By Eric Armit:
Highlights: -Anthony Joshua retains the IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO titles with ninth round kayo of Kubrat Pulev -Chris Colbert retains the WBA interim super featherweight title with stoppage of Jaime Arboleda -Shakur Stevenson outclasses Toka Kahn Clary over ten rounds -Masayoshi Nakatani climbs off the floor twice to stop Felix Verdejo -Hughie Fury overcomes serious cut to decision Mariusz Wach and Martin Bakole takes unanimous decision over Sergey Kuzmin -Lawrence Okolie overpowers substitute Nikodem Jezewski after his WBO title fight is cancelled due to Krzys Glowacki being ruled out by COVID-19 -Ronald Ellis gets injury victory over Mate Korobov and Edgar Berlanga makes it sixteen consecutive first round wins as he blows away Ulises Sierra World Title/Major Shows 12 December London. England: Heavy: Anthony Joshua (24-1) W KO 9 Kubrat Pulev (28-2). Cruiser: Lawrence Okolie (15-0) W TKO 2 Nikodem Jezewski (19-1-1,1ND). Heavy: Hughie Fury (25-3) W PTS 10 Mariusz Wach (36-7). Heavy: Martin Bakole (16-1) W PTS 10 Sergey Kuzmin (15-2). Super Welter: Kieron Conway (16-1-1) W PTS 10 Macaulay McGowan (14-2-1). Super Bantam: Qais Ashfaq (9-1) W TKO 4 Ashley Lane (14-10-2). Joshua vs. Pulev Joshua returns with a win as he knocks out Pulev in nine rounds to retain his four title belts and keep on course for a fight with Tyson Fury. Round 1 Plenty of caution and not much punching as both fighters were looking to counter leads that did not come. Joshua had the longer reach and the quicker hands and a few scoring jabs from him were enough to give him the round. Score: 10-9 Joshua Round 2 Joshua was again finding gaps for his jab. He then burst into action with a quick series of hooks most of which landed. Pulev then came forward behind his jab but was just holding inside. Joshua continued to score with his jab. Score: 10-9 Joshua Joshua 20-18 Round 3 Pulev slung a few punches at the start of the round but then Joshua exploded with a right to the head that had Pulev staggering back. Joshua followed him throwing punches. Joshua connected with a couple of uppercuts and Pulev went staggering along the ropes and into a corner leaning on the ropes with his back to Joshua. The referee stepped in and gave Pulev a standing count. After the count Joshua landed more heavy punches and Pulev went crashing to the canvas. He was up at six and Joshua tried to finish it but Pulev held and survived. Score: 10-7 Joshua Joshua 30-25 Round 4 Joshua chose to box his way through the fourth. He stabbed jabs through Pulev’s guard and tried a couple of rights. Pulev just could not find a way past Joshua’s jab or his guard so resorted to lunging forward swinging wildly and Joshua had no trouble avoiding those shots. Score: 10-9 Joshua Joshua 40-34 Official Scores: Judge Matteo Montella 40-34 Joshua, Judge Phil Edwards 40-34 Joshua, Judge Yordan Ezekiev 39-35 Joshua. Round 5 Not a great deal of action. Too many clinches. Pulev’s body language said he was firing himself up but that did not help him block Joshua’s jab. Joshua was jabbing to head and body and landed a good right. Pulev did the same with his being the best punch he had landed so far but Joshua just grinned and stuck Pulev with another jab. Score: 10-9 Joshua Joshua 50-43 Round 6 Another round with too many clinches. Joshua was winning the fight with his jab a-la-Ruiz II fashion and Pulev was throwing wild punches with no success. Pulev had been landing punches to the back of the head in every clinch and was warned twice for it in this round and continued to do so with ironically Joshua getting a warning for one punch there. Score: 10-9 Joshua Joshua 60-52 Round 7 In the first twenty seconds of the round Pulev landed three punches to the back of the head in clinches. That seemed to anger Joshua and he came forward unleashing a volley of punches including three neck-snapping uppercuts that had Pulev backing off. Pulev had some success inside (and continued to land punches to the back of the head) but Joshua’s hard accurate jabs gave him the round. Score: 10-9 Joshua Joshua 70-61 Round 8 Joshua let hands go a bit more in this round. He was still dominating the action with his jab but he also put together a couple of combinations. Pulev connected with one right cross but was looking very tired. Score: 10-9 Joshua Joshua 80-70 Official Scores: Judge Matteo Montella 80-70 Joshua, Judge Phil Edwards 79-71 Joshua, Judge Yordan Ezekiev 79-71 Joshua. Round 9 A right uppercut from Joshua had Pulev badly shaken. He tried to hold but Joshua landed two more uppercuts then shrugged him off and Pulev went down on his hands and knees. Pulev got up but then went walking around the ring. The referee counted to eight and then stopped Pulev’s stroll and made him go a corner then signalled they should box on. Joshua walked into Pulev and landed a booming right to the head that put Pulev on his back and he was counted out. Joshua retains the IBF/WBA/WBO and IBO title belts in his first fight for twelve months. It was not a great fight with Joshua choosing to box more that in his pre-loss- to-Ruiz days and Pulev was crude and slow. Joshua showed he had lost none of his power. By beating Pulev he fulfilled his IBF obligations, and the WBA heavyweight picture is a chaotic mess with no mandatory opponent. The decision he will have to make is what to do about his mandatory WBO defence against Oleksandr Usyk. It is a case of whether he takes the risk of fighting Usyk and endangers the massive fight with Fury or surrenders the WBO belt. At 39 Pulev may decide he has done enough fighting but if he decides to continue there will be fights there for him Okolie vs. Jezewski With his WBO world title fight with Krzys Glowacki falling through due to Glowacki testing positive for COVID-19 Okolie found himself facing Pole Jezewski for the lesser vacant WBO International title and he obliterated the overmatched Jezewski in less than five minutes. Jezewski had no answer to Okolie’s jab. He was too slow to block it and too slow to counter. Okolie backed Jezewski to the ropes with a right then landed a right to the body. Jezewski dropped to one knee in agony. He arose at eight then a right turned his legs to jelly but somehow he stayed up. Jezewski tried to take the fight to Okolie but once again a right had him tottering and he dropped to his knees. He again got up at eight and was rocked by another right but made it to the bell. Jezewski lunged forward throwing punches in the second but Okolie had no problem dodging the rushes and a right sent Jezewski to the canvas. He just made it to his feet at nine but the referee wisely refused to let him continue. The 6’5” Londoner hardly broke into a sweat for this win, his twelfth by KO/TKO. Hopefully the Glowacki fight can be set up for early next year. Poor Jezewski was way out of his depth and was poor even for a very late substitute. Fury vs. Wach Fury overcomes a horrible gash over his left eye to outpoint Wach. In the first two rounds although Fury did most of the scoring Wach managed to look dangerous as he connected with rights and they exchanged blows after the bell in the second. Fury used his better movement and quicker hands to outbox the ponderous Wach in the third but a clash of heads in the fourth opened a big cut over the left eye of Fury which bled heavily. Fury survived a doctors examination in both the fourth and sixth and although boxing with more caution he continued to ram home hurtful jabs. Fury’s corner had done a great job of controlling his cut and Wach was too slow to really cause Fury any anxiety. Fury switched to southpaw in the eighth and was then landing some sharp rights as he eased his way through the ninth and tenth. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91 for Fury. Losses to Joseph Parker, Kubrat Pulev and Alexander Povetkin have seen Fury drop out of the rating but once the cut heals he will be back in contention for a place. Fifth loss for Wach in his last eight fights. Bakole vs. Kuzmin Bakole boxes his way to a unanimous decision over Kuzmin. In the first Bakole made good use his faster hands and better movement to pepper Kuzmin with jabs and he also connected with a right cross to the head. There was plenty of action in the second as Bakole scored with jabs, hooks and uppercuts but over the last minute Kuzmin connected with some powerful head punches. Bakole continued to find the target with his punches but whilst plenty they were also light. It had been a hectic round and the worry was that Bakole was setting too fast a pace and would pay for it later as he had when losing to Mike Hunter. The pace slowed over the third as Bakole mainly used his longer reach to outscore Kuzmin at distance only for Kuzmin to get through with heavy rights in the fourth. The pace picked up a little in the fifth with both scoring well and the sixth was close. Kuzmin landed some heavy rights over the seventh and eighth but Bakole continued to spear the Russian with a stream of jabs. The pace had slowed and activity was low and what crowd there was gave vent to some criticism. Kuzmin connected with a booming right in the tenth but Bakole absorbed the shot and kept pinging Kuzmin with jabs. Scores 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 all for Bakole. Kuzmin was disgusted with the result but Bakole’s early work and his constant and accurate jabbing gave him the edge. The Scottish-based Congolese boxer wins the vacant WBC International title. He has now racked up five victories since losing to Hunter and will be hoping for boost in his ranking as Kuzmin was No 13 with the WBA. Two losses in a row for Kuzmin as he lost a unanimous decision to Hunter in September last year. Conway vs. McGowan Conway wins every round and scores a knockdown in one-sided victory over McGowan. Conway boxed behind a tight guard as McGowan piled forward aggressively firing hooks. Conway stayed cool and his accurate jabbing and crisp right counters had McGowan marked up early with a bruising around his left eye and blood seeping from his nose. McGowan just kept coming and at times Conway was hard pressed to keep him out but he connected with a left hook in the eighth that put McGowan down and brought even more blood from McGowan’s nose. Conway handed out punishment in the ninth and tenth but McGowan stayed competitive to the end. Scores unanimous with the judges at 100-90 for Conway who retains the WBA Inter-Continental title. He is 6-0-1 in his last 7 outings with the draw being with Ted Cheeseman for the British title in June 2019. Second consecutive defeat for McGowan who lost on points to Kazakh prospect Tursynbay Kulakhmet last month. Ashfaq vs. Lane After losing his unbeaten tag in October Ashfaq gets back in the ring quickly and stops Lane in four rounds. Ashfaq never allowed Lane a chance to get into the fight flooring him in the first with a pair of punches late in the round. He continued to boss the action against the smaller but feisty Lane and a couple of rights in the third knocked Laine sideways and he put his gloves on the canvas to avoid going down resulting in another count. Ashfaq launched a ferocious attack at the start of the fourth driving Lane to the ropes and bombarding him with punches and the referee stopped the fight. Olympian Ashfaq is now looking for a return fight with Mark Leach who outpointed him in October. Former Commonwealth champion Lane lost on a twelfth round stoppage to unbeaten Brad Foster for the British and Commonwealth title in May last year. Uncasville, CT, USA: Super Feather: Chris Colbert (15-0) W TKO 11 Jaime Arboleda (16-2). Middle: Ronald Ellis (18-1-2) W TKO 5 Matvey Korobov (28-4-1). Super Light; Richard Hitchins (12-0) W PTS 12 Algenis Mendez (25-6-3,1ND). Colbert vs. Arboleda Colbert outclasses a strong and determined Arboleda to retain the WBA interim title. Colbert was in the driver’s seat from the opening bell. He was much quicker than Arboleda and was sending flashing jabs through the Panamanian’s guard and putting together some spectacular combinations. He was also switching guard and dropping his hands to thigh level then shooting punches from different angles. Colbert’s confidence was high enough in the second for him to just stand against the ropes behind a high guard and let Arboleda fire punches before suddenly exploding with quick-fire counters. A fierce attack had Arboleda reeling at the end of the round. It was too easy for Colbert as in round after round he was able to score easily at distance and when he moved inside his bursts of punches had Arboleda confused and too slow to counter. Arboleda pressed hard enough to do some scoring and he took the fourth but too often the only way he had Colbert as a target in front of him was when Colbert just decided to stand against the ropes and let Arboleda throw punches. Colbert was ducking, bobbing and weaving and then banging home yet another burst of punches. Colbert was showboating continually as a frustrated Arboleda just could not find the target and Arboleda threw Colbert to the canvas in the seventh. Colbert went low twice with punches in the eighth and was deducted a point. The ninth was three minutes of war. Arboleda attacked strongly putting plenty of pressure on Colbert and connecting with some hard shots. Unfortunately he was leaving himself wide open and was rocked time and again by counters from Colbert. Arboleda walked through them forcing Colbert to the ropes and throwing punches. Again he was wide open and was caught with fierce counters until the cumulative effect and a powerful left hook saw Arboleda stumble back to the ropes and drop to his haunches. He was badly shaken but beat the count with the bell then going. Colbert stalked a still shaky Arboleda in the tenth without ever really doing any great damage. A series of head punches put Arboleda down in the eleventh. He made it to his feet and was allowed to continue. He was knocked down again and slowly and painfully got to his feet. It was pointless to let the fight continue. The referee decided Arboleda was fit to do so but when a series of punches from Colbert sent Arboleda to the ropes the referee stepped in to save Arboleda. The 24-year-old from Brooklyn was making the first defence of the title he won by beating Jezreel Corrales in January. Colbert has plenty of skill and plenty of showmanship (bright red hair and pink gloves) and whilst the super featherweight division is stacked with star talent it would be stupid to overlook Colbert. Panamanian Arboleda, the WBA No 4, had won his last six fights. He was the youngest of three brothers who all boxed but one ended up in jail and the other was killed in an accident. Ellis vs. Korobov Ellis gets a fortunate injury win over Korobov when behind in the scoring. Korobov boxed intelligently in the first two rounds. He was on the back foot scoring with southpaw jabs and then darting in to land punches and getting out. Ellis was not using his jab. He was looking for openings whilst Korobov was making them. Ellis upped his pace in the third and fourth and landed a couple of rights at range but his jab was under used and he was also throwing single shots whereas Korobov was firing his punches in bunches. Korobov had been moving easily in the fourth but when he returned to his corner he indicated he had injured his left ankle and could not continue. A win is a win so Ellis gets his second in a row as he re-establishes himself after losing a majority decision to DeAndre Ware in February last year. A cruel blow to 37-year-old Korobov. Losses to Jermall Charlo and Chris Eubank Jr in interim title fights made a win a necessity and he was comfortably in front on two cards but now has to start again. Hitchins vs. Mendez Good win in a step-up fight for Hitchins but although he looked to have won by a comfortable margin he had to settle for a split decision. Hitchins was the man in charge in the first two rounds as he slotted home jabs and connected with over hand rights. Mendez was not pressing hard enough or letting his punches go but they both landed a good punch late in the second. Mendez stepped up the pressure in the third and had the better of the exchanges. Mendez was scoring to the body when he managed to cut the ring off and get inside but too often was just following the quicker Hitchins around the ring. Hitchins took the fourth and the fifth still working the jab but putting together some sharp bursts of punches. Mendez managed to slow Hitchins in the sixth to drive home some body shots to take that round and the seventh was close with Hitchins just doing enough to edge it. Hitchins used his movement and jab to control the action in the eighth and ninth with Mendez too often allowing Hitchins to smother his work inside and then Hitchins settled for boxing his way through the last just looking to protect his lead. Scores 99-91 and 98-92 for Hitchins and 97-93 for Mendez. New Yorker Hitchins just lost out in the US Olympic Trials for Rio to Gary Antuanne Russell but used his Haitian antecedents to enter the World Olympic qualifier and made it to Rio-where he lost to Gary Antuanne Russell! He showed plenty of talent in this fight against a much more experienced opponent and is making good progress. Former IBF super feather champion Mendez was 2-2-2 in his previous six fights losing to Robert Easter and Luke Campbell, beating Ivan Redkach and Eddie Ramirez and drawing with Anthony Peterson and Juan Heraldez so still plenty of fights left in the 34-year-old Dominican. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Feather: Shakur Stevenson (15-0) W PTS 10 Toka Kahn Clary (28-3). Light: Masayoshi Nakatani (19-1) W TKO 9 Felix Verdejo (27-2). Light Fly: Jesse Rodriguez (13-0) W KO 2 Saul Juarez (25-13-2). Super Middle: Edgar Berlanga (16-0) W TKO 1 Ulises Sierra (15-2-2). Feather: Robeisy Ramirez (6-1) W TKO 6 Brandon Valdes (13-2). Stevenson vs. Clary Stevenson showcases his exciting skills as he outclasses Clary over ten rounds. Stevenson took charge of this fight in the first minute and stayed in control all the way. He rocked Clary with a right jab in the first and connected with some flashing combinations. Both are southpaws but there the resemblance ends as Stevenson’s skills are several levels above Clary’s. A Stevenson left hook staggered Clary in the second and he again put together some electrifying bursts of punches. Try as he might Clary just could not land a punch due to the speedy reflexes of Stevenson. The third and fourth both saw more classy attack and defence from Stevenson with Clary only occasionally managing to stop defending long enough to throw a punch. The fifth was a bit messy with Clary holding more but also having some success in close but Stevenson was raking Clary with punches to head and body. Clary came out throwing jabs in the sixth but was then driven onto the back foot as Stevenson scored with brutal body shots and complained about Clary holding. The action slowed in the seventh and eighth with Stevenson not putting his punches together as much as he had earlier but still doing the scoring. Clary was just looking to survive in the ninth and tenth and although Stevenson connected with solid lefts to the head in the last Clary made it to the bell. All three judges had Stevenson the winner at 100-90. Stevenson was naturally calling out all of the big names in the talent-rich super featherweight division and particularly the winner of Jamel Herring’s WBO title defence against Carl Frampton. There are some exciting things to look forward to in 2021 at 130lbs. Clary had won 9 of his previous 10 fights losing only to Kid Galahad but from bell to bell he was no threat to the Stevenson. Nakatani vs. Verdejo Nakatani climbs off the floor twice to floor Verdejo twice on the way to a ninth rounds stoppage victory which nets him the WBO Inter-Continental title. No time wasted here as both Verdejo and Nakatani were letting their punches go from the start of the round. With just one minute gone Verdejo stepped in with a right to the head of the taller Nakatani that sent him sprawling on the canvas. He was up immediately and after the count he stood and traded punches with Verdejo. Nakatani was rocked by two left hooks but steadied himself and was firing back at the bell. Nakatani used his longer reach to score in the second but he looked vulnerable whenever Verdejo let fly with left hooks. The first punch in the third round was a right to the head that sent Nakatani staggering across the ring but the Japanese fighter recovered and boxed behind his jab for the rest of the round. Verdejo scored his second knockdown in the fourth round connecting with a short right inside that sent Nakatani down on one knee. Again Nakatani was up immediately and boxed his way through the round. They both landed good shots in a less frantic fifth and Verdejo was having problems getting past Nakatani’s jab in the sixth. There was plenty of fire in the seventh but now Nakatani was taking control coming forward and making Verdejo dip at the knees with a long right. Nakatani was in charge in the eighth scoring with long rights. Verdejo had run out of ideas on how to deal with the longer reach of Nakatani and was throwing very few punches. Verdejo was six points up on two cards and three on the other but that became irrelevant. In the ninth a powerful left jab from Nakatani sent Verdejo tumbling back to the ropes and down. Verdejo made it to his feet but Nakatani just walked across the ring and landed a right to the side of the head and as Verdejo went face down on the floor the referee immediately waived the fight over. Nakatani was having his first fight since absorbing a beating in losing on points to Teo Lopez in July last year. The 26-year-old former OPBF champion was rated at No 14 by the WBO but this win should certainly get him higher in the rankings and open the door to some other fights in the USA. Difficult to know where Verdejo goes from here. He is only 27 but has already had to rebuild once after his loss to Antonio Lozada and he no longer looks the class fighter he did in his early years. Rodriguez vs. Juarez Rodriguez just too big and too powerful for experienced Juarez. Plenty of movement from 5’ 0” tall Juarez at the start. As Rodriguez tracked him around the ring Juarez was scoring with quick jabs and straight rights but there was no power in the punches and Rodriguez landed a crisp uppercut and a right hook to the body. Rodriguez chased a slippery Juarez down in the second before landing a vicious left hook to the head that saw Juarez go down on his hands and knees and be counted out. Fifth inside the distance win in a row for the 20-year-old southpaw from Texas. Former WBC minimumweight title challenger Juarez, 30, suffers only his second loss by KO/TKO Berlanga vs. Sierra Berlanga makes it 16 first round wins in a row with stoppage of Sierra. Berlanga scored with a series of clubbing right to the head that forced Sierra to his knees. He got up but Berlanga then connected with rights and lefts to the head that sent Sierra stumbling across the ring into the ropes. As the ropes stopped him falling he was given a count. Berlanga then finished the job with a pair of brutal rights and as Sierra dropped to the floor the referee stopped the fight. The 23-year-old New Yorker shows explosive power in every fight and this is the first time that experienced Sierra has lost by KO/TKO. Ramirez vs. Valdes Sparkling display of exquisite skills from Ramirez on the way to a sixth round stoppage of Valdes. This was fast-paced boxing with Ramirez showing classic footwork and upper body movement and snapping out his punches. Valdes stayed right on top of Ramirez and was scoring well with hooks. From the third Valdes was finding it hard to lay a glove on Ramirez as the Cuban showed extraordinary defensive skills combined with rapid punching from a variety of angles. Over the fourth and fifth Valdes was swishing air and getting caught with sharp counters. In the sixth Ramirez sent Valdes into the ropes with lefts to the head and then piled on the punches and with Valdez trapped in a corner and not punching back the fight was stopped. Ramirez, 26, has world title level skills but he will face some stern tests that will prove whether he has the power to go all the way. Colombian Valdes had gone the full ten rounds with world title challenger Ricardo Espinoza in his last fight in August. 