By Eric Armit
Highlights: -George Kambosos springs gigantic surprise as he outpoints Teo Lopez to win the IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight titles -Stephen Fulton unifies the WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles with decision over Brandon Figueroa -Kenichi Ogawa floors Azinga Fuzile three times and takes a unanimous decision to collect the vacant IBF super featherweight title. -Ohara Davies, Muhammad Waseem, Badou Jack and Ricky Fielding score wins in Dubai -Ra’eese Aleem and Gary Antonio Russell close in on world title shots with wins. - Mexican light flyweight Hector Floes surprises with knockout of Jay Harris in six rounds World Title/Major Shows November 27 New York, NY, USA: Light: George Kambosos (20-0) W PTS 12 Teo Lopez (16-1). Super Feather: Kenichi Ogawa (26-1-1) W PTS 12 Azinga Fuzile (15-2). Feather: Ray Ford (10-0-1) W TKO 8 Felix Caraballo (13-4-2). Heavy: Zhilei Zhang (23-0-1 W TKO 2 Craig Lewis (14-5-1,1ND). 24 Lopez vs. Kambosos Kambosos pulls off a huge upset as he survives a late knockdown and then sweeps the last two rounds to take a split decision over Lopez to win the IBF, WBA and WBO titles. Round 1 Lopez came out going straight after Kambosos trying to catch him cold. Kambosos retreated and Lopez threw a punch after they were told to break and was given a stern warning. Lopez continued to come forward throwing punches with Kambosos staying cool and landing some good counters. Kambosos stumbled after a Lopez left hook then landed a goods left hook of his own. Kambosos was standing and punching with Lopez and as Lopez threw a lazy left Kambosos came over the top with a wide swinging shot to the head that had Lopez dropping and putting a glove on the canvas to avoid going all the way down and was given a count. Lopez was up early and when Kambosos came after Lopez Kambosos slipped to the canvas but no punch so no count. Score: 10-8 Kambosos Round 2 Lopez came forward throughout the round. Kambosos was on the back foot and then picking his moments to dart forward and when he did they were both throwing and landing fast, hard punches. Lopez worked solidly with his jab and that just gave him the edge and Kambosos had heavy bruising under his right eye. Score: 10-9 Lopez Kambosos 19-18 Round 3 The pace slowed a little in this one. Both fighters were holding there left at hip level and shooting punches from there. Both also used slick upper body movement to dodge punches. Kambosos scored well in bursts but Lopez outworked him and landed the better punches. Score: 10-9 Lopez TIED 28-28 Round 4 Kambosos made more use of his jab in this one and landed a heavy overhand right early in the round. Lopez was waiting too long to lets his hands go and Kambosos was darting in and scoring and then getting out. A fire fight broke out at the end of the round as they both scored with real power. Lopez had bruising by his right eye. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 38-37 Official Scores: Judge Glenn Feldman 40-36 Kambosos, Judge Frank Lombardi 39-36* Kambosos, Judge Don Trella 39-37, *Only Judge Lombardi scored the first round 10-8 for Kambosos Round 5 Some clever work from Kambosos. He was circling the perimeter of the ring sticking Lopez with jabs and then firing quick combinations. In the early rounds he would have stood and traded punches but now he was getting in scoring and getting out and Lopez could not pin him down. Lopez was bruised under both eyes and Kambosos had a little blood from under his right eye and a cut over his left. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 48-46 Round 6 Another round for Kambosos. He was just too quick for Lopez and was able to get his punches off first. Lopez was too slow to counter just pacing after Kambosos. By the end of the round Kambosos was confident enough to be wind milling his right taunting Lopez Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 58-55 Round 7 Lopez needed to win a round and he took this one although it was close. Lopez was closing Kambosos down quicker and he was the one scoring inside. Kambosos just did not work hard enough until the last ten seconds when he matched Lopez as they traded fiercely. Score: 10-9 Lopez Kambosos 67-65 Round 8 Once again the hand speed and footwork of Kambosos made the difference. Lopez was stalking but Kambosos was working his jab and firing little bunches of punches and not getting involved in any toe-to-toe stuff. There was a burst of punching from both at the end of the round with Lopez just getting the better of the exchanges but Kambosos’ early work giving him the round. Lopez was bleeding steadily from the nose Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 77-74 Official Scores: Glenn Feldman 79-73 Kambosos, Frank Lombardi 78-73 Kambosos, Don Trella 78-75 Kambosos, Round 9 The action was fairly even with Lopez just having the edge as he moved forward quicker closing Kambosos down. Over the last minute Lopez attacked hard sending Kambosos back with a series of head punches. Score: 10-9 Lopez Kambosos 86-84 Round 10 Two heavy rights from Lopez drove Kambosos to the canvas. He was up at four and after the count Lopez was throwing bombs trying to end the fight. Kambosos looked unsteady as he bobbed about trying to avoid Lopez’s shots. He threw an occasional punch but mainly survived due to movement and holding and Lopez let the chance of victory pass. Score: 10-8 Lopez TIED 94-94 Round 11 Lopez landed a couple of good rights early but Kambosos was jabbing and moving. Jabs from Kambosos had blood running from the cut over Lopez’s left eye and the referee stopped the fight so that a doctor could examine the cut. The fight continued and Kambosos staged a strong finish to the round connecting with hard rights. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 104-103 Round 12 A clear round for Kambosos. He was stabbing Lopez with jabs and landing quick combinations. The blood was now streaming down Lopez’s face. He just could not match the speed and output of Kambosos who finished the fight with a cluster of punches as Lopez tried desperately to land the big punch he needed. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 114-112 Official Scores: Judge Glenn Feldman 115-11 Kambosos, Judge Frank Lombardi 115-111, Judge Don Trella 114-113 Lopez The tactics of Kambosos were perfect and he stuck to the game plan and boxed with speed and precision. In his last fight he had only got past Lee Selby on a split decision but here he was a clear winner despite the scores being split. Lopez was a disappointment . He will want a return but they are queuing up to get a shot at Kambosos who will have three sanctioning bodies to serve. The queue of challengers is already forming. but Kambosos has made it clear that whoever he fights will have to come to Australia to do so. In the meantime he can enjoy pulling off a huge upset. Lopez has said he is not interested in a return match and intends to move up to super lightweight to try to land a shot at Josh Taylor. Ogawa vs. Fuzile Ogawa wins the vacant IBF title with unanimous verdict over Fuzile. Ogawa was the aggressor throughout the fight. He was walking down Fuzile the whole way. Fuzile showed plenty of defensive skills and whilst lacking power he found gaps in Ogawa’s defence. Ogawa scored a knockdown in the fifth with a straight right that sent Fuzile staggering back and then going down on one knee. Fuzile made it to his feet but there was blood pouring from a damaged nose. He saw out the round and fought back. A cut opened over Fuzile’s right eye in the tenth but after an inspection by the doctor he was allowed to continue. The exam fired Fuzile up and he connected with a series of lefts later to take the round. Fuzile was cut over his left eye in the eleventh with the blood from both cut and his injured nose he looked a sorry sight at the start of the twelfth. Things got worse as a right sent Fuzile down and after he beat the count he was down again from another right. He arose and the bell went before another punch could be thrown. Ogawa won on scores of 115-110, 115-110, and 114-111. To show how close this one was you have to take account of a 10-8 in the fifth and a 10-7 in the last without which it would have made it a majority draw. Ogawa regains the title he held very briefly in 2017 when he beat Tevin Farmer but was then stripped of the title for testing positive for a banned substance. Fuzile’s previous loss came against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in 2019 but he had bounced back with a stoppage of 24-1-2 Martin Ward in May. Ford vs. Caraballo Southpaw prospect Ford stops Caraballo in eight rounds. Caraballo made things interesting for Ford from the start coming forward putting Ford under heavy pressure. Ford showed plenty of skill and fired flashing combinations at the advancing Puerto Rican. There was not a lot of power in Ford punches so Caraballo was able to walk through them and he landed heavily at the end of the third. Ford was quick and accurate with his right jabs and a swelling gradually blossomed by Caraballo’s right eye. He was examined by the doctor at the start of the seventh round but was allowed to continue. He attacked Ford hard but Ford fed him multi-punch combinations for the rest of the round and a series of punches in the eighth saw the referee step in to save Caraballo. Former National Golden Cloves champion Ford has impressive skills and hand speed but his lack of power is a drawback. Caraballo was coming off consecutive losses against Shakur Stevenson and Robeisy Ramirez. Zhang vs. Lewis These two big guys took a while to come out of hibernation and apart from a solid right from Zhang there was very little action in the first round. Zhang ended it ended it in the second. He floored Lewis early in the round and although Lewis beat the count he was wobbly and when a right sent Lewis down again the fight was stopped. Eighteenth inside the distance for the 38-year-old Chinese southpaw. He showed in a majority draw with Jerry Forrest that he is no threat to the top heavyweights. Lewis was having his first fight in two years and is 1-5 in his last six contests. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Bantam: Stephen Fulton (20-0) W PTS 12 Brandon Figueroa (22-1-1 W. Super Bantam: Reese Aleem (19-0) W PTS 10 Eduardo Baez (20-2-2). Bantam: Gary Antonio Russell (19-0,1ND) W PTS 10 Alexandro Santiago (24-3-5). Super Light: Kevin Johnson (20-2) W TKO 9 Rock Dodler Myrthil (17-1). Super Bantam: Aaron Alameda (26-2) W RTD 4 Angel Contreras (12-5-2). Fulton vs. Figueroa Fulton unifies the WBC and WBO titles with majority decision over Figueroa Round 1 Figueroa was coming forward throughout the round. Fulton was moving quickly on the back foot spearing Figueroa with jabs scoring at distance and tying Figueroa up inside not letting him work. Figueroa was warned twice for blows to the back of the head. Fulton just did enough to take the round. Score: 10-9 Fulton Round 2 Fulton showed a bit more aggression in this round but Figueroa was soon coming forward again. He was pumping out punches but without much accuracy. Fulton was slotting home jabs and rights as Figueroa came forward and again holding inside. Figueroa did some good work inside and it was his round. Score: 10-9 Figueroa TIED 19-19 Round 3 Fulton was again picking Figueroa off at distance and then smothering Figueroa’s work inside. Fulton was leaning forward and forcing Figueroa to the ropes with neither landing much. Late in the round there was less holding and they traded punches inside. Figueroa was letting his punches fly but was leaving himself open and Fulton landed the better quality shots but he should have been warned for holding in each of the rounds. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 29-28 Round 4 A much more entertaining round. Fulton was scoring well with hooks as he stood and traded with Figueroa in the centre of the ring. Figueroa was piling forward focusing on the body. Much of the action took place inside and there Fulton was blocking most of Figueroa’s work and connecting with hooks and uppercuts. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 39-37 Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 39-37 Fulton, Judge Dave Moretti 39-37 Fulton, Judge David Sutherland 38-38 TIED, Round 5 A closer round. It was quality vs. quantity. Figueroa had a tremendous output attacking hard to the body but Fulton was both defending and attacking so again blocking many of Figueroa’s punches scoring with jabs at distance and hooks and uppercuts inside. There was much less holding and it was becoming an entertaining battle of attrition. Score: 10-9 Fulton 49-46 Round 6 Much better round for Figueroa. His punch output was tremendous and the sheer quantity of his punches threatened to overwhelm Fulton who was being outlanded at distance and out punched inside. Score: 10-9 Figueroa ` Fulton 58-56 Round 7 A closer round. Figueroa continued to march forward throwing punches. Fulton punched with him early but Figueroa was getting the better of the exchanges. Fulton then moved inside where he was able to deny Figueroa the leverage he needed for his longer arms and again his accuracy gave him a slight edge. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 68-65 Round 8 A clear round for Figueroa. He just pilled forward throwing punches. He had to walk through some hooks and uppercuts from Fulton but eventually his attacks shut down Fulton’s counters and for the last thirty second of the round Fulton was trapped in a corner just try to defend himself under the onslaught from Figueroa. Score: 10-9 Figueroa Fulton 77-75 Official Scores: Tim Cheatham 78-75 Fulton, Dave Moretti 77-75 Fulton, Judge David Sutherland 77-75 Fulton Round 9 Once again the output from Figueroa had Fulton concentrating on defence. Figueroa was forcing Fulton back and firing hooks and uppercuts and landing scorching body punches. Fulton had some success at the end of the round but not enough. Score: 10-9 Figueroa Fulton 86-85 Round 10 A great round. Fulton put in a huge effort early to try and take charge again. Figueroa just kept firing punches and again it seemed the sheer volume might overwhelm Fulton who was drive back into a corner just trying to ride out the storm. Score: 10-9 Figueroa TIED 95-95 Round 11 A change of tactics worked for Fulton. He was circling on the outside sticking Figueroa with jabs and straight rights staying off the ropes and no longer looking to trade punches. Figueroa managed to trap Fulton on the ropes for a short spell and scored well but then Fulton returned to his jabbing and moving. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 105-104 Round 12 Fulton moved and boxed over the early part of the round like a fighter who thought he had the fight won and his clever counters gave him the edge. Over the middle and end of the round Figueroa attacked relentlessly and outscored a defensively minded Fulton and did enough to take the round. Score: 10-9 Figueroa 114-114 Official Scores: Judge Ted Cheatham 116-112 Fulton, Judge Dave Moretti 116-112 Fulton, Judge David Sutherland 114-114 Having unified the WBC and WBO titles hopefully Fulton will move forward to face Murodjon Akhmadaliev who holds the WBA and IBF versions to result in a single title holder. Figueroa was strongly protesting that he was robbed. At just 24 he has time to put this behind him and will almost certainly be fighting for a title again in 2022. Aleem vs. Baez Aleem gets past tough Mexican Baez on a majority decision. This came down to the speed and skill of Aleem against a less flashy but stronger Baez. Aleem constantly switched guards and focused on effective body punching. Baez whilst not as busy scored regularly and made his strength tell. Most rounds were close and Baez fought from the sixth with a cut over his left eye. Aleem looked to have swu8ng the verdict his way when he staggered Baez in an impressive ninth but in the last Aleem was forced to hold to see out the round. Scores98-92and 96-94 for Aleem and 95-95. With this win Aleem protects his No 1 rating with the WBA but of course called out the new WBC/WBO champion Stephen Fulton. Baez had won his last nine fights but against modest opposition however he will have heightened his profile with the showing. Russell vs. Santiago Russell gets a majority decision over Santiago to remain undefeated. Russell was a big favourite and it looked as through the fight was going to be a fairly routine victory for him. Russell was quicker and more accurate than Santiago who had decided his only chance was to roll forward and keep rolling forward with a focused body attack . Santiago coming forward suited Russell over the first half of the fight as he found plenty of gaps for counters but the sheer pressure from Santiago was dragging Russell into going toe-to-toe which suited Santiago and he was cutting into Russell’s early lead. They fought desperately over the last two rounds with the result in the balance and it was Russell who got the decision on scores of 96-94 twice for Russell and 95-95. It really could have gone either way and many saw Santiago as the winner. Russell is No 2 with the WBA so will probably land a title shot early next year. Mexican Santiago was unbeaten in his last 21 fights with 18 wins and 3 draws. Johnson vs. Myrthil Second good win in a row for Johnson as he snaps the unbeaten streak of Myrthil. After scoring heavily in the first Johnson dominated the fight from there. He floored Myrthil with a left hook in the fourth and shook him with punches in the fifth. Johnson landed some big punches in the eighth as he continued to walk Myrthil down. A booming right had Myrthil retreating in the ninth with Johnson chasing him down and the towel came in from Myrthil’s corner. That’s just twelve fights in almost five years as a pro for Johnson but in his last outing he stopped unbeaten 15-0 Luis Salazar in eight rounds. Haitian-born Myrthil just could not handle the strength and aggression of Johnson. Alameda vs. Contreras Alameda starts his rebuilding project after back–to-back losses against Luis Nery for the vacant WBC super bantam title and Angelo Leo. Contreras was busy early throwing lots of punches and getting through with some straight nights. He lacked power and Alameda was landing less but harder punches. Contreras continued to take the fight to Alameda landing more but the quantity was having less effect than the power of Alameda’s shots. That power had swelling closing the right eye of Contreras in the fourth and the doctor ruled Contreras was unable to continue. Southpaw Alameda gets win No 14 by KO/TKO. Contreras is now 1-3-1 in his most recent contests. November 26 Dubai, UAE: Super Light: Ohara Davies (23-2) W PTS 10 Nicolas Mwangi (10-4-1). Fly: Muhammad Waseem (12-1) W PTS 12 Rober Barrera (23-4). Super Middle: Rocky Fielding (29-2) W RTD 2 Emmanuel Danso (32-7). Cruiser: Badou Jack (25-3-3) W TKO 2 Samuel Crossed (11-2-1). Davies vs. Mwangi Davies decisions late substitute Kenyan Mwangi. The Kenyan actually put up an unexpectedly competitive effort in the early rounds although being outboxed by Davies. Solid jabbing and some well executed body punches were winning the rounds for Davies but he never had Mwangi in any real trouble. Over the second half of the fight Mwangi faded badly with his work rate dropping. That just made it an easier job for Davies and he eased his way to a victory on points. Scores 99-91 for Davies on the judge’s cards. Davies wins the vacant WBA Gold title but it was not an impressive performance as he should have been able to beat a fighter such as was Mwangi inside the distance. Mwangi had won his last five fight against opponents with 17 wins between them-and ten of those wins were scored by one fighter Waseem vs. Barrera Waseem given a torrid time by experienced Colombian Barrera. The fight started badly for Waseem as he was cut over his left eye in the first round. He had a good second round forcing the fight. They clashed heads and in the interval it seemed Barrera might not continue. He did but he did only to be under relentless pressure from Waseem in the next three rounds. Barrera was trying to fight on the outside and did a little better until in the ninth Waseem suddenly showed signs of exhaustion. He could hardly keep his gloves up in the tenth with Barrera eating into Waseem’s early lead and Waseem struggling. Waseem recovered and fought hard in the last but it was close. Scores 117-111, 115-113 and 115-114 for Waseem. He lost a narrow verdict against Moruti Mthalane for the IBF title in 2018 and had not really done much in his three fights since then but this was said to be a WBA eliminator so he could face title holder Artem Dalakian next year and Waseem also won the vacant WBC International title. Barrera was stopped in eleven rounds by Luis Concepcion in a fight for the now defunct WBA interim title in February last year. Fielding vs. Danso In his first fight for two years Fielding beat Ghanaian Danso who retired after two rounds. Danso was giving away lots of height and reach and drove forward in the first trying to get in range. He was wild with his attacks and Fielding made him pay with some fierce counters. In the second Danso was down twice with neither knockdown looking very convincing and also lost a point for a punch to the back of Fielding’s head. He did not come out for the third round. Now based in Dubai this is only the second fight for the former WBA secondary super middleweight title holder since his loss to Saul Alvarez in December 2018. Sixth loss by KO/TKO for Danso. Jack vs. Crossed Jack dismantles overmatched Crossed in two rounds. Jack scored with some hurtful body shots in the first and then ended the contest with three knockdowns in the second. Jack won the WBC super middle title and the secondary WBA light heavy title and now at 38 is giving the cruiserweight ranks a try. He will have to face better opposition than Crossed before we can assess his chances in this division. Crossed, the “Vanilla Gorilla” was ranked No 246 by Box Rec. Moscow, Russia: Super Middle: Pavel Silyagin (9-0) W PTS 12 Isaac Chilemba (26-8-3). Light: Alexander Devyatov (12-0) W TKO 1 Adam Lazaro (10-3). Super Bantam: Vladimir Nikitin (6-1-1) W RTD 3 Tello Dithebe (21-14-1). Silyagin vs. Chilemba Silyagin gets important win over the ever competitive Chilemba. The Russian is a clever technical boxer and he was too quick for Chilemba over the early rounds with accurate jabs and a higher work rate. Chilemba had some success over the middle rounds as Silyagin slowed his pace. He may have been pacing himself due to his lack of experience in long fights and he picked the pace up again later and eased his way to victory. Scores 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 which indicate how well controlled the fight. Silyagin won bronze medals at the European Games and World Championships and defeated Joshua Buatsi in the World Boxing Series so he has strong credentials. No 33 Chilemba has lost in shots at the WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Devyatov vs. Lazaro Devyatov obliterates over matched Lazaro in 86 seconds. The Tanzanian tried to punch with Devyatov but was dropped by a series of punches. He made it to his feet but Devyatov was unloading on him when the referee stopped the fight. Now ten win by KO/TKO for Devyatov in his eleven fights. He wins the WBA Asian title for beating an African! First fight outside Tanzania for Lazaro. Nikitin vs. Dithebe Olympian Nikitin overwhelms South African Dithebe. Nikitin had Dithebe on the back foot and under fire from the start. Dithebe never stood a chance and after three rounds of incessant pressure from Nikitin he did not come out for the fourth round. Nikitin has been less than stellar as a pro and lost to Michael Conlan who he had scored a hotly dispute decision over in Rio. Only one win in his last nine fights for Dithebe. Moscow, Russia: Heavy: Sergey Kuzmin (16-2,1ND) W TKO 10 Igor Macedo da Silva (10-1). Kuzmin gets very late win over Brazilian da Silva. It looked as though this one was all over when Kuzmin floored da Silva in the sixth. The Brazilian proved tougher than expected and not only beat the count but took the fight to Kuzmin and was giving the home fighter plenty of trouble. Just when it seemed this fight was going the distance Kuzmin landed a fierce right in the last minute that put da Silva down. Again he beat the count but was in no condition to continue. Kuzmin needed a win after consecutive losses to Michael Hunter and Martin Bakole. Da Silva had won all of his ten fights by KO/TKO. Bolton, England: Cruiser: Jack Massey (19-1) W TKO 3 Bilal Laggoune (25-3-2). Feather: Nathaniel Collins (9-0) W KO 9 Thembani Mbangatha (11-1).Super Middle: Mark Jeffers (14-0) W PTS 10 Michel Garcia (16-1). Massey vs. Laggoune Massey halts Laggoune in three rounds to win the vacant IBO title. Things started badly for Laggoune when he needed a couple of attempts to make the weight and went downhill from there. Massey boxed confidently in the opening two rounds with both fighters feeling each other out before Massey exploded in the third. A booming left hook put Laggoune down. He was able to get up but Massey forced him to a corner and unloaded punches until Laggoune dropped to his knees and the fight was stopped. Impressive display from Massey. His only loss is a very narrow defeat against Richard Riakporhe for the vacant British title in December 2019 and this is his third win since then. Belgian Laggoune lost a majority decision to Tommy McCarthy for the European title in October last year. Collins vs. Mbangatha Collins makes a successful defence of the Commonwealth title with kayo of South African Mbangatha. The unbeaten South African was expected to give Collins a tough night but Collins took charge of the fight early and bossed the action all the way. He was too quick and too skilful for Mbangatha and had the challenger under pressure with stiff jabs and flashing combinations. After building a big lead Collins floored Mbangatha in the eighth and again in the ninth with the South African counted out on that second knockdown. First defence of the Commonwealth title for Collins which he won with a three round stoppage of Felix Williams in July. Jeffers vs. Garcia Jeffers wins the vacant WBO Global belt with points win over Garcia. Jeffers was always in control against a willing but limited opponent. Jeffers took the fight to Garcia who proved to be resilient and defied Jeffers’ attempts to end things early. The Belgian tired over the closing rounds as most of his fights have been four or six rounds He was deducted a point for losing his gumshield a couple of times in the eighth. Despite that he made it to the final bell. Scores 100-89 twice and 98-91 Jeffers. The Global belt will probably see Jeffers suddenly appear high in the WBO ratings for beating Garcia who Box Rec list as No 201 in the world which makes a farce of the whole principle which ratings are supposed