beterbiev Beterbiev 30-26 Round 4 The doctor examined Kalajdzic before the start of the round. Beterbiev then pounded on Kalajdzic. He trapped Kalajdzic on the ropes and was landing clubbing punches. Kalajdzic punched back and there was a wild exchange until Beterbiev again forced Kalajdzic to the ropes. Kalajdzic tried to escape a few times but Beterbiev kept muscling him to the ropes again. Score: 10-9 Beterbiev Beterbiev 40-35 Official Score: judge Edward Hernandez 39-36 Beterbiev, Judge Zachary Young 40-35 Beterbiev, Judge Michael Tate 40-35 Beterbiev Round 5 Once again the doctor examined Kalajdzic and let the fight continue but it was just a token agreement as the first time Beterbiev took Kalajdzic to the ropes and landed a punch the referee stopped the fight-so why let it continue at all? Second defence of the IBF title by the 34-year-old Russian. There is nothing of the stylist about Beterbiev but he has steamrollered his 14 opponents to defeat inside the distance so what he does works for him. All four versions of the light heavyweight title are held by Eastern Europeans and it would be interesting to see a clash between any two of the four because when you take out Marcus Browne and Eleider Alvarez there is not a lot of quality in the division although Anthony Yarde might prove that wrong if he can bear Sergey Kovalev. Florida-based Bosnian Kalajdzic ‘s only other loss was a split decision against Browne in 2016. He had won his last three fights but lacked the power to compete against Beterbiev. Valera vs. Aguilar Former WBA interim champion Valera gets past Mexican Aguilar with ease. The tall Dominican had the height and reach to control the action. When he chose to go inside he was busier and outscored Aguilar. After three one-sided rounds Valera was unloading on Aguilar in the fourth when the referee halted the contest. Valera lost his interim title to Dmitry Bivol in 2016 and was beaten on points in a foul-filled fight by Sullivan Barrera in 2017. This is his third win in a row but his opposition has been modest. He is No 3 with the WBA. Aguilar had been 2-3 in his last 5 fights but the three losses had all been to undefeated fighters. Mendoza vs. Rodriguez Mendoza celebrates signing a contract with Top Rank with a stunning stoppage of Rodriguez. This was showing signs of being a good competitive fight for five minutes and then Mendoza delivered a rib-bending right to the body and followed that with a left hook to the head and Rodriguez went down on his back and that punch was such a clear finisher that the referee dispensed with the count. The 25-year-old from New Mexico has won 5 of his last 6 fights by KO/TKO and has twelve inside the distance wins in total. He was moving up to eight rounds for the first time but he made that an irrelevance. Third loss by KO/TKO for Rodriguez. Flores vs. Pereira dos Reis Flores continues to impress. He was too slick and too quick for Brazilian dos Reis and was looking to end this early. He had dos Reis under pressure over the first two rounds and then produced an explosive left hook that floored the Brazilian heavily and the referee decided a count was unnecessary and just waived the fight off. The 19-year-old home town fighter is the youngest fighter ever signed by Top Rank. He impressed as a Junior winning a gold medal at the US Under-17 championships and silver at the World Under-17’s. Pereira dos Reis is now 0-4 in fights outside Brazil. 2 May Las Vegas, NV, USA: Middle: Steven Butler (27-1-1) W PTS 10 Vitali Kopylenko (28-2). Middle: W Chris Pearson (17-2,1ND) W PTS 10 Yamaguchi Falcao (16-1,1ND). Super Middle: Erik Bazinyan (23-0) W PTS 10 Alan Campa (17-5,1ND). Middle: Alexis Salazar (22-3) W PTS 8 Abraham Cordero (13-4-2). Butler vs. Kopylenko Butler just scrapes past Kopylenko as he comes off the floor to get the win with a strong finish. Both had their moments over the first half of the fight with Butler scoring with left hooks and Kopylenko displaying some good skills. Butler picked up the pace in the sixth but the seventh was close with Kopylenko just having the edge. In the eighth a series of body punches culminating in a left to the body from Kopylenko put Butler down. He beat the count and resisted Kopylenko’s efforts to repeat that success. Butler then had the better of the exchanges in the ninth and the early part of the last but Kopylenko dominated the closing minute. Scores 96-93 twice for Butler and 95-94 for Kopylenko. Canadian Butler, 23, wins the WBC International title with his ninth win in a row with the other eight coming by KO/TKO. Butler is rated WBO 5/WBC 11/IBF 12(11) but Kopylenko is his first real tests since losing to Brandon Cook in 2017 and he nearly blew it. Kopylenko’s team are demanding a return but don’t hold your breath. The 35-year-old Ukrainian has talent but is letting it slip away. Since losing on points to Willie Monroe Jr in the semi-final of the Boxino tournament in 2014 he has had just seven fights in five years and needs to be more active. Pearson vs. Falcao Pearson comes from behind to outpoint Falcao in a mild upset. In his first fight for almost twelve months Brazilian Falcao made a strong start. He was outworking a tentative Pearson and connecting with straight lefts. Pearson finally started to get into the fight from the third and it was close over the middle rounds with Falcao just having a small lead. The seventh was a swing round. Pearson began to find the target with his jab and straight lefts and a clash of heads saw Falcao cut over his right eye. Falcao faded and was rocking badly in the tenth but made it to the bell. Scores 96-94 twice and 96-94 for Pearson. He wins the vacant WBC Latino title. The 28-year-old from Ohio took 13 months out after being beaten in two rounds by Justin DeLoach in February 2017 but has been more active with three wins now since his return. The No Decision on his record came back in 2014 when he outpointed Lanardo Tyner only for both boxers to test positive for a banned substance. Former Pan American silver medal winner Falcao took a bronze medal in the London Olympics in 2012. When fighting for the Mexico Guerreros in the WSB Falcao outpointed Pearson who was on the Los Angeles Matadors team so revenge for Pearson. Bazinyan vs. Campa Armenian-born Canadian Bazinyan gets wide unanimous decision over Campa. Bazinyan took control early with some cracking rights. Campa fired back did not have the power to match Bazinyan who had won his last eight fights by KO/TKO. Bazinyan continued to pile on the pressure but Campa has been in with some tough opposition and he was landing enough to be competitive and pick up some points. A clash of heads in fifth started a big bump on the left side of Campa’s forehead and he was under heavy attack in the sixth until a low punch from Bazinyan bought him some respite and he had a good seventh. In the eighth another low punch from Bazinyan cost him a point deduction but he ended the bout strongly to take the decision. Scores 99-90 twice and 97-92 for Bazinyan. He retains the WBA-NABA and WBO-NABO titles. He is rated WBO 4/WBA 11and has wins over 32-2 David Zegarra and Francy Ntetu. Campa is 1-3 in his last 4 fights now but the other two losses were against Jesse Hart and D’Mitrius Ballard. Salazar vs. Cordero Salazar moves to 14 wins in a row with points victory over Cordero. Salazar was just too fast for Cordero who was having his first fight 18 months and came in almost 30lbs heavier than in his last fight. Salazar used his reach to score on the outside but Cordero was able to score with hooks in close. They bumped heads hard in the third and fifth but luckily no one was cut. Salazar dominated late as Cordero tired. Score 80-72 twice and 79-73 for Salazar. Most of Salazar’s wins have come against modest opposition and he did not look ready to move up but as he is just 23 he may improve. Cordero, 24, showed some good skills but with just one fight in 2016 and one in 2017 and being inactive through 2018 he is very rusty. 3 May Newcastle, England: Super Bantam: Tyrone McCullough (13-0) W PTS 10 Alvaro Rodriguez (9-3-1,1ND). Heavy: Simon Vallily (14-2-1) W TKO 1 Jone Volau (5-5). Middle: Troy Williamson (10-0-1) W RTD 2 Ionut Llie (17-32-3). McCullough vs. Rodriguez McCullough gets routine win over unorthodox Rodriguez. Southpaw McCullagh forced the fight behind his jab with Rodriguez looking to dive forward with counters. At times McCullough had problems with the hands-down unorthodox style of Rodriguez but the Spaniard was wild with his attacks swinging and leaving himself open to counters. McCullagh moved well, jabbed well and was accurate with his straight lefts but never quite subdued Rodriguez who connected with enough swings late on to edge a couple of rounds with the fight getting untidy at times. Scores 98-92 twice and 96-94 for McCullagh. The 28-year-old “White Chocolate” from Northern Island has useful domestic wins over Joe Ham and Josh Kennedy. Rodriguez, the Spanish champion, has never been stopped. He lost on a late TKO against Cristian Rodriguez for the vacant Spanish title in 2016 but the result was changed to a No Decision when Cristian Rodriguez tested positive for a banned substance. Vallily vs. Volau Having drawn in a fight for the English cruiserweight title in June and stopped by Craig Glover in October Vallily makes a success of his first bout at heavyweight. Vallily had lots of height and reach over Volau and rocked him early with a right cross. Volau rumbled forward looking to get inside and landed a good right. Vallily came forward with purpose connected with two punches to the body and then an overhand right to the head and Volau went down heavily. He tried to make it to his feet but tumbled sideways and the referee stopped the count and ended the fight. The 33-year-old Vallily was British champion and won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games at 91kgs as an amateur. Locally based Fijian Volau has lost his last four fights. Williamson vs. Ilie Williamson was much the bigger man and from the outset Ilie’s tactics could be summarised as survive. It was largely target practice for Williamson who hurt Ilie with a left hook to the ribs just before the bell to end the first round. Ilie threw a few punches at the start of the second but was soon being driven around the ring by Williamson. More body punches had Ilie hurt and at the end of the round he retired with a rib injury. Now seven wins by KO/TKO for former amateur champion Williamson but this was no kind of test. Ilie suffers his fifteenth loss by KO/TKO. Bethlehem, PA, USA: Super Feather: Frankie De Alba (23-4-2) W PTS 8 Ruben Lopez (12-14-4). Welter: Janelson Figueroa (14-0) W RTD 3 Gabor Gorbics (26-17). Welter: Radzhab Butaev (12-0) W PTS 6 Silverio Ortiz (37-25). De Alba vs. Lopez Southpaw De Alba decisions Argentinian Lopez. After an early storm from Lopez De Alba settled down to outbox the strong but limited South American and took every round. Scores 80-72 for De Alba. He needed a win after losing to O’Shaquie Foster and Andy Vences in 2018. Lopez falls to 0-6-1 in his last seven. Figueroa vs. Gorbics Flashy prospect Figueroa much too good for Hungarian travelling loser Gorbics, The 20-year-old Figueroa was connecting with punches from all angles and a sympathetic doctor would not let Gorbics continue after the third round. Ten wins by KO/TKO for Puerto Rican Figueroa a coming lad. Fifth loss in a row for Gorbics. Butaev vs. Ortiz Russian Butaev outpoints seasoned pro Ortiz. Scores 58-55 twice and 59-54. The 26-year-old “Python” was Russian Youth and Senior champion and won a silver medal at the European Youth Championships. As a member of the Russian Boxing Team in the World Series of Boxing he went 9-1 including wins over Dens Berinchyk, Rosniel Iglesias and Scott Fitzgerald. Ortiz has won only one of his last seven fights but after 19 years as a pro he can still teach the youngsters a trick or two Perth Australia: Middle: Wes Capper (20-2-1) W PTS 8 Arnel Tinampay (25-24-1). Neighbourhood fighter Capper extends his unbeaten run to ten with points win over seasoned Filipino Tinampay. Former undefeated Australian champion Capper, 30, a plumber by trade, has an extensive career in kickboxing behind him including Australian and World titles. In his last fight in March 2018 he fought a draw with Sam Soliman. Three losses in a row for Tinampay-one in Chine, one in Russia and now one in Australia. Dubai, UAE: Light Heavy: Oscar Ahlin (18-2) W KO 1 Arthit Bumphloeng (3-8-1). Swedish “Golden Boy” Ahlin puts away poor Thai Bumphloeng in just 70 seconds. Ahlen moves to 16 wins by KO/TKO including five in his last five fights but the opposition has been dire and losses in the past to Bernard Donfack and Patrick Mendy have knocked much of the glitter off the “Golden Boy”. Now 7 losses in a row for pathetic Bumphloeng 6 by KO/TKO. This was Badou Jacks first promotion and any others had better improve on this rubbish. Amir Khan and Jeff Mayweather were at ringside to support Jack. May 4 Brussels, Belgium: Cruiser: Joel Tambwe Djeko (16-2-1) W PTS 12 Ricardo Snijders (17-1). Super Light: Mohamed El Marcouchi (22-2) W PTS 10 Jean Pierre Habimana (9-17-3). Djeko vs. Snijders Djeko keeps his IBO Inter-Continental title with unanimous decision over unbeaten Snijders. Djeko made the better start making use of his longer reach to work on the outside. Snijders came alive in the fourth getting past Djeko’s jab and landing well to the body and he overtook Djeko’s early lead by winning the middle rounds. Djeko managed to get his jab working again in the eighth and smothered Snijders work inside and after two hotly contested rounds by the end of the ninth Snijders was tiring. In the tenth Djeko was connecting heavily and an in trouble Snijders dropped into the ropes half from a push and half from a punch. He did not go all the way down but only because the ropes stopped him and the referee rightly applied a count. Snijders survived but Djeko swept the closing rounds to emerge a clear winner. Scores 117-110 twice and 116-111 for Djeko. “Big Joe” gets his seventh win since dropping a split decision against Craig Kennedy in 2016. Dutchman Snijders had won 6 of his last 7 by KO/TKO but Djeko was a much tougher opponent than the others he had met. El Marcouchi vs. Habimana Miami Beach-based Belgian El Marcouchi wins the vacant BeNeLux (Belgium, Netherlands & Luxemburg) title with decision over Rwandan-born Habimana. Sores 98-92 twice and 97-93. After an early points defeat El Marcouchi has now lost only one of his last twenty-one fights and that was a disqualification. Tougher time for Habimana as he takes on board his fifth consecutive loss. Charleroi, Belgium: Cruiser: Ryad Merhy (28-1) W KO 3 Cesar Crenz (23-12). Heavy: Herve Hubeaux (31-3) W PTS 10 Jack Mulowai (6-1-1).Middle: Mikala Vesialou (10-0-1) W PTS 10 Norbert Harcsa (11-2. Light Heavy: Timur Nikarkhoev (21-2) W PTS 8 Geard Ajetovic (31-21-1). Merhy vs. Crenz Merhy crushes Crenz inside three rounds. Argentinian Crenz was just over 6’4” tall but that was all he had going for him. Merhy was able to get past the longer reach of Crenz to score inside. Late in the second Merhy rocked Crenz with a right to the head and then dropped him with a left to the body. Crenz survived but with the first punch Merhy threw in the second