10 December Tokyo Japan: Super Light: Daishi Nagata (15-2-2) TEC DRAW 7 Akihiro Kondo (32-9-2). Nagata retains the Japanese title with technical draw against Kondo. After some hectic action over the first five rounds the youth and speed of southpaw Nagata had him up 48-47 on two cards and 49-46 on the third. Kondo was getting stronger and pressing hard but in the sixth a clash of heads opened a gash over Nagata’s left eye. In the seventh the injury was bleeding heavily and the fight was stopped with the result being decided on the score cards. One judge had Nagata in front 67-66 but the other two had them even at 67-67. First defence of the title for Nagata, 30, who was 61-25 as an amateur. Kondo, 35, a former Japanese lightweight champion. lost to Sergey Lipinets for the vacant IBF super light title in 2017 San Carlos, Mexico: Welter: Santiago Dominguez (24-0) W PTS 10 Ricardo Lara (22-9). Light: Luis Torres (10-) W KO 3 Juan Rodriguez (9-3). Dominguez vs. Lara Dominguez marches on but needs a strong finish to get a split decision over Lara. Dominguez made a good start over the first two rounds coming in behind his jab with powerful rights with Lara on the back foot and under pressure. Lara was jabbing well and countering and landed well to the body over the third and fourth although Dominguez connected with some heavy rights. Dominguez dominated the fifth and sixth with his surging attacks. Lara was still very much in the fight and he outboxed Dominguez in the seventh and eighth connecting with accurate counters. Dominguez was looking tired and his work rate dropped. The ninth was another round for Lara but Dominguez was not using his right at all which was throwing his work off balance. Dominguez put in a big effort in the last and outlanded a tiring Lara which was just enough to get him the win. Scores 96-95 twice for Dominguez and 96-94 for Lara. A tough night for the 29-year-old WBC No 13. Third loss in a row for Lara but as the other two were against Tony Luis and unbeaten Batyrzhan Jukembayev he has been riding a hard road. Torres vs. Rodriguez Teenager Torres scores brutal kayo. Over the first two rounds Rodriguez just walked forward throwing punches. He was crude and wild. Torres was quicker and was countering strongly but at times it looked as though Torres might be overwhelmed by Rodriguez’s aggression. In the third as Rodriguez stormed forward Torres hit him with four successive booming head punches that sent Rodriguez crashing to the floor with the fight being waived off immediately. Seventh inside the distance win for the 18-year-old southpaw. First loss by KO/TKO for Rodriguez. 11 December Redditch, England: Super Welter: Sam Eggington (29-7) W TKO 6 Ashley Theophane (48-9-1,1ND). Welter: Kaisee Benjamin (11-1-1) W PTS 10 Ben Fields (10-9-2). Eggington vs. Theophane Eggington hands out a one-sided beating to veteran Theophane. Eggington was 4” taller, had a big edge in reach and was thirteen years younger. From the first bell he was stalking Theophane around the ring scoring with vicious hooks to the body and thumping rights to the head. Theophane spent most of the fight with his back against the ropes with Eggington practically having sessions of target practice. Theophane just threw enough punches to convince the referee to let him continue but he was never competitive. A right seconds before the bell in the third sent Theophane flying back into the ropes which held him up and he was given a count. Eggington continued to batter Theophane over the fifth and in the sixth a right to the body put Theophane on the floor. He dragged himself slowly and painfully to his feet and the fight was stopped. Former European champion Eggington scored a big win when he knocked out 31-2 Orlando Fiordigiglio in September last year but then lost to Ted Cheeseman in August. Former British champion Theophane, 40, lost to Adrien Broner for the WBA secondary super lightweight title in 2016 and has travelled the world before and since then with this his first fight in Britain since 2012. Benjamin vs. Fields Impressive performance for Benjamin as he retains the BBB of Central Area title for the third time in a battle between two fighters from Birmingham. This was a tough fight with Fields competitive all the way. Benjamin tended to get his punches off first and carried more power but Fields was willing to stand and trade and both had their chin tested. Benjamin was particularly effective with uppercuts and although many rounds were close he was a good winner. Referee’s score 97-95 for Benjamin, 35, who is unbeaten with six wins and a draw in his last seven fights. Fields had won the Central Area super light title in September Sheffield, England: Fly: Rosendo Guarneros (18-4-2) W RTD 8 Tommy Frank (13-1). Super Feather: Kane Slavin (6-0) W PTS 10 Sufyaan Ahmed (5-1). Heavy: Kash Ali (18-1) W RTD 3 Phil Williams (3-27-1). Guarneros vs. Frank Frank loses his unbeaten record as an injury forces his retirement. In the early action Frank handled the aggressive Guarneros with ease. He was finding gaps for his jab and following rights, Frank reportedly injured his shoulder in the third but he continued to outbox Guarneros in the fourth and fifth with the Mexican tiring. The injury began to catch up with Frank from the sixth and in the seventh Guarneros was getting through with rights. Frank was under pressure and taking punishment in the eighth and over his protests his corner pulled him out of the fight. Guarneros wins the vacant IBF Inter-Continental title. Local fighter Frank will wait for the injury to heal and will soon be back in his winning ways. Slavin vs. Ahmed Slavin wins the vacant BBB of C Central Area title with victory over Ahmed in a battle for local bragging rights. Slavin took the early rounds as he forced his way forward taking the fight inside and landed some choice body punches. He was comfortable there where he was able to deny space to the skilful Ahmed. As the fight moved past the fifth round Ahmed began to connect with some useful hooks and uppercuts. As Slavin slowed from his early exertions Ahmed began to eat into Slavin’s lead but finally ran out of rounds. Referee’s score 97-94 for Slavin. It was reported that the boxers put their purse into the pot for winner takes all scrap. Both Slavin, 20, and Ahmed 27 hail from Sheffield and were both jumping from four rounds to ten so useful experiences for them. Ali vs. Williams Ali has an easy night against Williams. Ali was too big and too strong for a passive Williams. Ali was able to walk Williams down landing stiff jabs and clubbing body punches. Williams was more interested in clinching and after absorbing some heavy hits in the third Williams retired at the end of the round. Fourth win for 28-year-old Ali since being disqualified for taking a bite out of David Price in March last year. Ali had stopped Williams in six rounds in October 2018. Eleven consecutive losses for Williams. Garin, Argentina: Middle: Lucas Bastida (15-1) W TKO 1 Sergio Lopez (12-4). Cruiser: Yamil Peralta (8-0) W KO 4 Angel Schmitt (6-12-1). Bastida vs. Lopez Bastida blasts out Lopez in the first round. Lopez sought to blow Bastida away with a fierce attack. Bastida stayed cool boxing behind his jab. He rocked Lopez with an uppercut then hurt him with two body punches before connecting with a overhand right that floored Lopez heavily. Lopez struggled to his feet but staggered badly and the referee stopped the fight after 103 seconds. Bastida, 23, was defending the South American title and moves to twelve wins in a row. Fourth inside the distance loss for Lopez Peralta vs. Schmitt Peralta kayos Schmitt with a right in the fourth. Peralta used his longer reach to force Schmitt to retreat. He had him in trouble from a left hook in the first and punished him with jabs and body shots in the second. Schmitt relied on some wild swipes hoping to get lucky. Schmitt changed to southpaw in the third and landed one good right but Peralta was connecting with long rights to the head and had Schmitt backing away with a body punch. In the fourth as Schmitt plunged forward Peralta met him with a perfectly executed right cross that sent Schmitt crashing to the floor and he was counted out. The 6’ 3 ½” Peralta was also defending the South American title. The Argentinian No 1 is a former bronze medallist from the World Championships and the Pan American Games. Schmitt, 40, is now 2-5-1 in his recent form. Buenos, Aires, Argentina: Super Light: Jeremias Ponce (27-0) W PTS 10 Jonathan Eniz (25-14-1,1ND). Bantam: Fernando Martinez (21-0) W PTS 10 Angel Aquino (7-4-1). Heavy: Lenier Pero (4-0) W KO 2 Jorge Arias (9-2-1). Super Welter: Brian Arregui (1-0) W TKO 2 Max Recalde (0-2). Ponce vs. Eniz Ponce stays unbeaten but has to climb off the canvas before winning. After two fairly even rounds Ponce found himself on the floor in the third. As they swapped punches a short left hook from southpaw Eniz put Ponce on the floor. He beat the count and only just survived. He then recovered and scored heavily over the fourth and fifth rounds. Eniz battled back hard over the seventh and eighth but a strong finish when he had Eniz holding on earned Ponce the decision. Scores 96-92, 96-93 ½ and 95-94 for Ponce. The 24-year-old IBO champion is trained by the sons of Santos Zacarias who trained Santos Laciar and Juan Martin Coggi and Jeremias is married to Argentinian Female bantamweight champion Iara