to represent. Cardiff, Wales: Light Fly: Hector Flores (19-0-4,1ND) W KO 6 Jay Harris (18-3). Super Light: Akeem Ennis-Brown (15-1) W PTS 10 Daniel Combi (9-5). Feather: Jacob Robinson (9-0) W PTS 10 Angelo Dragone (5-3). Flores vs. Harris Flores beats Harris in six rounds. Harris was trying a move `down to light flyweight but it turned into a disaster. Being the bigger man Harris started aggressively forcing Flores to the ropes and keeping him under pressure. Flores was unperturbed and landed some useful counters. Harris kept up the pressure with Flores countering with some good body punches and shaking Harris with a left hook in the fourth. Harris had a good fifth connecting with a series of hooks. In the sixth a left hook to the body put Harris down on his knees. He got up but a right to the body put him down for the second time and he was counted out. Huge shock for Harris and huge win for Flores. Most of the Mexican’s opposition had been reasonable level in four and six round fights with Flores never being in a ten round fight so Harris, rated No 3 light flyweight by the WBA, was a huge step –up for Flores who wins the WBA Inter-Continental belt and will be certain to cash in on this result. For Harris it is a case of where he goes from here as he suffers his second inside the distance loss in a row. Ennis-Brown vs. Combi Ennis-Brown gets back into the winner’s ranks as he takes decision over Argentinian Combi. Ennis-Brown was able to use his longer reach and better skills to boss this one. Combi did his best but he was nowhere near good enough. Ennis-Brown outboxed the limited Combi who never worked how to deal with the very individualistic style of Ennis-Brown and apart from a cut over his right which was opened in the fifth round it was a comfortable night for Ennis-Brown. Scores 98-92 twice and 99-91 for Ennis-Brown. Having lost his Commonwealth and British titles to Sam Maxwell in August Ennis-Brown picked up the prestigious WBC International title with this win. Combi lacked the skill and experience to test Ennis-Brown. Robinson vs. Dragone Cardiff southpaw Robinson wins the vacant Welsh Area title with a very narrow one point win over Dragone. There was never much between them from bell to bell. Dragone was cut over his right eye and Robinson was deducted a point for holding in the sixth. The decisive round was the eighth in which Robinson floored Dragone. That 10-8 round off-set the point deduction from the sixth and gave Robinson a one point advantage which he held on to in winning 95-94 on the referee’s card. First ten round fight for Robinson. Dragone was having his second shot at the Welsh title. Berlin, Germany: Middle: Vincenzo Gualtieri (18-0-1) W PTS 12 Billi Godoy (38-7). Super Welter: Jama Saidi (20-2) W Fouad El Massoudi (17-14-1). Super Middle: William Scull (18-0) W KO 2 Deneb Diaz (16-2,1ND). Middle: Bjoern Schicke (18-1-1) W KO 2 Joel Julio (39-9). Gualtieri vs. Godoy Gualtieri wins the vacant IBF Inter-Continental belt with wide unanimous verdict over seasoned veteran Godoy. Gualtieri dominated the fight with his superior skills outboxing Godoy and flooring him in the ninth. Godoy fought hard but never came close to being a threat as Gualtieri won on scores of 120-106, 120-108 and 119-108. Gualtieri is progressing well but needs tougher tests. Godoy was 26-0 at the start of his career but higher level opposition has found him out. Saidi vs. El Massoudi Saidi retains the European Union title with points victory over El Massoudi. Scores 117-111 twice and 119-110 for Saidi. Fourth win in a row for Saidi whose losses have come in overly ambitious clashes with Jack Culcay and Vincent Feigenbutz. Former French champion El Massoudi lost on points to Sergio Garcia for the European title in December 2019. Times have been tough for him and he is 3-7-1 in his last 11 fights Scull vs. Diaz Cuban Scull racks up another inside the distance win. After a close opening round a right from Scull put Diaz down and out. Ninth inside the distance victory for Scull who wins the International Boxing Federation Latino belt. Diaz’s statistics look good but his home opposition has been pathetic and he is now 0-2 in fights outside Colombia. Schicke vs. Julio Schicke disposes of experienced Colombian Julio in two rounds. Julio looked a reasonable test for Schicke after a loss last year but he was floored heavily in the second. He made it to his feet was put down again and was counted out. Schicke, 33, had gone from 15-0 to 1-1-1 but has recovered with two quick wins this year. Julio, 36, challenged for the WBO super welterweight title in 2008 but this is now his fifth loss in a row. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Feather: Erika Cruz (14-1) W PTS 10 Melissa Esquivel (12-2-1). Light: Angel Fierro (19-1-1) W TKO 4 Cristian Bielma (18-4-1). Welter: Christian Gomez (22-2-1) W TKO 3 Javier Franco (35-22-6). Cruz vs. Esquivel In an all-Mexican scarp Cruz outpoints Esquivel in the first defence of the WBA Female title. Southpaw Cruz took the split decision in what was a close bout with the judges coming up with some quite different scores and Cruz herself admitted it was close and although she felt she won she would not have been unhappy with a draw. Scores 98-92 and 97-93 for Cruz and 97-93 for Esquivel. Fierro vs. Bielma Fifteen wins by KO/TKO for Fierro as he halts Bielma in four rounds. He was 16-0-1 before losing to Alex Martin on a majority decision last year but has rebounded knocking out former WBA secondary title holder Alberto Machado in March. Bielma was in reasonable form being 8-1-1 going in. Gomez vs. Franco Gomez’s fights rarely go the distance and this was no exception as he halted experienced Franco in three rounds. He has now scored 20 inside the distance wins and one of his two losses ended the same way. After nine victories in a row Franco is 2-3-1 in his last six fights. Radomsko, Poland: Super Middle: Robert Parzeczewski (28-2) W PTS 10 Taras Golovashchenko (6-5). Middle: Damian Jonak (41-1-2) DREW 8 Andrew Robinson (25-5-2). Parzeczewski vs. Golovashchenko Parzeczewski gets points win mover Golovashchenko but struggles winning a majority decision. Parzeczewski had Golovashchenko in some pain with a body shot in the first but did not follow up on that success. He did enough to get his nose in front but Golovashchenko shook Parzeczewski in the ninth and finished strongly. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Parzeczewski and 95-95. One loss in his last 22 fights for Parzeczewski as he retains the Polish International title but not a good performance although he later said he had been ill and injured. Ukrainian Golovashchenko very ordinary and should not have been a problem for Parzeczewski. Jonak vs. Robinson Jonak had suffered an upset loss to Robinson in 2019 so he wanted to get revenge. It did not work out that way as Robinson came away with a deserved majority draw. Scores 76-76 twice and 77-75 for Jonak. Jonak has settled for a no risk career and at 38 is going nowhere. Robinson was knocked out by Liam Williams in a fight for the British title in October last year so a good result for him. November 27 Villaneuve sur Lot, France: Super Feather: Samir Ziani (33-3-1) W RTD 9 Serif Gurdijeljac (21-6). Ziani wins the vacant IBF Inter-Continental title. Fighting in his home town Ziani was well on his way to a wide points win when Serb Gurdijeljac retired at the end of the ninth round apparently having suffered a fracture to his right hand. The former undefeated European champion extends his current unbeaten run to eleven bouts. Gurdijeljac had lost only one of his last 15 outings. Laval, France: Welter: Jordy Weiss (28-0) W PTS 10 Aitor Nieto (25-7-1). Weiss collects the WBA and IBO International belts with majority verdict over Nieto. The judges all saw a different fight with scores of 98-92 and 96-94 for Weiss and 95-95. These two had fought back in 2018 with Weiss getting the unanimous decision in a contest for the European Union title. Weiss is the official next mandatory challenger for the winner of David Avanesyan vs. Liam Taylor. Ferrara, Italy: Super Light: Arblin Kaba (13-2-1) W PTS 10Daniele Zagatti (9-2-1). Kaba survives a sixth round crisis to retain the national title with points victory over Zagatti. The champion made a confident start and looked to be cruising to victory as he swept up the early rounds and was credited with a knockdown in the fifth. That changed when a left from Zagatti had Kaba badly shaken and in serious trouble in the sixth. Zagatti threw plenty of punches trying to force the stoppage but Kaba survived and steadied himself and was back on top over the remaining rounds. Scores 98-92, 98-93 and 96-93 for Kaba. The Albanian-born champion had hit a bad patch going 0-2-1 when only drawing with Luciano Randazzo to retain his title and losing twice inside the distance in non-title fights. Home town fighter Zagatti had won his last five fights but had not gone ten rounds before. Tokyo, Japan: Feather: Hinata Maruta (11-1-1) W PTS 10 Ryo Hino (14-3-2). Maruta floors Hino twice but in the end has to fight hard to retain his national title. Hino, an awkward southpaw, gave Maruta some problems in the first two rounds and moved in front but Maruta floored Hino with a right in the third and with a right hook in the fifth. After five rounds Murata was in front 48-45 on two cards and 49-44 on the third. Hino fought hard over the second half of the fight attacking fiercely with Murata looking for an inside the distance win countering with savage counters. Hino scored well in the eighth rocking Maruta and he looked to have shaken Murata in the tenth. Scores 97-91 twice and 96-93 for Murata. This was Maruta’s first defence and Hino’s second attempt to win the title. Ostroleka, Poland: Super Welter: Przemyslaw Zysk (18-0) W PTS 10 Juan Ruiz (27-6). Light Heavy: Pawel Stepien (16-0-1) W PTS 8 Hernan Perez (8-5). Middle: Kamil Szeremeta (21-2-1) DREW 8 Nizar Trimech (9-2-1). Zysk vs. Ruiz Zysk continues unbeaten with a good win over Ruiz in an entertaining contest. Zysk opened the first using his longer reach to score with some good jabs but Ruiz connected with a sharp right counter. They both landed well in the second with Zysk then boxing skilfully to edge the next three rounds but they were all close. Zysk had a big seventh but Ruiz rocked Zysk with rights in the eighth and Zysk banged back to finish strongly. Scores 98-92 twice and 97-93 for Zysk. First ten round fight for the 29-year-old local. Venezuelan Ruiz has slipped from the time he was 21-0 but he fought better than the scores indicate here. Stepien vs. Perez Stepien wins unanimous decision over Argentinian Perez. Stepien never really shifted from second gear being far too casual. He always had things in hand but he was allowing Perez too much room and almost gifting him a couple of rounds. He had Perez hurt a couple of times but did not press his advantage and surfed his way to a win. Scores 78-74 twice and 79-73. After the fight Stepien indicated he had injured a hand and had not been well during his preparations for the fight. South American champion Perez was halted in nine rounds by Anthony Sims in nine rounds in August. Szeremeta vs. Trimech Szeremeta has to finish strongly to get a majority draw in what was supposed to be a just a keep busy fight. Trimech scored with some well-timed rights in the first and second. Szeremeta settled and edged the third but Trimech was a danger again in the fourth. The fifth was close and Szeremeta upped his pace in the sixth trying to subdue Trimech and continued that aggression into the seventh as Trimech looked to be flagging. Both threw everything into the last with neither really dominating. Scores 76-76 twice and 77-75 for Szeremeta. Not a very good performance from Szeremeta who in the last twelve months had been in with both Gennady Golovkin and Jaime Munguia. Trimech proved a surprise as he is just a four and six round prelim fighter. East London, South Africa: Minimum: Ayanda Ndulani (12-2-1) W PTS 10 Siphamandla Baleni (18-4-2). Bantam: Gideon Buthelezi (23-5) W PTS 10 Jonas Matheus (14-4-1). Ndulani vs. Baleni Ndulani gains revenge as he decisions Baleni to win the vacant IBO title. This was a poor fight with too much holding and wrestling and too little boxing and one very strange score. Two judges had Ndulani winning 117-111 and 116-112 and the third gave it to Baleni 118-114. When they met for the vacant WBO African title in 2019 Baleni took the unanimous win. Now 7 wins in his last 8 bouts for Ndulani who knocked out former IBF champion Nkosinathi Joyi in four rounds in May. South African light fly champion Baleni was No 5 with the WBO. Buthelezi vs. Matheus In a much better fight Buthelezi took a split decision over Namibian Matheus. The fight swayed back and forth with both having periods of dominance and with Matheus close to a stoppage in the last round. Scores 96-94 twice for Buthelezi and 96-94 for Matheus. Both were on good form with Buthelezi having won his last eight fights and Matheus 9 of his last 10. Jonkoping, Sweden: Super Welter: Patricia Berghult (15-0) W PTS 10 Olivia Belkacem (10-3). Berghult wins the vacant WBC Female title with a unanimous decision over Belkacem. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 for the Swede who was previously the WBC interim title holder. Swiss Belkacem has lost in shots at WBFederation, Women’s International Boxing Association and European titles Swansea, Wales: Light: Gavin Gwynne (14-2) W PTS 12 Jack O’Keeffe (10-1). Gwynne retains the Commonwealth title as he breezes past O’Keeffe. It took Gywnne a few rounds to really get into his stride but after that he dominated the fight. When he chose to box he was totally in charge but at times he let himself be drawn into a scrap by O’Keeffe. The challenger was always busy but not to any great effect and with a bit more effort Gywnne might have handed O’Keefe his first inside the distance loss but the Midlander was made of sterner stuff and Gwynne had to go the distance. Scores 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 for Gwynn. He was making the first defence of the Commonwealth title and is aiming at the British title next. O’Keefe fought hard but lacked the power to be a threat. Birmingham, England: Super Welter: Sam Gilley (13-1) W KO 4 Evaldas Korsakas (10-8-3). Londoner Gilley wins the vacant English title with early kayo victory over Lithuanian Korsakas. Gilley finished the fight in the fourth putting Korsakas down with a left hook to the body and Korsakas was unable to beat the count. Gilley was moving up to super welter after winning the WBC International Silver title at welter. Korsakas is based in England and has done all of his fighting there. Springfield, MA, USA: Super Middle: Mike Guy (13-7-1) W TKO 9 Kendrick Ball (17-2-2) W. Feather: Shelly Vincent (27-2) W PTS 8 Shelly Barnett (5-5-2). Guy vs. Ball Minor upset as Guy wears down and stops local hope Ball in nine rounds. With Ball standing 6’2” and Guy 5’8” the tactics were obvious. Ball would use his height and reach to spear Guy with jabs at distance and Guy would rumble forward trying to get inside to attack Ball’s body. Ball’s plan worked-but for less than three minutes as Guy got past Ball’s guard and put him down with a right in the first round. Ball came though that crisis and was able to use his jab to fight his way back into contention. By the ninth it looked as though Ball’s tactics might work but Guy staggered Ball and then rained punches on him until the referee stepped in to save Ball. Guy, 40, had lost three tough fights in a row against Demond Nicholson, John Ryder and Jesse Hart so was due a win. He collects the WBC United States belt. Ball has an eight-bout winning streak snapped. Vincent vs. Barnett Even at 40 Guy was not the oldest winner on the card. In her first fight since August 2019 42-year-old Vincent came back with a win as she outpointed Canadian Barnett 80-72 on the three cards. Vincent lost to Heather Hardy for the WBO title in 2018 so will be hoping to work her way back to another title shot. Barnett now 1-6-1 in her last 8 fights. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Welter: Paul Kroll (9-0) W PTS 8 Mark Dawson (9-1-1). Philadelphian Kroll gets another win under his belt. Kroll floored Dawson in the first and then outboxed him the rest of the way. Scores 79-72 twice and 80-71. Kroll won the US Olympic Trials for Rio but lost out in the Americas Qualifier. Kroll was to have fought Dawson at the US Trials but Dawson was disqualified on medical grounds. Fight of the week (Significance): Kambosos win mover Lopez has shaken up the lightweight division and there is the prospect of some exciting fights Fight of the week (Entertainment): Fulton vs. Figueroa. After some early rounds spoiled by too much holding it developed into an exciting, close battle. Fighter of the week: George Kambosos Punch of the week: The booming left hook from Jack Massey that put Bilal Laggoune down Upset of the week: Kambosos’ victory over Lopez Prospect watch: Russian super middleweight Pavel Silyagin 9-0 looked good in outpointing experienced Isaac Chilemba. Observations Rosette: Some good match making in Las Vegas as the leading fights Fulton vs. Figueroa, Aleem vs. Baez and Russell vs. Santiago were all decided on majority decision and a six round prelim was decided on a split decision. Red Card: One of the fights I intended to cover was the WBC interim Female title fight between Kenia Enriquez and Gabriel Sanchez which was scheduled but did not take place. It would have shown the farce that the sanction bodies heap on us. Enriquez was to make the fifth defence of the “interim” title which she has held since 2017. An interim title for four years and five defences that is some interim-give them up WBC ! I find it a bit discomforting that the IBF were happy to have Kenichi Ogawa fight for their super featherweight title. He beat Tevin Farmer for that title in 2017 but was stripped off the title when testing positive for a banned substance. The Japanese Boxing Commission handed Ogawa suspension and he was out for fourteen months so served his punishment . He then came back had one fight against a guy with a 12-6-1 record and the IBF immediately slotted him into their ratings as the third highest ranked fighter in the division so it seems they see cheating as nothing to get too excited about. Can’t let the WBA go unnoticed. Tanzanian Adam Lazaro lost to Russian Alexander Devyatov for the WBA Asian title. It would take earth’s tectonic plates millions of years to move Tanzania from Africa to Asia but the WBA can do it in the flash of a sanction fee!
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Whilst this series has had it's share of big fights and big name fighters we also want to shine a light on the lesser known fights and fighters and for today's Closet Classic we certainly go into the lesser known action for a Japanese A Class tournament final from 1986. Neither of the men involved is well known now, more than 35 years on, but together they made for a brilliant tournament final in a bout that saw to men landing bombs. Kenji Iizumi (11-1, 9) vs Masahiro Takagi (19-6-3, 9) In the blue corner was 19 year old Kenji Iizumi. Iizumi had debuted in 1984 and despite a loss in his second bout had proven to be an aggressive, exciting fighter with a a fast starting mentality. From his first 12 bouts he had scored 9 stoppages, with 4 coming in the first round and 7 coming in the first 4 rounds. They had included a notable win over a then 7-0 Mark Horikoshi, who would later become a Japanese champion, and a win over Speedy Kikuchi, avenging his sole professional defeat. Coming in to the bout Masahiro Takagi was a 26 year old who had challenged for the Japanese Featherweight title just over 2 years earlier, when he lost a decision to Eijiro Kuruma. Although less explosive and exciting than Iizumi he was certainly more experienced, and had proven to be a tough guy, who had only been stopped once, in his third bout, maturing from there and becoming a Japanese level title contender. As well as being an A class tournament final the bout essentially served as a Japanese title eliminator, meaning there was a lot at stake here, and the two fighters knew it. Despite that it wasn't a bout hindered by pressure. Instead it was a bout that turned into a thriller. From the off the hard hitting left was pressing Takagi and applying pressure, but Takagi, to credit, was managing to use his feet well to avoid a war from the very sadly. The pressure from Iizumi kept building though and after around 2 minutes of the opening round he was starting to make Takagi work harder to create space. It wasn't the most thrilling of opening rounds but set the stage well, with Iizumi's pressure and aggression going up against Takagi's movement and footwork. Through round 2 we began to see the pace picking up, with Iizumi getting closer, and Takagi needing to respond to the pressure more. The go to gameplan of Izumi was to hold, but that only bought him a second or two of respite and Iizumi wasn't going to be discouraged that easily. By the end of round 2 we were starting to get a war as Iizumi's pressure began to get it's desired effect. The exciting ending to round 2 set the stage for what we would get in round 3, as the two men began to exchange heavy leather. Takagi, realising he was going to need to respond, began to land some heavy hooks, but failed to dissuade Iizumi who kept marching forward. This ended up giving us the early stages of a thrilling war, with Iizumi relentlessly pursuing Takagi. As we headed in to round 4 it was starting to feel like we were about to get something very, very special and it would just take Takagi to play his part for the fight to deliver. Part way through the round he was put down, and it was then clear he would have to turn things around, and quickly as Iizumi began to hunt a finish. To his credit Takagi saw out the storm through the rest of the round, but by now it was clear he needed to change his gameplan. He needed to respond and did so in round 5, loading up on his own shots and countering the aggressive Iizumi with some very solid head shots. We'll leave the bout at this point, so you all get the chance to witness some of the drama unfolding but this is real fun. The style and aggression of Iizumi making the fight, the heart and toughness of Takagi keeping him in it, the atmosphere of the intimate Korakuen Hall adding to things. This isn't one of the all time great bouts, but is still a hidden gem of aggression will power, power against toughness. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Terence Crawford comes from behind to stop Shawn Porter in the tenth round in WBO welterweight title defence -Demetrius Andrade stops Jason Quigley in two rounds to retain the WBO middleweight title -The WBC flyweight title fight between champion Julio Cesar Martinez and McWilliams Arroyo ends in No Decision after two rounds when Arroyo is unable to continue due to a cut -Murodjon Akhmadaliev outpoints Jose Velasquez in WBA super bantamweight title defence -Artem Dalakian retains the WBA flyweight title with ninth round stoppage of Luis Concepcion -Esquiva Falcao gets technical decision over Patrice Volny in IBF middleweight eliminator -In Female title fights Kali Reis retains IBF and WBA super lightweight titles and wins the vacant WBO belt with split decision over Jessica Camara, Segolene Lefebvre collects the vacant WBO super bantamweight title and Debora Dionicius outpoints Marcela Acuna for interim WBO featherweight title -Former title holders IBF cruiserweight Yunier Dorticos and WBO super bantamweight Isaac Dogboe score wins -Tim Tszyu moves closer to a world title shot as he outpoints Takeshi Inoue World Title/Major Shows November 19 Manchester, NH, USA: Super Bantam: Murodjon Akhmadaliev (10-0) W PTS 12 Jose Velasquez (29-7-2). Fly: Julio Cesar Martinez (18-1,2ND) ND McWilliams Arroyo (21-4,1ND). Middle: Demetrius Andrade (31-0) W TKO 2 Jason Quigley (19-2). Super Light: Kali Reis (19-7-1) W PTS 10 Jessica Camara (8-3). Heavy: Dempsey McKean (20-0) W TKO 6 Don Haynesworth (16-8-1). Akhmadaliev vs. Velasquez Akhmadaliev outscores Velasquez by a large margin but the gutsy little Chilean makes Akhmadaliev fight hard in every round. Akhmadaliev was looking to get this one over in the first and he bombarded Velasquez with punches hardly even letting him out of his corner. Velasquez saw out the storm. At 5’ 2 ½” Velasquez is used to giving away height and reach but has never failed to last the distance. Akhmadaliev was using his longer reach to spear Velasquez with right jabs and following with straight lefts and was able to easily step back out of range as Velasquez had to stretch to get within distance. Velasquez did well in the third storming forward connecting with some short hooks and wide looping punches. Velasquez had no choice but to rumble forward and Akhmadaliev was finding the target with individual punches and fast combinations. Velasquez just soaked up the punishment and kept walking forward and the sheer volume of his punches had Akhmadaliev struggling to contain him. Akhmadaliev handed out serious punishment in the ninth and tenth and Velasquez finally looked to tire over the last two rounds-but after the bell did two somersaults and some press-up! Scores 119-111 for Akhmadaliev from the three judges as he makes a successful second defence of the IBF and WBA titles. Velasquez earned his title shot with wins over wins over 21-0 Melvin Lopez 16-0-1 Ariel Lopez. Martinez vs. Arroyo Martinez retains the WBC title in a disappointing ending. Both fighters were down in the first and Arroyo down again in the second but a clash of heads had opened a deep cut over Arroyo’s right eye and he was unable to come out for the third round and the fight was declared a No Decision. It had been short and explosive so it was a pity it ended so quickly. Andrade vs. Quigley Andre wipes out Quigley in two rounds. After a period of tentative pawing from both fighters Quigley launched a couple of attacks without landing any clean punches. Andrade sprang to life exploding on Quigley with a right hook and followed with a sequence of punches that sent Quigley down on his hands knees. Quigley got up and after the eight count Andrade piled forward throwing punches. He had Quigley hurt again but pushed Quigley to the floor which gave Quigley a smattering of recovery time and with the bell only seconds away Quigley survived. Quigley tried to box on the outside in the second but late in the round a fast straight left dropped Quigley on his rear. He was up and did not look too badly shaken. Andrade then chased him along the ropes and drove Quigley down with a volley of punches and the referee stopped the fight. Fifth defence of the WBO title and nineteenth win by KO/TKO for Andrade. He is still seeking a career defining fight but at 33 time is running out and it is difficult to see where the defining fight could come