round, a left hook to the head, Crenz was down again. He got up but was unsteady and the referee stopped the fight. The 26-year-old Ivory Coast-born Belgian now has 23 wins by KO/TKO. His loss was an eleventh round stoppage by Arsen Goulamirian for what was then the interim WBA title but is now the WBA Gold title. Merhy is No 3 with the WBA so will be hoping to get a title fight later this year. Crenz, 39, has nine losses by KO/TKO. Hubeaux vs. Mulowai Hubeaux wins the vacant Belgian title with majority decision over Mulowai. It was a close fight but with Hubeaux scoring a knockdown in the fourth and looking to have won well. Scores 97-94 twice for Hubeaux and 95-95. The EBU No 14 has lost big fights against Agit Kabayel for the European title and Oscar Rivas for the NABF title. This is his second win as he rebuilds after the Rivas loss. Congolese-born Mulowai was taking a huge step up in quality of opposition so performed above expectations. Vesialou vs. Harcsa Russian-born Belarusian southpaw Vesialou retains the WBA Continental belt with unanimous decision over Hungarian Harcsa. Vesialou made good use of his longer reach to outbox Harcsa and won comfortable. Scores 98-92 twice and 100-90 for Vesialou. The winner was a success in the WBS Baku Fires team. Harcsa one of Hungary’s most successful amateurs, had won his three fights last year but has not progressed as a pro. Nikarkhoev vs. Ajetovic Russian Nikarkhoev gets his seventh win on the bounce with narrow verdict over experienced Serbian Ajetovic. Scores 77-74 twice and 77-75. The 26-year-old European No 8 has not really been tested since losing to modest Joseph Mulema in 2017. Ajetovic is at travelling journeymen level now. He has lost his last four fights all on points and all in different countries Frankfurt, Germany: Light Heavy: Leon Bunn (14-0) W TKO 9 Leon Harth (18-4). Super Welter: Abass Baraou (6-0) W TKO 5 Ali Funeka (40-11-3).Super Light: Anthony Yigit (23-1-1) W TKO 5 Sandro Hernandez (15-8-3). Heavy: Kem Ljungquist (8-0) W PTS 8 Dominik Musil (3-2). Bunn vs. Harth Fighting in his home city Bunn wears down and halts Harth. Bunn just had the edge in a couple of slow opening rounds but the third looked even. In the fourth Bunn began to connect with booming punches and Harth was badly rocked and the bell saved him. Harth faded out of the fight going into defensive mode and he was in trouble again late in the eighth. Bunn had Harth against the ropes in the ninth and was unloading with some savage shots and the referee stepped in and halted the contest. Bunn, 26, wins the vacant IBF International belt with his eighth victory by KO/TKO. He is No 12 with the EBU. German-based Armenian Harth has lost in tough tasks against Krzys Wlodarczyk and unbeaten Artur Mann but had won his last three fights. Baraou vs. Funeka Top prospect Baraou halts veteran Funeka. The first round was the only one in which South African Funeka was in the fight in any meaningful way. From the second Baraou began to dismantle Funeka. He was connecting with straight rights and hooks with very little come back from a shop worn Funeka. Baraou scored with a series of brutal punches in the fifth and the referee stepped in to save Funeka but even then it was a few minutes before Funeka recovered. In the amateurs the 24-year-old Baraou was German champion in 2014, 2015 and 2016, He won a gold medal at the 2017 European Championships and took bronze at the World Championships. He won the German title in only his second pro fight. Now 41 Funeka is 1-6 in his last 7 fights and really needs someone to save him from doing himself permanent damage. Yigit vs. Hernandez Swedish southpaw Yigit gets his second win since being eliminated from the WBSS tournament by Ivan Baranchyk in a fight that was for the vacant IBF super light title. Yigit had too much skill for Hernandez to deal with and the Venezuelan was outclassed. Hernandez lost a point for holding and was cut and being raked by punches when his corner threw in the towel. At 27 Yigit still has a big part to play at both European and world level. Five losses in his last six fights for Hernandez. Ljungquist vs. Musil Danish heavyweight Ljungquist keeps his 100% record with a points victory over Czech Musil. This fight never really caught fire and it was a pedestrian display from the 6’6 ½” Ljungquist against the Czech novice. No real highlights as the Danish southpaw took the verdict on scores of 79-72 from all three judges with Musil losing a point late in the fight for some illegal headwork. Ljungquist is a former Danish amateur champion but a loss to Joe Joyce at the European Qualifier cost him his chance of making it to Rio. Musil’s two losses have been on points against undefeated fighters Alta Gracia, Argentina: Feather: Hector Sarmiento (20-1) W KO 3 Julian Aristule (34-10). “Little Bird” Sarmiento beats Aristule with a little bit of controversy thrown in. In the first two rounds Sarmiento was landing with powerful rights against southpaw Aristule. He continued to pile on the pressure in the third. As he was throwing punches their bodies clashed with Sarmiento‘s elbow banging into the body of Aristule who went down on one knee in some pain, The referee gave Sarmiento a warning and allowed Aristule time to recover. When the action started again Aristule had not fully recovered and Sarmiento drove Aristule to the ropes and landed a series of punches ending with a left to the head and Aristule again dropped to one knee and was counted out. Santiago’s national title was not on the line. He now has 14 wins by KO/TKO. Aristule, the interim champion, has four losses by KO/TKO. Buenos, Aires, Argentina: Super Feather: Miguel Antin (18-2) W TKO 8 Pablo Ojeda (16-5-1).Antin collects the vacant WBC Latino title with stoppage of Ojeda. Antin dominated the fight connecting with accurate and hurtful counters as Ojeda marched forward. Ojeda had a good seventh round when he finally managed to score with some hefty hooks but it was a last fling. In the eighth Antin put Ojeda down with two left hooks. Ojeda made it to his feet but a series of shots had him reeling and the fight was halted. A badly needed win for Antin after consecutive inside the distance defeats against Matias Rueda and Jeremias Ponce had seen him drop out of the Argentinian ratings. Ojeda, the Argentinian No 2 had scored useful domestic victories over Daniel Brizuela and Horacio Cabral. Varesse, Italy: Super Bantam: Terry Le Couviour (14-0) W PTS 10 Iuliano Gallo (9-3). Frenchman Le Couviour ventures into the home town of Gallo and comes away with the vacant European Union title. This was a controversial victory as the locals clearly felt that Gallo had done enough to deserve the decision. Gallo was in charge over the early rounds with Le Couviour mainly on the back foot and under pressure. Le Couviour then had a strong spell over the middle rounds to get his nose in front. Gallo picked up the pace again over the eighth and tenth with Le Couviour staging a strong finish. It was a close fight as the scores show. Le Couviour took the verdict and the title with two judges having him the winner at 115-114 and the third judge seeing it level at 114-114.Good win for Le Couviour who had never gone past eight rounds before, Gallo admitted afterwards that his preparation had been badly affected by bursitis and that it had been painful him to punch over the last five rounds so a gutsy effort and hopefully he will get another chance. Tokyo, Japan: Super Feather: Masaru Sueyoshi (19-1-1) W PTS 10 Ken Osato (15-3-1). Sueyoshi retains the Japanese title with majority verdict over Osato. Both fighters scored well with their jab early and then began to trade heavy punches both connecting with rights. At the midpoint Sueyoshi just had the edge on two cards at 48-47 with the third judge having him up 49-46. Sueyoshi made a strong start over the second half of the fight looking to build a commanding lead. Knowing he was behind Osato came on strongly taking two of the last three rounds but it was just not enough. Scores 97-93 and 96-95 for Sueyoshi and 95-95. Sueyoshi, the WBO No 4, was making the fourth defence of the Japanese title with one of those defences being an eighth round stoppage of Osato in February last year. Osato had won his last two fights. Manchester, England: Marc Leach (13-1-1) W PTS 10 Brett Fidoe (13-50-5). Welter: Liam Taylor (21-1) W PTS 6 Edvinas Puplauskas (5-24). Feather: Qais Ashfaq (6-0) W KO 1 Stefan Sashev (5-21-1). Leach vs. Fidoe Leach wins the vacant English title with points victory over Fidoe. Leach had height and reach over the 5’2” Fidoe and was able to slot home jabs and connect with long rights. Fidoe kept trying to drive forward and when he did get inside was pumping out punches. Leach was always in control. He was constantly switching guards and exhibited good defensive work when Fidoe attacked. He rocked Fidoe a couple of times in the seventh but never really came close to stopping Fidoe. Scores 100-90, 100-91 and 99-91 for Leach. He is now 13-0-1 after losing his first pro fight. Fidoe had a little winning spell and was 4-1-1 going into this one. Of his 50 losses only one has come inside the distance. Taylor vs. Puplauskas Taylor gets in some useful work against Puplauskas. Taylor was scoring with hard punches from both hands from the first bell but Puplauskas was willing to take the punishment and take the fight to Taylor when he could. A series of head punches dropped Puplauskas in the third but he survived and despite Taylor continuing to scores with some hurtful punches he stayed to the end and was fighting hard in the last round. Referee’s score 60-53. Taylor was coming off a career best win over Tyrone Nurse in November and will be looking to build on that. Now eighteen losses on the bounce for Puplauskas but he certainly earned his money in this one. Ashfaq vs. Sashev Ashfaq gets this one over in the first round. He was hunting down poor Sashev and connecting with all manner of punches, hooks, uppercuts and straight rights and left. Eventually Sashev just slumped to the floor under a series of punches and was counted out. Ashfaq is yet another hot prospect from British rings. He won a hatful of titles in the amateurs. He was British and Commonwealth Youth champion was English and British champion at Senior level. Won a bronze medal at the European Games and silver at the Commonwealth Games and competed at the World Championships and the 2016 Olympics. Sashev suffers his ninth loss by KO/TKO. Fight of the week (Significance): Saul Alvarez win over Daniel Jacobs has to be the one. Fight of the week (Entertainment) Nothing really stood out from the crowd. Fighter of the week: Saul Alvarez with honourable mentions to Jerwin Ancajas and John Ryder Punch of the week: The left hook from Gabriel Flores that finished Eduardo Pereira dos Reis as was the chopping right from Vergil Ortiz that floored Mauricio Herrera for the first time was special Upset of the week: Anthony Young’s stoppage of Sadam Ali was unexpected Prospect watch: Brian Mendoza 17-0 looks tasty as does Britain Qais Ashfaq 6-0 By Eric Armit
Last week’s big fights were a mixed bag. We had two very good fights in California with Daniel Ramon vs. JT Doheny an exciting scrap all the way which unified two titles and also a brilliant exhibition of quality boxing from Juan Francisco Estrada against Srisaket. In addition when we thought it was dead in the water the WBSS Tournament came back to life with semi-finals in the super lightweight and bantamweight categories. It was predictable that Regis Prograis and Nonito Donaire would win but it was important how they did it and they both showed power and class. Let’s just pass over Robert Easter vs. Rances Barthelemy as it showed that two good fighters could put up a bad fight. I seem to have a talent for being in the wrong time at the wrong place. The WBSS card was held in Lafayette. I worked in the oil industry and Lafayette was the first town I visited in the USA. I returned there just a few years back to visit with my long time and close friend Beau Williford who has his Ragin’ Cajun gym there and met up with Kerry Daigle who subsequently did all of the media and publicity work for the WBSS show. So how come I was slogging away at a computer on the East Coast of Scotland instead of sitting at ringside in Lafayette-wrong time wrong place. Of course tomorrow night in Las Vegas we have Saul Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs with a good supporting cast including John Ryder vs. unbeaten Bilal Akkawy and in Stockton Jerwin Ancajas and Artur Beterbiev defend their titles. I think Jacobs is going to be a much tougher test for Alvarez than many anticipate and I would not be surprised to see Jacobs pull off an upset victory. Congratulations to Andy Ruiz he is going to get the fight that will pay him more than he has ever been paid for a fight by a factor of ten or fifteen more than he has ever received or probably ever will receive. Life and boxing are unpredictable so those that turned down the chance to fight Anthony Joshua may well live to regret it. There are only three fighters in the heavyweight division against whom seriously big money can be made-Joshua, Deontay Wilder and to a lesser extent Tyson Fury. In the Wilder vs. Fury fight Wilder reported got $14 million and Fury $10 million and neither Wilder nor Fury will earn nearly as much against their next opponents. Ruiz will reportedly get $7 million but that was an exceptional case due to the need to offer a big enough incentive to get someone to take the fight at such short notice. Of course Ruiz is not an opponent to get the juices flowing but he will be close to fighting condition having won recently. He has lost only once and for my money was very unlucky not to get at least a draw against Joseph Parker. No it is not a great fight but let’s not get hysterical it is no worse than Wilder vs. Dominic Breazeale and better than Fury against untested Tom Schwarz. I find it incredible that the WBA should have given Miller a derisory six month ban. He failed three test, lied about it until it was obvious that the evidence that he had cheated was confirmed and some even praised him for confessing. What else could he do? Lie again! The WBA ban is just posturing. They have no jurisdiction over Miller. All they can do is ban him from fighting for the WBA title. The New York Board withdrew his licence but cannot ban him and since there is no central authority governing boxing the USA in theory he could box next week if he could find a State to give him a licence. We could learn something from the German approach which has Felix Sturm in its sights. Even in Germany the wheels of justice sometimes grind slowly but it can be satisfying when they do get there in the end. Last month former middleweight and super middleweight champion Felix Sturm decided that it was safe for him to return to Germany having moved out of the country a few years back to avoid some growing legal problems. He was wrong. The authorities in Cologne quickly arrested Sturm to face tax evasion charges. Sturm appealed to a local court to be allowed bail and the court agreed. However a higher court overturned that ruling deciding that due to the amount of money involved in the charges Sturm was a flight risk and the bail application was denied. Then