Altamirano. It has been a switchback ride for Eniz lately. He scored wins over former IBF champion Cesar Cuenca former IBF champion and won in Denmark over 21-1 Deniz Ilbay but that was flowed by defeats against Gustavo Lemos and Subriel Matias. Martinez vs. Aquino Martinez, the WBC Silver champion and Argentinian No 1 was a heavy favourite here against inexperienced Aquino but had a much tougher test than he expected and had to settle for a split decision. Scores 97-92 and 95-94 for Martinez and 95-94 for Aquino. . The former amateur star scored a win over Andrew Moloney and competed at the World Championships and the 2016 Olympics but he was disappointing in this fight. Like Ponce Martinez also had to struggle against unfancied Aquino. Aquino had won only two of his last six fights and was going ten rounds for the first time. Pero vs. Arias Cuban southpaw Pero crushes Arias. Pero had Arias in trouble from the start but Arias managed to survive the first three minutes. In the second Round Pero clubbed Arias to the floor twice for the kayo. The 28-year-old 6’ 3 ½” Pero turned pro in Germany last year. In the amateurs he was Cuban champion and won gold medals at the Youth World Championships, Youth Olympics and in the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games. Arias had won his last five fights. Arregui vs. Ricalde Down the card but of great local interest as Arregui wins his first pro fight. He floored Recalde with a right in the first and again with two rights in the second. The 20-year-old Arregui won a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games, a bronze at the Pan American Youth Championships and was a quarter-finalist at the World Youth Championships losing to the eventual gold medal list. Big thing expected from him. Recalde no hope novice. Canberra, Australia: Feather: Brock Jarvis (18-0) W KO 5 Mark Schleibs (12-1). Light: Jacob Ng (14-0) W TKO 5 Hunter Ioane (8-1-1). Jarvis vs. Schleibs Jarvis just too much for smaller and less experienced Schleibs. Jarvis used his trade mark body attacks to wear down Schleibs. It was silly of Schleibs to come in at 121 ½ lbs giving away 4lbs to the bigger and stronger Jarvis. Schleibs did well to last as long as he did as he was being weakened from the start by body punches and it was over in the fifth when a left hook dropped him to his hands and knees. First fight at featherweight for 23-year-old Jarvis who collects the IBF Pan Pacific and WBO Global belts with his sixteenth win by KO/TKO. The Jeff Fenech-trained fighter is emerging as one of the best young fighters in Australia and is ready to move onto the world stage. Jarvis much too big an ask for former Australian bantam champion Schleibs Ng vs. Ione Ng gets off the floor to stop Ioane in a terrific scrap. The feeling was that as with Schleibs Ioane was trying to take too big a step up. It did not look that way in the first round when Ioane connected with a huge right cross that dumped Ng on the floor on his back. Somehow Ng just climbed straight up to his feet and after the count took the fight to Ioane. From there the two just knocked lumps off each other in round after round of terrific action. Ng repaid Ioane by flooring him twice with rights and after Ioane was sent staggering back by a series of head punches in the fifth the referee stopped the fight. The 26-year-old 5’ 11 ½” tall Gold Coast fighter was defending the IBF International and WBO Oriental titles. He has eleven wins by KO/TKO and is No 10 with the IBF. Ioane has five wins by KO/TKO and he almost made it six with that right in the first round. Budapest, Hungary: Super Welter: Balazs Bacskai (14-0) W TKO 2 Nick Klappert (28-4). Super Middle: Istvan Szili (25-2-2) W TKO 7 Mate Kis (17-1-2). Bacskai vs. Klappert Bacskai gets this one over quickly and collects his first international title. The former amateur star put German Klappert on the floor three times each caused by a right to the head forcing Klappert’s corner to throw in the towel in the second round. The 32-year-old “Benji” makes it eight inside the distance wins as he lifts the WBO Inter-Continental title. In the amateurs Bacskai scored victories over Alex Besputin, Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Scott Cardle and Abass Baraou. Klappert had gone into the fight with 8 victories in his last 9 outings. Szili vs. Kis Szili wins the vacant IBO Inter-Continental title with stoppage of Kis. Szili was the one forcing the fight always coming forward working on the body of the younger man. In the second a low punch cost Szili a point. Kis seemed to settle and boxed well to establish a lead. In the sixth Szili looked to have scored a knockdown with a hard right but the referee ruled Szili had pushed Kis to the canvas although Kis was visibly shaken. Kis appeared to have recovered at the start of the seventh but a succession of punches from Szili dropped him. He beat the count but was swaying badly and the referee stopped the fight. The 37-year-old Swiss-based Hungarian Szili had lost a split decision to Jayde Mitchell in Australia in his last fight. Kis, 27, had won his last ten fights, seven by KO/TKO. Cape Town, South Africa: Heavy: Tian Fick (9-0) W PTS 12 Joshua Pretorius (7-5). Welter: Antonio Mayala (9-3-1) W PTS 10 Henriques Lando (5-2). Fick vs. Pretorius Fick finally wins the vacant South African title after overcoming a few bumps in the road. The 6’7” Fick towered over Pretorius and was able to use his long reach to pick off Pretorius at range and drop in right crosses. Pretorius kept marching forward but even when he managed to get inside Pretorius was finding his work smothered by the huge Fick and he never really posed any threat as Fick won a unanimous decision. Scores 118-110 twice and 119-109. The 36-year-old Fick was to challenge Ruann Visser for the title but Visser fell through the ropes and injured himself before the fight and when a drugs ban took Visser out of the equation the fight with Pretorius was then delayed by COVID-19 and then an illness to Fick. Pretorius had been outpointed by Fick in June last year but had won his last two fights. Mayala vs. Lando In a clash of two South African-based Angolans Mayala used his better skills to decision the aggressive Lando in an entertaining contests. Mayala always had the edge and clearly outpointed Lando to take the unanimous verdict. Scores 99-90. 98-91 and 97-92 for Mayala. The 40-year-old winner was making the third defence of the WBFederation African title and is now on a good run of 8-0-1. Two defeats in a row for Lando. 12 December Hurlingham, Argentina: Fly: Agustin Gauto (16-0) W TKO 1 Juan Jurado (15-3-3). Light Heavy: Braian Suarez (13-0) W TKO 9 Cesar Reynoso (16-15-4). Gauto vs. Jurado Gauto despatches Jurado inside a round. Gauto was taller and quicker and Jurado was forced to come forward trying to get inside. Gauto rattled him early with a left uppercut and then put together a devastating combination rounded-off by a powerful straight right that sent Jurado crashing to the canvas. Jurado’s corner threw the towel in as soon as that right landed. The 22-year-old Gauto, a former undefeated South American champion and Argentinian No 1 light fly has eleven inside the distance victories including ten in his last eleven fights. He looks a very good prospect and is aiming to follow in the footsteps of his idol Omar Narvaez. First inside the distance loss for former Argentinian champion Jurado. Suarez vs. Reynoso Local boxer Suarez batters a gutsy Reynoso to defeat. Suarez used his left jab to boss this one from the start. Reynosa was rarely able to get on his front foot and spent much of the time pinned to the ropes as Suarez worked him over to head and body. A left to the body dropped Reynoso to his knees in the fourth. He survived the round but only the bell saved him at the end of the fifth. He showed guts to stay in the fight but took plenty of punishment. He was given a count at the end of the eighth when punches from Suarez drove him into the ropes and when he was floored by two rights in the ninth immediately halted the fight. Argentinian champion Suarez collects the WBA Fedebol belt with his twelfth win by KO/TKO. Former South American champion Reynoso drops to 2-8-1 in his eleven most recent contests. Maraussan, France: Bastien Ballesta (22-0-1,1ND) W TKO 3 Achiko Odikadze (22-16-1). Southpaw Ballesta halts Georgian Odikadze in three rounds. With the amount of reach he was giving away Odikadze had no choice