from at middleweight as Saul Alvarez has deserted the division, Gennady Golovkin has a unification fight lined up with Ryota Murata and the WBO No 1 Jaime Munguia has shown no interest in pressing for a title shot and the WBC is pushing him towards their title. Quigley had shown nothing since losing on a fifth round retirement against Tureano Johnson in July 2019 and was out of his depth here. Reis vs. Camara Reis now has three of the four titles at super light after outscoring Camara in a brutal scrap. This was a close fight all the way. Reis surprised by starting as a southpaw but switched to orthodox in the second. She took the centre of the ring with Camara circling and choosing her moment to dart inside with short punches. These tactics looked to move her in front but Reis upped her pace in the fourth and both were heavily marked as they connected with hard shots. The fight swung one way and then the other as they went toe-to-toe. Reis had a big last round that probably clinched the decision for her. The referee asked the doctor to look at a cut on Camara’s left eyelid and then Reis connected with a series of rights that had Camara staggering but she fought back to last to the bell. Scores 97-93 and 95-94 for Reis and 97-93 for Camara. Reis was defending the IBF and WBA titles and won the vacant WBO belt. Camara was short on experience but the Canadian proved to be a real battler. McKean vs. Haynesworth McQueen gets a win in his first fight in the USA as he stops Haynesworth is six rounds. McQueen had height and reach advantages and was able to work at distance with his jab on the plodding slow-paced Haynesworth who provided plenty of target practice but very little else. Demsey looked close to ending the fight with a sustained attack at the end of the fourth a bit more quality and a bit less quantity might have achieved that. A burst of punches from McQueen at the start of the sixth saw the referee stop the fight. Haynesworth was no test for McQueen and the quality of McQueen’s opposition has been less than mediocre with his last three opponents ranked 41,109 and now 206 by BoxRec. In fairness to McQueen he took this fight at fairly short notice but I can’t see him making much of an impact. All you need to know about 39-year-old Haynesworth’s value as a test is that although three inches shorter than McQueen at 293lbs he was 50lbs heavier. November 20 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Welter: Terence Crawford (38-0) W TKO 10 Shawn Porter (31-4-1). Middle: Esquiva Falcao (29-0) W TEC DEC 6 Patrice Volny (16-1). Middle: Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (11-0) W TKO 8 Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (38-6). Feather: Isaac Dogboe (23-2) W PTS 10 Christopher Diaz (26-4). Light: Ray Muratalla (13-0) W TKO 5 Elias Araujo (21-4). Feather: Adam Lopez (15-3-1) TEC DRAW 2 Adan Ochoa (12-2-1). Super Feather: Carlos Balderas (11-1) W TKO 4 Julio Cortez (15-1). Welter: Delante Johnson (0-0) W TKO 4 Antonius Grable (3-1-1). Crawford vs. Porter After a slow start Crawford comes on strong over the second half of a close battle to stop Porter and retain the WBO title. Round 1 A very positive start from Porter. He was showing plenty of quick movement throwing plenty of jabs and moving in behind them trying to connect with hooks. Crawford was on the back foot and defended well but hardly threw a punch. Score: 10-9 Porter Round 2 Once again Porter was the more active. He was getting through with jabs and landed a straight right. Crawford was a little livelier than in the first two rounds and connected with some strong left hand counters to make the round close Score: 10-9 Porter Porter 20-18 Round 3 Another close round. Crawford was now on the front foot tracking Porter but Porter used classy movement and when he was trapped in a corner cleverly slipped out and turned so that Crawford was in the corner. The best punch of the fight so far was a lovely left uppercut inside from Porter which snapped Crawford’s head back. Porter was down at the end of the round but from a push and he was showing a cut over his left eye. Score: 10 9 Porter Porter 30-27 Round 4 A better round for Crawford. He was anticipating Porter’s rushing attacks and either countering with a left or dancing back out of distance. Porter was a bit wild with his punches and tumbled head first into a corner after missing with a punch. Score: 10-9 Crawford Porter 39-37 Round 5 Porter was circling Crawford for much of the round and Crawford showed his edge in strength by pushing Porter out whenever he came inside. Porter twice stormed forward late in the round throwing hooks and uppercuts forcing Crawford to cover up but Crawford was the one landing punches at the bell. Porter’s early work gave him the round but it was ominous in that Crawford landed so well at the end. Score: 10-9 Porter Porter 49-46 Round 6 Crawford was more in control in this round. He was jabbing strongly with his right and bringing his left into play more often. Porter’s attacks now resembled wild lunges rather than planned attacks and Crawford was tying him up inside refusing to let Porter work. A clash of heads brought a temporary stoppage with Crawford pawing at his head looking to see if he was cut. Score: 10- Crawford Porter 58-56 Round 7 A less frantic round. Porter was still bouncing on his toes and still relying on lunging attacks. Crawford did what clean work there was. He was spearing Porter with jabs and left counters and smothering Porter’s work inside Score: 10-9 Crawford Porter 67-66 Round 8 Porter was still leaping forward but it was a case of head down and swing. He did land a couple of good head shots but Crawford outlanded him. He was more accurate and was starting to put together some flashing combinations. Score: 10-9 Crawford TIED 76-76 Round 9 Porter was noticeably tiring. He was no longer bouncing on his toes and when he did drive forward he was slower. Crawford was slotting home jabs and using his left hooks to score as Porter advanced. Crawford had swept the last three rounds and this round showed Porter had No Plan B to turn things around. Crawford banged home a couple of hooks to the body at the bell. Score: 10-9 Crawford Crawford 86-85 Round 10 As Porter tried to move inside at the start of the round Crawford countered him with a right and a left that dropped Porter on his rump. Porter was up at four and after the count again tried to get inside but Crawford met him with a six-punch series that put Porter down again. He beat the canvas with his fists in frustration but got up and was looked ready to continue but his father/trainer Kenny Porter was on the ring apron waiving for the fight to be stopped. Crawford was defending the WBO title for the fifth time. A three-division title holder Crawford is now 16-0 in title fights and has won his last nine fights by KO/TKO. A fight with Errol Spence would be huge and would unify the IBF, WBC and WBO titles. Let’s hope it happens. Porter announced his retirement. A former holder of the IBF and WBC welterweight titles his other three losses were in title fights against Kell Brook, Keith Thurman and a split decision against Errol Spence. Falcao vs. Volny Falcao edges Volny on a split technical decision after the fight is stopped after six rounds. Falcao made a fast start crowding Volny and throwing bunches of punches with Volny having difficulty dealing with Falcao’s output. Falcao continued his relentless pressure in the second but Volny was dealing with the pressure better. Falcao took the fight inside again in the third forcing Volny to the ropes and had some success with rights. Volny was able to land some crisp counters but Falcao’s higher work rate was winning him the rounds. Volny had a better fourth as he seemed to have settled into the fight after being under so much pressure at the start. Falcao outscored Volny over the first two minutes of the fifth although Volny closed the round landing some clean shots. Falcao landed a hurtful uppercut in the sixth but as they moved inside their heads banged together and Falcao suffered a bad cut on his head above his left eye brow and was unable to continue. It was decided on the scorecards which came out as 58-56 and 58-57 for Falcao and 58-56 for Volny. The Brazilian southpaw wins an IBF eliminator. Positions 1 and 2 in the IBF rankings are vacant and No 3 Patrick Wojcicki has not beaten a rated fighter so can’t move to one or two. Falcao was rated No 4 and Volny No 5 so by beating a rated opponent Falcao can leap into one of the vacant slots and become the mandatory challenger to Gennady Golovkin. Volny will be trying to find a way into another eliminator. Alimkhanuly vs. N’Jikam Alimkhanuly just too strong for an aging N’Jikam. Alimkhanuly landed a right early in the first that had N’Jikam retreating and dominated then fight from there. N’Jikam was circling the ring trying to stay out of trouble and did better in the second with some efficient jabbing. A sustained attack from Alimkhanuly in third saw N’Jikam going down and taking a count. Alimkhanuly scored heavily again in the fourth as N’Jikam was already slowing and a couple of heavy uppercuts from Alimkhanuly in the fifth had the referee taking a close watch on the punishment N’Jikam was taking. The sixth was another one-sided round. N’Jikam tried to punch back in the seventh but a right staggered him. N’Jikam got some respite as the fight was paused twice to deal with loose tape on N’Jikam’s gloves but in the eighth after two fierce attacks from Alimkhanuly the referee halted the fight to save N’Jikam from any more hurt. The Kazak southpaw climbed to No 2 in the WBO ratings with a win over Rob Brant and he would pose a real threat to Demetrius Andrade. At 37 N’Jikam is showing signs of wear and tear. He suffered consecutive losses against Callum Smith and Fedor Chudinov in 2019 and was then out for 19 months before returning with a low level win in July this year. Dogboe vs. Diaz Dogboe keeps his title ambitions alive with a majority verdict victory over Diaz. Dogboe was focusing on a body attack in the early rounds with Diaz scoring on the outside and countering or stepping out of range of Dogboe’s attacks. Diaz was picking up points with his jabs but Dogboe started to catch Diaz with rights to the head and had Diaz holding on from a right in the sixth. The Ghanaian had more success with rights in the seventh but Diaz fired back to rock Dogboe in the eighth. With the result seemingly in the balance they fought hard through the ninth and tenth of an entertaining scrap with Dogboe just getting the better of the trading. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Dogboe and 95-95. It is good news/bad news for Dogboe. The good news is that after successive loses to Emanuel Navarrete in super bantam title fights he has rebounded with three wins and is No 4 with the WBO at featherweight. The bad news is that Navarrete has also moved to featherweight and is the WBO champion. Diaz’s three previous losses have come against Masayuki Ito, Shakur Stevenson and Navarrete. Muratalla vs. Araujo Another quality performance by Muratalla as he halts Araujo in five rounds. Quick, accurate jabbing from Muratalla in the first posed problems for Araujo as he bobbed and weaved trying to get inside. When Muratalla opened up late in the round he shook Araujo with an uppercut. Araujo continued to come forward over the next three rounds and scored enough to be competitive but Muratalla was working on Araujo’s body and landing the heavier punches. Muratalla dug in some wicked left hooks to the body at the start of the fifth which momentarily had Araujo backing off. When Araujo marched forward again he walked into more severe hurt and the referee had seen enough and stepped in. Ninth inside the distance victory in a row for Muratalla. Former Argentinian champion Araujo is 0-2 in fights in the USA. Lopez vs. Ochoa This was another fight halted early due to a cut. After two fiery rounds won by Lopez a banging together of heads in the second had seen Ochoa cut over his right eye and the cut was too severe for the contest to continue and it was declared a No Decision. Lopez’s losses have been against Stephen Fulton and Isaac Dogboe on majority verdicts and a stoppage by Oscar Valdez. Ochoa had lost on points to Lopez in a four round fight in 2017 but he was 10-1 since then. Balderas vs. Cortez Balderas hands out a beating to Cortez and stops him in four rounds. Balderas had his jab working well in the first and late in the round a punch saw Cortez lose his mouthguard. Balderas scored with hurtful body punches in the second and staggered Cortez with a right in the third. Balderas rocked Cortez with two rights to the head in the fourth. He followed that with a crunching uppercut which shook Cortez and then a left and right that sent Cortez staggering back and the fights was stopped. Second win in three months for Balderas as the 2016 Olympian gets his career rolling again following 15 months of inactivity. Ecuadorian Cortez goes from 13-1 to 2-4. Johnson vs. Grable Tokyo 21 Olympian, World Youth and twice US National champion Johnson turns pro with stoppage of Floridian Grable. “Tiger” Johnson won all the way before flooring and stopping Grable in the sixth. Another outstanding amateur snapped up by Top Rank. Kiev, Ukraine: Fly: Artem Dalakian (21-0) W TKO 9 Luis Concepcion (39-9). Dalakian retains the WBA title with ninth round stoppage of Panamanian Concepcion. With Dalakian a natural counter-puncher and Concepcion’s default approach being aggression the tactics were easy to predict. Concepcion piled forward from the first aiming to get inside and score with hooks and uppercuts. Dalakian used his longer reach to score on Concepcion at distance and tied Conception up inside. Concepcion pressed hard but the defensive skills of Dalakian frustrated all of his effort. Dalakian floored Concepcion twice in the fifth the first was punch/push and Concepcion was not hurt. Late in the round Dalakian connected with a succession of hooks which dumped Conception on the canvas. This time Concepcion was most definitely hurt but the he made it to his feet and he had lost his mouthguard which had to be replaced so the bell went before Dalakian could finish the job. Dalakian scored heavily again at the start of the sixth and Concepcion looked to be in trouble but he fought back at the end of the round. Concepcion continued to drive forward over the seventh but a right in the eighth sent him staggering across the ring and Dalakian landed some more hooks before Concepcion recovered and fought back. Just 15 seconds into the ninth Dalakian connected with a right to the head that had Concepcion stumbling back and a left hook dumped him down against the ropes. He was up at four and ready to continue but as Dalakian drove him across the ring to the ropes a member of Concepcion's corner team climbed onto the ring apron waiving for the fight to be stopped. Fifth successful defence for the 34-year-old Azeri-born Ukrainian and fifteenth win by KO/TKO. Concepcion has held the secondary versions of both the WBA flyweight and super flyweight titles but at 36 is looking a bit battle worn. November 17 Sydney, Australia: Super Welter: Tim Tszyu (20-0) W VPTS 12 Takeshi Inoue (17-2-1). Super Welter: Wade Ryan (20-9) W PTS 10 Nath Nwachukwu (7-2-2). Super Welter: Koen Mazoudier (9-2) W PTS 8 Joel Camilleri (20-7-1). Middle: Dennis Hogan (28-5-1) W Tommy Browne (42-8-2). Tszyu vs. Inoue Tszyu takes wide unanimous verdict over Inoue. A right from Tszyu sent Inoue back on his heels in the first and he connected with uppercuts in the second as Inoue took some time to get into the fight. Tszyu scored again with rights and uppercuts in the third and by the end of the fourth Inoue was already showing swelling around his eyes. Tszyu piled on the pressure in the fifth and sixth forcing Inoue back around the ring and Inoue was hanging on. Tszyu landed heavily to the body in the seventh with Inoue almost touching the canvas. He had Inoue hurt in the eighth and although Inoue was countering there was no power there but he boxed well in the ninth his best round in the fight and although Inoue was outgunned in the tenth there was blood from Tszyu’s mouth. Tszyu was going past the tenth round for the first time but he was in control and a knockdown which might have been punch/push in the last closed out the fight. Scores 120-107 twice and 119-108 for Tszyu who was defending the WBO Global and WBO Asia Pacific titles. He is No 1 with them and looking to get a title shot but WBO title holder Brian Castano and IBF/WBC/WBA title holder Jermell have unfinished business after a draw in their unification clash in July and he is not the mandatory challenger in any of the other bodies. Inoue had lost almost every round when challenging Jaime Munguia for the WBO in January 2019 and done nothing of note since then. He was No 7 with the WBO but was not rated by the other three bodies. Ryan vs. Nwachukwu Ryan defends the IBO International title with his fourth win in a row. Southpaw Ryan edged three close opening rounds with Nwachukwu doing better in the fourth. Ryan gradually took control of the fight. He shook Nwachukwu with a left in the sixth and in the seventh. Nwachukwu was having trouble with his left eye after a punch from Ryan in the eighth but passed a doctor’s inspection. Nwachukwu fought hard in the ninth even though his left eye was closing and Ryan scored a knockdown in the tenth. Scores 100-89, 99-90 and 98-91 for Ryan. Nwachukwu had lost on points to Inoue in 2019. Mazoudier vs. Camilleri Local fighter Mazoudier takes a split verdict over former Australian champion Camilleri. Camilleri made the better start with Mazoudier edging the third. Camilleri had a good fourth to establish a lead but the rounds had all been close. Mazoudier scored with hard rights to take the fifth and sixth to even things up and then outscored Camilleri over the seventh and eighth to get the decision. Scores 78-74 and 77-75 for Mazoudier and 78-74 for Camilleri. Mazoudier had lost to Luke Woods and Wade Ryan so this is a good recovery effort. Camilleri had won 5 of his last 6 with the loss coming against Tim Tszyu. Hogan vs. Browne Hogan brings the curtain down on Browne’s career as he hands out steady punishment winning every round. Brown did well to get to the bell being hurt significantly in the each of the last three rounds. Scores 60-54 for Hogan from the judges. Hogan lost consecutive title fights in 2019 against Jaime Munguia for the WBO title and Jermall for the WBC belt then was stopped in five rounds by Tim Tszyu in March this year so badly needed a win. Browne had held the WBFoundation title and strangely the Thai title and announced his retirement November 18 Mexico City, Mexico: Feather: David Picasso (19-0-1) W KO 2 Luis Millan (17-5). Super Welter: Jorge Garcia (22-3) W PTS 6 Abraham Juarez (19-8). Super Fly: Argi Cortes (21-2-2) W PTS 6 Ivan Ochoa (8-6-1) Picasso vs. Millan Venezuelan Millan came determined to cause an upset but was overpowered by unbeaten Picasso. Millan was taking the fight to Picasso in the first and launched a strong attack at the start of the second. Picasso easily dealt with Millan’s efforts and then unleashed a barrage of punch that ended the fight. The draw on Picasso’s record was a strange “technical” one where Picasso was stopped in four rounds but the result was changed to a technical draw. Two losses in a row for Millan. Garcia vs. Juarez Garcia gets revenge as he takes a unanimous decision over Juarez. Garcia won on scores of 59-55 on the three cards, He had lost a split decision against Juarez in August 2019. Cortes vs. Ochoa Cortes extends his current unbeaten run as he outpoints Ochoa. Cortes is unbeaten in his last 21 fights. The small show was to celebrate the 15 year partnership between TV Azteca and Zanfer Boxing as part of the closing ceremonies for the WBC Convention November 19 Gregorio de Laferrere, Argentina: Middle: Gabriel Diaz (11-2) W DISQ 1 Jairo Rayman (16-1-1). This one was all over inside three minutes as Rayman is disqualified with 20 seconds to go in the round. He bundled Diaz to the ropes and swung two punches which curled around and landed on the back of Diaz’s head. He fell to his hands and knees and then down lying on the canvas holding the back of his head. A doctor decreed he was unable to continue and as the punches clearly landed to the rear of Diaz’s head Rayman was disqualified. Halle en der Saale, Germany: Super Feather: Nico Venetis (23-0) W PTS 12 Leonardo Uzcategui (10-5-2). German southpaw Venetis collects the vacant Global Boxing Council belt with one-sided points victory over Venezuelan Uzcategui on scores of 117-111 twice and 119-109. Venetis has been very carefully protected against anything remotely like a test and the last nine fighters Uzcategui has beaten could not muster a single win between them! Bangkok, Thailand: Super Light: Daud Yordan (41-4) W TKO 5 Rachata Khaophimal (7-1). Yordan halts novice Thai Rachata in the fifth. This was a total mismatch. Yordan cruised through the early rounds then rocked Rachata in the fourth and put him down with a body punch in the fifth. Rachata made it to his feet but unloaded on his and the referee stopped the mismatch. This was the former IBO champion’s first fight for two years. He wins the vacant WBX ABC belt. Novice Rachata a lamb to the slaughter. Glasgow, Scotland: Middle: Trigger Wood (9-0) W TKO 4 Paddy Pollock (8-11-3). Middle: Paul Kean (14-2) W PTS 8 Graham McCormack (6-1). Wood vs. Pollock Wood too good for a game Pollock and gets a fourth round stoppage to collect the BBB of C Scottish Area title. First ten round fight and first inside the distance win for Wood. Kean vs. McCormack Dundee southpaw Kean wins all eight rounds on his way to securing the vacant BUI Celtic title. The referee scored it 80-72 for Kean over fellow-southpaw McCormack. November 20 London, England: Light Heavy: Dan Azeez (15-0) W TKO 7 Hosea Burton (26-3). Cruiser: Richard Riakporhe (13-0) W TKO 5 Olan Durodola (36-9). Cruiser: Mikael Lawal (15-0) W TKO 5 Leonardo Bruzzese (20-7). Welter: Florian Marku (10-0-1 W PTS 8 Jorick Luisetto (11-3). Azeez vs. Burton Azeez breaks down and dismantles Burton in seven rounds. Burton tried to make use of his 6” height edge and longer reach to box in the first round but Azeez was getting inside and he wobbled Burton with a right. Burton did better with his boxing in the second but Azeez dominated the third. Burton was being forced to stand and trade punches and he was hurt by a left hook in the third. Azeez continued to swarm forward in the fourth and Burton could not keep him out. Burton was staggered by a powerful jab in the fifth and sent sagging into the ropes by a punch in sixth. Azeez opened the seventh by landing two rights to the head that had Burton stumbling back. Burton recovered and hit back with jabs and right crosses as he steadied himself and stood and exchanged punches. He looked to have weathered the storm but Azeez forced him to the ropes and landed a neck-snapping left hook then poured on a series of lefts and rights to the head until the referee leapt in to protect Burton. Azeez wins the vacant British title and has established himself as a real threat in this division. He is No 9 with the WBA in a division that is heavy with British fighters with Joshua Buatsi, Lyndon Arthur, Callum Johnson, Anthony Yarde, Callum Smith and Craig Richards all world rated. Burton suffered an upset loss in September last year when being beaten on points by Ricards Bolotniks for the WBO European title in the final of the MTK-Global tournament and this was a crushing defeat which must put a question mark over his future. Riakporhe vs. Durodola After two years out of the ring Riakporhe is making up for lost time as he disposed off experienced Durodola in five rounds. Riakporhe made a confident start, He was jabbing smartly getting through Durodola’s guard and he shook Durodola at the end of the round with a powerful uppercut. Riakporhe dominated the early part of the second with a laser-like jab and then began to land with rights and left hooks to the body and was still scoring with jabs at the end of the round. Riakporhe connected with two heavy rights in the third but Durodola shook them off. A right cross followed by a right uppercut had Durodola backing off in the fourth but again Durodola shook them off. The first punch Riakporhe threw in the fifth was a short left hook to the chin that dropped Durodola. He beat the count but then Riakporhe drove him along the ropes landing hooks and uppercuts and with Durodola staggering the referee stopped the fight. The 6’5” Londoner wins the WBC Silver title. He had scored victories over Tommy McCarthy and Chris Billam-Smith but then the pandemic struck and he was out of action for almost two years which cost him his high ranking. He is back on track and a threat to any cruiserweight. Durodola was stopped in seven rounds by Ilunga Makabu in a challenge for the WBC title in December Lawal vs. Bruzzese Lawal demolishes Argentinian Bruzzese. The visitor was willing enough but limited. After winning the opening round Lawal dropped Bruzzese twice in the second. Bruzzese recovered and roiled forward over the third and fourth with a casual looking Lawal boxing patiently. Bruzzese continued to take the fight to Lawal in the fifth. Lawal waited for an opening and when Bruzzese came forward a thunderous overhand right sent him crashing to the canvas and the fight was quickly stopped to allow him to get some medical assistance. With this ninth inside the distance victory behind him Lawal is now looking to get a shot at Chris Billam-Smith who holds the British, Commonwealth and European titles. Fifth loss by KO/TKO for Bruzzese. Marku vs. Luisetto London-based Albanian southpaw Marku scores another win as he outpoints Frenchman Luisetto. Marku was quicker and cleverer than Luisetto switching guards and scoring with some flashy combinations. Luisetto fought hard and ignored Marku’s taunts. He did enough to pick up a couple of rounds but never really looked a threat. The referee scored the fight 78-75 for Marku who is building a big following. Miami, FL, USA: Cruiser: Yunier Dorticos (25-2) W TKO 2 Jesse Bryan (20-6-2,2ND). Super Feather: Luis Lebron-Ortiz (18-2-1) W TKO 7 Frank Diaz (9-0). Super Bantam: Mike Plania (26-1) W TKO 1 Ricardo Nunez (29-13). Heavy: Istvan Bernath (9-0) W TKO 2 Deon Hale (5-14-1). Dorticos vs. Bryan More of a massacre than a match as Dorticos batters poor Bryan to defeat. Dorticos was a clear head taller than the game Bryan. The Cuban scored two knockdowns in the first but Bryan gamely Bryan got up and continued. Bryan marched forward into fire in the second until Dorticos drove him to the ropes and then bombed Bryan with punches until he slumped to the floor with the fight then being stopped. Return to the ring for the first time for Dorticos since his loss to Mairis Breidis for the IBF title in September last year. Bryan used to facing only a diet of the hopeless. Lebron-Ortiz vs. Diaz This proved a couple of steps too far for Diaz. Lebron-Ortiz used his greater experience to overcome Diaz and force the stoppage in the seventh round. Puerto Rican Lebron-Ortiz might have seemed to be slipping after going from 17-0 to 1-2 but he had too much for the 20-year-old Diaz. Plania vs. Nunez World rated Filipino Plania wipes out Panamanian Nunez inside a round. The 24-year-old lost a decision to Juan Carlos Payano back in 2018 but has since won eleven in a row including a victory over 22-1-1 Joshua Greer. He is rated WBO 4/WBA 5/IBF 9(7)/WBC 15. Now 33 Nunez’s punching power saw him land two world title shots but he has now lost seven in a row. Bernath vs. Hale Bernath gets a second round stoppage in a fight that shows boxing matching at its worst. Bernath had about 4 inches in height over Hale but did not need any advantage as Hale’s fastest pace was slower than a trundle. Mercifully the referee stopped the farce in the second after Bernath had walked Hale to the ropes and landed a few punches. Hale protested the stoppage refusing to leave the centre of the ring and arguing with the referee. Although considerably shorter than Bernath Hale was 75lbs heavier than Bernath at 321lbs. Enough said! Buenos Aires, Argentina: Feather: Debora Anahl Dionicius (32-3) W PTS 10 Marcela Eliana Acuna (50-8-2). Bantam: Angel Aquino (9-4-1) W TKO 5 Kevin Munoz (12-1,1ND). Light Heavy: Braian Suarez (16-0) W TKO 3 Juan Boada (11-3). Dionicius vs. Acuna Dionicius springs an upset as she outpoints Acuna. Dionicius was younger and quicker than Acuna and took the opening round. Acuna pressed hard over the second and third and probably edged them. From there Dionicius took control outboxing her more experienced opponent and Acuna just could not land often enough to pose a real threat. The fight was halted temporarily in the ninth for the doctor to examine a cut suffered by Acuna in a clash of heads but was allowed to continue and although Acuna put in a huge effort in the last round Dionicius was a good winner. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 all for Dionicius who wins the interim WBO Female title. Acuna 45 was the first female fighter to be licensed in Argentina. She won the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF super bantamweight belts but at separate times, was 15-2-1 in world title fights and scored wins over top female stars such as Shannon O’Connell and Jackie Nava- so perhaps it is time to retire. Aquino vs. Munoz Another upset in this one as Argentinian bantamweight champion Aquino ends his fight with South American title holder Munoz with a big left hook in the fifth that put Munoz down heavily. He tried to struggle to his feet but the referee could see he was finished and waived the fight off. The only title on the line here was the vacant IBF Latino title which Aquino adds to his national title. Suarez vs. Boada Another display of power from unbeaten Suarez as he disposes of Colombian Boada in three rounds to collect the vacant WBO Latino title. Suarez scored two knockdowns in the second and was battering Boada in the third when Boada’s corner threw in the towel. Suarez has won his last seven fights by KO/TKO and has only been take the distance once in his 16 fights. Boada had won his last 5 fights. Grenoble, France: Cruiser: Eddy Lacrosse (13-7-2) W TKO 8 Nicolas Sais (11-5-1). Lacrosse wins the vacant French title with stoppage of Sais. Lacrosse was scoring heavily to the body from the start. Sais would have preferred to work at distance but Lacrosse pressed hard. Sais did manage to create some room and boxed on the outside from the fourth but Lacrosse maintained the pressure and early in the eighth connected with a right to the head that put Sais on the floor. Although he managed to get up a fresh stream of punches from Lacrosse saw the referee stop the fight. Second national title for Lacrosse a former holder of the light heavyweight belt. Sais,40, did not turn pro until he was 30, and he announced his retirement. Douai, France: Super Bantam: Segolene Lefebvre (15-0) W PTS 10 Paulette Valenzuela (13-2). With the vacant WBO Female title on the line local boxer Lefebvre put on a sparkling display of skill to outpoint Mexican Valenzuela. Lefebvre had a much longer reach and used that edge to box at distance. Valenzuela kept rolling forward but skilled footwork and accurate countering allowed Lefebvre to build a substantial lead and she had a good fifth round shaking Valenzuela with uppercuts. Valenzuela continued her attacks and scored well in the seventh and landed a big left hook in the tenth. Lefebvre did go down in the tenth and was given a count but it looked to have been a slip. Scores 96-93 twice and 97-92 for Lefebvre. She is no stranger to titles having held the French, World Boxing Federation, IBO and WBC Silver titles. Valenzuela came in on the back of six wins in a row. Hellbronn , Germany : Super Welter: Slawa Spomer (15-0) W PTS 10 Jose Suero (8-1-1). Heavy: Albon Pervizaj (17-1) W KO 2 Pavel Sour (13-6). Spomer vs. Suero German champion Spomer wins the vacant IBO Inter-Continental title with points victory over Spanish-based Dominican Suero. Spomer was giving lots of reach to the 6’0” tall Suero but with Suero not begin a heavy puncher he was able to hustle and bustle Suero who rarely got off the back foot. In an exciting sixth Suero did connect with a series of head punches that had Spomer badly shaken. Suero’s lack of power let him down and Spomer revived and by the end of the sixth Spomer was just one punch away from victory when the bell saved Suero. From there Spomer continued to boss the fight. Scores 100-89,100-90 and 99-91 for Spomer. Pervizaj vs. Sour Pervizaj racks up his thirteenth inside the distance win as he kayos Czech Sour in the second round. Going into round two almost counts as overtime for Pervizaj who had won 3 of his last 4 fights in the first round. Pervizaj statistics hide a collection of “no hope” opponents and his loss was against a fighter with a 3-0-1 record. Sour , 39, is earning his money the hard way having been in with Jermaine Franklin, Hughie Fury and Nathan Gorman and lost on a first round kayo against Arslanbek Makhmudov in July. Munich, Germany: Super Middle: Emre Cukur (18-1) W PTS 10 Matteo Hache (8-1). Middle: Uwel Hernandez (12-1) W PTS 10 Pavel Semjonov (25-20-2). Cukur vs. Hache Cukur wins the vacant WBA Continental title but struggles to overcome young French champion Hache. Scores 96-94 twice and 96-93. The Munich southpaw is scheduled to face England’s Jack Cullen for the vacant European title on 18 December in Manchester and he will have to improve a lot on this showing to win that fight. Hache, 22, showed real promise and will be back stronger. Hernandez vs. Semjonov In what passes for a title shot with the WBFederation Cuban Hernandez outpoints Estonian Semjonov who is well-versed in losing. Scores 97-91 twice and 96-92. Six wins in a row against very modest opponents for Hernandez. Now 9 losses in his last 10 fights for Semjonov which tells you how highly the WBFederation values their title. Hamburg, Germany: Heavy: Zhan Kossobutskiy (17-0) W TKO 5 Alexis Garcia (11-1). Middle: Avni Yildirim (24-4) W PTS 10 Yusuf Kanguel (20-5-1). Heavy: Jose Larduet (7-0,1ND) W KO 2 Leandro Robutti (8-5). Super Light: Jeremias Ponce (29-0) W KO 2 Michel Marcano (22-5-1). Welter: Freddy Kiwitt (20-3) W TKO 3 Wilber Blanco (8-1). Heavy: Senad Gashi (22-3,1ND) W PTS 6 Jairo Diaz (6-8). Kossobutskiy vs. Garcia Kossobutskiy has no problems dealing with the obese Dominican Garcia and stops him in the fifth. The tall southpaw was able to score at ease on the plodding until the referee halted the mismatch. Kossobutskiy wins the vacant WBC International Silver title. He has won 16 of his 17 fights by KO/TKO and was coming off what looked a good win but this one was poor as Garcia weighed 218lbs for his pro fight and was 264lbs for this one. Yildirim vs. Kanguel Yildirim outpoints a game but overmatched Kanguel. Yildirim worked the body well in every round hurting Kanguel time and again. Kanguel took the punishment and kept fighting back showing guts if very little skill. Yildirim won on scores of 100-90, 100-92 and 99-91 and gets his third win in a row. German Kanguel had won 4 of his last 5 outings Larduet vs. Robutti Larduet retains the WBC Latino belt with second round dismissal of southpaw Robutti. Larduet shook Robutti late in the first then ended it in the second. The Cuban connected with a volley of punches ending with an uppercut that sent Robutti down and he was counted out needing medical assistance to recover. The 31-year-old has taken less than nine rounds for his last five wins. Argentinian champion Robutti had lost only one of his last six fights Ponce vs. Marcano Ponce scores a second round knockout. The IBF No 1 landed jabs and long rights in the first and ended things in the second. A powerful right to the body which hooked around behind Marcano’s elbow sent the Venezuelan down in pain and he was unable to beat the count. Strange to find the IBF No 1 fighting in an eight round support bout but it keeps Ponce busy as he waits for a shot Josh Taylor. Third inside the distance loss in four fights this year for Marcano. Kiwitt vs. Blanco Kiwitt punches too hard for Colombian Blanco and forces a third round stoppage. Kiwitt just edged the first two rounds as both scored with some stiff punches. In the third Blanco landed a sharp left hook that sent Kiwitt staggering back but Kiwitt banged back. He landed a left hook to the body then a left to the head followed by a booming right that sent Blanco down on his back. Blanco got up but after the eight count the referee waived the fight over. Ninth win in his ten most recent fight for UK-based Kiwitt. Blanco had won 7 of his 8 fights inside the distance but his opposition had been weak. Gashi vs. Diaz Gashi gets six rounds of work against Argentinian Diaz. It was a reasonably level fight over the first two rounds. Gashi upped the pressure from the third and Diaz went into survival mode allowing Gashi to cruise to victory. All three judges scored it 59-55 for Kosovon-born Gashi. His losses have come against Tom Schwarz , Carlos Takam and Dereck Chisora. Carugate, Italy: Bantam: Alessio Lorusso (16-4-2) W PTS 12 Thomas Masson (19-5). Lorusso boxes his way to a unanimous verdict over Frenchman Masson in a contest for the vacant European Union title. Not a heavy puncher the Italian southpaw evaded Masson’s early attacks with some skilful footwork and classy jabbing. Masson was having only his second fight in three years and although he pressed hard he just could not pin Lorusso down. It was the second half of the fight before Masson began to have some success as he outscored Lorusso over then sixth and seventh. Lorusso rebounded over the eighth and ninth but was wobbled badly by a right in the tenth before easing his way through the last two rounds. Scores for Lorusso 117-112 twice and 118-112 for Lorusso and he gets his ninth successive victory. Former European title holder Masson lost on a seventh round stoppage against Daigo Higa for the WBC fly title in 2017. Seville, Spain: Light: Carlos Perez (17-6-2) W PTS 10 Salvador Baron (7-1-2). Perez wins the vacant national title as he stages a strong finish to outscore less inexperienced Baron. Perez went into the lead early with some cool, clever boxing with Baron just trying to batter his way inside. Baron changed tactics over the middle rounds boxing more and he had Perez in trouble a couple of times. As Baron began to flag Perez took over again late in the fight and was a good winner. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Perez. He wins the Spanish title after being 0-2-1 in pervious title fights. Baron took the fight at only three weeks’ notice and the scores did not really reflect how hard he made it for Perez at times. Fight of the week (Significance): In beating Shawn Porter Terence Crawford keeps the door open for a number of significant fights with a unifying one against Errol Spence sure to be a big attraction. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Crawford vs. Porter held the attention all the way as Crawford clawed back Porter’s early lead Fighter of the week: Terence Crawford as he goes 16-0 (12)in world title fights Punch of the week: The overhand right from Mikael Lawal that flattened Leonardo Bruzzese gets the vote with honourable mention to the left hook from Angel Aquino that laid out Kevin Munoz Upset of the week: None Prospect watch: None I have not already noted and a few who are in the “too early to judge” stage Observations Rosette: To Crawford and Porter for a great example of what championship boxing is all about Red Card: To the Miami show where poor little Jesse Bryan was thrown in for Yunier Dorticos to feast on and to whoever thought that the obscenely obese 321lbs Deon Hale was a reasonable match for Istvan Bernath. Good to see boxing returning to Luna Park in Buenos Aires after seven years with 6,000 turning up to celebrate in the one-time heart of Argentinian boxing Unbeaten Mexican prospect 19-0-1 David Picasso is juggling boxing with studying neuroscience at the UNAM University so sort of knocking them down and putting them back together again. A boxer named Picasso is about as likely as a painter named Rocky! Big celebration for the 15th year of partnership between TV Azteca the premier boxing TV site in Mexico and leading promoter Zanfer with the show featuring Picasso put on as part of the closing ceremony of the WBC Convention. The Tszyu dynasty is taking shape with 23-year-old Nikita, Tim’s younger brother about to turn pro. After success as an amateur Nikita dropped boxing to pursue a degree in architecture. Another case of learning to build things up and then knock them down. Neuroscience and architecture-not exactly Rocky Balboa or I’ll moider de bum these days! I guess when you have an almost insignificant profile you have to settle for what crumbs you can pick up but surely the World Boxing Federation could have done better than Estonian journeyman Pavel Semjonov with 8 losses in his last 9 fights to contest their vacant middleweight title- or maybe not. Back in November 2012 we got an absolute treat on from Los Angeles in what was a brilliant double header featuring 4 of the little men in the sport. One of those bouts saw Roman Gonzalez take a very competitive win over Juan Francisco Estrada whilst the other featured a Filipino-American taking on one of the most fun to watch Mexican fighters ever. The bout was was the main event of the card, though in reality it's now not spoken about as much as it should be, sadly. That's despite the fact the contest was sensational. Maybe not as good as the Gonzalez Vs Estrada bout, but it was certainly a special bout. Brian Viloria (31-3-0-2, 18) vs Hernan Marquez (34-2, 25) Filipino-American fighter Brian Viloria was always a hard man to really predict. At his best he could truly do it all. He was a boxer-puncher, with vicious power and brilliant skills. He was a smart fighter, but he was also someone who seemed to run into trouble in the ring far more often than he really should. He really should be better remembered than he is, but losses at Light Flyweight to Omar Nino Romero, Edgar Sosa and Carlos Tamara all seemed to leave us with question marks over how good Viloria really was. Whilst Viloria did suffer those losses he also had numerous top level wins at Light Flyweight, including victories over Eric Ortiz, Jose Antonio Aguirre and Ulises Solis. In 2010, after losing to Tamara, Viloria moved up in weight and went on a truly fantastic run of results beating Julio Cesar Miranda, to claim the WBO Flyweight title and the defended it against Giovani Segura and Omar Nino Romero, in the third bout between the two men. He then got a unification bout with WBA champion Hernan Marqueez. Mexican warrior Hernan "Tyson" Marquez was one of the sport's must watch fighters at the time. Technically he was crude and clumsy, but had incredible power, heart, work rate, aggression and physical strength. To this point his only losses had been an upset to Richie Mepranum and ill fated bout at Super Flyweight against Nonito Donaire. those losses had both come in 2010 and he had bounced back with 7 wins. The 7 fight winning streak of Marquez had included a 2011 Fight of the Year contender against Luis Concepcion, in which Marquez claimed the WBA Flyweight title, revenge of Mepranum and 2 world title defenses, including a rematch with Concepcion. He had been blitzing fighters and scoring a lot of knockdowns, quickly becoming the man you tuned into for fireworks and excitment. Coming in we had two men in good form, two men with solid power, exciting styles and two men who both held world titles. We had the ingredients for an instant classic, and that's exactly what we got! From the first round it was clear we were getting something special. Viloria took the fight to Marquez with an aggressive gameplan. The tactics seemed a risky one against someone with the power of Marquez, and towards the end of the round Marquez actually began to turn the tables on Viloria. That was until Viloria a brilliant left hook put Marquez down. That was the first of the bouts numerous knockdowns. Virloia would continue to land clean, accurate shots, getting the respect of Marquez and neutralising the Mexican for the most part. Marquez had his moments, but always seemed to pay for them. The class and more rounded skills of Viloria saw him being able to soak up the pressure from the Mexican and land the more clean and destructive blows. Those shots from Viloria saw him scoring a second knockdown in round 5, just as it seemed like Marquez was building some momentum of his own. Viloria then controlled the action without much bother for a bit before he began to slow. With the bout slipping away from him Marquez began to pressure and press, trying to make Viloria drain his take and drown him late on. Viloria's work rate began to decline notably in round 9 and Marquez turned it on, as if feeling that Viloria was gassing and tiring. We'll leave this bout here, but we do need to say this is one of the most entertaining and exciting 1-sided bouts in recent memory. It was over-shadowed by the Gonzalez Vs Estrada bout, but was genuinely thrilling, as pretty much every Marquez bout was during this stage of his career. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Kiko Martinez pulls off huge shock as he floors Kid Galahad twice and stops him in six rounds to win the IBF featherweight title. -Jaime Munguia gets wide unanimous decision over Gabriel Rosado -David Benavidez beats Kyrone Davis in seven rounds and brother Jose draws with Francisco Torres -Chris Billam-Smith outpoints Dylan Bregeon in EBU cruiserweight title defence -In Female title fights Lourdes Juarez scores unanimous decision over Luiz Elena Aguilar to retain WBC super flyweight title, Dane Dina Thorslund knocks out Zulina Munoz in defence of her WBO Female bantam title and Alycia Baumgardner stops Terri Harper in four rounds to win the WBC and IBO super feather titles World Title/Major Shows November 13 Sheffield, England: Feather: Kiko Martinez (43-10-2) W TKO 6 Kid Galahad (28-2). Cruiser: Chris Billam-Smith (14-1) W PTS 12 Dylan Bregeon (11-2-1). Super Feather: Alycia Baumgardner (11-1) W TKO 4Terri Harper (11-1-1). Super Light: Dom Hunt (8-0) W PTS 10 James Flint (9-1-1). 17 Martinez vs. Galahad When I was a mere lad the group the Four Aces had a hit with a song titled “You Gotta Have Heart” that could be Kiko Martinez’s theme tune. The former IBF super bantamweight title holder had lost in three subsequent world title attempts and at 35 needed a manipulation of the ratings to get a shot at title holder Galahad. He lost the first four rounds of their fight but just kept on coming and eventually stopped Galahad to become a two division title winner as he halted Galahad in the sixth round to win the IBF title. From the first round Galahad was just too quick for Martinez. He was constantly switching guards and connecting with straight shots with both hands. Martinez just kept coming forward walking through Galahad’s punches trying to get within range to score with hooks but was eating punches. He was cut over his right eye in the third and lost all of the first four rounds as Galahad peppered him with hooks and uppercuts and slid away from Martinez’s attempts to cut off the ring. Martinez stepped up his pace in the fifth storming forward. Galahad continued to pepper Martinez with punches back could not keep him out and late in the fifth a sizzling right hook to the head sent Galahad down heavily. Galahad only just made it to his feet and he was badly shaken and luckily for him the bell at the end of the count. The first punch Martinez threw just five seconds into the sixth round was 1 which sent Galahad down flat on his back with his head bouncing off the canvas and the referee immediately waived the fight over and Galahad was down receiving medical attention for a while. Huge surprise but as Martinez showed you can never write off a fighter with a warrior’s heart and a punch to match. Galahad was 1lb 1oz. over at the first weigh-in but subsequently made the weight. Having fought for twelve years to win a title it is a huge blow to lose the title in his first defence. Martinez looked a reasonably safe choice as a challenger but after this bad knockout Galahad has a massive rebuilding jab ahead of him but he has said that he wants a return fight with Martinez. Billam-Smith vs. Bregeon Billam-Smith makes successful first defence of the European title against Frenchman Bregeon. In the early rounds Bregeon seemed more interested in wrestling and holding with Billam-Smith doing what scoring there was. Billam-Smith managed to connect with body shots in the second and third but Bregeon was content to smother Billam-Smith’s attacks. Bregeon connected with a big right cross at the start of the fourth and showed a useful jab but rarely used it to any effect. The fifth had some good exchanges with both landing strong shot but Bregeon looked to be tiring from the sixth with Billam-Smith landing clubbing head punches when he could make some room. Billam-Smith scored heavily in the ninth with Bregeon trying to punch back but flagging and a stoppage looked possible but Bregeon rallied. Billam-Smith stormed forward over the closing rounds and a tiring Bregeon struggled to make it to the final bell. Scores 119-109 twice and 120-109 for Billam-Smith. Former French champion Bregeon lacked the strength to match Billam-Smith. Baumgardner vs. Harper Second upset in a title fight on this show as Baumgardner stops Harper in the fourth round. These two exchanged heavy punches in the first but there were danger signals for Harper as she was shaken by an overhand right in the second. Harper did better in the third but Baumgardner continued to look dangerous with rights. In the fourth a right to the head from Baumgardner stiffened Harper’s legs and she half turned away out on her feet. Luckily the referee jumped in quickly to protect Harper before Baumgardner could land another punch. With her seventh inside the distance win the 27-year-old American wins the WBC and IBO titles that Harper was defending. Harper had been plagued with hand injuries including one in her last fight a title defence in November 2020. There is a return clause in the contract but Harper will need a long rest due to the nature this chilling loss Hunt v Flint Hunt and Flint produced an entertaining fight in which their styles melded well. Hunt had the more aggressive tactics with Flint busier and putting together some smart combinations. Hunt’s pressure paid off and he took the deserved decision on a score of 98-93 to lift the vacant BBB of C Central Area title. Both were testing the water at ten rounds for the first time. Phoenix, Arizona, USA: Super Middle: David Benavidez (25-0) W TKO 7 Kyrone Davis (16-3-1). Super Welter: Jose Benavidez (27-1-1) DREW 10 Francisco Torres (17-3-1). Feather: Keenan Carbajal (23-2-1) W TKO 4 Josean Bonilla (12-7-2). Benavidez vs. Davis A typical Benavidez fight as he slowly breaks down and batters Davis to defeat in seven rounds. Davis danced his way around the perimeter of the ring in the opener. Benavidez tracked him connecting with a few rights with Davis hardly throwing a punch. Davis was more positive in the second showing some sharp jabbing and firing a couple of quick combinations. At the end of the round Benavidez caught up with Davis and scored with bursts punches to head and body. Benavidez continued to walk Davis down in the fourth and fifth. Davis slowed and stood and traded more fighting back against the punishment Benavidez was handing out. He paid for that in the fifth when he looked ready to go but he fought back and survived. Davis put in a big effort at the start of the sixth. Again he was standing in front of Benavidez and trading punches. When Benavidez landed heavily Davis taunted Benavidez and invited him to throw some more. Benavidez did and all of the fight went out of Davis as Benavidez walked forward landing thumping hooks to the body and straight rights. Davis threw an occasional counter but by the bell was taking heavy hits and again looking ready to go. Benavidez pounded Davis with punches driving him around the ropes until the towel came flying from Davis’ corner. The 24-year-old former WBC title holder is No 1 with the WBC and the fight he wants is with Saul Alvarez but there is no guarantee he will get that fight. Alvarez will make that decision with the names of Gennady Golovkin –probably the fight the fans would want- Artur Beterbiev, Jaime Munguia, Jermall Charlo also being mentioned but Benavidez has indicated that he too has other options. Davis had taken this fight at two week’s notice and that was a factor. He had found his way into the fight after a negative start but the power of Benavidez particular his body punching proved too much in the end. Benavidez vs. Torres Benavidez fails to make it a family double and looks fortunate to get a draw against Argentinian Torres. Benavidez was in his first fight since losing on a twelfth round stoppage against Terence Crawford for the WBO welter title back in 2018 and Torres took advantage of that to outbox Benavidez in the first. Benavidez did a bit better in the second and third but good movement from Torres and accurate jabbing looked to give him the edge. Torres had a good fourth with strong body attacks from Benavidez getting him into the fight in the fifth and sixth which were close rounds. Pressure from Benavidez had Torres on the back foot for much of the eighth and ninth. Benavidez was landing the heavier shots but Torres found plenty of gaps for counters. With the fight seemingly in the balance Torres produced an impressive last round and looked to have done enough to get the verdict but two judges scored it 95-95 and the third saw it for Benavidez 96-94. A