came the action that will interest boxing as new indictments have been raised under the German Anti-Doping in Sports Act relating to Sturm’s fight with Fedor Chudinov in 2016. The irony of that will strike Sam Soliman who beat Sturm for the IBF and WBA super middleweight titles in 2012 only to be denied the titles due to a positive test which after years of going through the courts finally proved Soliman was innocent. It is interesting that through this law in Germany it is a crime to use performance enhancing drugs in sport. In most countries it is a breach of the rules dealt with by the sporting organisation involved and is not a criminal offence. Under the German law brought into force in 2017 athletes who test positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs)or are found in possession of PEDs can face a prison term of up to three years. Those who provide them with the substances can face sentences of up to ten years. Whilst criminalising the use of performance enhancing drugs would be very strong deterrent I can’t see many countries following the lead of Germany and boxing’s approach will continue to be flawed, fractured and weak. It is hard to think of a single boxer who has been given a suspension of more than a year and there are plenty such as Luis Ortiz, Tony Yoka, Alex Povetkin and yes even Saul Alvarez of the tainted Mexican meat who have been allowed to slip though the net. Plenty to look forward to on May 11 with two return matches. In Tucson Miguel Berchelt defends his WBO super feather title in a return match against Francisco Vargas the man he won the title from in 2017 and Emanuel Navarette is offering Isaac Dogboe the chance to win back the WBO super bantamweight title he took from the Ghanaian in December. On the same night in Fairfax Jarrett Hurd puts the IBF and WBA titles on the line against Julian Williams It seems a case of one out-one in as far as Argentinian former world champions are concerned. Marcos Maidana has abandoned his plans for a return blaming parts of the contract for his return as opposed to any boxing reason for changing his mind. On the other hand Sergio Martinez is training with a view to a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in September or October. Now 44 “Maravilla” has not fought since losing to Miguel Cotta in June 2014. It is a pity he has taken that decision as in June this year he will have been inactive for five years which would have made him eligible to go on the list of candidates for the Boxing Hall of Fame Zab Judah continues his stuttering return with a contest against Cletus Seldin at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona on 7 June. Seldin is 23-1 so there is some risk in the venture for the 41-year-old former light welterweight and welterweight champion. So now the WBO have a Global title. When it comes to inventing another sanctioning fee it is a basic rule not to let commonsense get in the way. According to my dictionary global means “world-wide” so we have a world-wide title that is not a world title and to think they actually debated about what to name this new title! It angers me they way that the sanctioning bodies hand out a place in the rating to fighters who win their minor titles irrespective of the quality of the fighter they are or the stature of the opponent they beat for the title. Apart from skewing the whole principle behind ratings they then put themselves in the position of what to do if the fighter then relinquishes that minor title. The only reason he was rated has disappeared so does he do the same? Badou jack has scotched any rumours of retiring. The former holder of the WBC super middleweight and secondary WBA light heavyweight titles has said he intends to fight again once the horrific cut he suffered in his loss to Marcus Browne in January heals. A return with Browne is one aim but he has also hinted he might try fighting at cruiserweight to become a three-division. Any thief who is dumb enough to steal a motor bike from Roberto Duran’s son must be really dumb. Duran quickly went on social media asking for help and in response units of the National Police Force and the Public Ministry were quickly mobilised and the thief abandoned his prize realising he has kicked over a hornets’ nest and the bike was very quickly back with the Duran family. Never steal from a local hero. Our first month of Closest Classics all looked at relatively recent bouts, from the last 10 or so years, so today we'll roll the clock back to the late 1980's and talk about one of our all time favourite fighters, and a man who really did pay for his insane wars and style. In fact that man will have several entries in this series given how many incredible bouts he was in. Win or lose he was always worth watching and he was a staple of Japanese TV boxing in the last 80's and early 1990's, despite never fighting for a world title. The Fight: Naoto Takahashi (16-2, 11) Vs Noree Jockeygym (25-7-2, 12) I The man we were talking about in the opening paragraph was, of course, Naoto Takahashi. His nickname literally translated as "The Prince of the Reversal", or to put it another "The King of the Comeback" due to the way he seemed to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat. Whilst he did turn some dire situations into victories his career was an unfortunate one, that ended in 1991 with a bleed on the brain, he was only 23 at the time. His style really didn't give him any chance of having a long career, but he was able to provide so many stand out fights that will always live on in the memory of Japanese fight fans. At the time of this fight Takahashi was a battle tested 21 year old. His opponent was Thailand's Noree Jockeygym, or Visan Thummong, and he was an 18 year old fighting in his 35th professional bout. This was his 4th bout of 1989, and came less than 3 months after a KO loss in South Korea to former world champion Seung Hoon Lee. Although not a world beater he was a talented young Thai, with a lot of potential, who had won the Thai Super Bantamweight title in 1988, as a 17 year old. He had debuted at the age of 14, had lost to future world champion Daorung Chuwatana as a 15 year old, avenged that loss just 3 months later, and would later challenge for a world title in 1991. This bout was scheduled for 10 rounds, looked excellent on paper and proved to be something amazing in the ring! The Thai showed no fear at all of the Japanese fighter and the opening round saw both looking to figure out what the other hand in their arsenal. It was technical stuff, but it was high tempo, technical work. Not a brawl, but not all action either as they boxed typically at mid range. It wasn't the most amazing round that you'll see, but things got a lot better, very quickly with the pace skipping a gear in round 2 going from 2nd to 4th gear. It was still technical, for the most part, but was becoming more action packed, and from then on things turned violent. We won't ruin any more of the fight but this bout went on to show why Takahashi's career was so short. Interestingly the two would rematch at the Tokyo dome in 1990, as part of the Mike Tyson Vs James "Buster" Douglas match. By then it was clear Takahashi was a shell of the fight he had once been, he would fight only twice more, suffering the career ending brain bleed in 1991. Noree would manage to fight right through to 2000. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Juan Francisco Estrada scores revenge win over Srisaket to become the WBC super flyweight champion -Daniel Roman gets majority verdict over JT Doheny to unify the WBA and IBF super bantamweight titles -Regis Prograis and Nonito Donaire progress to the finals of the WBSS tournament with inside the distance victories over Kiryl Relikh and late substitute Stephon Young -Robert Easter vs. Rances Barthelemy ends in a draw leaving the secondary WBA and IBO lightweight titles vacant -Jessie Vargas comes from behind to halt Humberto Soto - Lerrone Richards decisions Tommy Langford and wins the vacant Commonwealth super middleweight title -Alessandro Riguccini (23-0) and Fabio Turchi (17-0 score wins -Anthony Sims, Daniel Dubois, Sunny Edwards and heavyweight Efe Ajagba all progress with victories. WORLD TITLE SHOWS April 26 Inglewood, CA, USA: Super Fly: Juan Francisco Estrada (39-3) W PTS 12 Srisaket (47-5-1). Super bantam: Daniel Roman (27-2-1) W PTS 12 TJ Doheny (21-1). Super Welter: Jesse Vargas (29-2-2) W KO 6 Humberto Soto (69-10-2,1ND). Super Middle: Anthony Sims (19-0) W PTS 10 Vaughan Alexander (14-3). Super Light: Shakhram Giyasov (8-0) W PTS 10 Emanuel Taylor (20-6). Super bantam: Alberto Melian (5-0) W PTS 10 Isaac Zarate (16-5-3). Super Bantam: Ronny Rios (30-3) W RTD 5 Daniel Olea (13-8-2). Feather: Murodjon Akhmadaliev (6-0) W KO 3 Carlos Carlson (23-5). Srisaket vs., Estrada In a hard fought title fight Estrada outboxes champion Srisaket on a unanimous decision to get revenge for a majority points loss against Srisaket in February last year. Round 1 Very good first round from Estrada. He was quicker to the punch coming in behind his jab connecting with a couple of hooks and then backing out of range before Srisaket could counter. Before the bell Estrada was standing in the pocked and landing some sharp hooks. Score: 10-9 Round 2 This was a much closer round. Estrada was boxing cleverly with plenty of movement and a strong jab. Srisaket was meeting him on the way in with a stiff jab and scoring with some rights and just took the round, Score: 10-9 Srisaket Tied 19-19 Round 3 Another close round. Srisaket was relying heavily on straight rights and Estrada on the accuracy of his jab. Both landed some sharp shots but again Srisaket just had the edge. Score: 10-9 Srisaket Srisaket 29-28 Round 4 Brilliant round from Estrada. He was buzzing around Srisaket stabbing home jabs and moving too quickly for Srisaket to counter. As the round progress Estrada was putting together some flashing combinations to head and body. Srisaket tried switching to southpaw but it did not help. Score: 10-9 Estrada Tied 38-38 Round 5 Another round for Estrada. His footwork and hand speed were giving him a big edge with his jab the dominating punch. He was slotting jabs through Srisaket’s guard then putting together bundles of punches with Srisaket a static target. Score: 10-9 Estrada Estrada 48-47 Round 6 Srisaket had some success with left hooks to the body at the start of the round but Estrada was soon back in the groove. He was popping Srisaket with jabs then stepping in with hooks and out again. He even threw in an Ali shuffle as his confidence grew on the back of his classy boxing. Score: 10-9 Estrada Estrada 58-56 Round 7 It was embarrassingly easy for Estrada. He was too quick for Srisaket who was either on the beck foot trying to get away from Estrada’s jab or lunging forward too slowly to connect. Estrada just kept moving and punching finding gaps for left hooks and straight rights. Score: 10-9 Estrada Estrada 68-65 Round 8 Srisaket had no answer to the hand speed and movement of Estrada. The challenger was banging home hard jabs and straight rights and even taunting Srisaket. As the round closed Estrada was now staying in close and forcing Srisaket back with hooks. Srisaket again switched to southpaw. A clear sign of desperation. Score: Score 10-9 Estrada Estrada 78-74 Round 9 Srisaket’s title was slipping away. Estrada was in total control easily evading Srisaket's rushes and stabbing home jabs and twice rocked Srisaket with quick rights. Srisaket was not throwing enough or pressing enough but there was some sign of Estrada slowing. Score: 10-9 Estrada Estrada 88-83 Round 10 Finally a round for Srisaket. Estrada had come down of his toes and was standing in front of Srisaket and trading. Srisaket had changed to southpaw and was connecting with strong straight lefts. Estrada was still more accurate but not throwing as many punches as he had been in the last six rounds. Score: 10-9 Srisaket Estrada 97-93 Round 11 A low punch from Srisaket had Estrada turning away in pain. He was given a few seconds to recover and Srisaket was given a warning. When the action resumed Estrada was standing and exchanging with Srisaket and a heavy left staggered him. They continued to trade punches with Srisaket connecting well with straight lefts to take the round. Score: 10-9 Srisaket Estrada106-103 Round 12 Estrada had more left in the tank and was again too quick and accurate for Srisaket who was swinging in hope knowing he needed a knockout. Just before the bell Estrada cemented his victory as he connected with series of head punches that had Srisaket on the back foot. Score: 10-9 Estrada Estrada 116-112 Official Scores: Judge 115-113 Estrada, Judge 115-113 Estrada, Judge 116-112 Estrada Outstanding skilful display by Estrada, 29, as he becomes a two division champion. Roman Gonzalez was No 2 behind Estrada in the WBC ratings and he might want to fight Gonzalez. Estrada has reversed two of the three losses he has suffered so a return with Gonzalez would give him the chance to wipe the slate clean. Srisaket will want a return and the scores were close enough for him to deserve one. The loss breaks a 20 bout winning run for Srisaket and his strong finish shows at 32 he is still a force in this division. Roman vs. Doheny Roman unifies the WBA and IBF titles with a strong finish that results in a majority points victory over Doheny in an outstanding title fight. Round 1 After a cautious start with Doheny circling and Roman shadowing Roman began to come forward with more purpose looking to get inside but southpaw Doheny countered with straight lefts and took the round. Score: 10-9 Doheny Round 2 Doheny was quicker and more mobile and again was connecting with counters. Roman was pressing harder in this round, Late in the round he moved in quickly and landed a left hook to the head that sent Doheny back into the ropes and although he did not go down he put his left glove on the floor to steady himself and was given a count. When the action resumed he boxed his way to the bell without difficulty. Score: 10-8 Roman Roman 19-18 Round 3 Good skilful work from Doheny in this round. He was on the back foot getting his punches off first and finding the target with his countering lefts. Roman was not quick enough to cut off the ring and always a pace behind. Score: 10-9 Doheny Tied 28-28 Round 4 The pace changed in this one as Doheny decided to stand and exchange punches. Roman got the better of the trading over the first minute but then Doheny drove forward scoring with hooks from both hands and did enough to take the round Score: 10-9 Doheny Doheny 38-37 Official Scores: Judge Edward Hernandez 38-37 Doheny, Judge Max DeLuca 38-37 Roman, Judge Zachary Young 38-37 Doheny Round 5 A close round. Roman was able to cut down the ring more often and connect with some of his combinations. Still plenty of movement and quick hands from Doheny but his left counters were not getting through. Score: 10-9 Roman Tied 47-47 Round 6 Roman’s round. He was closing the distance with quick steps and pinning Doheny on the ropes and firing hooks. Doheny was still boxing well and countering but Roman was landing the harder punches. Score: 10-9 Roman Roman 57-56 Round 7 A big round for Doheny. He began to connect with straight lefts and hooks and was driving Roman