but to steam forward trying to hustle Ballesta out of his stride. He had some success over the first two rounds but was walking through too much punishment. That caught up with him in the third when a series of body punches dropped him twice. He made it to his feet but a left to the head put him down for the third time and the fight was stopped. Only the third inside the distance win for French champion Ballesta who has won his last 19 fights. Tenth loss by KO/TKO for Odikadze Montpellier, France: Welter: Mohamed Kani (18-2) W PTS 10 Sirak Hakobyan (20-5-1). Kani holds on to the French title with split verdict over Hakobyan. The aggressive Hakobyan gave Kani plenty of trouble early but in the end the better skills of the southpaw champion just gave him the edge. Scores 97-92 and 96-93 for Kani and 95-94 for Hakobyan. The 30-year-old local fighter was making the first defence of the title which he won with a victory over 18-1 Mehdi Mouhib in January and is now aiming for a shot at the European title. Armenian-born Hakobyan was in good form having won 12 of his last 13 fights Magdeburg, Germany: Cruiser: Roman Fress (12-0) W KO 4 Erdogan Kadrija (16-3). Light Heavy: Tom Dzemski (16-0) W PTS 8 Jihad Nasif (12-2-1). Cruiser: Juergen Uldedaj (13-0) W RTD 3 Bojan Cestic (2-5). Fress vs. Kadrija Fress brushes aside Kadrija to retain the German title. After a slow two rounds Fress picked up the pace in the third and began to get through with some punishing rights. In the fourth as they traded punches Fress connected with a devastating right uppercut on the inside. Kadrija never saw it coming and it put him flat on his back on the canvas and the fight was over. The 26-year-old Kazakh-born Fress, a German champion at Under-17, Youth and Under 21 level, registers his seventh inside the distance victory. He is trained by former IBF super middle champion Robert Stieglitz. Kosovon-born Kadrija was knocked out in two rounds by Juergen Brahmer in June last year but had bounced back with five wins. Dzemski vs. Nasif Dzemski outpoints Nasif. Dzemski boxed cleverly being quicker and more accurate than Nasif. He jabbed well and connected regularly with left hooks to the body. He was never able to subdued Nasif who staged a strong finish as Dzemski’s output declined over the last two rounds to make it a fair test for Dzemski who is showing steady improvement. Scores 78-74 on all cards for Dzemski. This was the 23-year-old Dzemski’s first defence of his IBF Youth title. He is trained by his father Dirk who was 22-0 as a pro and is now one of the top trainers in Germany. Nasif, also German, had won his last two fights. Uldedaj vs. Cestic Albanian Uldedaj has no problems with young Bosnian Cestic. Uldedaj controlled the action and handed Cestic a solid beating for three rounds with Cestic retiring before the start of the fourth. Uldedaj, 23, competed for Albania at both the World and European Junior and Youth Championships and is also trained by Dirk Dzemski. Third loss by KO/TKO for 20-year-old Cestic Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua: Feather: Marcio Soza (21-6-2) W PTS 11 Robin Zamora (16-8,1ND). Soza wins the vacant WBA Fedelatin title with split decision over fellow-Nicaraguan Zamora, Scores 107-103 and 107 102 for Soza and 107-103 for Zamora. Now eleven consecutive wins for Soza who had beaten Zamora on a majority decision in 2017. Zamora was coming off wins over a couple of experienced domestic opponents. Windhoek, Namibia: Welter: Brendon Denes (8-0) W KO 6 Mikka Shonena (16-1). Super Feather: Jeremiah Nakathila (21-1) W KO 2 Emmanuel Amos (15-5-1). Harry Simon Jr (13-0) W TKO 2 Person Mutengwa (1-4) Denes vs. Shonena A real upset here as in his first fight for 15 months Zimbabwean novice Denes wipes out unbeaten Shonena in six rounds. Denes outboxed Shonena over the first two rounds and then dropped him three times in the third. Shonena managed to get through the round but in the sixth a right and a left hook put Shonena down and he was counted out. Fifth inside the distance victory for the 23-year-old from Zimbabwe. Shonena was rated No 8 in the world by the WBO (No 112 by BoxRec). He was high for the simple reason that he won the WBO African title by beating someone who is No 593 in the Box Rec ratings. Now the WBO will be faced with either rating novice Denes at No 8 above such as David Avanesyan and Keith Thurman or pretending the result never happened. Nakathila vs. Amos Easy night for Nakathila. He almost ended it in the first round as he floored Amos with a punch to the temple and Amos was saved by the bell. A right uppercut from Nakathila put Amos down and out in the second. Now 17 wins by KO/TKO for Nakathila who was defending his WBO Global title. He is No 3 in the WBO rankings which puts him above Carl Frampton. Box Rec has him at No 39 but that is based on the low quality of opposition he has faced and not on some spurious title he holds. The WBO gave up using quality of opposition as a reason for ranking a long time ago. Tanzanian Amos (No 678 in the world) fails to go the distance for the first time. Simon vs. Mutengwa Simon Jr remains unbeaten with a second round stoppage of Zimbabwean Mutengwa. Tenth win by KO/TKO for the son of the former WBO champion. Fourth loss by KO/TKO for Mutengwa. Fight of the week (Significance): Anthony Joshua’s win over Kubrat Pulev keeps alive the possibility of the richest fight in heavyweight history against Tyson Fury. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Jacob Ng against Hunter Ione proved thrills all the way and almost lived up to Ng’s ring walk (see observations) Fighter of the week: Anthony Joshua with an honourable mention to the brilliant Chris Colbert Punch of the week: The rights from Anthony Joshua and Yamil Peralta were both fight finishers but I just go with Joshua. Upset of the week: Hard to top seven fight Zimbabwean novice Brendon Denes knocking out WBO No 8 Mikka Shonena Prospect watch: Argentinian flyweight Agustin Gauto 16-0 11wins by KO/TKO is progressing well. Observations Jacob (Flamingo) Ng certainly set a new standard for a ring walk in Canberra. He sashayed down the cat walk wearing a cloak of pink feathers and pausing a few times to do some fancy dancing and pelvic thrusts (I would say it reminded me more of a strip club but I can’t say that as obviously I would never frequent such a place). Once Ng put his cloak of feathers away he and opponent Hunter Ione put on a great fight-but then you would have to after an entrance like that. Chris Colbert mirrored Ng in some ways with his dyed red hair and pink gloves complete with a skirt-like apron to his shorts and tassels on his boots-and to think some people though Muhammad Ali was showy with his shuffle. In Ali’s day it was all sepia now it is Technicolor everywhere. There were too many back of the neck punches on show at the weekend. Kubrat Pulev was landing them in every round and it is a favourite of Filip Hrgovic. There was supposed to be an attempt to rid the game of them but all that happens now for rabbit punches is a mild finger wagging. There is a great danger that if a fighter suffers a serious injury from those punches then some smart lawyer is going to going after the referee and everyone else involved.