close call for Benavidez the elder brother of David. He was only just inside the middleweight limit for this fight, 13lbs heavier than when he fought Crawford, but he will probably aim to get a few pounds off for his next fight. Former undefeated Argentinian champion Torres had won his last nine fights including victories in the USA and Colombia and has boosted his stock with his performance in this fight. Carbajal vs. Bonilla Carbajal moves to 18 consecutive wins with stoppage of Bonilla. The tall local featherweight, the nephew of Hall of Fame inductee Michael Carbajal, was an ordinary 5-2-1 at the start of his career. Bonilla had been inactive since January 2019. Anaheim, CA, USA: Middle: Jaime Munguia (38-0) W PTS 12 Gabriel Rosado (26-14-1,1ND). Fly: Arely Mucino (30-3-2,1ND) W PTS 10 Jacky Calvo (14-7-2). Middle: D’Mitrius Ballard (21-0-1,2ND) W PTS 10 Paul Valenzuela (26-10). Welter: Alexis Rocha (18-1) W TKO 9 Jeovanis Barraza (23-2). Light: William Zepeda (24-0) W TKO 4 John Vincent Moralde (24-5). Munguia vs. Rosado Impressive show from Munguia as he outworks and outscores Rosado who was always dangerous and although Munguia won by good margins Rosado played his part in an entertaining contest. Munguia was the busier fighter from the start. Showing growing maturity and setting the pace as he scored well with jabs and long rights. Rosado was using his jab to probe for opening for right counters but had no success. Munguia continued to take the fight to Rosado in the second outworking Rosado who was still relying heavily on his jab. There was plenty of action in the third and fourth with Rosado finally finding the target with power punches to head and body but with Munguia having Rosado rocking in the fourth. The fierce exchanges continued over the fifth and sixth with both landing cracking punches and Rosado this time rocking Munguia with a right. At the half way point Munguia had won every round but they had all been close and fiercely contested. Over the seventh and eighth Munguia was in control and Rosado looked to be feeling the pace but he still landed a cracking right late in the eighth. Munguia scored heavily at the start of the ninth but Rosado banged back strongly just before the bell. The youth and strength of Munguia told over the closing rounds as he piled on the punches with Rosado just hanging on as Munguia tried to blow him away in the last. Scores 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111 for Munguia. No doubt about the winner but Rosado made Munguia fight hard until he tired down the stretch. He could not match the work rate or power of Munguia who is rated No 1 by both the WBC and WBO so has plenty of options. Rosado has lost some big fights but always rebounds and will probably do so again. Mucino vs. Calvo In an all-Mexican clash Mucino racks up her ninth win in a row with a split verdict over Calvo. Most of the fight took place on the inside with Mucino dominating the exchanges. Calvo did better over the second half of the fight as the pace dropped. Mucino still looked in front but was floored late in the ninth and rocked again by a left to the head in the tenth but made it to the bell. Her early work just earned her the nod from the judges at 96-93 twice for Mucino against a 96-93 for Calvo from the third judge. Mucino is a former WBC flyweight title holder and former undefeated WBO flyweight title holder. Calvo holds the WBC International Female flyweight title. Ballard vs. Valenzuela Ballard had plenty of rust to shed but after a slow start he went on to take the decision over Valenzuela. Ballard was having his first fight since November 2019 and his timing was out over the first three rounds. Valenzuela tried to take advantage of that with a fast start of his own. He outscored Ballard in the first and had him in some trouble in the second. Ballard reared back out of an exchanged seeming to have inured his mouth and was momentarily shaken and had to survive a fierce attack from Valenzuela. Ballard settled into the fight and outworked Valenzuela putting Valenzuela under constant pressure putting him on the back foot and raking him with punches but Valenzuela remained competitive. Ballard opened a cut over Valenzuela’s right eye in the ninth as he swept the last three rounds to overcome Valenzuela’s early lead and take the decision on scores of 98-92 on the three cards which was a bit harsh on Valenzuela. He will now be looking to work his way into the ratings. Mexican Valenzuela has been matched tough. He was 15-1 at one stage but life has been tougher since then. Rocha vs. Barraza Rocha gets a late stoppage win over Barraza. From the start Rocha made Barraza’s body his preferred target area. He used some punishing jabbing to put Barraza on the back foot and worked him over with a barrage of body punches whenever he trapped Barraza on the ropes. Barraza scored with enough counters to stay in the fight but as the rounds passed his output plunged whilst Rocha stepped up the pressure. Barraza stood and exchange punches in the eighth but was fading badly and when in the ninth Rocha again pinned Barraza to the ropes and pounded him with punches the referee stopped the fight. This is the second win for the 24-year-old Californian since losing a close decision to Rashidi Ellis in October last year and he has now put his career back on track. Colombian Barraza had lost on a second round stoppage in July 2019 against former amateur star Gabriel Maestre in Maestre’s first paid fight but had rebuilt with three wins against reasonable level opponents. Zepeda vs. Moralde Another power show from Zepeda as he beats Moralde in four rounds. Filipino Moralde tried to use his longer reach to keep Zepeda out in the first but Zepeda was scoring with right jabs and straight lefts. Zepeda increased the pressure in the second hunting Moralde around the ring. Moralde tried to stand and trade with Zepeda in the third but was bombarded by slashing combinations to head and body. Zepeda was ruthless in the fourth overwhelming Moralde with punch after punch until Moralde could not take any more and turned away from the action in surrender. The 25-year-old Mexican southpaw has won 22 of his 24 fights by KO/TKO including a current run of fourteen in a row giving him a 91.67 kayo percentage. His previous two victims 23-2-1 Robert Ramirez and 19-0 Hector Tanajara were credible opponents and he mercilessly brushed them aside and is ready for a test against a rated fighter. November 11 Tokyo, Japan: Super Bantam: Takuma Inoue (15-1) W PTS 12 Shingo Wake (27-7-2). Takuma keeps the Inoue clan flag flying as he takes wide unanimous decision over experienced former IBF title challenger Wake. Inoue was conceding a lot in height and reach against Wake but used good movement and hand speed to offset that. A right put Wake down in the fourth and at that stage all three judges had Inoue 39-36 ahead. Wake survived the knockdown but Inoue continued to outbox him and widened the gap in the points so that after eight with two having it 78-73 and the other 79-72. Wake rallied late but Inoue remained in control and boxed his way to victory. Scores 117-110 on all three cards. Inoue, 25, lost on points to Nordine Oubaali in a challenge for the WBC bantam title in November 2019 and with elder brother Naoya fighting at bantam he is now eyeing a title shot at 122lbs. Southpaw Wake, 35, lost to Jonathan Guzman for the vacant IBF title in 2016 but had won 7 of his last 8 bouts. Huntington, NY, USA: Super Feather: Michael Magnesi (20-0) W TKO 3 Eugene Lagos (16-6-3). Light Heavy: Joe Ward (5-1) W PTS 6 Leandro Silva (3-5). Magnesi vs. Lagos In his first fight in the USA after an early shock Italian hope Magnesi stops Lagos. Magnesi was down in the first but recovered and handed out punishment to Lagos in the second. He continued to come forward scoring with heavy hooks in the third. He forced Lagos to the ropes and unloaded a series of shots until a right sent Lagos sliding down the ropes with Magnesi adding a left and another right as Logos was on the way down. Lagos made it to his feet but the fight was stopped. Twelfth inside the distance victory for Magnesi. Second loss by KO/TKO for Filipino Lagos. Ward vs. Silva Irish southpaw Ward gets a comfortable points win over Brazilian Silva. The judges gave Ward all four rounds scoring the fight 60-54. Ward’s loss came in his first pro fight due a knee injury and that injury and the pandemic have slowed his progress. In the amateur ranks he was World Junior and World Youth champion was three time European Champion and won two silvers and a bronze medal at the World Championships. Silva has done all of his fighting in the USA. November 12 Montpellier, France: Welter: Mehdi Mouhib (20-2) W PTS 12 Mohamed Kani (19-3). Mouhib retains the EU title and gains revenge as he scores a split decision victory over Kani. This was a close tactical battle with Mouhib a worthy winner more so as he beat Kani in Kani’s home town. Scores 115-113 twice for Mouhib and 116-112 for Kani. First defence for Mouhib who lost to Kani in January 2020 for the vacant French title. Bielefeld, Germany: Cruiser: Enrico Koelling (28-4) W PTS 10 Leon Harth (20-5). Super Middle: Dimitar Tilev (15-0) W PTS 10 Siarhei Khamitski (32-22-3). Middle: Bujar Tahiri (9-0) W PTS 8 Ivan Alvarez (31-13-1). Light Heavy: Emin Atra (18-0) W PTS 6 Michael Obin (5-11). Koelling vs. Harth Koelling wins the WBO European title with decision over champion Harth. Koelling took control early setting the pace and rocking local boxer Harth with a right in the third. Harth was cut over his right eye in the fifth and the cut continued to re-open in subsequent rounds. Harth had been going to the body over the early rounds and that began to pay dividends later and he staged a strong finish but Koelling had already built an unassailable lead and took the decision majority decision but Koelling was a clear winner. Scores 96-94 twice for Koelling and 95-95. Koelling lost on a last round stoppage against Artur Beterbiev for the vacant IBF title in 2017 and consecutive losses to Domenic Boesel and Leon Bunn pushed him out of the rating but this win will get him a spot with the WBO. Armenian-born German Harth has lost big fights against Krzys Wlodarczyk, Artur Mann and Leon Bunn. Tilev vs. Khamitski In his first ten round fight Tilev was in charge from the start and slowly wound up the pressure in round after round. Belarusian Khamitski spent most of the fight on the back foot and soaked up plenty of punishment but frustrated Tilev’s attempts to score an inside the distance win and although losing every round Khamitski lasted the distance. No scores given. Good learning fight for local hope Tilev. Now 47 and a pro for 22 years Khamitski was considered something of a prospect when he went 17-0-1 at the start of his career but is now a reliable loser having won only one of his last ten fights. Tahiri vs. Alvarez Tahiri has to fight hard to get a win over Mexican Alvarez. Tahiri made a slow start finally having some success from the third. He countered well against the constant attacks from Alvarez and showed some good defensive skills. Alvarez was too often inaccurate but his sheer work rate kept him very much in a close and hard fought contest. Scores 77-75 for Tahiri on the three cards. Tahiri, 23, had won 7 of his previous 8 fights by KO/TKO and holds the German International title. Alvarez 33 gave Tahiri just the type of fight he needs to develop his skills. Atra vs. Obin Neighbourhood fighter Atra returned to action with a points win over Ugandan-born Swede Obin. The visitor went in front early as Atra had to shake off the dust from a long period of inactivity. He came though over the last three rounds and got the unanimous verdict but Obin gave him an unpleasant night. First fight for Atra since December 2019. Eight losses in a row for Obin. Tokyo, Japan: Minimum: Yudai Shigeoka (4-0) W PTS 12 Tsubasa Koura (15-2). Southpaw Shigeoka picks up the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title with very narrow majority decision over Koura. It was close all the way. Koura took the first round but Shigeoka bounced back and Koura was cut over his left eye in a clash of heads in the third. After four rounds the scores were 39-37, 37-39 and 38-38. Koura’s experience and strength saw him move into the lead over the middle rounds and he was up 77-75 and 76-74 with the third having them level at 76-76. Shigeoka staged a stronger finish and just scraped home. Scores 115-113 twice and 114-114. Although this was only Shigeoka’s fourth pro fight he was an outstanding amateur with an 81-10 record before turning pro when he was unable to get a berth at the Tokyo Olympics. His brother Gingiro had held this title but relinquished it in August. Gingiro is unbeaten as a pro and was 56-1 as an amateur. Another Japanese dynasty building? Former OPBF champion Koura was rated No 9 by the WBO. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Super Fly: Lourdes Juarez (33-2,1ND) W PTS 10 Luz Elena Aguilar (7-3-1). Super Bantam: Christian Medina (18-3) W KO 1 Edinso Torres (15-6). Juarez vs. Aguilar Juarez decisions Aguilar in WBC Female title defence. Juarez’s skills were too much for inexperienced Aguilar. Juarez was able to use her hand speed and accuracy to outscore Aguilar and upper body movement to off-set an aggressive Aguilar’s attacks. Aguilar never stopped pressing making it an entertaining match but she was well beaten. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92 for Juarez. “The Little Lulu”, 34, was making the second defence of her title and is now 30-0,1ND in her last 31 bouts. Aguilar, 19, was 3-0-1 going in. Medina vs. Torres Medina wins the vacant WBC Youth title with a first round kayo of Venezuelan Torres. A devastating left hook sent Torres down out cold with no count needed. The 21-year-old “Wasp” now has nine wins in a row and thirteen victories by KO/TKO. London. England: Heavy: David Adeleye (8-0) W RTD 4 Dominik Musil (6-4). Adeleye beats Musil on a fourth round retirement. A cagey opening round saw Musil using his longer reach to score with Adeleye firing dangerous rights. Adeleye took over in the second and he had Musil reeling under a series of rights crosses at the bell. Adeleye scored heavily again late in the third. He continued to connect with rights in the fourth and just before the bell a right sent Musil flying back to the ropes where he hung suspended with his arms spread along the ropes. He stood up and was give a count. The bell had gone and he was able to get to his corner but did not come out for the fifth. Seventh inside the distance win for the 24-year-old Londoner. Musil had won his last three by KO/TKO. Aberdeen, Scotland: Welter: Dean Sutherland (12-0) W TKO 8 Michele Esposito (18-5-1). Local southpaw Sutherland wins the vacant WBC International Silver title with stoppage of Italian Esposito. They fought on even terms in the early rounds but Sutherland gradually upped his pace. He had Esposito reeling in the fourth and continued to boss the action until the eighth when with Esposito pinned to the ropes and under fire the referee stopped the fight. Good win for the 23-year-old Aberdonian southpaw. Former Italian champion Esposito had won his last seven bouts. Leeds, England: Super Bantam: Jack Bateson (15-0) W PTS 10 Ramez Mahmood (11-2). Bateson delights his home fans as he wins his first pro title with victory over Mahmood. Bateson won a wide unanimous decision but it was at a price. He was cut over his right eye in the third and over the left eye in the seventh and also lost a point in the ninth for a punch to the back of Mahmood’s head. Despite the ups and downs Bateson won on scores of 97-92 twice and 99-90 and collects the vacant English title. Bateson, 27, won a cupboard full of trophies as an amateur and is making good progress. Mahmood is a former BBB of C Southern Area champion. November 13 Kolding, Denmark: Bantam: Dina Thorslund (17-0) W TKO 7 Zulina Munoz (53-4-2). Super Middle: Jacob Bank (5-0) W RTD 7Aku Kanninen (9-1-1). Thorslund vs. Munoz Impressive performance from Thorslund as she outboxes and then halts the more experienced Mexican Munoz to retain her WBO title. She was quicker and more mobile than Munoz and was able to score and get out before Munoz could counter. Munoz was dangerous with occasional left hooks but Thorslund’s left hook was the dominating punch. She dropped Muniz with that punch in the second. Munoz did a bit better in the subsequent rounds but Thorslund was well in front when she put Munoz down with a left hook to the body in the seventh and although Munoz arose she was unable to continue. Thorslund, 28, a former WBO super bantamweight title holder, had moved down to bantam and this is her first defence of that title. Her preparation was far from ideal have been laid low by COVID-19 and sprained a wrist just a few weeks before this fight but she won through and is now looking to unify the bantamweight titles. Munoz, a former WBC super flyweight title holder, turned pro in 2005 and at one time had a 48-1-2 record. Bank vs. Kanninen Youngster Bank wins his first pro title with victory over Finn Kanninen. Bank took charge early and had both superior skill and power than Kanninen. He outscored Kanninen over the first half of the fight but slack defensive work allowed Kanninen a foot hold in the fight. From the sixth Bank tightened up and began to land heavily. A right in the seventh had Kanninen badly shaken and he did not come out for the eighth. Bank, 20, wins the vacant WBO Youth title. Kanninen 21 had won the Finnish title in July. Charleville-Mezieres, France: Super Light: Walid Ouizza (15-2) W PTS 10 Romain Couture (10-4-1). Ouizza retains the French title with split decision over Couture. No scores available. Seventh consecutive win for Ouizza who was making the first defence of the title. Clermont-Ferrand, France: Light Heavy: Kevin Cojean (27-10-2) W TKO 7 Hugo Kasperski (34-11-1 ). Heavy: Nicolas Wamba (8-0) W PTS 10 Karim Berredjem (10-8). Cojean vs. Kasperski Cojean wins the French title with stoppage of Kasperski in a clash of seasoned former champions. Kasperski was considered the harder puncher but Cojean whilst down on all three cards forced the stoppage in the seventh. Kasperski was in control until he was floored with a right hook late in the sixth. He made it to his feet and came out for the seventh but was quickly rocked by another right hook and the fight was stopped. Cojean is on a small streak of good results being 5-0-1 in his last six contests and is hoping to land a shot at the EU title. Home advantage was not enough to get Kasperski the win as he suffers his third inside the distance defeat. Wamba vs. Berredjem Wamba has no trouble in retaining the French title as he takes unanimous verdict over challenger Berredjem on scores of 98-92 on the three cards. A former kickboxing and full contact champion he was making the first defence of the national title. Berredjem is now 0-3 in shots at the title. Tarbes, France: Super Bantam: Mathis Vegas (8-0) W PTS 10 Sebastian Iacobas (4-3-2). Plenty of French title fights about right now as the French Boxing Federation is determined to keep the titles flourishing. In this one in his first ten rounds fight Tarbes fighter Vegas outclassed Iacobas to lift the vacant super title bantam on scores of 99-91 from the three judges. Iacobas is a former French bantamweight champion. Dusseldorf, Germany: Cruiser: Mike Perez (26-3-1) W TKO 6 Jose Ulrich (17-5,1ND). Light Fly: Augustin Gauto (17-0) W TKO 1 Jaba Memishishi (8-16) Heavy: Lenroy Thomas (25-5-1) W TKO ? Marcos Aumada (21-11). Perez vs. Ulrich Perez bludgeons Ulrich to defeat. The Cuban southpaw dominated the action with Ulrich having neither the skill nor the punch to be very competitive. Ulrich hung tough until the sixth round but was up against the ropes and being rocked by punch after punch when the fight was called off. Now 36, the former WBC cruiser title challenger was inactive between October 2018 and August this year and gets his second win in three months. Former Argentinian champion Ulrich has lost five in a row now. Gauto vs. Memishishi Argentinian Gauto wipes out substitute Memishishi inside a round. The little Argentinian tiger dropped Memishishi twice with left hooks to the body and then backed him to a corner and unleashed a torrent of hooks until the referee stopped the fight. The 23-year-old Gauto was having his first fight for eleven months and his first fight in Europe. He is No 3 with the WBO. Ninth loss in a row for Memishishi who is really a full super bantamweight. Thomas vs. Aumada Thomas gets a win in an untidy, messy fight. The 6’4 ½” Aumada was quicker on his feet than Thomas and had a much longer reach. Aumada’s tactics were to circle the ring then lunge inside with a burst of punches and then hold giving Thomas no chance to connect with any significant punches. As Thomas began to find the target from the second Aumada spent time on the floor complaining of punches to the back of the head or just simply falling over. The referee gave Aumada a count went he went down from what was a punch to the back of the head in the fourth and after Aumada seemingly exhausted fell down twice more the referee stopped the untidy mess. Former Commonwealth champion Thomas must have been hoping for a better fight than this mess in his first contest in eleven months. Fifth loss in a row for Aumada. Coventry, England: Middle: River Wilson Bent (10-0-1) TEC DRAW 7 Tyler Denny (13-2-3). Light Heavy: Shakan Pitters (17-1) W KO 8 Reece Cartwright (23-2) Welter: Stephen McKenna 10-0) W KO 1 Richmond Djarbeng (31-5-1). Middle: Aaron McKenna (13-0) W PTS 8 Gabor Gorbics (26-22-2). Bent vs. Denny The English title remains vacant when the clash of Bent and Denny ended in a technical draw after seven rounds. Local fighter Bent had the better of the exchanges in the first but Denny evened things up with a good second. Quick, accurate jabbing from Bent helped him pocket the third and fourth. Again Denny responded hurting Bent with a body punch in the fifth and a punch opened a cut over Bent’s left eye in the sixth. The referee stopped the fight to have a look at the cut but let the fight continue. When a punch worsened the injury in the seventh the fight was stopped. Denny was celebrating his win victory but the referee had decided the cut was caused by a clash of heads so it went to the score cards. One judge had Bent in front 68-65 another had it 67-66 for Denny and the third had them even at 67-67. The fight was delicately poised at the end and hopefully there will be a return. Pitters vs. Cartwright Pitters stops Cartwright in the eighth round. The 6’6” Pitters had plenty of reach over Cartwright but Cartwright was quick and clever and boxed his way in front. He had Pitters fighting on the back foot and looked comfortable. Slowly Pitters body punching began to have an effect but after the seventh Cartwright was still boxing well. In the eighth Pitters exploded with a left hook that shook Cartwright and then floored him with a powerful right. Cartwright beat the count but the referee stopped the fight despite protests from Cartwright. Former British champion Pitters wins the vacant WBC International title. Cartwright had won his last six fights but only returned to action in July after almost three years out of the ring. McKenna vs. Djarbeng Ireland’s McKenna overwhelms poor Ghanaian Djarbeng in the first round. Immediately the bell sounded McKenna rushed across the ring and was landing punches before Djarbeng had advanced more than a couple of steps. McKenna drove Djarbeng back into his own corned and blasted the Ghanaian with punches until he slumped to the canvas and was counted out after just 41 seconds. Too easy for McKenna who gets his sixth first round victory. Djarbeng’s record is heavily padded with low level victims. McKenna vs. Gorbics It looked as though Aaron might also get a first round win as he floored Gorbics with a right to the head in the first round. Gorbics is an experienced survivor and he showed enough fight to convince the referee to let him continue. McKenna poured on the punishment in every round but Gorbics has only lost inside the distance in six times and he was still there at the end. The referee scored it 80-71. Both Aaron and older brother Stephen were outstanding amateurs and are now based in California. Gorbics is 0-10 2 in his last 12 outings. Dudelange, Luxemburg: Heavy: Johann Duhaupas (39-6) W TKO 2 Andras Csomor (18-33-2). Super Middle: Bakary Samake (6-0) W TKO 2 Gyorgy Mizsei (27-30-1). Duhaupas vs. Csomor “The Reptile” returns to action with an easy second round stoppage of poor Csomor who needs to be saved from himself but is probably making someone too much money for that to happen. First fight for Duhaupas since being stopped in a round by Tony Yoka in September last year. Csomor is 0-19-1 in his last 20 fights. Samake vs. Mizsei Luxemburg-based French teenager Bakary gets his fourth inside the distance win. The 18-year-old has an aim of being a world title holder by the time he is 20! Experienced Hungarian Mizsei suffers his third inside the distance loss this year. Fight of the week (Significance): The wins for both David Benavidez and Jaime Munguia keep some exciting options on the table. Fight of the week (Entertainment); Jaime Munguia vs. Gabriel Rosado had plenty of heated exchanges until Rosado ran out of puff Fighter of the week: Kiko Martinez for his upset victory over Kid Galahad Punch of the week: The right hook that floored Galahad in the fifth was devastating. Honourable mention to the right from Alycia Baumgardner that froze Terri Harper. Upset of the week: Kiko Martinez was given no chance against Kid Galahad Prospect watch: Argentinian light flyweight Agustin Mauro Gauto 17-0 impressed in his first fight in Europe. Observations Rosette Kiko Martinez for never giving up and the French Federation who keep their national title alive and well Red Card to whoever keeps booking Hungarian heavyweight Andras Csomor. He has an 18-33-2 record and there are plenty around worse than that but 28 of his 33 losses have come by KO/TKO. He is 0-19-1 in his last 20 fights with 17 of those 19 losses by KO/TKO Kid Galahad’s loss was a blow for Eddie Haran but don’t feel sorry for him. He picked Martinez and the IBF of course then slipped Marinez into the ratings issued on 10 October at No 15 after he beat a guy with a 14-9 record to legitimise it. Eddie must be wishing the IBF had refused to play the ratings game. When we look through the history of boxing we find so many great fights that just don't get much attention, even among the hardcore fans that do watch boxing outside of the mainstream. Today we're going to look at one such bout from 2000 which is exciting, action packed, sees two men take some brutal shots and has momentum shifts and drama throughout. It's the sort of bout that would have been an instant classic had it not been tucked away in Nagoya but instead took place