back. Roman was in trouble and unsteady. He was twisting and turning trying to avoid the punches and he stumbled forward and down. The referee ruled it was a slip not caused by any specific punch and did not apply a count. Roman was rocked a few more times. He then began to punch back and they traded punch after punch with Roman being rocked by another left but firing back enough in a great action round to prevent it being a 10-8 round without the knockdown. Score: 10-9 Doheny Tied 66-66 Round 8 A close round and a less dramatic one. Doheny did not throw very many lefts and Roman did not cut the ring downs so well. They both had some success with Roman ending the round scoring with rights to the body and long lefts. Score: 10-9 Roman Roman 76-75 Official Scores: Hernandez 77-74 Doheny, DeLuca 77-75 Roman, Young 77-74 Roman Round 9 Plenty of action in the ninth. Roman was starting to dominate the action with stiff jabs and hooks to the body. Doheny was not moving as much or throwing as much. When he did attack hard with rights Roman showed good defensive moves to dodge the shots and came back with punches of his own hurting Doheny with a left to the body. Score: 10-9 Roman Roiman 86-84 Round 10 Doheny was tiring. Now Roman was able to hunt him down trap him on the ropes and work inside. He was marching forward throughout the round with very few counters coming from Doheny and Roman scoring at range and in close. Score: 10-9 Roman Roman 96-93 Round 11 Hugely important round for Roman. Doheny tried to stay in the centre of the ring and connect with his straight lefts. Roman drove him back with a strong attack then ducked under Doheny’s jab and came up inside with a perfectly delivered left hook to the body that had Doheny turning away and going down on one knee. He was up at six and when the action resumed Roman tried to finish it hurting Doheny with another body punch but Doheny made it to the bell. Score: 10-8 Roman Roman 106-101 Round 12 No mad last round flings. Doheny was moving well again staying off the ropes and slotting home straight lefts. Roman did not press as hard and it was Doheny landing punches at the bell. Score 10-9 Doheny Roman 115-110 Official Scores: Hernandez 113-113 tied, DeLuca 116-110 Roman, Young 116-110 Roman. Roman continues to improve. He was making the fourth defence of the WBA title and registers his nineteenth win in a row. A further unification fight with WBC champion Rey Vargas or WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete would be an attraction but the WBA or IBF may move to force a fight with their No 1 challengers. A strong competitive performance from Doheny until he tired late in the fight but he will be back in contention soon and will fight for a title again. Vargas vs. Soto Vargas gets stoppage win over veteran Soto but is made to fight hard and looked to be behind before the stoppage. Soto hassled Vargas out of his comfort zone in the first launching a series of two-handed attacks. Heads clashed but neither fighter was cut. A low left from Vargas saw Soto drop to the floor in pain but he was able to resume fighting after a few seconds recovery time. Vargas worked hard with his jab in the second but could not keep Soto out and in a clash of heads Vargas was cut on his left eyelid. Over the remainder of the round and in the third, fourth and fifth Soto was getting inside to connect with left hooks and rights to the head. Vargas just could not settle into the fight and Soto had him under heavy pressure at the end of the fifth. At this point the concern for Vargas had to be that if the cut worsened and the fight was stopped and went to the cards he was facing defeat. Early in the sixth Vargas landed a long straight right that sent Soto back and down. He rolled over and was up quickly after the eight count but Vargas drove him to the ropes and bombarded him with punches until Soto stopped trying to fire back and the referee stopped the fight. Former champion Vargas needed a win after draws against Adrien Broner and Thomas Dulorme but made heavy work of it here. He is rated WBA 2/WBC 2/WBO 3 so he should shot land another title shot either later this year or early next but he will have to improve on this showing. Soto, 38, was coming off an upset victory over Brandon Rios in February and showed he has plenty of fight left in him. Sims vs. Alexander “The magician” Sims wins by unanimous decision over Alexander but in a flat performance. Sims had the better skill set and was at his best when he boxed on the outside against the more aggressive Alexander. He used a strong jab to keep Alexander out and connected with some sharp counters. Over the late round he was forced to stand and exchange punches but the fight never really caught alight as Sims seemed to settle for a points win and Alexander was not throwing enough punches to really threaten. As the action cooled there were boos coming from a dissatisfied crowd as Sims eased his way to victory. Scores 98-92 twice and 96-94 all for Sims. After a points win in his first pro fight Sims then won his next 17 by KO/TKO. Despite his lack of experience Alexander was the first real test for the 24-year-old Sims. Alexander, 33, is the elder brother of former superlight and welterweight champion Devon. He returned to the ring in 2016 after serving an eleven year prison sentence. Giyasov vs. Taylor Brooklyn-based Uzbek Giyasov celebrates signing a contract with Matchroom with a win over experienced Taylor. Giyasov only just evaded an upset after being nailed by a left hook from Taylor in the first round. He regrouped and outworked Taylor rocking him with rights to the head. Giaysov set a fast pace and that told on Taylor over the late rounds but Taylor was always competitive and Giyasov had to work in a fight that proved his toughest so far. Scores 99-91 twice and 97-93 but Taylor made it look a lot closer than that. Giyasov, 25, won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics and took gold medals at the 2017 World Championships the Asian Championships and the World Universities Championships. “Tranzformer” Taylor 28 has been beaten in big fights by Chris Algieri, Adrien Broner, Antonio Orozco and in May 2017 Lucas Matthysse which was his last fight before this one. Melian vs. Zarate Argentinian Melian gets a win but has to climb off the floor twice to take the decision. The former top amateur floored Zarate in the third but then had to survive knockdowns in the seventh and tenth rounds to claim victory. Scores 95-92 twice and 94-93 for Melian. He was defending the WBA/NABA title. In the amateurs he represented Argentina at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics as well as three World Championships and was a member of the Argentinian Condors team in the World Series of Boxing. Californian southpaw Zarate had registered a good win in outpointing Horacio Garcia but was stopped in nine rounds by unbeaten Murodjon Akhmadaliev in November. He has only two wins by KO/TKO so his putting Melian down twice must put a question over the Argentinian. Rios vs. Olea Rios gets back into the winning column with victory over former Mexican Olea. Rios was looking to end this early. He forced the pace with a focused body attack which had Olea in survival mode. Olea took the punishment for five rounds but then retired in his corner. Rios lost on points to Rey Vargas for the WBC super bantamweight title in 2017. He had his rebuilding plan sabotaged by a sixth round stoppage against Azat Hovhannisyan in March last year. Fourth loss in a row for Olea. Akhmadaliev vs. Carlson As with fellow-Uzbek Giyasov Akhmadaliev is another Olympian making his way as a pro and he impressed as he floored Carson heavily in the fifth with the referee not even bothering to count. The 24-year-old Akhmadaliev stopped Isaac Zarate in nine round in his last fight in November. Akhmadaliev won silver medals at the World and Asian Championships, losing to Michael Conlan in the World, and was a bronze medallist in Rio. Carlson put together a 22 bout winning streak before losing to Shinsuke Yamanaka for the WBC bantam title in 2017 but is a poor 1-4 since then. April 27 Lafayette, LA, USA: Super Light: Regis Prograis (24-0) W TKO 6 Kiryl Relikh (23-3). Bantam: Nonito Donaire (40-5) W KO 6 Stephon Young (18-2-3). Prograis vs. Relikh Prograis wins the WBA title and moves on to the final of the WBSS tournament with stoppage of a game Relikh who is pulled out of the fight by his corner during the sixth round. Round 1 Relikh was coming forward taking the fight to Prograis. Relikh had some success with long rights whilst Prograis was just moving and watching for an opening. Relikh suddenly decided to switch to southpaw. He threw a right which landed on the head of Prograis just a split second before a left from Prograis thudded into Relikh’s body. He stopped then turned away from Prograis and started walking towards the ropes. It took a second for Prograis to realise that Relikh was in trouble then he rushed after Relikh and landed a strong left to the head and Relikh dropped to one knee. He was up at seven and the bell rang before Prograis could land another punch. Score: 10-8 Prograis Round 2 Relikh looked to have recovered and was coming forward behind his jab and trying right crosses. The round was fairly even until Prograis landed a left that staggered Relikh. Prograis then almost ran forward throwing punches with Relikh on the retreat. Prograis landed another heavy left but Relikh fired back with his last punch landing flush on the head of Prograis but just a split second after the bell. After he returned to his corner the referee warned him about the punch. Relikh was now showing a bad cut on the bridge of his (perhaps broken) nose. Score: 10-9 Prograis Prograis 20-17 Round 3 Relikh worked solidly in this one. He kept firing his jab and letting his rights go. He was catching Prograis with those rights. Prograis looked dangerous every time he threw his left but was tending to fight in bursts and apart from one left to the body he did not really land anything of consequence. Score: 10-9 Relikh Prograis 29-27 Round 4 A quieter round. Relikh was still advancing behind his jab and firing rights but Prograis was showing some classy upper body movement to dodge the punches and countering with lefts and it was his round. Score: 10-9 Prograis Prograis 39-36 Official scores: Round 5 Prograis was staying on the back foot with Relikh trying to track him down. Prograis was quick and clever and was spearing Relikh with right jabs and started the blood trickling again from Relikh’s cut on his nose which was enough to win the round. Score: 10-9 Prograis Prograis 49-45 Round 6 Having been mostly boxing on the back foot Prograis changed in this round walking forward and landing a series of body punches. Relikh’s cut was bleeding heavily and he was being caught with some hard head punches Relikh was bobbing and weaving but getting caught and his corner called for the fight to be stopped and it was. Another mesmerising performance from Prograis who has a style all of his own. His hand speed, movement and power must make him the favourite but whoever wins in the Josh Taylor vs. Ivan Baranchyk match on 8 May will give him a tough fight. Relikh was hampered by the nose injury early but he kept taking the fight to Prograis. He just did not have the tools in his box to beat a fighter such as Prograis. Donaire vs. Young When Donaire lost in title fights to Jessie Magdaleno and Carl Frampton it seemed as though his career was winding down but now it is in full throttle as he qualifies for the final of the WBSS bantamweight tournament with a stunning one punch kayo of substitute Young in a WBA bantamweight title defence. Round 1 In a cautious first round Donaire was shadowing a retreating Young who had some success with straight lefts. Donaire did his scoring late in the round with his jab and right hooks but there was not a lot of action with Donaire just doing enough. Score: 10-9 Donaire Round 2 Better second round from southpaw Young. He continued to circle the ring popping Donaire with jabs and firing straight lefts. Donaire was waiting too long to get his punches off and finding the ever moving Young a difficult target. Score: 10-9 Young Tied 19-19 Round 3 A good round for Donaire. He was letting his hands go getting close and catching Young with jabs. Young was still moving but the pressure from Donaire saw him on the defensive. Donaire connect with two jabs and then shook Young badly with a right late in the round and Young looked in trouble as Donaire raked him with punches. Score: 10-9 Donaire Donaire 29-28 Round 4 They say knowledge is power well now Donaire knew he could hurt Young and Young knew he could get hurt. As a result Donaire was pressing hard for the whole three minute connecting with jabs and left hooks. Young was still moving but too often he was just trying to hide behind a high guard as Donaire rocked him again with a right. Score: 10-9 Donaire Donaire 39-37 Official scores: Judge Bruce McDaniel 39-37, Judge Jose Roberto Torres 39-37 and Judge Laurence Cole 39-37 all for Donaire. Round 5 Young seemed to get a little of his confidence back in this round. He was scoring with some gook counters but gradually Donaire again took control and was chipping away at Young with hooks from both hands and connecting with jabs and straight rights. Score: 10-9 Donaire Donaire 49-46 Round 6 Young again scored with some counters early but Donaire was hunting him down and Young stopped punching and was just looking to stay out of trouble. No way. A huge explosive left hook from Donaire put him down flat on his back and the referee immediately stopped the fight. After 18 years as a pro Donaire showed that quality is timeless. The finishing punch in this fight is a candidate for Punch of the Year. He got a lucky break when Ryan Burnett was forced to retire in their fight with a back injury but there was no luck involved here. Already a four-division champion he won titles from flyweight up to featherweight and now has gone back down collecting titles at super bantamweight and bantam. An amazing career. Young came in at very short notice after Zolani Tete had to withdraw due to injury but was said to be preparing for another fight so in good condition. He showed some good skills but quickly faded when he felt the little Filipino’s power. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Light: Robert Easter (21-1-1) DRE W 12 Rances Barthelemy (27-1-1,1ND). Super Light: Viktor Postol (31-2) W PTS 10 Mohamed Mimoune (21-3). Welter: Terrell Williams (18-0) W PTS 10 Justin DeLoach (18-4).Heavy: Efe Ajagba (10-0) W TKO 2 Michael Wallisch (19-2). Feather: Ranfis Encarnacion (16-0) W KO 2 Jose Bustos (14-10-3). Easter vs. Barthelemy The secondary WBA and the IBO lightweight titles remain vacant after Easter and Barthelemy finish ell even after a poor fight totally devoid of highlights. Round 1 A posing round as neither fighter threw many punches and neither committed himself with the punches he did show. Easter was the only one who did land a punch so largely took the round by default Score: 10-9 Easter Round 2 Barthelemy scored with a couple of lefts to the body early but then never landed another punch but circled the perimeter of the ring. Easter was not cutting the ring off but he landed a couple of jabs and a couple of rights. Score: 10-9 Easter Easter 20-18 Round 3 Barthelemy switched to southpaw in this round but if you don’t throw punches your stance become immaterial. What scoring there was came in jabs and a couple of rights from Easter Score: 10-9 Easter Easter 30-27 Round 4 Another nothing round. Easter landed a few jabs and a right Barthelemy was coming up short with his punches. I swear I could hear the CompuBox guys snoring. Score: 10-9 Easter Easter 40-36 Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 40-36 Easter, Judge Eric Cheek 39-37 Easter, Judge Glenn Trowbridge 39-37 Easter Round 5 Barthelemy changed his tactics here and started going forward and throwing punches. He connected with lefts to the body one of which was the best punch so far. Easter was on the back foot and connected with one hard right but was caught by a left counter from Barthelemy Score: 10-09 Barthelemy Easter 49-46 Round 6 Another round for Barthelemy largely again by default. He was staying centre ring and lunging forward with lefts to the body Easter was holding back on his punches with the exception of one good straight left. Barthelemy was showboating for much of the time but did enough to win this one Score: 10-9 Barthelemy Easter 58-56 Round 7 There were so few punches thrown with evil intent in this one that it was difficult to believe it was the seventh round as both fighters were as cautious as if it were a cagey opener. Not much in the round but again Barthelemy landed just a bit more with his best punch a left to the body. Score: 10-9 Barthelemy Easter 67-66 Round 8 Easter had been suffering from punch constipation over the last three rounds but he did much better at the start of this one. He forced Barthelemy to the ropes and fired hooks and uppercut in the first sustained attack by either boxer. He connected with a left to the body and a right to the head. Unfortunately he then went on the retreat again and Barthelemy landed another good body punch something he was not doing enough of and it was Easter’s round. Score 10-9 Easter Easter 77-75 Official Scores: Cheatham 77-75 Easter, Cheek 76-76 and Trowbridge 76-76 Round 9 Easter’s round. Again there was too much probing and not enough punching. The best shots were two rights to the head from Easter. Barthelemy kept threatening to do something but never did. Score: 10-9 Easter Easter 87-84 Round 10 Another round devoid of any real action. Easter was just popping his jab out and coming up short. Barthelemy was looking to counter but not enough punches were coming his way for that to be effective but he did manage to score with a couple of punches. Score: 10-9 Barthelemy Easter 96-94 Round 11 A bit more action in this one. Instead of just jabbing Easter was moving in behind the jab and scoring with rights to the head. Barthelemy had some success with counters later in the round but the early burst from Easter gave him the round. Score: 10-9 Easter Easter 106-103 Round 12 The fight went out with a whimper instead of a bang. Even now neither fighter was willing to commit himself to attack. Easter was the one coming forward but ineffectively and left counters from Barthelemy gave him the round. Score 10-9 Barthelemy Easter 115-113 Official Scores: Judge Cheatham 115-113 Easter, Judge Cheek 115-113 Barthelemy, Judge Trowbridge 114-114 Neither fighter deserved to win as neither fighter exhibited the commitment you expect in a world title fight. Their styles never gelled and neither fighter took even the slightest risk to try to lift the title. The CompuBox statistics show that there was not a single round in which either fighter landed ten punches which sums this one up. They will both be pushing for a return and with the split draw they have a case but just who will want to pay to see it is harder to figure out and neither would be an attraction against the real WBA champion Vasyl Lomachenko. Postol vs. Mimoune Postol ends a ten-bout unbeaten run by Mimoune as he wins a clear unanimous decision. Knowing the styles of these two fighters I did not expect an exciting contests and that’s how it turned out. Over the early rounds both were waiving their jabs in the air looking more to mesmerise than punch. Postol made the fight by constantly shadowing Mimoune around the ring but when they did trade punches it tended to be brief flurries of slaps. There was some quality work from both in the third and Postol found the range in the fourth with Mimoune connecting with a quality left hook in the fifth and Postol landing straight lefts in the sixth and seventh and generally outworking Mimoune in all of the rounds. Postol had a productive eighth as he opened a cut on Mimoune’s right eyelid with a punch and later in the round forced home a series of hooks. Postol controlled the action from distance in the ninth and tenth. Mimoune needed to get inside and throw more punches but he did neither. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 all for Postol. The 35-year-old Ukrainian had only one bout in 2016, losing his WBC title to Terrence Crawford in a unification fight for the WBC and WBO titles, and one fight in 2017. He lost in June 2018 to Josh Taylor but with Mimoune No 3 in the WBC ratings and Postol No 4 he has put himself back in the title picture with this win. Mimoune was a disappointment as he had won the EU and European titles against some good level European opposition and collected the IBO title by outpointing 22-0 Argentinian Emiliano Dominguez. He has a rebuilding job to do and perhaps not an easy one. Williams vs. DeLoach Both fighters needed a win here for different reasons. Williams in a drive to get into the world ratings before time passes him by and De Loach to rebound after losses to fellow prospects Nathaniel Gallimore and Jeison Rosario. It was close all the way and the result could have gone to either man but in the end it was Williams who stayed on track with a split decision. Scores 96-94 twice for Williams and 96-94 for De Loach. Thirty-five -year-old Williams is trying to put the memory of his 2015 fight with Prichard Colon behind him. Colon collapsed after the fight with rabbit punches from Williams being blamed by some for injuries to Colon. Williams did not fight again for two years and had only one fight last year but is hoping to be more active from now on. DeLoach may need to take a step back as the Gallimore and Raison fights were tough with DeLoach on the floor twice in each fight. At 25 he has time to replan his way ahead. Ajagba vs. Wallisch Wallisch outclassed and beaten inside two rounds by Nigerian prospect Ajagba who exposed the flaws in the Germany’s leaky defence. Ajagba was finding lots of gaps in Wallisch high guard. He was threading jabs through and then straight rights before switching and jabbing to the body. Wallisch was getting close with a rushing attack but not really landing anything when he got there. It was too easy for Ajagba in the second. He banged home a series of jabs and straight rights until Wallisch dropped to his knees. With the German on his knees Ajagba clipped him with a right. The referee called a time out and when Wallisch indicated he was ready the referee waived for the fight to continue. Wallisch walked forward throwing hooks but jabs from Ajagba had him backing up and Ajagba had Wallisch on the ropes and taking punishment when the referee had seen enough and stopped the action. The 25-year-old 6’5” Ajagba has taken less than 16 rounds for his ten wins including a victory over Amir Mansour. He holds the record the fastest ever win in a pro fight when his opponent angered by a pay dispute stepped out of the ring immediately the bell was rung for the first round so a one second victory. Ajagba won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games beating current unbeaten pro Junior Fa in a preliminary bout. He took gold medals at the African Games and the African Olympic Games Qualifier but lost to Ivan Dychko in Rio. Wallisch, 33, had been steered away from any threatening contests until he was knocked out in five round by Christian Hammer in his last fight in December. Encarnacion vs. Bustos Dominican Encarnacion moves to eleven wins by KO/TKO as he floors Bustos twice in the second for the knockout. No testing fights yet for the 24-year-old former Dominican Youth champion. Now five losses by KO/TKO for Mexican Bustos. April 25 Indio, CA, USA: Super Light: Yves Ulysse (18-1) W PTS 10 Steve Claggett (27-6-2). Bantam: Joshua Franco (16-1-1) W PTS 10 Oscar Negrete (18-2-1). Welter: Alexis Rocha (13-0) W PTS 10 Shoki Sakai (23-10-2). Welter: Mike Reed (24-2) W TKO 2 Yardley Armenta Cruz (25-14,1ND). Ulysse vs. Claggett When these two clashed in October 2017 Claggett took the split decision and Ulysse’s unbeaten tag so Ulysse was looking for revenge in this all-Canadian clash. Claggett made a very strong start. Over the first two rounds he had Ulysse on the retreat with a powerful jab and plenty of pressure. In the third Ulysse stopped going back and stood and exchanged punches getter the better of the trading by staying inside to negate Claggett’s jab and scoring with hooks and uppercuts. Claggett had his jab working again in the fourth and had built a lead but Ulysse upped the pace in the fifth and sixth throwing more and landing more with Claggett’s jab no longer effective. Claggett slowed over the seventh and eighth but then rallied and staged a strong finish but it was just not enough to make up for his mid-fight slump. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 for Ulysse. Three good wins have seen the 30-year-old Ulysse get into the rankings at WBC 6/WBO/IBF 8(7). He wins the vacant WBA Gold belt. After beating Ulysse Claggett lost on points against Danny O’Connor and in January this year boxed a draw with unbeaten Mathieu Germain so he has been taking tough assignments. Negrete vs. Franco Franco goes one step better than when these two drew in October as he takes split decision. Negrete was quicker to the punch and had more variety in his work over the first two rounds walking past Franco’s jab and landing overhand rights. Franco settled a bit more in the third countering the forward marching Negrete. Over the fourth and fifth Negrete outworked Franco with storming attacks throwing hooks from both hands. Franco changed tactics in the seventh and eighth taking the fight to Negrete upping his punch output and putting Negrete under pressure. They traded on equal terms over the ninth and tenth and for me Negrete had just done enough to take a very close decision but the split verdict went to Franco. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Franco and 98-92 for Negrete. The 23-year Texan “Professor” collects the NABF title held by Negrete and wins the vacant WBA International title. Former Colombian amateur champion Negrete, 31, lost to Rey Vargas for the WBC super bantam title in December 2017. Rocha vs. Sakai Southpaw Rocha keeps his 100% record with unanimous verdict over Sakai. Rocha was generally on the front foot connecting with strong right jabs and following with straight lefts and hooks to the body. Sakai fought in bursts looking to counter. He had enough success to be competitive when he took the fight to Rocha but was just too slow with his counters and Rocha outpunched Sakai inside. Scores 97-93 twice and 99-91 all for Rocha. The 21-year-old from Santa Ana, the brother of Ronny Rios, was a successful fighter at Youth level winning gold at the Ringside World Tournament and competing at the World Junior championships. Mexican-based Japanese fighter Sakai falls to 2-5-2 in his last 9 fights. Reed vs. Cruz In his first bout for thirteen months Reed starts his climb back with stoppage of Cruz. Reed took control of the fight in the opener. He was forcing Cruz to back up and banging straight southpaw lefts through Cruz’s guard. In the second Reed worked Cruz over against the ropes landing to head and body and knocked out Cruz’s mouthguard. Reed continued to drive Cruz around the ring in the second scoring with straight lefts, hooks and uppercuts and the referee stepped in and halted the fight. After 23 wins on the spin Reed stumbled badly with consecutive losses in big fights against Jose Carlos Ramirez and Antonio Barboza. He looked sharp here. Eleven of Cruz’s losses have come by way of KO/TKO. Brescia, Italy: Super Bantam: Luca Rigoldi (20-1-1) W PTS 12 Anthony Settoul (24-8). Light: Domenico Valentino (7-0) W PTS 6 German Lara (12-8-2). Rigoldi vs. Settoul Rigoldi much too good for challenger Settoul in a voluntary defence of his European title. The Italian southpaw bossed the action all the way. He was scoring well to head and body with Settoul willing but not having the power or skill to inconvenience Rigoldi. Settoul spent much of the fight defending with his back to the ropes but always managed to fight back hard enough to never really be in any danger of the referee having to save him. Scores 120-108 twice and 119-109 for 26-year-old Rigoldi. The former European Union champion has reversed his only loss and has now won eleven in a row. Frenchman Settoul, 32, also a former European Union champion, is now 5-6 in his last 11 fights but there are losses there in fights against Ryan Burnett and Nonito Donaire as well as Abigail Medina who fought for the interim WBA title in November. An encouraging sign is the Italian state TV put this one out live. The first time they have screened live pro boxing in almost two years. Valentino vs. Lara Just a stroll in the park for the talented Valentino. The Italian champion was in a different class to Nicaraguan southpaw Lara who constantly resorted to holding. Valentino seemed content to let Lara stay around and only really upped the pace very late as he won every round. At 34 and with a great amateur record behind him he will need to take some chances if he is even to fight for the EU title let alone the European title. He competed at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics but did not qualify for Rio. He took bronze medals at the 2005 and 2011 World Championships silver at the 2007 World Championships losing to Frankie Garvin in the final but lifted gold in 2009 with a victory over Jose Pedraza. What a pity he did not turn pro earlier. Lara was having only his second fight since July 2016. Glasgow, Scotland: Bantam: Ukashir Farooq (12-0) W TKO 5 Kyle Williams (10-1). Farooq retains the British title with stoppage of English champion Williams. In a lively fast-paced opener Farooq was scoring with some scorching left hooks to the body and showing some clever upper body movement to dodge punches from Williams was under heavy pressure fired back fiercely. Williams took the fight to Farooq at the start of the second but over the last minute Farooq was connecting with hooks and uppercuts and floored Williams with a series of punches just before the bell. Williams was up at six with the bell going when the eight count was completed. Williams fought hard over the third and fourth and tried switching to southpaw. Williams was having to soak up hooks as Farooq worked inside. In the fifth a very low left hook saw the fight stopped and Williams given some recovery time. He then tried to trade with Farooq but a right to the side of the head dropped him face down on the floor. He staggered up but the referee