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So Christmas is just a few days away and sadly we couldn't find many really Christmas themed adverts. Despite that we have put together one final collection of commercials featuring boxers before the year is over. This is another eclectic collection of adverts and again shows off some of the wild and whacky commercials featuring boxers from Asia. Guts Ishimatsu - Nissin Salad Oil It's December, we love Christmas, so we had to include at least one advert with snow! And of course we also need to include a commercial with Guts Ishimatsu involved. This one, from 1984, takes a snow setting to sell, we believe, a Nissin Salad Oil set. Yeah the world is crazy and the adverts Guts Ishimatsu was in were pretty random with this being among the most random and weird. Manny Pacquiao - McDonald's We'll stick with food based adverts as we return to another series regular thanks to Manny Pacquiao in an advert for McDonald's. This is actually one of the few times we see Manny acting in an advert, rather than being shoe horned in as a famous face or doing some sort of a work out, and it works well. He appears to be having fun and enjoying the products, and McDonalds have got themselves a memorable advert. It's fun and innocent and a little bit cheeky, with an edit to the usual McDonald's jingle at the end. Yoko Gushiken - Liquid Muhi Thinking about last minute gifts for your loved ones this Christmas? Then why not get some Liquid Muhi. They'll not be offended, surely? Here we get a really weird adverty between two men in a boxing ring trying to get each other with Liquid Muhi, which is an anti itch product. For those who missed Yoko Gushiken's involvement on their first watch he's one of the commentators for this...very odd advert. From what we understand this was from 2003 and is clearly one of the most confusing product adverts we've seen in this series. Naoya Inoue - Workport Okay, so a new year is coming up and you want to figure out what to do to have a new you? A new job maybe? Well here's Naoya Inoue in a commercial for Workport Co. Ltd, a Japanese company that's involved in the employment industry, helping people change their careers. We're just as confused as everyone here. It's one that is clearly lost in translation for non-Japanese speakers, but still an interesting advert that was released in 2019 and showed that Inoue's profile outside of the sport is growing. Gennady Golovkin - Nike Air Jordan's Okay, so you actually do need to get someone a gift, and you need to get them something good. Well we have the perfect product for you, Nike Air Jordan's. That's what was supposed to be getting promoted here in an advert featuring Gennady Golovkin and his then trainer Abel Sanchez. In reality the advert just mocks the meat controversy that Saul "Canelo" Alvarez was in. Yeah the advert really does miss the product, but it's a rather funny one for the circumstance. There are so many other things that the team behind this could have done to sell the product, rather than essentially getting in the middle of a spat, but we suspect the advert got more attention due to the barbs at Canelo. In recent "Controversial Clashes" we've looked at questionable judging and going a big further back referees allowing fighters to bend the rules with fouling and spoiling to the point where very limited boxing took place. Today we look at something else, something where the controversy wasn't immediately obvious, and where it probably deserved a review, and a rematch, with no one being truly at blame, but the finish perhaps wasn't the most fair. Thankfully this bout wasn't too overshadowed by the controversy, and it was a genuinely good bout. As always we'll look at the fighters, the fight and the controversy. Katsunari Takayama (28-7-0-1, 11) Vs Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr (27-3-1, 15) We roll back to April 22nd 2015 for this bout, which took place at the Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka. A venue that had previously been known as the "Bodymaker Colosseum" and is now known as the EDION Arena Osaka. In one corner was Japanese veteran, and cult boxing fan favourite, Katsunari Takayama. At the time Takayama was enjoying a reign as the IBF Minimumweight champion and was making his first defense since recapturing the title in December 2014, when he beat Go Odaira for the IBF and WBO titles. At the age of 31 Takayama wasn't an old fighrre in terms of years, but was an old fighter in terms of damage. He had been in a lot of tough bouts and had taken a lot of punishment during a hard 36 fight career. Win or lose he was always in amazing fights, but his body, and particularly his skin, were showing signs of his long career. In the other corner was second generation fighter Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr, who was 21 years old and boasted a 29-3-1 (17) record and was looking to claim a title that his father had held in the 1990's. A win for Fahlan would have seen him and his father become the first father-son champions in Thai boxing history, and he had full belief and confidence that he could pick up the win. Added to that confidence was the fact that last time he fought in Osaka, at the end of 2013, he scored a career best win and upset Ryo Miyazaki in one of the big upsets of 2013. In fact not only was that in Osaka, but it was actually at the same venue that he was fighting Takayama in. Despite having a lot of fights to his name he was young, hungry and hadn't taken much punishment in his 33 fights. Like many Takayama bouts the fight started with Japanese fighter looking to find his rhythm before coming forward, using a lot of energy with his bouncing footwork. There wasn't too much to get excited about in the opening minute, but then the bout began to get going with a handful of eye catching exchanges. From there the bout began to build and as the final round closed out you could feel the fight catching fire, very quickly. The round had gone from first gear to third gear in the final minute or so. Not only was the bout catching fire, but both men looked up for it. In round 2 the pressure from Takayama started to show it's self, pushing Fahlan backwards, and occasionally getting him on to the ropes, where he began to unload. The bout continued to go through the gears and the bout began to settle into this round with Takayama pressuring, getting Fahlan on to the ropes and the two men letting their shots go. The dynamic between the two fighters and their styles, with Takayama pressing and Fahlan boxing off the ropes, slipping and sliding, made it feel like a smaller version of the legendary bout between Somsak Sithchatchawal and Mahyar Monshipour. Not quite the same intensity, but a very similar fight from a stylistic point of view. Whilst some will appreciate the skills that Fahlan showed with his back on the ropes, and they were very smart moves and counters, it was also easy to be impressed by Takayama's aggression, output and intensity. Despite being on the front foot so much Takayama was taking some clean counters and his face was starting to swell around the eyes quite early on. It wasn't threatening to stop the fight, but it was clear that he was taking shots himself, and that his eyes were marking up. Then the swelling became a cut, with Takayama having blood pouring out of of his left eye. Despite the cut, and the real risk of making it worse, Takayama continued to press on, trying to break down and stop the Thai challenger. By the time he went to his corner at the end of the round the damage was clear. This was a nasty on the eye lid, a cut that Takayama's mentor Hiroaki Nakade couldn't stop. By the time the fighters came out for round 9 it was clear the bout wasn't going to last long. Just over 20 seconds into round 9 Takayama was taken over to the doctor for the first time, his face a swollen mess, with cuts on both eyes. The fight was allowed to continue but time was ticking and a second inspection, with less than a minute of the round remaining, saw the doctor halting the contest. The question however was what caused the cut? There was no clear indication from the referee, when the bout was stopped Takayama looked close to tears. It seemed that he felt his title was gone. He had been fighting like a man who needed a stoppage, surely he assumed the cut was from a punch. He fought that way at least and his post fight emotion seemed to show as much. Fahlan also seemed to think he had scored a huge stoppage win. The crowd also booed the decision to stop the bout. After the bout was stopped we then, to the surprise of everyone, went to the scorecards. The news of that drew a loud roar from the crowd, who realised their man should retain his title. Unsurprisingly, given the action we saw, the cards ended up favouring Takayama, who got the nod with a technical decision to retain the title. The decision was met with annoyance form the Thai's team, who could be seen shaking their heads as Takayama's arm was raise and when they realised what had happened. What made the whole situation worse was that, there had been no clear indication that the cut was caused by anything but a punch. The replays, which were shown by the Thai's team in the days that followed the fight, seemed to make it very clear that the damage was from punches, and given the way Takayama had fought it seemed obvious that he too thought it was from a punch. Sadly we never got the rematch. Fahlan would later move up in weight, losing to some of the top Light Flyweights of the time, whilst Takayama would defend the title against Ryuji Hara before losing the belt, in another decision, to Jose