in Las Vegas. Hideki Todaka (16-2-1, 7) vs Yokthai Sithoar (23-1-1, 13) In one corner was defending WBA Super Flyweight champion Hideki Todaka, who had won the title in 1999 with a victory over Jesus Rojas and was now looking for his second defense of the belt. The man from the Midori gym had been the under-dog when he beat Rojas and had also been the under-dog when he retained the title with a win over former Japanese amateur stand out Akihiko Nago. Here he was looking to build on that reputation as an upset minded fighter. As well as recording two upsets he had also been a fighter who had been unlucky through his career, carrying multiple injuries, including a back injury that delayed his debut and a hand injury that had forced him to vacated a Japanese national title. Unlike many Japanese fighters he was a local star, making his name in Central Japan rather than one of the boxing powerhouses like Tokyo or Osaka, rather than a national boxing hero. In the opposite corner was former champion Yokthai Sithoar, a 25 year old looking to reclaim the WBA Super Flyweight title that he had lost in Nagoya to Satoshi Iida, who boxed at the same gym as Todaka. Prior to losing the title in 1997 Yokthai had racked up 4 defenses and proven himself to be a heavy handed fighter. In fact the heavy hands of Yokthai had been known about before his boxing debut, as he had been a devastating puncher in Muay Thai. Although not too well remembered now a days, the Thai was a crude, limited boxer, but one who was tough, threw a lot of shots and had incredible work rate, determination and every shot he landed hurt like hell. He wasn't the type of fighter who turned up for a bout to lose, but instead he seemed to enjoy having a tear up, and beating his opponents up. On paper this was an attractive match up. Two relatively limited boxers, with styles that were going to gel. Todaka was probably perceived as the more technical fighter, but neither man was exactly well known for their boxing brains and their ability to lay traps. Both were known for being tough guys, who came to fight, threw a lot, and made up for their deficiencies in skills, but being so damned determined. Straight from the off Yokthai looked to make a fast start, getting his jab pumping and really trying to get his distance down as quickly as possible. Todaka wasn't having that however and tried to to let bombs go up close, which say Yokthai respond with some of his own. Within a minute of the fight starting we were seeing both letting big shots go up close, with the men essentially taking it in turns to let their shots go, then reset. It made for an instant welcoming to the action and it was certainly not your typical first round. Neither man seemed to be hurt at any point, but it was clear that the styles were gelling just as well as we could have hoped and they gave us a very hotly contested opening 3 minutes that was fought in the style that seemed to be exactly what both men wanted. Whilst the first round was good the second was even more better as we got more of the same. It was again a round where the two guys pumped out some jabs before getting inside, unleashing a combination then getting tagged themselves in response. Midway through the round we began to see more exchanges as both men looked to prove they were the stronger man and the bigger puncher. After two very close rounds we began to see the challenger moving through the gears slightly, picking up his work rate, and not backing off when he was tagged, instead he was making sure he got the last word in every back and forth sequence. It was brilliant work from the Thai who, at times, seemed to be using Todaka's head as target practice. The straights, the hooks and the uppercuts from the challenger seemed like they couldn't miss, and Todaka took a genuine beating through parts of the round. The champion always tried to fight back, but his shots had little to no effect on Yokthai who looked like a man fighter who had chosen to use a cheat code or something. The same aggression from the Thai continued in round 4 and 5 as he got inside and continued pummelling Todaka, who really had no answer and nothing he could do to stop the charging Thai. Sadly for Todaka the shows he was taking were taking a clear affect on his face, leaving him swollen, bruised, and bloodied by the end of round 4. The only real relief that Todaka had going his way was that Yokthai had been putting a lot of effort into those rounds, but he had also done a lot of damage and Todaka seemed to be feeling the effects, backing up a lot and throwing little himself. Thankfully for Todaka he did have a much stronger round 6, but it looked more like a last stand than a true turn around from the champion, who needed to stop the rot.His was face looking a mess by then and he had to be down on the cards, even in Nagoya where judges were historically very favourable to the local fighter. He seemed to be putting everything into the round, and did have something of a break through, that it was very hard to know if it was a true turn around or just a minor respite after the beating he had been taking. Rather strangely round 7 become one of the quietest rounds of the fight. Yokthai was now looking like a man who had began to feel the effects of the tempo he had set early on, and Todaka seemed unable to really build on the success he had had in round 6. It was a much, much quieter round and neither seemed to take much punishment through the first 2 minutes. The final minute of the round however was much better, with Yokthai starting it well and Todaka having a good run through the middle of it. It again seemed like Todaka was turning things around, and some how his faced seemed to be looking better now than it had earlier in the fight. It was clear he felt things were swinging his way. Todaka had another major break through in round 8, as he began pressing more, getting on the front foot and forcing Yokthai to give ground fairly consistently. Yokthai seemed to outland Todaka, but his shots seemed to have little effect on the Japanese fighter. On the other hand Todaka shook Yokthai to his core with a right hand on the bell, that sent Yokthai stumbling and then dropping to the canvas. It was clear Yokthai was hurt, and had the shot come 30 seconds earlier that could have been the start off the end. In round 9 Todaka jumped on his man, feeling Yokthai was their for the taking. This lead to a brutal round of action that saw Yokthai bite down had and go to war with Todaka in arguably the round of the fight. It was a round that only one issue with it, the top on Yokthai's glove kept coming undone. That however didn't phase Todaka who went on to hurt Yokthai again, and pushed the Thai to his physical limits. Somehow Yokthai remained upright despite looking ready to go on 3 or 4 occassions. The moment was now all with Todaka as we leave the conclusion of the bout down to you to enjoy. But this is genuinely one of the true closest classics from 2000, and is a bout that every fan deserves to see. It's brutal, it's exciting, and it's another great example of what the Flyweight division has been giving us over the years. You may not be aware of the fighters but this shows exactly what both men brought to the ring. A true brilliant war. (Note - Fight starts at around 11:19 into the video) By Eric Armit:
Highlights: -Saul Alvarez unifies the super middleweight titles with eleventh round stoppage of IBF title holder Caleb Plant -Former title holders Anthony Dirrell, Rey Vargas and Rances Barthelemy scores wins on the Alvarez vs. Plant undercard with victories also for Elvis Rodriguez and Joselito Velazquez -Zac Parker cements his No 1 super middleweight rating with the WBO by stopping Marcus Morrison in four rounds to retains the WBO International title -Hannah Rankin wins the vacant WBA and IBO Female super welterweight titles with points win over Maria Lindberg -Mikaela Mayer outpoints Maiva Hamadouche at super featherweight to retain her WBO title, win Hamadouche’s IBF title and collect the vacant IBO title -Matteo Signani retains the European middleweight title with decision over Ruben Diaz World Title/Major Shows November 6 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Middle: Saul Alvarez (57-1-2) W TKO 11 Caleb Plant (21-1). Super Light: Elvis Rodriguez (12-1-1) W KO 5 Juan Romero (14-1). Super Bantam: Rey Vargas (35-0) W PTS 10 Leonardo Baez (21-5). Super Middle: Anthony Dirrell (34-2-2) W TKO 4 Marcos Hernandez (15-5-2). Super Light: Rances Barthelemy (29-1-1) W TKO 2 Gustavo Vittori (25-10-1). Fly: Joselito Velazquez (14-0-1) W PTS 8 Gilberto Mendoza (19-11-3,1ND). Alvarez vs. Plant Alvarez hunts down a clever boxing Plant and catches up with him finally in the eleventh round finishing the fight with two knockdowns to unify the super middleweight division titles. Round 1 Plenty of movement and plenty of jabs from Plant. He was staying off the ropes and out of corners and trying an occasional right. Alvarez was tracking Plant but hardly threw a punch in the round until the last thirty seconds. Score: 10-9 Plant Round 2 A much better round from Alvarez. He was hunting Plant down pinning him to the ropes and scoring with left hooks to head and body. Plant was using his jab less and there was no conviction when he did use it. Score: 10-9 Alvarez TIED 19-19 Round 3 Plant kept on the move. He was circling the ring constantly changing direction stabbing out jabs and firing an occasional right. Alvarez had problems cutting off the ring and although he landed a couple of left hooks late in the round Plant fired back each time and did most of the scoring. Score: 10-9 Plant PLANT 29-28 Round 4 Plant opened the round with a burst of punches but Alvarez kept rolling forward. He managed to trap Plant against the ropes a few times and landed some wicked left hooks. Plant has a style which sees him leaning to his right which took him away from Alvarez overhand rights all night but into the path of the left hooks. Score: 10-9 Alvarez TIED 38-38 Official Scores: Judge David Moretti 39-37 Alvarez, Judge Patricia Morse Jarman 38-38 Tied, Judge Steve Weisfeld 39-37 Alvarez Round 5 Alvarez was warned for a low punch at the start of the round as again hunted down Plant. Alvarez was loading up on his left hooks and had success with those but Plant was able to duck under the overhand rights. Good defensive work by Plant but he was not throwing much and Alvarez took the round on the basis of his left hooks. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 48-47 Round 6 Alvarez best round so far. He pressed Plant hard doubling up his left hooks to head and body and shook Plant with a left to the head with very little coming back from Plant. He did not have the power to get Alvarez’s respect and by the end of the round a confident Alvarez was dropping his hands and standing in front of Plant and still getting through with left hooks. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 58-56 Round 7 After starting the fight retreating around the ring and under fire from the left hooks of Alvarez Plant changed tactics and took the fight to Alvarez trading shots which momentarily confused Alvarez and that allowed Plant backed him to the ropes. Alvarez stood there covering up and inviting Plant to do his worst and then staged a late attack that just earned him the round. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 68-65 Round 8 Plant did better in this one. Again he tried to stay in the centre of the ring and he was connecting with plenty of jabs. They were light punches and Alvarez was able to ignore them and get through with plenty of hooks and some jabs but it was a close round thanks to some clever boxing by Plant. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 78-74 Official Scores: Judge David Moretti 78-74 Alvarez, Judge Patricia Morse Jarman 78-74 Alvarez , Judge Steve Weisfeld 79-73 Alvarez Round 9 A good round for Plant. He moved well, kept pining Alvarez with jabs and sneak rights. Alvarez was waiting too long to throw his punches so Plant was picking him off on the way in and ended the round with a burst of punches including a straight right that sent Alvarez backwards on his heels. Score: 10-9 Plant Alvarez 87-84 Round 10 Plant was too confident in this one and stood and traded with Alvarez who was able to put together some powerful combinations. Whereas in the early rounds Plant would have backed up now he stayed in front of Alvarez landing some good shots but taking more than he was giving with Alvarez connecting with some hard uppercuts and rights to the body. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 97-93 Round 11 Suddenly Alvarez found a new gear. He came out throwing punches and a sweeping left hook staggered Plant and he slumped down along the ropes bending over with both extended arms resting on the canvas. He was up early but there was some confusion over whether he wanted to continue. The action did resume but Alvarez pounced on Plant and a series of punches put him down on his back and the referee waived the fight over. Alvarez becomes the first undisputed champion of the super middleweight division and only the sixth to be undisputed champion in any division in the four-belt era as well as being the first Mexican to be an undisputed division champion. Now he will need to seek another peak to climb perhaps at light heavyweight with Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol and Joe Smith waiting and of course Gennady Golovkin down at middleweight and Jermall Charlo. There are already claims that he is the greatest Mexican fighter of all time. He is certainly the most successful as far as titles go. Plant showed plenty of skill but in the end did not have the power to keep Alvarez out for twelve rounds and paid the price. There are still good fights out there for him. Rodriguez vs. Romero Rodriguez rebounds from his first loss with stoppage of unbeaten Romero. Over the first two rounds it was Mexican Olympian Romero forcing the action against a sluggish Rodriguez. The third was a more balanced round as Rodriguez, a slow starter, began to put his punches together. He floored Romero with a right in the fourth and although Romero started the fifth brightly another left put him over and he sat out the full count. Eleventh inside the distance victory for the 25-year-old southpaw from the Dominican Republic who had dropped a majority against Kenneth Sims in May. Romero had met a series of decent level opponents but was under-powered for this one. Vargas vs. Baez Vargas gets in some much needed ring time as he outpoints fellow-Mexican Baez. Vargas showed some rust early and Baez failed to capitalise on that not really forcing the fight hard. Vargas gradually found his groove and began to use his longer reach to outbox Baez. The former undefeated WBC super bantam champion slowly stepped up his pace in round after round mainly sticking to his boxing but occasionally standing and trading. Attention from the jabs of Vargas had Baez’s right eye almost completely closed by a swelling late in the fight and Vargas took no chances settling for easing his way to a points win. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91. This is the first fight for Vargas since defeating Tomoki Kameda in a title defence in July 2019 with the that long absence due to COVID-19 and recovery time from a fractured left leg. With that extended period of inactivity he has fallen out of the ratings and will be aiming to battle his way to a title fight at featherweight. After consecutive losses against Jason Moloney and Carlos Caraballo Baez had put together three inside the distance wins against very modest opposition. Dirrell vs. Hernandez Dirrell finishes Hernandez with a booming uppercut in the fourth round. Dirrell was fired up from the first round. Faint thought the possibility might be he was hoping that an impressive showing might land him a fight with the winner of Alvarez vs. Plant. He landed heavily in the first surprising Hernandez with such a fast start. Hernandez settled in the second and although Dirrell again connected with some good shots Hernandez did enough to edge the round. Dirrell had the better of the exchanges in the third stunning Hernandez with a left. What Dirrell did not want was a drawn out scrap and he found the ending he was looking for in the fourth. Just after the bell to start the round as Hernandez came forward Dirrell nailed him with a right uppercut inside that Hernandez never saw coming. He went down on his back and although he climbed to his feet he was tottering on unsteady legs and the referee stopped the fight. In his previous two fights Dirrell had lost against David Benavidez and drawn with Kyrone Davis so it was win or bust for the 27-year-old former WBC super middleweight. It is doubtful if he will get a shot at Alvarez who has been operating at a financial level far above any money that would be paid for a fight against for Dirrell. Hernandez was coming off a useful win over unbeaten Jose Resendiz in September but that punch ended any hopes of building on that result. Barthelemy vs. Vittori Just a ring time outing for Barthelemy. He brushed aside overmatched Argentinian Vittori scoring two knock downs in the second round to force the stoppage. First fight for ten months and only the second since April 2019 for Barthelemy. Only two wins in his last seven fights for Vittori. Velazquez vs. Mendoza Mexican Olympian Velazquez gets back on track with a point wins over Mendoza. Velazquez boxed skilfully jabbing well and countering the aggressive Mendoza. He outworked Mendoza in every round without ever seeming likely to end it early. Scores 80-72 for Velazquez on all three cards. An improvement for Velazquez over his poor draw against novice Carlos Mejia in May. Mendoza did his job well. November 5 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Feather: Mikaela Mayer (16-0) W PTS 10 Maiva Hamadouche (22-2). Super Feather: Luis Melendez (17-1) W PTS 8 Thomas Mattice (17-3-1). Super Feather: Andres Cortes (16-0) W TKO 3 Mark Bernaldez (23-5). Light: Joseph Adorno (14-0-2 W Elias Araujo (21-3). Middle: Ian Green (15-2) W PTS 8 Tyler Howard (19-1). Mayer vs. Hamadouche Another great advert for female boxing sees WBO champion Mayer unify three titles as she outpoints IBF champion Hamadouche, retains her WBO belt and wins the vacant IBO title. A great advert for female boxing but not for scoring as this tense battle saw Hamadouche only credited with winning a total of three rounds over the three score sheets. Hamadouche made the better start as they waged war from the outset. She was forcing the taller Mayer to throw her reach advantage in the bin and fight toe-to-toe. They were both throwing bunches of punches and the more accurate punching from Mayer gave her the second. The frantic pace continued as Mayer took the third and Hamadouche banged back to edge the fourth and fifth with Mayer rebounding to pocket the sixth. Finally the better quality punching from Mayer gave her a modicum of control and although Hamadouche never gave up firing punches and although Mayer outscored her over the late rounds she had to fight all the way to the final bell. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92 for Mayer which was an injustice to Hamadouche. The 31-year-old US Olympian is now looking to unify the remaining titles. Hamadouche , also 31, had won her last 13 fights and was making the seventh defence of her IBF title. She has plenty of fights left in her. Melendez vs. Mattice Melendez extends his winning run to 15 with close unanimous verdict over Mattice. Both had success early with Mattice using plenty of jabs and smart movement against a slower starting Melendez. There was not much power in Mattice’s punches but Melendez was too sparing with his own punches not throwing enough. From the fifth Melendez was busier getting and was able to get inside to score. Mattice out worked Melendez in the sixth but was shaken by a right from Melendez. Over the last two rounds it was Mattice landing more but Melendez landing the heavier punches and that was what swayed the judges but it was desperately close at the finish with some not being happy with Melendez getting the nod. Scores 77-75 for Melendez on the three cards. Puerto Rican Melendez had won ten of his last eleven fights by KO/TKO with the ten wins all coming inside the first three rounds so a good, testing fight for him. Mattice had won four of his last five with the loss coming on a majority decision against 18-1-1 Isaac Cruz. Cortes vs. Bernaldez Cortes stops Bernaldez in three. These two set off a fast pace with both having some success in the first but Cortes just that bit sharper. Bernaldez put Cortes under plenty of pressure in the second connecting with some good rights to the head and left hooks. In the third Bernaldez again landed some heavy rights until Cortes fired back with a right and a left hook forcing Bernaldez to the ropes. Cortes then unloaded with punch after punch until the referee jumped in to stop the fight. It looked a little premature but Bernaldez was not punching back. Second win over a good quality Filipino opponent for Cortes who had knocked out 34-2 Genisis Servania in one round in August. Bernaldez had scored three wins over reasonable level opposition in Florida and had his moments in this fight. Green vs. Howard Green outboxes unbeaten Howard and wins a wide unanimous decision. Howard marched forward throughout the fight but Green used good movement and sound defensive work to frustrate Howard’s attacks. Howard only rarely managed to track Green down and too often when he did Green countered cleverly and tied Howard up inside. A frustrated Howard lost a point at the end of the fourth round for a punch after the bell and never really threatened Green’s dominance. Scores 79-72 twice and 80-71 for Green who is 7-1 in his last eight outings. Howard was having his first fight for a year and will be hoping to rebound with some more fights under his belt. London. England: Super Welter: Hannah Rankin (11-5) W PTS 10 Maria Lindberg (19-8-2,1ND). Super Feather: Michael Gomez Jr (15-1) W TKO 4 Sufyann Ahmed (5-3) Rankin vs. Lindberg Rankin collects the vacant WBA and IBO Female titles with unanimous decision over Lindberg. Rankin scored well with her jab at distance in the first but Lindberg weaved her way inside to score to the body in the second. The pattern was repeated in the third where Rankin’s jab again proved decisive but Lindberg evened things up with a good fourth. Rankin rocked Lindberg with a right in the fifth but the sixth and seventh were close and could have been scored either way. Rankin outscored Lindberg over the eighth and ninth. Lindberg drove forward in the last but Rankin was more accurate and landed the heavier punches. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92 all for Rankin. With two titles the Scot will be looking to get back into some unification matches. Lindberg, 44, a former IBF title holder, had been knocked out in three rounds by Savannah Marshall in April but she made Rankin work hard for her win. Gomez vs. Ahmed Gomez pounds out win over Ahmed. After being momentarily rocked in the first Gomez softened Ahmed up with powerful hooks. He slowly upped the pressure and with Ahmed hurt by a right early in the fourth Gomez landed a series of punches that brought the referee’s intervention. Gomez gets his sixth consecutive victory and collects the vacant BBB of C Central Area belt. Third loss in a row for Ahmed. Rome, Italy: Middle: Matteo Signani (31-5-3) W PTS 12 Ruben Diaz (26-3-2). Feather: Mauro Forte (16-0-2) DREW 12 Francesco Grandelli (15-1-2). Super Welter: Tony Dixon (13-3) W KO 1 Francesco Russo (10-2). Light Heavy: Hrvoje Sep (11-0) W PTS 6 Serhiy Demchenko (23-16-1). Signani vs. Diaz Signani holds on to the European title with a unanimous decision over Diaz in a low key defence. The fight had a slow start with Signani just doing enough to gather a small lead. Diaz had a good fourth momentarily rocking Signani but the champion altered his tactics in the fifth standing and fighting inside which actually suited Diaz. A clash of heads in the sixth saw Diaz cut over his left eye. The cut seemed to disturb Diaz and he loses some of his fire being shaken by an uppercut in the ninth. Knowing he is behind Diaz put in a big effort over the last three rounds but Signani boxed cleverly and was never in any real trouble. Scores 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 for Signani. At 42 Signani is unlikely to land a world title shot . Spaniard Diaz, 41, was knocked out in ten rounds by Kamil Szeremeta for this same title in 2018 and that had been his only loss in his last 27 fights. Forte vs. Grandelli Forte retains the European Union title with a split draw against fellow-Italian Grandelli. The challenger launched some furious attacks over the first two rounds but Forte steadied himself and was able to take the third. Grandelli then changed tactics and started to box with Forte pressing the fight and being caught by good counters. Forte then changed his tactics and boxed more and evened up the scores. A great tenth saw Forte stunned by a left uppercut only to bang back as they traded punches. They fought furiously over the last two rounds with Grandelli just looking to have the edge but it was very close. Scores 116-113 Forte, 115-114 Grandelli and 114-114. Forte was making the first defence of the EU title and Grandelli, who is unbeaten in his last 14 fights, deserves another shot. Dixon vs. Russo Welshman Dixon returns to Italy and springs an upset with a first round kayo of Russo. A right to the head from Dixon put Russo down and out and it was sometime before he recovered. All over in 63 seconds. Dixon’s last fight had been in Milan in October 2019 when he dropped a split verdict against 17-0-1 Maxim Prodan. Russo had won his last two fights. Sep vs. Demchenko Sep continues his winning progress with points victory over experienced Ukrainian-born Italian Demchenko. Sep was in charge from the start. Demchenko was cut in the second and took a pounding in the fifth but lasted the full six rounds. Scores 60-54 for Sep on the three cards. Croatian Sep, 35, did not turn pro until he was thirty. As an amateur he was six times Croatian champion and competed at the 2016 Olympics and four World Championships as well as going 22-8 in the WSB but at 35 his horizons are limited. Demchenko, 42, is always a good test. Belfast, Northern Island: Super Middle: Padraig McCrory (13-0) W TKO 2 Celso Neves (8-2-1) Welter: Lewis Crocker (14-0) W TKO 7 Artem Haroyan (17-3-1). Light: Sean McComb (13-1) W PTS 8 Ronnie Clark (21-6-2). McCrory vs. Neves McCrory punches too hard for Neves and gets a second round stoppage. Neves fired some useful looking shots in the first without giving McCrory any concerns. McCrory took over in the second dropping Neves twice with left hooks and the fight was stopped. The tall Irishman was defending the WBC International Silver belt with his seventh