waived the fight off and Williams toppled over again. Second defence of the British title for 23-year-old “Untouchable” Farooq. One more defence and he gets to keep the Lonsdale Belt the most stylish and prestigious belt in boxing. Born in Pakistan Farooq moved to Scotland when just six and is former Scottish and British Youth champion and a very good prospect. He has won 5 of his lat 6 fights by KO/TKO and is now looking to face unbeaten fellow-Scot Lee McGregor who is Commonwealth champion. Williams gave it a real go here but was outgunned. Dallas, TX, USA: Luis Hernandez (17-0) W TKO 7 Diego Sanchez (18-0). Hernandez just too god for prelim fighter Sanchez in this clash of unbeaten young Mexicans. Hernandez was able to use his edges in height and reach to boss the battle on the inside and his superior strength to bully teenager Sanchez inside and on the ropes. Sanchez fought hard but eventually the body work from Hernandez weakened him. In the seventh Hernandez bombarded Sanchez with punches forcing him to the canvas. Sanchez beat the count but was being rocked again and the fight was halted. The 22-year-old “Matador” now has 15 wins by KO/TKO and it will be interesting to see how he fares as he moves up. Sanchez, 19, turned pro at 16 and had 15 wins by KO/TKO but had only competed at prelim level. He had won his last 6 fights by KO/TKO but the six victims had combined records of 13-93. April 26 Florence, Italy: Welter: Alessandro Riguccini (23-0) W TKO 1 Ivan Alvarez (28-10-1).Cruiser: Fabio Turchi (17-0) W KO 1Sami Enbom (18-3). Super Welter: Orlando Fiordigiglio (31-2) W PTS 10 Stephen Danyo (15-2-3). Middle: Emanuel Blandamura (29-3) W PTS 6 Nikola Matic (16-41). Super Feather: Devis Boschiero (47-6-2) W PTS 6 Yesner Talavera (15-6-1,2ND). Fly: Mohammed Obbadi (19-1) W KO 1 Jerson Larios (7-5). Middle: Matteo Signani (28-5-3) W PTS 6 Frane Radnic (11-13). Riguccini vs. Alvarez Riguccini returns home to Italy and to the city of his birth Florence and blitzes Mexican Alvarez in the first round. Alvarez made a positive enough start standing and exchanging punches with Riguccini until some body punches had him retreating to the ropes. Riguccini trapped him there and unloaded punch after punch until Alvarez slumped to his knees after just 40 seconds. He was up at seven but Riguccini jumped on him and pounded away until Alvarez when down on one knee to escape the storm. Alvarez made it to his feet at eight put was driven to the ropes by body punches and went down again and the fight was waived off after just 100 seconds. The 31-year-old local was making the first defence of the interim WBC Silver title and has 19 wins by KO/TKO. Before turning to boxing Riguccini, a computer engineering graduate, and a world champion in MMA. After three fights in Italy in 2012 he moved to Mexico where he now stays and is trained by Jorge Barrera the brother of Marco Antonio Barrera. Experienced Mexican Alvarez suffers his fourth loss by KO/TKO. Last year he fought a draw with unbeaten Canadian Kane Heron but he was blown away here. Turchi vs. Enbom Riguccini’s win was quick but nowhere near as quick as that achieve by Turchi who put Finn Enbom away with a body punch after just 76 seconds. After some preliminary sparring Turchi walked forward and curled a southpaw left hook around the elbow of Enbom and onto his ribs. Enbom collapsed to his knees with his head touching the canvas and he was still in that position when the referee counted him out. Turchi, also a native of Florence, lifts the vacant WBC International title with his thirteenth win by KO/TKO. A former Elite level amateur who was Italian champion four times won a silver medal in the World Military Games and gold at the Mediterranean Games. His father was Italian light heavy champion and his partner is a kickboxing practioner so plenty of boxing in his background. A lot more was expected from Enbom who did not look a bad test but that was a wicked body punch. Fiordigiglio vs. Danyo This was the most competitive and best fight on the night. Danyo was the better technical boxer and Fiordigiglio the stronger . Danyo was master at distance and had the wider variety in his work but Fiordigiglio kept walking forward and driving home hooks and uppercuts inside. It looked as though Danyo built a lead with those better skills but with Fiordigiglio forcing the fight hard over the later rounds in close. All three judges had Fiordigiglio winning on a score of 96-93 but the decision was not universally popular. Fiordigiglio, 34, the WBO No 14, collects the vacant IBF International title. He has come up short in two shots at the EBU title but is 10-1 in his last 11 fights. All three of Dutchman Danyo’s losses have been by points in the other guy’s country against Custio Clayton in Canada and Felix Cash in London and now Fiordigiglio in Italy. He is a former Dutch amateur champion who represented Holland in the European and World Championships. Blandamura vs. Matic Just really some paid sparring for Blandamura. He is a few classes above the limited Mitic and eased his way to victory with no problems along the way. Blandamura has lost inside the distance to Billy Joe Saunders and Michele Soro in fights for the vacant European title and an even bigger fight for the secondary WBA belt to Ryota Murata. Six defeats in a row for Bosnian Matic. Boschiero vs. Talavera EBU super feather champion and former WBC title challenger Boschiero has a frustrating night trying to hunt down Nicaraguan survivalist Talavera. Boschiero tried hard to make Talavera fight but the Nicaraguan preferred to duck and clinch, He did try to punch back but had no power. Boschiero chased and won all six rounds and got in some work but little else. First fight for the 37-year-old Boschiero since losing a split verdict to England’s Thomas Patrick Ward for the vacant WBC International title in November. He is No 2 with the EBU so a shot at champion Samir Ziani is a possibility. First fight for Talavera since July 2017 and only his second in three years so perhaps he had forgotten how to fight Obbadi vs. Larios On other nights Obbadi might have registered the fastest win on the night but he was only the third quickest here as he did not put out Nicaraguan novice Larios until 2:57 of the opening round. Obbadi looked sharp firing quick jabs and straight rights. The ending was strange. Obbadi side-stepped an attack by Larios who continued to lunge forward and was almost past Obbadi when Obbadi curved a right over the Nicaraguan’s left shoulder which sent him down and he was counted out. The 25-year-old Moroccan-born Obbadi is a former European champion whose loss came on a seventh round retirement against future WBC champion Cristofer Rosales in 2017. He has won six on the bounce and is mandatory challenger for European champion Jay Harris. First fight outside of Nicaragua for Larios and his third loss in a row. Signani vs. Radnic With purse offers due for his challenge to European champion Kamil Szeremeta on 30 April Signani warms up with six rounds of undemanding work against Croat boxer Radnic and takes the unanimous decision. The 39-year-old Italian, a former undefeated EU and Italian champion, is 13-1-1 in his last 15 fights with the loss being against Emanuele Blandamura for the vacant European title in 2016. Now thirteen consecutive losses for Radnic Sydney, Australia: Heavy: Bowie Tupou (28-6) W KO 3 Randall Rayment (9-5). Feather: Luke Jackson (18-1) W KO 3 Boonsom Phothong (17-25-2). Feather: Billy Dib (44-5,2ND) W KO 1 Surachet Tongmala (7-12). Tupou vs. Rayment Tupou gets revenge for a loss to Rayment in November as he rolls over Rayment for a stoppage. In the first Tupou was rumbling forward shooting out his jab and using his 44lbs weight advantage to force Rayment back (Tupou 289lbs-Rayment 245 ¼ lbs). Rayment was countering but unable to stop Tupou coming forward. Rayment moved more and jabbed more in the second catching Tupou with rights but a right from Tupou stiffened Rayment's legs and it was clear Tupou had more power. Tupou stormed into Rayment at the start of the third taking him to the ropes and connecting with a right cross that put Rayment face down on the canvas and the referee immediately stopped the fight. There was a time when the 36-year-old former professional rugby league football player was world rated but losses to Malik Scott and Bryant Jennings and a first round kayo by Joseph Parker put some realism into things. It got worse for Tupou with split decision losses to Julius Long and Rayment but Tupou began a recovery with a first round kayo of Roger Izonritei and collected the vacant WBA Asia belt in this fight. Second loss by KO/TKO for 32-year-old Rayment having been knocked out in five rounds by Kyotaro Fujimoto for the OPBF title in 2017 Jackson vs. Phothong Jackson gets his second consecutive wins since losing to Carl Frampton in August. Now eight wins by KO/TKO for the Tasmanian but Phothong was a very poor opponent being 0-13,1ND in his last 14 fights all 13 losses by KO/TKO with 11 of them ending in fewer than three rounds. Dib vs. Tongmala Another very poor match. Dib hardly bothered to raise his gloves higher than his waist as he strode forward scoring with clubbing punches to the head of Thai Tongmala. The Thai had no footwork and very little defence but he did show determination not to fold. Eventually Dib drove him along the ropes with lefts and rights to the head until Tongmala went down and the referee started but did not bother to complete the count. First fight for the 33-year-olf former IBF champion since losing to Tevin Farmer in August. He had announced his retirement but that did not last long. Poor Tongmala has lost 9 of his last 10 fights (the win was over a guy who had never won a fight) all nine of those were by KO/TKO and all inside four rounds. He is now 0-4 in Australia and all four losses inside three rounds. A late choice perhaps but would that excuse hold up if Tongmala had been seriously hurt? Laval, France: Welter: Jordy Weiss (23-0) W PTS 12 Jussi Koivula (24-6-1). Bantam: Vincent Legrand (30-0) W PTS 6 Edgari Sarkisani (4-8-2). Weiss vs. Koivula Weiss retains the EU title with decision over Finn Koivula. Over the first two rounds Weiss built a lead with some accurate jabbing and right crosses. Koivula made the third close but Weiss forced Koivula to fight with his back to the ropes for much of the fourth. At that point two judges had the champion in front 40-36 with the third having it 39-37. Koivula had a good fifth scoring well inside but Weiss restored his dominance over the sixth and seventh with some strong body punching and sound defensive work but the eighth was close as Koivula fought back hard. After eight rounds the scores were 79-73 twice for Weiss and 78-74. A good ninth from Weiss really decided the fight but Koivula finished strongly making the tenth close and then outscoring a tiring Weiss over the eleventh and twelfth rounds. Scores 116-112 twice and 117-111 for “The Gypsy”. This is the second defence of the European Union title for the 25-year-old Weiss who is No 2 in the EBU ratings behind Britain’s Josh Kelly but if Kelly vs. the champion David Avanesyan can’t be made then Weiss will be next in line. Koivula the EBU No 6 put up a good effort here. He has lost in challenges for both the EBU and European Union titles and at 35 may not get another shot-but never say never in boxing. Legrand vs. Sarkisiani In a contest to keep the rust away Legrand wins every round against Georgian teenager. The 27-year-old southpaw, a former undefeated European flyweight champion, has now moved up to super bantam where he is No 7 with the EBU. Sarkisiani, 19, is 0-3-1 in his last 4 fights. I sometimes wonder if the Georgian boxing industry will get a business award for exporting so many reliable losers. Managua, Nicaragua: Super Feather: Rene Alvarado (31-8) W TKO 6 Eusebio Osejo (30-23-3,1ND). WBA No 1 Alvarado gets stoppage win over seasoned pro Osejo. Perhaps with a title fight in mind Alvarado attacked hard looking to get this over early. He was throwing fierce combinations and connecting with his signature left hooks to the body. Unfortunately Osejo refused to fold and Alvarado was leaving himself open to counters and Osejo scored with plenty. No doubt Alvarado was winning but it was turning into hard work until the doctor ordered the fight stopped before the start of the seventh round due to a bad cut over the right eye of Osejo. Six wins in a row including victories over Roger Gutierrez, Denis Shafikov and Carlos Morales have taken Alvarado to No 1 but if he wants to join twin brother Felix, the holder of the IBF light flyweight belt, as a world champion he will have to tighten his defence as both the WBA champion Gervonta Davis and holder of their secondary title Andrew Cancio are a class or two above Osejo. After a run of 0-7-1 Osejo has done better in 2019with two wins. Lincoln, RI, USA: Light: Jamaine Ortiz11-0) W TKO 1 Victor Jones (15-5). Local hero Ortiz ended this one in quick time. After shadowing Brazilian Jones around the ring he pounced with a booming right that floored Jones. He climbed to his feet bit was on shaky legs and the fight was stopped after just 110 seconds. Ortiz, 23, the WBC Youth champion, makes it six wins by KO/TKO. Now five fights outside Brazil and five losses by KO/TKO for Jones, four of them in the first round. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Welter: Malik Hawkins (15-0) W PTS 8 Andre Byrd (7-7-2). Heavy: Darmani Rock (15-0) W TKO 2 Mike Bissett (15-12-1). Hawkins vs. Byrd After a good win over Ray Serrano last year Hawkins was inactive for eleven months and has stepped back a stride since with a couple of undemanding wins. He registered one here with a unanimous decision over Byrd, The nearest he came to an inside the distance win is when Byrd genuflected before him under pressure in the seventh. Byrd has never lost by KO/TKO and can still keep that boast true as he stayed there over the last three minutes. Scores80-71 twice and 78-74 all for Hawkins. The tall 23-year-old from Baltimore will be looking to face bigger test as her climbs towards the ratings. A busy Byrd is 1-3 in 4 fights this year. Rock vs. Bissett Rock steamrollers an overmatched Bissett in two rounds and moves into double figures for wins by KO/TKO. The 23-year-old Philly prospect at 6’5” and 275lbs is in the Andy Ruiz and Jarrell Miller big and heavy league. I thought when he turned pro he might take some weight off but he has actually put on 30lbs. A former Youth Olympic Games silver medal winner and US Champion he failed to get through the US Olympic Trials. Bissett had won his last two fights but at 6’3” and being over 60lbs lighter than Rock was never going to last long. 27 April London, England: Super Middle: Lerrone Richards (12-0) W PTS 12 Tommy Langford (21-4). Heavy: Daniel Dubois (11-0) W TKO 4 Richard Lartey (14-2). Super Fly: Sunny Edwards (11-0) W TKO 8 Pedro Matos (7-2).Super middle; Zak Chelli (7-0) W PTS 10 Jimmy Smith (7-2). Super Light: Jack Catterall (24-0) W KO 3 Oscar Amador (10-17). Richards vs. Langford Richards proves a revelation as he outboxes more experienced Langford on the way to a unanimous decision. After a quiet opening round in the second and third Richards start to find the range with his right jab and was landing with straight lefts. His quick movement was making Langford come up short with his punches and a straight left in the third rocked Langford. In the fourth Langford had some success getting past the jab to land to the body. Richards was popping Langford with jabs in the fifth and catching Langford coming in with lefts. Langford tried to rough Richards up in the clinches but Richards stayed cool and outboxed Langford in the sixth. Langford stepped up his pace and had a good seventh. Richards began to get on to the front foot in the eighth with his jab and straight lefts and when Langford did drive forward he was stopped in his tracks by an uppercut. Langford staged a strong attack at the end of the ninth but Richards used clever movement to slip most of the punches. Richards landed a great uppercut in the tenth that stopped Langford in his tracks. He then drove Langford back with a series of hooks and uppercuts that had Langford floundering but did not really follow-up on that success. Langford tried to stage a strong finish but over the last two rounds Richards was the fresher and threw and landed more punches. Scores 118-110, 118-111 and 116-113 all for Richards. He wins the vacant Commonwealth and WBO International titles. Despite his lack of pro experience he had almost 100 Youth and Amateur fights. Langford was a big step up in the level of his opposition but he boxed smoothly, intelligently and showed speed and power. Former British champion Langford has now lost 3 of his last 4 fights. The other two losses were split decisions against Jason Welborn but he cannot afford another loss in a domestic fight so will probably go a bit lower and start again. Dubois vs. Lartey Dubois much too good for Ghanaian Lartey and after dominating the first three rounds floors and halts Lartey in the fourth. In the first Dubois tried to blow Lartey away with a flying start but Lartey weathered the storm and showed a useful jab. Dubois was doing the scoring but there was too much holding. Dubois staged another attack just before the bell. Dubois started the second with some strong jabs and hooks to the body. Lartey was given a warning then some respite after a Dubois punch was low. Dubois continued to dominate the action with his jab but Lartey looked to have shaken him with a right before Dubois recovered and ended the round strongly. Dubois rattled Lartey with a right in the third and Lartey held and had to prised off by the referee. They then exchanged hooks in a wild swinging free-for-all. Dubois landed some hard hooks but also left himself open to counters. Dubois ended it in the fourth. He connected with a couple of choice uppercuts then a right to the head and a left hook put Lartey down heavily. The Ghanaian made it to his feet at eight but the referee waived the fight over. At 21 and after just 11 fights Dubois is still a work in progress and that is what he is doing-progressing. He has a strong jab and some hurtful body punches and will only get better. Lartey didn’t fold at the first punch but his style is rudimentary. Edwards vs. Matos Edwards retains the WBO European title with one-sided beating of Portuguese novice Matos. Edwards was streets ahead of Matos in every aspect of the sport. He was too quick and too slick. He was able to stand in front of Matos with his hands down and then fire a burst of punches with Matos not able to block or counter. It really was just public sparring for Edwards as he constantly switched guards and occasionally went onto the back foot luring Matos onto counters and then stayed inside and traded punches. Matos tried to take the fight to Edwards and managed to bring a swelling under the right eye of Edwards but was too slow and lacked the skill to be competitive. Edwards pounded on Matos in a one sided seventh rocking him with a left at the bell. Edwards was connecting again with head punches at the start of the eighth and the referee stepped in and called it off. Too easy for Edwards. The WBO No 8 is the elder brother of WBC flyweight champion Charlie and will be hoping to emulate him but he is in a tough division as the Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Srisaket fight showed. Matos was having only his second fight in 18 months and Box Rec had him No 223 in the world but he was good enough to challenge for the WBO European title. Chelli vs. Smith Chelli wins the vacant BBB of C Southern Area title with points victory over Smith. Chelli's quick hands and footwork gave him the edge from the outset. He was firing jabs in twos and threes and coming over with rights. Smith was jabbing strongly but not quick enough in attack or defence. A left hook to the head from Chelli in the third and a right in a wild fourth were the best punches in the early action and Chelli busy style gave him the edge over the middle rounds. In the eighth a cracking left hook to the body had Smith backing away and going down on one knee. He was up at seven and although taking more punishment he was still in the fight at the bell. Chelli was firing overhand rights trying to finish it in the ninth and he rocked Smith with a left hook late in the tenth but Smith fought back hard to the bell. Referee’s score 100-89 for Chelli. The 21-year-old from Fulham was English Junior and Youth champion and won a silver medal at the World Cadet Championships. He was in his first ten round fight and handled the distance well and looks a good prospect. Smith was also up at ten rounds for the first time but Chelli just had too much speed and variety in his work for Smith to match. Catterall vs. Amador Just a breeze for Catterall as gets in some work in preparation for challenging Maurice Hooker for the WBO title. Catterall was able to keep the very limited Amador on the end of his right jab in the first round and Amador was too slow to block or counter. Catterall got down to work in the second connecting with straight lefts and right hooks to the body then eased off late in the round. Catterall ended it in the third. He landed a vicious left uppercut and a body punch and Amador dropped to one knee and was counter out. No date yet for the Hooker fight but Catterall is WBO No 1 so it will come. Amador was a late substitute. He has lost his last eleven fights eight of the in Britain. Lanus, Argentina: Super Light: Jeremias Ponce (24-0) W PTS 12 Leonardo Amitrano (15-4). Ponce gets another win but a split decision and it was not a popular decision. Amitrano swept the early rounds and looked comfortable as Ponce just could not settle into the fight. Ponce picked up the pace over the middle rounds to make it close but Amitrano finished strongly and looked to have done enough to win. He was deducted a point in the eleventh but that was balanced out by a twelfth round penalty against Ponce for a butt. Scores 116 ½ -112 ½ and 114-112 for Ponce and 115-111 for Amitrano. Ponce lifts Amitrano’s South American title but his own Argentinian title was not on the line. Hopefully there will a return with both titles up for grabs. Melbourne, Australia: Super Welter: Dwight Ritchie (19-1) W PTS 8 Jung Hoon Yang (10-10). Cruiser: Jason Wheatley (4-0) W KO 1 Filimoni Naliva (5-1). Feather: Jai Alexander (10-0) W PTS 8 Krishnil Mudaliar (8-4). Ritchie vs. Yang Ritchie “The Fighting Cowboy” rounds up another win with a points victory over Korean Jung. A former undefeated Australian champion Ritchie’s only loss is a points defeat by Koki Tyson in 2016 which cost Ritchie his OPBF title. A run of five wins has taken him to No 12(11) in the IBF ratings. This is Jung’s first fight since June 2017 and he is 1-4 in his last 5. Wheatley vs. Naliva Local heavyweight hope Wheatley won the World Boxing Foundation Australasian title with first round stoppage of Fijian Naliva. The 6’5” 28-year-old Warrior represented Australia at the World Championships in 2013 and 2015and the Rio Olympics before taking a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Australia last year. He is currently No 10 in the Australian ratings but will climb. First fight outside of Fiji for novice Naliva. Alexander vs. Mudaliar Another victory for the locals as Alexander took split decision over Fijian Mudaliar for the vacant World Boxing Foundation Australasian belt. After leaving the sport for four years Alexander returned in 2017 and has won eight on the bounce since then. He is No 3 in the Australian ratings. Mudaliar, who was once Fijian super flyweight champion, has lost his last three fights. Karlsruhe, Germany: Super Middle: Evgeny Shvedenko (12-0) W PTS 10 Nadjib Mohammedi (41-8). Heavy: Ruann Visser (15-2) W TKO 1 Madars Trivols (1-3). Heavy: Olek Zakhozhyi (11-0) W TKO 8 Mariano Ruben Diaz (13-14-1). Heavy: Vlad Sirenko (11-0) W KO 1 Leandro Robutti (6-4). Shvedenko vs. Mohammedi Shvedenko gets an important win over experienced Mohammedi but it was very close. Shvedenko worked hard with his jab and landed some heavy overhand rights in the early rounds but found Mohammedi a difficult target with his crouching always moving style and Mohammedi was also sharp with his jab. Shvedenko had a good third shaking Mohammedi with a right and dominating the exchanges. Mohammedi has great stamina and he outworked Shvedenko in the fourth but the Russian upped his own pace in the fifth and did enough to take the sixth. Shvedenko had moved in front but all of the rounds were close and Mohammedi came right back to edge the seventh with some good close work. Mohammedi kept marching forward in the eighth but Shvedenko was stabbing out powerful jabs and controlled the action and again used his jab and hard rights to edge the ninth and tenth. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 all for Shvedenko. The German-based Russian champion wins the vacant IBO International title. Mohammedi felt he had been robbed but many rounds were close and the 96-94 looked about right. Mohammedi has lost in shots at the interim WBO light heavy against Nathan Cleverly and for the IBF/WBA/WBO titles against Sergey Kovalev and has now lost 3 of his last 4 fights. Visser vs. Trivois Thankfully this rubbish did not last long. Visser knocked Trivois into the ropes with a right cross and then connected with a strong right uppercut. Trivois was badly shaken and after another couple of punches from Visser sent him skidding along the ropes the referee stopped the farce. The 6’ 9 ½” South African gets his thirteenth win by KO/TKO. Last time out in February he was outpointed by Zimbabwean Elvis Moyo. At 6’3” and giving away over 50lbs Trivois was never in with a chance. Zakhozhyi vs. Diaz Giant Ukrainian Zakhozhyi stops a game Diaz in the eighth round. Zakhozhyi towered over the Argentinian and after a slow first round was handing out heavy punishment all the way. Diaz has never lost inside the distance and he stayed in this fight with a mixture of a great chin and some crafty defence. He nearly made it to the final bell but was pinned to the ropes soaking up damaging punches and not fighting back and the referee stepped in and saved him. The 6’9 ½” “Karlsruhe-based Hunter” is a sculptured body type usually coming into a fight at about 230lbs. This is his ninth win by KO/TKO. Strangely he seems to dip back into the amateurs as he fought in an amateur tournament in Odessa in 2018. The 37-year-old Diaz really just a beefed-up cruiser so did well to last to the eighth. Sirenko vs. Robutti Another rubbish match that was over early (I think I might have to introduce a Worst Match category). Sirenko was tracking a tubby Robutti along the ropes. Robutti decided to try to swap punches but a solid left hook sent him on his way down. Unfortunately his rump landed on the middle rope and he bounced up into the path of a fearsome right to the temple that dumped him on his side on the floor. The referee started to count but then stopped and called for assistance for Robutti. South-based Ukrainian Sirenko, 24, and 6’3 ½” gets his ninth first round win and his tenth in all by KO/TKO. He is much too good for the level of opposition he is being faced with. He was Ukrainian Youth champion and won a silver medal at the European Under-19 Championships. Robutti just a four and six round prelim fighter now has three losses by KO/TKO. Oldham, England: Super Middleweight: Marcus Morrison (20-3) W PTS 8 Darryl Sharp (5-51). Super Feather: Zelfa Barrett (21-1) W TKO 2 Edwin Tellez (12-50-5). Morrison vs. Sharp Disappointing performance by Morrison. He had a much superior set of skills and both height and reach over Sharp. Southpaw Sharp just kept bustling forward taking Morrison to the ropes and working with hooks. Morrison was catching Sharp with some good counters but they were not keeping Sharp out. When he had room to box Morrison was in charge but that did not happen enough. Morrison had a big seventh round driving Sharp around the ring. He landed some clouting punches but Sharp just shook his head and asked for more. Morrison’s cleaner work just gave him the edge. Referee’s score 77-75 for Morrison. Fourth win in a row for Morrison but a much harder night than anticipated. Sharp always comes to fight. He has now lost his last 37 fights but has only been stopped once in his 56 fights. Barrett vs. Tellez In his first fight since outpointing Tellez in June Barnett goes over old ground but this time manages to stop travelling loser Tellez in two rounds. This is only the second fight for Barrett since losing a twelve round majority decision to Ronnie Clark for the vacant IBF European title in February last year. Hopefully he will be more active now. One win in his last 28 fights for the 5’2” Tellez who is too small to be fighting super featherweights. Ecatepec, Mexico: Super Bantam: Aaron Alameda (25-0) W KO 3 Jordan Escobar 14-8-2). Alameda just too big and too powerful for the little Nicaraguan. Jordan hustled and bustled Alameda for two rounds before a body punch finished him. Escobar came out firing punches immediately forcing Alameda to the ropes. The Nicaraguan continued his aggression throughout the first but was walking onto some hard hooks from Alameda. Jordan was not helped by many of Alameda’s punches landing low. Escobar piled forward again in the second denying Alameda punching room but again was walking onto and through some fierce counter to the body-and below. In the third a vicious left to the body dropped Jordan to his hands and knees and he was counted out. “Nogales” southpaw Alameda now has 13 wins by KO/TKO. He is No 13 with the WBC but has yet to be really tested. Jordan, just a beefed up super flyweight, just did not have the power to be a threat. 