victory by KO/TKO. Swiss champion Neves never in with a chance. Croker vs. Haroyan Crocker chips away at Haroyan before flooring and stopping him in the seventh round. Crocker, the naturally bigger man, was able to muscle his way past Haroyan’s guard and score heavily. Haroyan fought tenaciously but just did not have the power to containing Croker’s attacks. Crocker dialled things back in the fourth but scored heavily in the fifth before sending Haroyan slumping into the ropes for a count. Haroyan made it out of the round but a left to the body in the seventh put him down and he was counted out. Crocker was defending the WBO European title for the second time. Having that WBO title gets Crocker a No 10 rating with that body. Armenian Haroyan suffers his second loss by KO/TKO. McComb vs. Clark McComb outboxes Clark for a win. As usual Clark walked forward trying to get past McCombs jab to work inside. McComb boxed skilfully making Clark pay for each forward step. Clark had a good third but McComb was back in charge again after that using fast hands and good movement to control the action. Clark pressed hard all the way and made it an entertaining fight but could never pin McComb down and the Irish southpaw took the verdict by 79-74 on the referee’s card. Second win for McComb after losing on a seventh round stoppage against Gavin Gwynne for the Commonwealth title in February. Consecutive points losses for Scot Clark since returning to action after over three years of inactivity. Pilar, Argentina: Cruiser: Yamil Peralta (12-0) W TKO 10 Cesar Reynosa (17-17-4).Bantam: Florencia Juarez (8-1) W PTS 10 Natalia Alderete (3-5). Peralta vs. Reynosa Peralta hands out a hammering to a brave Reynoso. Peralta scored heavily over the first three rounds and then things became really painful for Reynosa. Peralta scored a knockdown in the fourth and had Reynosa reeling on the ropes in the fifth when the referee gave Reynosa a standing count. A left to the body forced Reynosa to the canvas in the sixth and the same punch sent Reynosa to the floor again in both the seventh and eighth rounds. Reynosa’s left eye was almost shut and although he managed to get through the ninth without taking a count when a body punch sent him down again in the tenth the fight was finally stopped. Peralta boxed at both the London and Rio Olympics and won bronze medals at the PanAmerican Games and World Championships but has yet to fight outside of Argentina which is when the real tests will come. Poor but brave Reynosa suffers his seventh loss by KO/TKO. Juarez vs. Alderete Juarez wins the vacant South American Female title with comprehensive victory over Alderete. Juarez had Alderete reeling badly in the third but the referee stopped the action to give Alderete a standing count. Alderete survived the crisis but never came close to winning a round. Scores 100-89 twice and 100-89 ½ for Juarez. November 6 Wangen im Allgaeu, Germany: Super Light: Aram Fanilan (22-1) W PTS 10 Timo Schwarzkopf (20-5). Ukrainian Fanilan floors and outpoints Schwarzkopf to win the vacant IBO International title. Fanilan outboxed Schwarzkopf in the first and put him down in the second. Schwarzkopf recovered but had trouble getting to the taller Ukrainian. Schwarzkopf took the sixth but Fanilan dominated the seventh and eighth. In the ninth the referee decided that a slip by Fanilan was a knockdown and they fought on equal terms in the last. Scores 96-92, 96-93 and 95-93 for Fanilan. Ninth win in a row for Fanilan but against very ordinary opposition. Schwarzkopf was having his first fight since losing a wide unanimous decision against Jack Catterall in November 2019. Tokyo, Japan: Light Fly: Shokhichi Iwata (7-0) W TKO 9 Rikito Shiba (5-2). Iwata wins the vacant Japanese title with stoppage of Shiba. Despite suffering a cut over his left eye in the first Iwata built an early lead being more accurate and hitting harder than Shiba. The fight remained close with two judges seeing Iwata in front after five rounds and the third voting for Shiba. Iwata took complete control from there. He floored Shiba in the sixth with a right hook and punished him heavily over the seventh and eight. He closed out the fight in the ninth with a savage attack that had Shiba in deep trouble and the fight was stopped Five of Iwata’s wins have been achieved inside the distance. He beat Kosei Tanaka and Takuma Inoue before turning pro. Both of Shiba’s losses have been stoppages. Nowy Sacz, Poland: Middle: Kamil Gardzielik (13-0) W PTS 10 Nicolas Palacios (12-9-1). Cruiser: Krzys Wlodarczyk (60-4-1) W RTD 4 Maximiliano Gomez (29-6). Gardzielik vs. Palacios Gardzielik just squeezes past Palacios on a close decision. Gardzielik looked comfortable using his sharp jab to ease his way through the first round. Palacios then landed some heavy right is the second to let Gardzielik know he was in a fight. Gardzielik got back on top and went into a good lead. However punches from Palacios had caused a heavy swelling around the right eye of the Pole. Over the second half of the fight the swelling grew and Palacios was able to eat into Gardzielik’s lead. The local fighter’s eye was gradually closing and Gardzielik made it to the bell before the fight had to be stopped. Scores 96-94 twice and 98-92 for Gardzielik. First ten round fight for Gardzielik and a testing one. Palacios had made an unsuccessful challenge for the vacant Argentinian title in May. Wlodarczyk vs. Gomez Win No 60 for Wlodarczyk but at a price. He shook Gomez in the first with a left hook to the head but suffered an injury to his right arm in the second. Despite that he floored Gomez with a left hook to the head in the third and dropped him again in the fourth with a left hook to the body. Gomez did not come out for the fifth. The injury may keep Wlodarczyk out of action for a while and at 40 time is pressing as he is hoping for domestic fights against Artur Szpilka and unbeaten Lukasz Rozanski. Argentinian Gomez had won his last eleven fights but he is really just a beefed-up light heavy so was no threat to “Diablo”. Fight of the week: (Significance): Saul Alvarez vs. Caleb Plant Alvarez can now choose to go up down or sideways as he looks for more titles Fight of the week (Entertainment): There was always plenty of tension around in Alvarez vs. Plant. Honourable mention to Mikaela Mayer vs. Maiva Hamadouche. Fighter of the week: Saul Alvarez Punch of the week: The right uppercut from Anthony Dirrell that finished Marcos Hernandez Upset of the week: None Prospect watch: No new names Observations Rosette: Saul Alvarez for unifying the four super middleweight titles Red Card: Nothing too bad this week except perhaps the scoring in Mayer vs. Hamadouche fight which detracted from a such an entertaining fight -That’s two divisions-super light and super middle unified. Two more than we had at the start of the year. We could get a third with the rescheduled Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castano fight as these two hold the four super welterweight titles. Teo Lopez holds the IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight titles but is only holder of the ridiculous WBC “Franchise” title. Unfortunately we will have to wait until 2022 for any more-Fury vs. Usyk or Joshua would be my New Year wish to have a unified heavyweight title would be great but my fear and belief is that we will see the sanctioning bodies splitting the titles up again. Yamil Peralta is an unbeaten cruiserweight in Argentina but: Let me introduce you to: Gregorio “Goyo” Peralta: He was born in San Juan Argentina on 8 May 1935. As an amateur he was twice South American champion. He turned pro in April 1958 but had a rocky start going 6-2-3 in his first 11 fights. He fought in Peru in 1960 losing on points against Peruvian star Mauro Mina but then put together an unbeaten run of 30 fights including wins over Willie Pastrano in Miami and Wayne Thornton twice. Pastrano was WBA and WBC light heavyweight title holder at the time Peralta beat him but the fight was a non-title fight. He fought a return with Pastrano for the titles but lost on a cut eye stoppage in the fifth round. He lost on points to Oscar Bonavena for the Argentinian heavyweight title in 1965. He was then unbeaten in his next 32 fights, including a draw with Bonavena before losing on points to George Foreman in 1970 (being one of only three fighters to last the distance with Foreman before he won the title) and also on a tenth round stoppage against Forman in 1971. He continued to campaign until November 1973 and in his last fight drew with rated heavyweight Ron Lyle. He ended up with a record of 98 wins 9 losses and 9 draws with 60 wins by KO/TKO and in the multi-titled world of today would surely have been a cruiserweight title holder. He died in January 2001. Incidentally his younger brother Avenamar was also pretty useful with a record of 103 wins, 32 losses and 14 draws. This week we are delving deep into the closet to share a Closet Classic from 1987. Not only is this fight well over 30 years old, but it's also pretty obscure one and one that we suspect those who live outside of Japan probably haven't seen. Though they should! It's fun, it's short, explosive and exciting, with both men being hurt. It's not the highest level bout we'll ever share, but it one of the true hidden classics that the 1980's gave us. Kengo Fukuda (7-1, 6) vs Tomio Shibata (1-2, 1) In one corner was Kengo Fukuda, a youngster who quickly had star appeal. He had began his professional career at the age of 17 and instantly connected with fans, being dubbed the "Idol Boxer" at a young age. He had began his career with 6 straight TKO/KO wins, with the first 5 coming in the opening round. His style had excited the Japanese boxing fans and his looks drew in a female fanbase. Sadly he lost in his 7th professional bout, but quickly bounced back with his 7th win at the end of 1986. In February 1987, just months after his professional loss, he took on Tomio Shibata. Shibata was a bit of an unknown and his 1-2 (1) record on BoxRec appears to be incomplete incomplete, with the onscreen graphic listing him as 4-3 (2). We suspect the more than 2 year gap in his BoxRec record saw him fighting the additional 4 bouts, though what we do know is his his bouts rarely went the distance. His 3 recorded bouts on boxrec were all concluded early and at least 1 of his other 4 also ended inside the schedule. So he seems, at least on paper, like a stop or be stopped, type of fighter and we can assume he had a suspect chin. At the end of the day hoever neither man's record could possible have predicted that two men deliver a drama laden shoot out. From the very opening moments Shibata was on the offensive and ended up on the canvas, just 12 seconds into the bout, slipping face first whilst in pursuit of Fukuda. Shibata got back up, dusted himself off and continued to pursue Fukuda, throwing wild, wide bombs and dragging Fukuda into a war. After just over a minute Shibata was down. Fukuda then tried to finish off the raw but aggressive Shibata who quickly struck back, dropping Fukuda around 30 seconds later. With both men down it would have made sense for both to have found some respect for their opponent, but that didn't happen and instead Shibata continued trying to bomb out his man and Fukuda kept responding whilst looking for some big bombs of his own. It wasn't a pretty first round, but it was an entertaining, wild round full of excitement. The aggression and wild power of Shibata continued into round 2 as he again tried to test Fukuda's chin. Despite that aggression we did see a much smarter game plan from Fukuda who boxed and moved, let Shibata hit air, and countered. Despite the change in game plan the bout remained an edge of your seat affair, knowing that a clean shot from either man could send the other down. The clean connects might have been less frequent than in the opening round, but both continued to connect with heavy leather, especially in the later part of the round. We'll leave the bout here for you to watch without ruining it any more. For those who like wild action, knockdowns, and a bit of crazy action this is worthy of your time. It's not a cerebral bout, but it is very entertaining and a rather fun low level encounter. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Radzhab Butaev stops Jamal James in nine rounds to win the secondary WBA welterweight title -Jose Zepeda destroys Jose Vargas in one round at super lightweight -Jaron Ennis wipes out Thomas Dulorme in one round at welterweight -Chantelle Cameron unifies the WBC and IBF Female super light titles with victory over IBF title holder Mary McGee -Jackie Nava outpoints Mariana Juarez in a clash of Mexican Female legends -Carlos Canizales, Archie Sharp, Alen Babic and Craig Richards score wins World Title/Major Shows October 30 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Welter: Radzhab Butaev (14-0,1ND) W TKO 10 Jamal James (27-2). Welter: Jaron Ennis (28-0,1ND) W TKO 1 Thomas Delorme (25-6-1). Light: Michel Rivera (22-0) W PTS 10 Jose Romero (24-2). Welter: Alberto Palmetta (17-1) W PTS 8 Yeis Solano (15-2). Super Light: Darwin Price (18-1) RTD 6 Jean Torres (19-1). Butaev vs. James Butaev wins the secondary WBA welterweight title at the second attempt as he grinds down and stops James. The first round saw James boxing well making good use of his height, longer reach and smart movement against the slower Butaev. The third and fourth were close. Butaev was managing to get inside and work the body. James was scoring with some good counters but letting himself be dragged into too much close quarters stuff. The accuracy of the James left jab was marking up Butaev but James was too often finding himself fighting with the ropes to his back. Butaev continued to target the body but lost a point in the fourth for a punch to the back of James head. The continual pressure and the body punches were having a cumulative effect on James who was slowing. They fought hard over the seventh and eighth with Butaev marching forward putting James under pressure and scoring with thumping shots to the body. At the end of the round Butaev was coming on strong and in front 77-74 on two cards with James ahead 76-75 on the third but looking weary and unsteady at times. James was popping Butaev with light jabs at the start of the ninth but was looking exhausted. Butaev kept marching forward throwing clubbing shots and James was boxing with his mouth open gasping for breath. Butaev launched an attack and with Jones not punching back the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. It looked a little premature but James made no protest. Russian Butaev, 27, lost to Alexander Besputin for this title in November 2019 but Besputin tested positive for a banned substance. James won the vacant interim title in August 2020 and was upped to secondary title holder in February. Ennis vs. Delorme Ennis annihilates Dulorme with two knockdown in the first round. Ennis seemed to stagger Dulorme with a left to the head then connected with a chopping right to the side of Delorme’s head. The Puerto Rican went down but managed to get up at the count of seven. When the action resumed Ennis jumped on Dulorme firing punches. Dulorme scored with a couple of counters but a straight right dropped him on his back and he was counted just as he made it to his feet. Towering performance from Ennis who has won 26 of his 28 fights by KO/TKO. A sliding Dulorme has won only one of his last six fights. Dulorme’s team has officially lodged a protest with the WBA claiming the first knockdown punch landed on the back of Dulorme’s head. It looked to have landed by Dulorme’s ear but not flush on the back of the head. Rivera vs. Romero Dominican hope Rivera remains unbeaten with points win over Argentinian Romero. Rivera’s jab gave Romero problems throughout the ten rounds. Rivera used his jab both to score at distance and to prevent Romero getting inside to work. Romero tried to apply some pressure early but just could not find his way past the jab with any consistency. Rivera on the other hand was on target with both his jab and some powerful body punches which slowed Romero as the fight went on. Although he had a slightly longer reach Romero’s jab was never a factor in the fight and Rivera was a comfortable winner. Scores 100-90 three times for Rivera. He has scored useful wins over Fidel Maldonado, Ladarius Miller and Jon Fernandez but even with those wins is too high at No 2 with the WBA. Former Argentinian champion Romero had mainly faced modest domestic opposition and lost on points against Isaac Cruz in March. Palmetta vs. Solano Palmetta takes a split decision over Solano in a fast-paced close fight. Both showed effective body attacks and both had periods of dominance. Palmetta had his best round in the fourth in which he shook Solano with a right to the head. Solano came back strongly in the fifth and Palmetta was just the stronger over the closing rounds to take the verdict. Scores 79-73 and 78-74 for Palmetta and 77-75 for Solano. Some useful ring time for Palmetta who had won his last ten fights inside the distance. Colombian Solano lost a decision against Mykquan Williams in January. Price vs. Torres Price beats Torres who retires at the end of the sixth round in their contest. Price used his longer reach and heavier punching and floored Torres on the way to victory. The doctor passed Torres as able to continue after an examination at the end of the fifth but after Price handed out more punishment Torres was ruled out at the end of the sixth. The lanky Price was out of the ring in 2018 and 2020 so needs to be more active. His lone loss came against 17-0 Malik Hawkins when he was forced to retire with a knee injury. Puerto Rican Torres had a streak of eight inside the distance wins going but was well beaten in this fight. New York, NY, USA: Super Light: Jose Zepeda (35-2) W TKO 1 Jose Vargas (19-2). Bantam: Jonas Sultan (18-5) W PTS 10 Carlos Caraballo (14-1). Super Bantam: Carlos Jackson (18-1) W PTS 10 Jonathan Guzman (24-1). Zepeda vs. Vargas Zepeda wipes out Vargas in the opening round. Zepeda drove a southpaw straight left to the head of Vargas and he went down heavily. He struggled to rise and then toppled over and nearly fell out of the ring. He managed to get up and was allowed to continue . Zepeda hunted him down and trapped him against the ropes and unloaded punches until Vargas slumped to the canvas and the referee pulled Zepeda off. The 32-year-old Zepeda reinforces his “dangerman” reputation with his twenty-seventh victory by KO/TKO. He lost a majority decision to Jose Ramirez for the WBC title in 2019 but has scored wins over Jose Pedraza, Kendo Castaneda and Ivan Baranchyk since then and is No 2 with the WBC. Vargas had won his last 13 fights. Sultan vs. Caraballo Filipino Sultan gets a close unanimous victory over Caraballo but needed four knockdowns to get the win. Caraballo made a good start edging the first round but paid his first visit to the floor in the second courtesy of a right uppercut from Sultan. The Filipino was fired up by that knockdown and put Caraballo down again in the third. Caraballo recovered enough to take the fourth and the fifth and had Sultan wobbling. The fight swung back to Sultan in the sixth as he caught Caraballo with a right that put Caraballo down for the third time. Caraballo took the fight to Sultan and both were shaken in the seventh and eighth but Caraballo took them both levelling the scores. Sultan had a decisive ninth as he connected with a combination to the head that sent Caraballo down for the fourth time and although Caraballo won the last round it was not enough and Sultan won on scores of 94-93 on all three cards. Exciting fight and a candidate for Fight of the Year. Sultan was the last fighter to beat John Riel Casimero having outpointed him in 2017 but was then outclassed by Jerwin Ancajas in a challenge for the IBF super fly title. It was no surprise that Puerto Rican Caraballo tried to punch his way out of trouble as he had won all 14 of his fights by KO/TKO including five first round finishes. Jackson vs. Guzman Jackson gets a split decision victory over Guzman. Over the early rounds Guzman built a lead being more accurate and landing the heavier punches. Jackson kept plugging away but the fight changed from the fifth when it slowly became apparent that Guzman had a problem with his right hand. From there Jackson grew in confidence and overcame the early lead of Guzman to move in front and strong last round from Guzman was not enough to save the day. Scores 78-74 and 77-75 for Jackson and 77-75 for Guzman. Second straight win for Jackson after losing his unbeaten tag when outpointed by 18-1 José Durantes Vivas in July 2020. Guzman lost a close decision to Yukinori Oguni for the IBF title in December 2016 and his only fights since then had been a win in November 2018 and in January 2021. London, England: Super Light: Chantelle Cameron (15-0) W PTS 10 Mary McGee (27-4). Light Heavy: Craig Richards (17-2-1) W TKO 6 Marek Matyja (20-3-2). Super Feather: Jorge Castaneda (15-1) W PTS 10 Youssef Khoumari (13-1-1). Heavy: Alen Babic (9-0) W TKO 2 Eric Molina (28-8). Cameron vs. McGee Cameron unifies the WBC and IBF titles with comprehensive win over McGee. Cameron was taking the fight to McGee from the start. She was outworking her and was more accurate when they stood and traded punches. By the second Cameron was on the front foot and following her stiff jabs with straight rights but was given a warning for sending McGee tumbling to the canvas at the end of the round. Cameron was getting her punches off first and when McGee did pile forward Cameron was getting the better of the exchanges. McGee did better over the third and fourth but Cameron outworked her over the fifth and sixth. McGee attack the body well in the seventh but again Cameron did the better work over the eighth and ninth before a huge effort from McGee saw her take the last round. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and 99-92 for Cameron who retains the WBC title and wins the IBF title. She clearly outfought a tough opponent who had won her last seven fights. Richards vs. Matyja Richards returns to the ring for the first time since losing a close decision against Dmitry Bivol for the secondary WBA title in May. He dominated the action with some strong jabbing and powerful hooks from both hands. Pole Matyja landed some stiff shots of his own but Richards had the edge in the exchanges and again his jab was the dominant punch. In the sixth a series of hooks and uppercuts had Matyja staggering and holding desperately and a few more clubbing head shots brought the referee’s intervention. His display in the Bivol fight has shown Richards is up there with the best and he will be looking to work his way to another title chance. First inside the distance defeat for former Polish champion Matyja. Castaneda vs. Khoumari Castaneda takes a majority verdict against previously unbeaten Khoumari. This was an interesting tactical fight rather than a tear up. Both are good technical fighters. Castaneda pressed hard early on with Khoumari looking to box rather than stand and trade and he was outscoring Castaneda. The second half of the fight saw Castaneda continue to come forward but Khoumari took the sixth before Castaneda landed hard shots in the seventh and shook Khoumari badly in the eighth. The last two rounds were close with Castaneda just looking to take them which earned him the decision. Scores 97-94 and 96-94 for Castaneda and 95-95. Castaneda wins the vacant WBC International Silver title. Khoumari can learn from this and come back stronger. Babic vs. Molina Babic blows away a badly faded Molina. Babic came out throwing punches and put Molina down with a right less than ten seconds into the round. Molina was up quickly and moved and held until his head cleared. Babic continued to plough forward throwing punches. He was wide open and Molina landed three heavy counters but they just bounced off Babic who tried in vain to land a big bomb. Babic stormed out in the second and put Molina down on his back. Molina climbed to his feet but was floored twice more and the fight was stopped. Nine fights and nine inside the distance wins for the hard punching Croat but Molina is way past his best and had earlier been knocked out by Filip Hrgovic and Fabio Wardley. October 28 Santiago de Tolu, Colombia: Super Bantam: Bryan De Gracia (27-2-1) W TKO 2 Luis de la Rosa (26-18-2). Panamanian De Gracia moves down to super bantam and takes his power with him as he halts Colombian de la Rosa in the second round. Now 7 wins in his last 8 fights for Gracia with all 7 wins by KO/TKO. de la Rosa just too small to compete and going in the opposite direction being 1-10-1 in his last outings. October 29 London, England: Super Feather: Archie Sharp (21) W PTS 10 Alexis Kabore (28-5).Super Welter: Juan Abreu (24-6-1,1ND) W TKO 7 Tursynbay Kulakhmet (4-1). Super Light: Pierce O’Leary (8-0) W TKO 7 Siar Ozgul (15-7). Middle: Jordan Reynolds (3-0) W TKO 1 Rodolfo Paterno (2-4-2). Sharp vs. Kabore Sharp retains the WBO Global belt with comfortable victory over limited Kabore from Burkina Faso. Sharp outboxed the slower Kabore all the way. Sharp was dealing with Kabore’s attempts at pressure with sharp, accurate counters and bobbed and weaved his way around Kabore’s punches and stepped up the pace gradually. Kabore was never able to get into the fight. Sharp was confident enough to switch guards a few times and put together some impressive combinations late in the fight but it was all too easy for Sharp. Scores 100-90 for Sharp on the three cards. Sharp is No m1 with the WBO but is nowhere near ready to challenge Shakur Stevenson. Kabore, 38, way out of his class. Kulakhmet vs. Abreu This was set to be an easy defence of the WBC International title for unbeaten Kazak Kulakhmet until Argentinian Abreu stuck around and spoiled the party. It looked as though Kulakhmet was going to get another early win. Abreu has had more fights than Kulakhmet has had rounds and a left to the head rocked Abreu in the first. The second saw Abreu down but he did not look too shaken. Things continued to go Kulakhmet’s way as a punch opened a cut over Abreu’s right eyebrow in the fourth and looked to have won every round at the half way point. However Abreu was still there and still fighting and he stunned Kulakhmet with a right late in the sixth. Abreu carried that success over into the seventh putting Kulakhmet down with a right early in the round and then connected with another right that deposited Kulakhmet face down on the canvas and the referee waived the fight over without bothering to count. Of his 24 wins Abreu has 22 by KO/TKO so the danger was always there. He was stopped in six rounds in September last year by Jaron Ennis, the only time he has lost by KO/TKO, and has also lost to Jamal James, Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Alexander Besputin all on points so had experience at top level. Back to the drawing board for Kulakhmet who had won the WBC International title in only his second pro fight. O’Leary vs. Ozgul O’Leary was moving up to eight rounds for the first time but he did not have to wait that long for the win. He floored Ozgul in the fourth staggered him and opened a cut below his left eye in the sixth and had Ozgul rocking when it was stopped in the seventh. Fourth inside the distance win for the 21-year-old Dubliner. Just one win in his last eight contests for British-based Turk Ozgul. Reynolds vs. Paterno Reynolds gets this one over quickly as a left to the body saw Paterno unable to continue. The former British and English gold medal winner is one to follow. Late substitute Paterno was badly mover-matched. Mexico City, Mexico: Light Fly: Carlos Canizales (23-1-1) W PTS 10German Valenzuela (16-3). Former WBA secondary title holder Canizales gets back into the winning column after losing his title five months ago. Canizales went into the lead early with his usual high work rate as Valenzuela took a time to settle into the fight not really giving Canizales any problems until the fourth round. Canizales was comfortable fighting at distance and countering the Mexican with Valenzuela not making use of his longer reach. Canizales continued to get the better of the exchanges and was a comfortable winner. Scores 98-92 twice and 99-91 for “CCC” who wins the vacant WBA Fedecaribe belt. Canizales lost his light flyweight title in Mexico City in May with an un upset stoppage by unfancied Esteban Bermudez. Venezuelan Canizales was just too good for the 22-year-old Valenzuela. Bella Vista, Panama: Middle: Sebastian Papeschi (18-3) W PTS 10 Hector Zepeda (20-3,1ND). Super Feather: Pablo Vicente (18-1,1ND) W PTS 10 Javier Herrera (17-5-1). Papeschi vs. Zepeda Papeschi outboxes and outscores Zepeda. The Argentinian southpaw was the outsider and was conceding height and reach to Zepeda but after a steady start he took control. He rocked Zepeda a couple of times and almost put him away in the seventh. Zepeda got through the round but was then in survival mode. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92 for Papeschi the Argentinian interim super middleweight title holder. Zepeda’s losses have come against Sebastian Fundora and Carlos Molina. Vicente vs. Herrera Cuban Vicente almost finished this in the first three minutes but in the end had to go the full ten rounds for victory. Vicente dropped Herrera twice in the first round but the Argentinian has yet to lose inside the distance and he survived. In the fifth a punch from Herrera started a swelling on Vicente’s right eye which rapidly closed the eye and from there Herrera attacked hard and Vicente boxed cautiously to victory. Scores 98-90 twice and 99-89 for Vicente. His lone loss is a controversial split verdict against Marcos Villasana in 2018 and this is his sixth victory since then. Herrera, the Argentinian No 7 lightweight, drops to 2-4-1 in his 7 most recent contests. Manila, Philippines: Super Fly: Renz Rosia (17-9-1) W TKO 6 Cris Paulino (21-6), Feather: Jhon Gemino (22-12-1) W TKO 5 Danny Tampipi (9-13-2). Rosia vs. Paulino Second upset victory in a row for Rosia as he wins the Philippines title with sixth round stoppage of champion Paulino in an all-southpaw contest. Rosia drove Paulino to the ropes in sixth and battered him with head shots until Paulino dropped to the floor with the referee coming in to stop the fight. In his last fight in December 2019 Rosia had outpointed former WBA title challenger Aston Palicte. He was 1-4-1 before beating Palicte so at 33 he is experiencing some success. Paulino was making the first defence of the belt. Gemino vs. Tampipi Gemino collects the Philippines title after stopping Tampipi in five rounds. Gemino seem to have found a punch late in his career as he has won 5 of his last 6 fights by KO/TKO. Unfortunately the odd one out of those six was a second kayo loss against WBO No1 feather Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov. General Santos City, Philippines: Welter: Adam Diu Abdulhamid (17-9) W TKO 8 Jason Egera (24-23-2). Bantam: Aston Palicte (28-4-1) W PTS 10 Roland Jay Biendima (15-10-1). Fly: Mark Barriga (11-1) W PTS 8 Ramel Antaran (4-14-2). Abdulhamid vs. Egera Abdulhamid batters Egera to defeat. Egera just rumbled forward throwing punches and trying to walk through Abdulhamid’s counters. A left staggered Egera in the first and Abdulhamid began to come forward from the second. He used his longer reach and better skills to pound Egera with punches but Egera was rumbling forward and scoring with meaty thumps. Abdulhamid dished out punishment over the fifth, sixth and seventh but it looked as though the constant pressure from Egera was wearing him down. In the seventh an arm weary Egera was coming apart. In the eighth the referee took Egera back to his corner for a costume adjustment as shorts were almost around his thighs and strangely when the action resumed Egera threw an arm in the air and just walked away from the fight in surrender. Third win by KO/TKO in a row for Abdulhamid. Egera falls to 1-6-2 in his last 9 BOUTS. Palicte vs. Biendima In his first fight for eleven months Palicte is given plenty of work by Biendima. He floored Biendima in the fourth and hammered home hooks and uppercuts. For Palicte it was almost exhibition stuff but despite taking heavy punishment Biendima just kept bouncing back and connecting with some powerful left hooks to the body. Amazing bravery but Palicte was in another class. Palicte went for broke over the last two rounds but Biendima deservedly was still there at the end. Scores 100-89 from the judges for Palicte who lost to Kazuto Ioka for the vacant secondary WBA super fly title in 2019. Fifth loss in a row for Biendima. Barriga vs. Antaran Barriga gets in some needed work but is given All sorts of problems by the eccentric and naturally bigger Antaran and just gets by with a very close decision. Barriga had all the skills but is not a big puncher and Antaran kept him under pressure all the way and gave Barriga a rough ride. Scores 76-75 twice and 77-74 for Barriga. An ex-Olympian Barriga beat Paddy Barnes in the world championships. He lost a split decision against Carlos Licona for the vacant IBF minimum title in December 2018 and was then out of the ring before returning with a win in March. Antaran who has fight as big as bantam falls to 1-8- in disappointing recent form. Jaworzno, Poland: Super Middle: Lukasz Stanioch (7-0) W PTS 10 Ryan Ford (17-7). Middle Michal Syrowatka (23-5) W KO 5 Piotr Szmajda (5-1). Stanioch vs. Ford Stanioch takes a step up in quality opposition and gets the unanimous decision over Canadian hard man Ford. The Canadian put Stanioch under pressure from the opening bell and it was obvious this was going to be a big test for the local fighter. By the third Stanioch had found his way into the fight and over the middle rounds these two went to war which should have suited Ford but with Stanioch more than holding his own. Stanioch was throwing and landing more but Ford was relying heavily on big single shots. Stanioch tired late but stayed cool and despite a strong effort from Ford he was a good winner. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92 for Stanioch who gets his best win in his short career. Ford always comes to fight but is now 1-3 in his last four bouts including a seventh round kayo loss against Joshua Buatsi in 2019 Syrowatka vs. Szmajda A loss against novice Szmajda would have pushed Syrowatka way down the slippery slope. Szmajda gave Syrowatka some early problems but slowly Syrowatka’s experience and better skills put him in charge. He was briefly shaken by a right in the third but ended the fight in the fifth. He floored Szmajda twice before connecting with a body punch that put Szmajda on the floor in agony and he was counted out. Syrowatka had lost his last two fights to domestic opposition so needed to win this one. Szmajda lacked the experience to cause Syrowatka any problems. Kalisz, Poland: Super Light: Kamil Mlodzinski (14-5-4) W PTS 8 Agustin Kucharski (7-4-1,1ND). Light: Damian Wrzesinski (23-2-2,1ND) W PTS 8 Victor Julio (16-1).Welter: Lukasz Wierzbicki (20-1) W PTS 8 Rodrigo Labre (6-6 Mlodzinski vs. Kucharski Mlodzinski take a split decision over Argentinian Kucharski but is lucky to do so. Kucharski was the better boxer and more mobile. He used his longer reach to score at distance and although he lacked the power to hurt Mlodzinski he built a lead and look on his way to a win. That changed in the sixth round when Mlodzinski connected with a left hook that put Kucharski down. From there the rounds were close but the knockdown was the decider. Scores 76-75 twice to Mlodzinski and 76-75 for Kucharski. Third consecutive victory for Mlodzinski. Kucharski, who has Polish antecedents, is 0-2 in fights in Poland. Wrzesinski vs. Julio Wrzesinski eases his way to victory over a disappointing Julio. After a bright start Julio faded out of the fight. Wrzesinski commanded from the centre of the ring and Julio showed a reluctance to apply the pressure needed to unsettle to local fighter and failed to use his longer reach . That allowed Wrzesinski to set the pace and he was busier and more accurate and won easily but without fire. Scores 80-72 on the three cards for Wrzesinski who lost an upset decision to Mexican Erick Encinia in May. Colombian Julio was flattered by his unbeaten record. Wierzbicki vs. Labre Wierzbicki returns to action with a unanimous verdict over Labre. After a year out of the ring Wierzbicki displayed some rust and a few errors but was a clear winner. Wierzbicki was at his best when he boxed at distance and countered the aggressive Labre. He had his hands down too low in the sixth and was clattered by a left to the head. He was badly shaken and Labre tried desperately to find another big punch but failed. Wierzbicki rebounded by flooring Labre in the seventh but Labre frustrated Wierzbicki’s attempts to finish the fight in the eighth. Scores 78-73 twice and 80-71 for Wierzbicki. The Pole lost his unbeaten record in October 2019 on a second round stoppage by England’s Louis Greene and won a low level domestic fight in September last year. Second loss in a row for Spanish-based Ecuadorian Labre. Washington, DC, USA: Feather: Cobia Breedy (15-1,1ND) ND 2 Sulaiman Segawa (13-3-1,1ND). Breedy vs. Segawa This one ends early as a clash of heads in the second saw Segawa badly cut and the fight was stopped at the end of the round and ruled a No Decision Breedy scored well with rights against southpaw Segawa in the first but already heads were bumping dangerously. In the second as heads banged together again Segawa suffered a cut over his left eye. The doctor examined the cut and the fight was allowed to restart. Breedy scored with more rights and had won the two rounds. Unfortunately the doctor again inspected Segawa’s cut and it was decided Segawa could not continue. Both were coming off loses Breedy a split decision against Tugstsogt Nyambayar in September and Segawa a seventh round kayo by Jamaine Ortiz in November. Kissimmee, FL, USA: Light Heavy: Fanlong Meng (17-0) W PTS 10 Israel Duffus (20-7). Light: Miguel Marrero (10-1-2) W PTS 10 Victor Betancourt (27-4,1ND). Meng vs. Duffus Meng sheds two years of dust with a unanimous decision over Duffus. Meng took a while to find his form but then outboxed Duffus. Meng looked to have scored a knockdown in the last with a series of punches sending Duffus into the ropes which held him up. It made no difference as Meng already had the fight won. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 for Meng The 33-year-old Chinese southpaw was sitting at No 1 with a title shot guaranteed but the COVID-19 pandemic ended that hope and only the WBC still have him rated and then down at No 8 so he is a long way from that title fight. Panamanian Duffus suffered losses against unbeaten fighters Charles Foster and Richard Rivera but had a win in his last fight in March 2020. Marrero vs. Betancourt Marrero takes a tight unanimous verdict over Betancourt. It was Betancourt who moved in front early with some accurate jabbing and left hooks. It was the third before Marrero made an impact in his first fight September 2019. He worked well to the body and although the rounds were close he edged in front over the middle rounds. Betancourt boxed well to get back in the fight in the seventh but Marrero was stronger over the closing rounds being denied what looked a genuine knockdown in the ninth and took the decision on scores of 97-93 96-94 and 96-95. Marrero’s lone defeat came on a unanimous verdict in an eight round fight against Alberto Mercado in 2018 and he collects the vacant WBA Fedecentro title. Betancourt had been stopped in one round by Jaime Arboleda in 2019 but returned with a low level win in July this year Melrose. MA, USA: Super Welter: Jeovanis Barraza (23-1) W PTS 8 Jorge Garcia (13-8-1). Barraza hits too hard for Argentinian Garcia. Colombian Barraza targeted Garcia’s body and although Garcia was competitive the effect of the body punches caught up with him eventually. He was down twice in the sixth and once in the seventh but despite the three knockdowns he made it the end of the fight. Scores 80-69 twice and 79-70 for Barraza. His loss came in a two round stoppage against former top level amateur Gabriel Maestre in 2019 but he has rebounded with three victories. Garcia was having his first fight for two years. October 30 Tijuana, Mexico: Super Bantam: Jackie Nava (39-4-4) W PTS 10 Mariana Juarez (55-11-4). Super Bantam: Bryan Mercado (20-1) W PTS 8 Gabino Hernandez (8-9-4). Fly: Carlos Mejia (7-2-1) W PTS 8 Brian Mosinos (21-3). Super Welter: Ruben Aguilar (17-0) W TKO 1 David Bustamante (4-4). Nava vs. Juarez “Aztec Princess” Nava comes out on top in a battle of two forty-year-old legends of female boxing as she outclasses “Barbie” Juarez to win the WBC Diamond super bantamweight belt. From the opening round Nava boxed quite beautifully. She was finding gaps for quick burst of punches with Juarez coming forward throwing harder single shots but missing the target and being made to pay as Nava hit her with accurate and quick counters. Nava picked up the pace and by the sixth Juarez had to pass a doctors examination due to a large swelling under her left eye. By the seventh it was Nava coming forward and in total control as she whipped quick lefts and rights through the guard of Juarez. Nava seemed to take a break the ninth but she took the fight to Juarez again in the tenth and outfought her inside. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and a generous 97-93. Nava, 41, won her first major title in 2005 collecting both the WBA and WBC titles that year. She is currently 14-0-1 and in great form. Juarez, also 41, turned pro in 1998. She is a former WBC fly and bantam champion and is 18-1 in title fights. Mercado vs. Hernandez Mercado boxes his way to victory. Mercado made good use of his better skills and longer reach to keep an aggressive Hernandez out and won every round. Scores 80-72 all for Mercado who registers his nineteenth win in a row. Mejia vs. Mosinos Mejia upset the odds makers in this one. He simply outfought the favoured Mosinos with a much higher work rate and beat the better technical boxer. Scores 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75 for Mejia who has improved his record by going 5-1-1 in recent fights. Mosinos had a nine-bout winning streak. Aguilar vs. Bustamante Aguilar comes out throwing bombs and blast out Bustamante in the first round. A series of shots to head and body dropped Bustamante and the fight was stopped. Tenth first round finish for the 20-year-old from Ensenada. Second stoppage loss in succession for Bustamante. Villa Nueva, Argentina: Light: Maria Moneo (8-1) W PTS 10 Paola Benavidez (8-5-3). Welter: Victoria Bustos (22-6) W PTS 8 Yamil Reynoso (11-9-3). Moneo vs. Benavidez Uruguayan Moneo wins the vacant IBF Female title with a wide unanimous decision over Argentinian Benavidez. Moneo’s aggression won this one as she constantly forced Benavidez to the ropes and worked her over to head and body. Benavidez lost a point in the fourth for holding and survived a crisis in the seventh but was well beaten. Scores 99-90, 99-91 and 97-92 for Moneo who also holds the WBA title. Third defeat in her last four fights for Benavidez. Bustos vs. Reynoso Bustos too experienced for Reynoso and gets the majority decision. The more stylish Bustos scored well boxing at distance with Reynoso having her success with body punches inside. Bustos looked to have clearly have landed more and heavier punches but one judge did not think she had done enough. Scores 78-74 ½ and 78-75 for Bustos and 77-77. A former IBF champion Bustos lost big fights against Katie Taylor and Cecilia Braekhus. Reynoso, a former Argentinian welterweight champion, suffers her fifth consecutive defeat. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Super Light: Jonathan Eniz (27-15-1,1NC) W PTS 10 Nicolas Demario (15-5-3). Eniz needs a strong finish to get the decision over Demario. A poor run where he won only two of his last six fights left Eniz badly in need of a win. He set a fast pace and attacked hard over the first three rounds out working Demario who was too cautious. Demario came on in the second half of the fight cutting Eniz over his right eye and on his lip as he took the seventh and eighth. With his deeper experience Eniz had paced the fight better and took the last two rounds and the decision. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-95 for Eniz who is now aiming to challenge for the national title. Demario had gone 6-0-1 in his last 7 fights. Sanvignes les mines, France: Super Welter: Mickael Lacombe (13-6-1,1ND) W PTS 10 Mirko Di Carlantonio (11-9-1). Local fighter Lacombe just edges past Italian Di Carlantonio on a split decision to win the vacant IBO Mediterranean title. Scores 95-94 twice for Lacombe and 96-93 for Di Carlantonio. Lacombe, 35, has come into some late form as he is 9-1-1 in his last 11 fights. Di Carlantonio had draw and lost in shots at the Italian title this year. Les Mureaux, France: Bantam: Elie Konki (12-0) W PTS 10 Ricardo Blandon (15-4). Unbeaten Konki has too much skill for Nicaraguan Blandon. The 29-year-old “Spider” was defending the WBA Inter-Continental title and took the decision on scores of 98-92 twice and a much closer 96-94. Blandon had lost only one of his last six fights going in. Koenigs Wusterhausen, Germany: Super Welter: Ronny Gabel (39-6-1,1ND) W PTS 8 Achilles Szabo (25-28). Light: Ramona Kuehne (32-1) W PTS 6 Klaudia Vigh (3-33-1,1ND). Gabel vs. Szabo Gabel gets another scalp as he outscores experienced Hungarian loser Szabo. The referee scored this 78-74 to give Gabel his seventeenth win in his last eighteen fights. His opposition has been very much second string but he has won the WBU (German) version belt-hooray! Another loss for Szabo but an improvement as he is now 1-9 in recent action with the other eight losses all by KO/TKO. Kuehne vs. Vigh Female star boxer Kuehne keeps busy as she floors and outpoints consistent loser Vigh. The referee’s card for this one was 60-53. Now 41 the former undefeated WBO and IBF title holder has won her last 15 bouts and her lone defeat came way back in 2010. Poor Vigh has won just one of her last 35 fights. Managua, Nicaragua: Feather: Elysson Marquez (11-2-2) W TKO 6 Marcio Soza (21-7-2). Super Light: Israel Lopez (9-1,1ND) W TKO 6 Gabriel Escalante (14-2). Marquez vs. Soza Marquez wins a war of attrition against Soza. The better boxing came from Soza with Marquez loading up on every punch with not a lot of accuracy and he was leaving himself wide open to counters. Soza looked the likely winner as Marquez seemed arm weary in the fourth. Despite that Marquez landed heavily in the fifth with the referee asking the doctor to inspect Soza who was bleeding heavily from the nose. They pounded on each other in the sixth until the referee again called the doctor who decided Soza’s nose injury was too serious for the fight to continue. Marquez wins the vacant WBA Fedecaribe title and is unbeaten in his last seven fights. Soza had a ten-bout winning streak going before this loss. Lopez vs. Escalante Lopez gets repeat win over Escalante. This was a mirror image of their previous fight in April. The lanky Escalante towered over Lopez and was able to score both at distant and as Lopez tried to fight his way inside. Escalante found Lopez an easy target but just could not keep him out. Eventually Escalate tired and in the sixth Lopez pinned him to the ropes and unloaded punches until Escalante was ready to drop and the referee stopped the fight. After losing on a disqualification in his second fight Lopez is now 8-0-1ND. Now consecutive losses to Lopez for Escalante. Talisay City, Philippines: Fly: April Jay Abne (7-0) W PTS 10 Bienvenido Ligas (13-2-2). Minor surprise as inexperienced Abne beats Philippines champion Ligas to win the vacant OPBF Silver title on a split verdict. Abne looked sharp over the early rounds boxing cleverly on the back foot .Ligas was the stronger and the harder puncher and applied constant pressure with Abne often pinned to the ropes. Abne had quicker hands and was firing accurate counters but without power. Abne was cut in the sixth round in a clash of heads and Ligas chased Abne down and looked to have done enough to take the decision but it went to Abne for his early work. Scores 96-94 twice for Abne and 96-94 for Ligas. First time Abne has gone ten rounds so good experience for him and Ligas still has the Philippines title if Abne wants a return. Santander, Spain: Welter: Jon Miguez (15-0) W KO 2 Jonathan Valero (10-7-1) Miguez makes a successful first defence of the national title with second round kayo of Valero. Miguez looked to have scored a knockdown in the first but the referee ruled it a slip. There was no doubt over the finish in the second. Miguez connected with a series of punches ending with a left hook that put Valero down and out for Miguez’s seventh victory by KO/TKO. Valero is 0-2 in shots at the national title. Madrid, Spain: Feather: Bernard Torres (15-0) W TKO 7 Jayro Duran (14-13, Philippines-born Torres breaks down and halts Spanish-based Honduran Duran in the seventh round. Seven inside the distance wins for Norwegian southpaw Torres but ninth loss on the trot for Duran. Atlantic City, NJ, USA: Welter: Shinard Bunch (17-1-1,1ND) W KO 1 Wilfrido Buelvas (22-15). Another power punching displays from Queens-born Bunch. He dropped Buelvas twice finishing him on the second knockdown with a big right. Fifteen wins by KO/TKO for Bunch. He is unbeaten in his last fifteen fight with fourteen wins and a draw in February with 17-0 0 Janelson Figueroa Bocachica. Colombian Buelvas suffers loss No 12 by KO/TKO Fight of the week (Significance): The wins scored by both Zepeda and Ennis are significant as they keep the door open and the interest up for title shots. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Jonas Sultan vs. Carlos Caraballo had thrills enough to please anyone (another Top Rank show). Fighter of the week: Ennis for his towering display in brushing aside Thomas Dulorme with honourable mention to the power show from Zepeda Punch of the week: The straight left from Zepeda that put Vargas down was like a thunderbolt. Upset of the week: Juan Abreu’s win over highly touted Kazak Tursynbay was not in the script. Honourable mention to Sebastian Papeschi who was supposed to lose to Hector Zepeda Prospect watch: None I have not already mentioned. Observations Rosette: To Jackie Nava and Mariana Juarez two legendary female Mexican boxers facing each other perhaps when they are both past their best but a brave decision from both. Red Card: Referees need to either stop signalling for a boxer who has just arisen from a knockdown to raise his gloves. On a number of occasions at the weekend the referee either ignored the fact the fighter did not raise his gloves-or raised them for him. What’s the point of issuing an instruction and then not caring whether the boxer follows the instruction or not-a waste of breath. It is part of the safety process to ensure a boxer is able to continue. Either make sure he does raise his gloves or don’t even bother instructing him to do so. Different standards also. The feeling was that perhaps the Butaev vs. James fight was stopped a little hastily. Better that than when poor Jose Vargas started to get after being knocked down by Jose Zepeda. He was so addled that he stumbled across the ring and almost fell out under the bottom rope. Somehow he made it to his feet but there was no way he had recovered literally seconds after being so jumbled he almost fell out of the ring. -Christmas is coming and everybody needs some Christmas money. The show in Panama on October 29 featured 14 fights with 128 rounds scheduled. Luckily 16 ended early. -Great to see boxers honoured in their own country. On Saturday night in Forli Italy Boxe Ring Web hosted the Italian Hall Of Fame dinner with the inductees being Dulio Loi, Loris Stecca, Massimiliano Duran, Patrizio Oliva, Sumbu Kalambay, Roberto Cammarelle and an Italian great from the past Cleto Locatelli. Some great names there. -A well deserved plug for International Boxing Hall of Fame promoter J Russell Peltz’s book “Thirty Dollars and a Cut Eye”. A great boxing story covering Russell’s early years promoting some of the greatest middleweights of the era and on through to the present time. -There’s a song line that goes ”It was a very good year for…….Well 1980 was a very good year for female boxers as both Jackie Nava and Mariana Juarez were born in 1980 as was another female boxing legend Germany’s Ramona Kuehne with her 32-1 record and unbeaten for eleven years. Let me introduce you to: Dulio Loi Dulio Loi was inducted into the Italian Boxing Hall of Fame this week. He was one of the most successful boxers in Italian boxing history. Born in Trieste on 19 April 1929 Loi turned professional in November 1948.and won the Italian lightweight title in 1952. In the same year he lost in a challenge for the European title against Jorgen Johansen in front of over 16,000 spectators which gave Loi a 35-1-2 record. He fought a return with Johansen in 1954 and outpointed him to win the European lightweight title. He challenged Carlos Ortiz for the world lightweight title in 1960 but lost on points-only his second loss in 111 fights-but then beat Ortiz for the title and made two successful defences against him. He suffered his third loss in a defence of the now WBA title against Eddie Perkins in September 1962 but then regained the WBA title with a points win over Perkins in December 1962. Loi retired after that fight with a record of 115-3-8 and he scored revenge wins over the three fighters who beat him. Dulio was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of fame in 2005- A true great. |
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