28 April East London, South Africa: Fly: Jackson Chauke (17-1-1) W TKO 9 Thabang Ramagole (15-6-1). Light Fly: Nkosinathi Joyi (28-5) W PTS 12 Nhlanhla Tyirha (4-1). Super Fly: Athenkosi Dumezweni (12-3) W PTS 12 Jonas Sultan (15-5). Chauke vs. Ramagole Veteran Chauke finally wins a South African title as he comes from behind to stop Ramagole. The fight started badly for former Olympian Chauke when he was dumped on the canvas in the first round. Ramagole built on that success outboxing the slower Chauke and building towards victory. Chauke scuppered that plot with a ferocious attack in the ninth sending Ramagole to the canvas three times before the fight was stopped. The 33-year-old Chauke competed at the 2008 Olympics and he was considered a sure thing to reach the top in South African boxing. When he challenged for the national title in 2013 he was well beaten by Lwandile Sityatha and then had only one fight in the next four years. This is his fifth win in a row by KO/TKO since returning and it may have taken him over ten years but he is finally South African champion. Ramagole had scored three wins in 2018 but this is his fourth loss by KO/TKO. Joyi vs. Tyirha Teenage prospect Tyirha comes up short in an ambitious challenge to WBO African champion Joyi. This time youth would not be served. Tyirha had less than 18 rounds of experience in the pro ranks and Joyi almost two hundred. That proved critical here. Tyirha set a very fast pace but Joyi was working to the body and eventually that began to pay dividends. Tyirha also wasted some energy with some flashy moves and as Joyi increased the pressure the teenager became ragged in his work and faded out of the fight. Scores 116-113 twice and 118-112 for Joyi. A fitting time for the 35-year-old former IBF and IBO minimumweight champion to score a victory as he had his first pro fight exactly seventeen tears ago. Tyirha had received rave reviews when he won the South African title in only his fourth fight. He did not take a bad beating here but did get a lesson that he needs to absorb and use. Dumezweni vs. Sultan Important win for Dumezweni as he collects the vacant WBC Silver title over Filipino Sultan. Southpaw Dumezweni was in control flooring Sultan in the ninth and outclassing him. Scores 119-108, 119-109 and 117-109. The South African has won 9 of his last 10 fights and reversed the loss. Sultan scored three big wins in beating Makazole Tete, Sonny Bo Jaro and John Riel Casimero (who won the interim WBO bantam title last week) but lost on points to Jerwin Ancajas for the IBF super flyweight title last May. Glattbrug, Switzerland: Middle: Ramadan Hiseni (12-0) W PTS 10 Christian Schembri (15-6). Young local Hiseni wins the vacant WBC Youth Silver title as he outpoints the more experienced Schembri. Hiseni was quicker and more accurate in his work. He came near to an early finish when he staggered Schembri in the eighth but the visitor was saved by the bell. Hiseni then boxed his way to the decision. Scores 99-91 twice and 99-90 for the 22-year-old prospect who trained with Jeff Mayweather in Las Vegas for this fight. Malta’s Schembri had won his last four fights Fight of the week (Significance): Four title fights were significant with Juan Francisco Estrada outpointing Srisaket and Daniel Roman edging out TJ Doheny in Inglewood with both fights potential return matches and Regis Prograis and Nonito Donaire proceeding to the WBSS finals Fight of the week (Entertainment) Daniel Roman vs. TJ Doheny Fighter of the week: Juan Francisco Estrada for a brilliant victory over Srisaket Punch of the week: Nonito Donaire’s left hook that flattened Stephon Young. Danny Roman’s left hook to the body in the eleventh that put TJ Doheny on the floor was fearsome. Fabio Turchi left hook to the body of Sami Enbom also rates a mention Upset of the week: None really Prospect watch: Both Shakhram Giyasov and Lerrone Richards scored wins and are ones to follow. Today we celebrate a new period in Japanese history, the Reiwa period. This ends the Heisei era, which began back in January 8th 1989, and although the change is not likely to be noticed in the west it is a major event in Japan.
We thought, with the end of the era, it was worth looking at the 10 most influential fighters of the Heisei era. Just a caveat, before we begin, by influential we're not looking at the fighters who were the most successful during the era, but those who had a long last effect on the sport, specifically in Japan. Those who forced changes, influenced fighters or inspired fighters who followed them. To be considered they had to have fought between January 8th 1989 and April 30th 2019. 10-Takashi Uchiyama (24-2-1, 20) - The Watanabe Wonder Several fighters on this list have gotten here due to their influence with fighters who have followed in their footsteps, or fighters who have turned their hand to promoting. Takashi Uchiyama on the other hand helped put the gym he was fighting for on the map. The Watanabe Gym had been opened for a few years but didn't really have a star to focus on, they lacked a fighter who could help attract top prospects and a man who carry the gym. In Uchiyama they had that star. Uchiyama's long reign as the WBA Super Featherweight champion, from 2010 to 2016, made his one of the major faces of Japanese boxing and he would inspire the Watanabe Gym, which is now regarded as one of the best in Japan. His effect on the Watanabe gym today has lead to fighters like Hiroto Kyoguchi and Ryoichi Taguchi becoming major forces. He's now running a gym of his own, and it's clear that Uchiyama's influence is going to continue well into the future. 9-Katsuya Onizuka (24-1, 17) - Superstar Spanky K Popular fighters are influential due to their ability to draw a crown, get people talking and get eye balls on the sport. That was certainly the case with Katsuya Onizuka, who's popularity was huge in the 1990's. He turned professional in 1988 and would fight through to 1994, running up 5 defenses of the WBA Super Flyweight title, and even having a video game released with his likeness in Japan. Onizuka was certainly controversial, with numerous suspect wins, but his popularity kept people interested and kept watching. Following his retirement he would train fighters in Fukuoka, work for TBS in a commentary position and continue to have a pretty notable impact in the sport, much more so than fans in the West would realise. 8-Kazuto Ioka (23-2, 13) - Bar setting prodigy The Osakan boxing scene is the second biggest in Japan, behind that in Tokyo, and for the better part of a decade the face of Osakan boxing was Kazuto Ioka. He drew huge TV rating, he was crowned as super prospect from his debut and he would, famously, win the WBC Minimumweight title in just his 7th bout. His career has been remarkable, winning world titles in 3 divisions, and chasing a 4th divisional world title. He's notable won an all-Japanese unification bout, a real rarity, challenged for a 4th divisional world title and set the mark for fewest fights to a world title, a mark that has since been beaten by Naoya Inoue and Kosei Tanaka. Ioka put a marker down for the newest wave of Japanese fighters, and really helped kick start the era of the Japanese super prospect. 7-Hozumi Hasegawa (36-5, 16) - Hyogo Hero We're going to mention a man who inspired a generation of fighters a little bit further down this list, but Hozumi Hasegawa also fills that role excellently. In fact Hasegawa ois the man many current fighters cite as an inspiration, especially those in the Hyogo region. He was, for a long time, the one fighter from Hyogo who kept the region on the map, he was "The Ace" of Japan for years, a multi-time JBC MVP, a 3 weight world champion, a sensational fighter in the ring and someone who's appeal did actually cross over from Japan to the West. Hasegawa began his career in 1999 and despite some early defeats he would go on to win world titles at Bantamweight, Featherweight and Super Bantamweight, he was a TV star in the ring, with a great style to watch and with a list of notable names on his record. He wasn't the megastar that some had anticipated, but he was a big name, and the face of Japanese boxing during a little bit of a transition period in the 00's 6-Sugar Miyuki (11-1, 4) - Female punching pioneer Women's boxing today is thriving in Japan, and Kasumi Saeki recently showed how good the top youngsters are. We've recent world champions like Naoko Fujioka, Ayaka Miyao, Etsuko Tada and Shindo Go all make their mark but the real OG is Sugar Miyoshi. A fighter you won't easily find on boxrec, where she's listed under her birth name of Nojima Miyuki and has an offiial record of 1-1. Miyuki was oriinally a Shoot Boxing fighter, a style more similar to kick boxing than regular boxing, but would turn to boxing in 1995, years before the JBC would recognise female boxing. In 1997 she would go on to win the IWBF Minimumweight title, becoming Japan's first female world champion. Her work in boxing saw him raise the profile of the sport in the country, fighting exhibitions and working as a trainer. She would clearly kick start the female boxing movement in Japan, long before any of the others, and was a key factor in careers for the likes of Miki Kikukawa and Yumi Takano. She pre-dates the like of Feujin Raika by years and also played a role in showing that fighters could convert from one of Japan's other combat sports leagues. Although Miyuki is only "officially" listed at 1-1 we know that's wrong, due to footage of her and reliable sources, we her impact it still being felt, directly and indirectly to this very day! 5-Naoya Inoue (17-0, 15) - International man of focus It's hard to really figure out where Naoya Inoue sits in this list. He hasn't inspired a generation of fighters, he hasn't forced rules to change, he hasn't set up a gym, or played a part in the running of the sport. However what he has done, internationally, has drawn eyes to Japanese boxing, he has managed to capture an international audience like no other Japanese fighter, getting American and European fans talking, and featuring as a cover star for magazines that often put Japanese boxing down their list of priorities. He has, arguably, become the first Japanese fighter, in a long time, to become a global star. His real influence is likely to be more notable in the Reiwa era, but it's impossible to state how much he has done since his debut in 2012. He, more than any other fighter, has made Japanese boxing global and we expect that will be something felt for a very, very long time. 4-Hiroki Ioka (33-8-1, 17) - First generation Ioka! Today Kazuto Ioka is one of the biggest names in Japanese boxing. His unclue, Hiroki Ioka, is however a man who deserves on any list of influential fighters. The talented former 2-weight world champion saw his career begin before the Heisei era but his influence grew through out the era. He won his first world title in 1987, 3 months before the Heisei era began, but would make his first defense just weeks after the new emperor took the throne. He went 22-8-1 (11) during the Heisei era, defending the WBC Minimumweight title and winning the WBA Light Flyweight title. He would also chase a third divisional world title, coming up short at both Flyweight and Super Flyweight. After retiring in 1998 he would turn his hand to promoting, inspire his nephew to fight and guide numerous careers, as well as working as part of the West Japan Boxing Association. His influence may often be over-looked but he has been incredibly influential and will continue to be so in the Kansai region. 3-Katsunari Takayama (31-9-0-1, 12) - Rule changing road warrior It's hard to ignore just how influential Katsunari Takayama was to Japanese boxing during his 40 fight career. The Minimumweight warrior was a trend setter who pushed his dreams and forced the JBC, and the JABF, to change how they did things. His pursuit of the IBF and WBO world titles eventually helped their legitimacy in Japan, and played a part in getting the JBC to recognise both the titles. He also brought real attention to the Minumumweight division, in part thanks to his incredible fight with Francisco Rodriguez Jr. He also, very notable, pushed the JABF into allowing former professional fighters to return to the amateur ranks. Whilst Takayama will never go down as one of the all time greats, it's impossible to ignore the effect that his career had on Japanese boxing. 2-Hideyuki Ohashi (19-5, 12) - The Phoenix In the west Hideyuki Ohashi is relatively unknown, though plays a massive role in Japanese boxing, and has done for over 30 years. At the start of the Heisei era Ohashi was 9-3 (5) though went 10-2 (7) during the rule of Emperor Akihito, becoming a 2-time Minimumweight world champion during that 12 bout run. What he's he's done since hanging up the gloves in 1993 has been amazing, and he has not only played a role in the governing of Japanese boxing, due to roles with the JBC and JPBA, but also ran the Ohashi Gym. That gym has given us the likes of Katsushige Kawashima, Akira Yaegashi and Naoya Inoue. The "Ohashi Gym" is one of the most significant in Japan right now and looks to go from strength to strength. Notable mentions: Koki Kameda - Insanely popular, controversial, and a real star. His effect as a fighter was divisive but few can argue that he's not, even in retirement, a major draw. Kiyoshi Hatanaka - A massive figure in boxing in Chubu, formerly a fighter and now the region's leading promoter with the likes of Kosei Tanaka and Kento Hatanaka making their name under him Akinobu Hiranaka - Huge punching fighter who's work in Okyama as a promoter has started to build a notable, and exciting, local scene Toshiaki Nishioka - Japan's fighters have tended to stay at home, fighting in the confines of of Japan. Nishioka would be one of the few fighters to go out of Japan for fighters on a semi-regular basis. He would fight in the US, Mexico and France during his career and prove that Japanese fighters could win away from home. Yoshihiro Kamegai - Who spoke about Naoya Inoue dragging eyes to the Japanese scene. The same can also be said of Yoshihiro Kamegai, who actually became a bigger name in the west than in Japan, thanks to his fun to watch brawls. We wouldn't suggest many fighters follow his style, but his mind set of making it big in the US has helped lead the way for others. Ryota Murata - It's unclear how much influence Murata has, or hasn't had. His TV figures are huge, his popularity, even now, is massive, but the real influence is the intangible, and that's the amateur success. We've yet to see Japanese amateurs really flourish on the international stage since Murata's 2012 Olympic gold medal, but it's expected that the 2020 Olympics will be a very successful one for Japan. It's assumed that Murata's amateur triumph may potentially have a similar effect to Amir Khan, who won an Olympic medal in 2004 and saw the UK team have a massive games in 2012. 1-Joichiro Tatsuyoshi (20-7-1, 14) - A generational influence Few fighters can match the influence that Joichiro Tatsuyoshi had to the current Japanese scene. "Joe" made his debut 8 months after the start of the Heisei era and fought through to 2009, albeit with some breaks in there. During his career he would be a 2-time WBC Bantamweight champion, and whilst he was fast tracked to a title his influence was less due to his title reigns and more his style, his personality and his charisma. His effect on Japanese boxing was inspiring a generation of fighters, helping to kick start the current era of Japanese boxing. Even now he is still insanely popular, and when he appears at ring, as a member of the crowd, the cameras regularly zoom in on him. Enigmatic, exciting and incredibly charismatic the Osakan is still a star, though had had to pay for his boxing with various issues now effecting him. |
FeaturesWhen we have some free time we're hoping to add a series of fun articles to the site. Hopefully these will be enjoyable little short features Archives
March 2022
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