Argumedo. Incidentally Takayama seemed to deserve the technical decision win over Argumedo a lot more than he deserved this win. Today we delve into the Closet to pull out a classic that has long been over-looked, for far too long. It was a bout that brought excitement, a high level of activity, and styles that gelled well. Given their was some amazing fights right through the 1980's we under-stand why this one was over-looked but it's one that deserves a lot more attention than it seems to get. In fact it rarely ever gets mentioned online, despite being world title bout between heavy handed guys, and being a great, great fight to watch. The Fight Takuya Muguruma (26-2-1, 20) vs Wilfredo Vazquez (26-3-1, 22) Japan's Takuya Muguruma is one of the countries least well remembered champions. The man from Osaka won the WBA Bantamweight title in March 1987 but lost it less than 2 months later, losing a thrilling bout to Chan Young Park in 11 rounds. His short reign, added to the fact that he's an Osakan fighter fighting at Bantamweight and never fought outside of Asia, do hurt his profile in some ways. Despite the low profile internationally Muguruma knew how to fight. He was heavy handed and fought with an all out aggressive style. He was a marauding nightmare and his only clear loss in 29 bouts, up to this point, had been the loss to Park. During his career he had had built his name domestically on his Japanese title run before stopping Azael Moran for the vacant WBA Bantamweight title. Less than a year after losing his title he got a chance to reclaim the WBA Bantamweight title. Opposite to Muguruma was Puerto Rican puncher Wilfredo Vazquez. Vazquez had come up shot in his first world bout, losing to Miguel Lora in 1986, but had then travelled to South Korea and dethroned Chan Young Park, the man who had beaten Muguruma. In his first defense of the title Vazquez would travel to Japan and take on Muguruma, giving the Japanese fighter a chance to recapture his title. Despite being a world champion at this point he was relatively unknown himself, and was a long way from becoming a 3-weight world champion. Better known for his other title reigns, that came later in his career, Vazquez was a big puncher, and he carried that power up to Featherweight with no issues. Now a days he is pretty well remembered, and his son would later win a world title, but at this point in time he was fairly unknown. Given the traits of the two men involved, Muguruma's in your face aggression and Vazquez's huge power and under-rated boxing skills, this had the potential to be very exciting and very explosive. In the opening minute or so it looked like the boxing skills of Vazquez were going to be the key and he backed up Muguruma early on before the Japanese fighter turned things. For almost 40 seconds at the end of the round Vazquez was forced to fight off the ropes, with Muguruma pinning him there. Vazquez slipped, ducked and dived well, but the back and forth was intense. This wasn't typical opening round action, this was instead intense and thrilling. Round 2 saw the hot action from the end of the opening round continued and Muguruma was forcing the pressure on to Vazquez, who again found himself pinned on the ropes. Once again the action was back and forth, with both fighting at an incredible pace up close. Muguruma didn't seem to care about Vazquez's reputation as a brutish puncher, and was instead the one taking the fight to him. The action got off the ropes early in round 3, but we again saw the man trading up close, and Muguruma seemed intend on forcing Vazquez back against the edges of the ring, pressing forward with with an intense will to win. Eventually the challenger backed the champion on to the ropes and the two began to unload in a thrilling back and forth once again. As the bout went on Muguruma started to pay for his aggression, his face swelling badly, and Vazquez managed to begin boxing, moving and using his more accomplished skill set to take come back into the bout and force Muguruma backwards, turning the tables completely. For those who like action, intensity, heart and desire this is a brilliant lost gem of a fight. It's one of those really amazing, yet over-looked bouts, that fans really owe themselves a chance to see. It really is an incredible bout and one that deserves so much more attention and fanfare than it gets. A true war fought at an incredible level with two men who matched each other wonderfully. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Errol Spence outpoints Danny Garcia to retain the IBF and WBC welterweight titles -Eduardo Ramirez, Sebastian Fundora and Josesito Lopes score inside the distance wins on the undercard Billy Joe Saunders outclasses Martin Murray to retain the WBO super middleweight title -James Tennyson blows away unbeaten Canadian Josh O’Reilly on the undercard -James Dickens beats Ryan Walsh at featherweight and Richard Bolotniks stops serge Michel at light heavyweight to win the MTK Global Golden Contract tournaments in their division -Lyndon Arthur outpoints Anthony Yarde in Commonwealth title defence -French fighters Kevin Lele Sadjo, Olivier Vautrain, Massi Tachour, Yvan Mendy and Mathieu Bauderlique win on a show in Levallois-Perret World Title/Major Shows 4 December London, England: Super Middle: Billy Joe Saunders (30-0) W PTS 12 Martin Murray (39-6-1). Light: James Tennyson (28-3) W TKO 1 Josh O’Reilly (16-1). Super Middle: Lerrone Richards (14-0) W PTS 8 Timo Laine (28-15). Saunders vs. Murray Saunders retains the WBO title with one-sided points victory over a very disappointing Murray Round 1 Not much action here. Saunders was in centre ring with Murray circling the perimeter. Saunders was throwing jabs but coming up short and Murray was not throwing any punches. There was brief flurry of action late in the round with Saunders landing a hook which was enough to give him the round. Score: 10-9 Saunders Round 2 They swapped places with Murray holding the centre of the ring and Saunders circling. Murray showed more fire than in the first round but when they traded punches Saunders was more accurate and landed the better shots. Score: 10-9 Saunders Saunders 20-18 Round 3 Saunders round. He was slotting jabs through Murray’s defence and cracked Murray with a left hook. Murray was holding off too long with his punches and Saunders jumped in with a couple of combinations and was out before Murray could counter. Score: 10-9 Saunders Saunders 30-27 Round 4 Saunders took this one as well. He was scoring with his right jab and straight left using those punches to pierce Murray’s guard throughout the round. He was also scoring with long punches to the body. Saunders connected with two hard straight lefts and as Murray dipped forward Saunders went back and Murray tumbled to the floor but it was not a knockdown Score: 10-9 Saunders Saunders 40-36 Round 5 It was difficult to understand Murray’s tactics. If he stood off Saunders would pick him off all night so in theory he should have been putting plenty of pressure on Saunders to cut off the ring. Again Saunders did all of the work. Murray was occasionally coming forward behind a high guard allowing Saunders to pick his spot and Saunders was connecting with jabs and body punches and some crisp uppercuts with Murray too slow to counter. Score: 10-9 Saunders Saunders 50-45 Round 6 An improvement from Murray as he came forward throughout the round and landed some hooks to the body inside. However Saunders was still stabbing his jab home and catching Murray with counters on the way in. It was close but Saunders took the round. Score: 10-9 Saunders Saunders 60-54 Round 7 Dominant round from Saunders he shadowed a retreating Murray around the ring popping him with right jabs and then banging straight lefts through to head and body. When Murray tried to come forward Saunders was stopping him in his tracks with counters. He was sticking his jab in Murray’s face to blind Murray to the left following behind the jab and was away before Murray could respond. Score: 10-9 Saunders Saunders 70-63 Round 8 Saunders fed Murray more of the right jab straight left sequence at the start of the round and rocked Murray’s head with an uppercut. A punch from Saunders went low and Murray was given time to recover and Saunders was given a warning. After that the round descended into a mess of holding and wrestling with the early work from Saunders enough to give him the round. Score: 10-9 Saunders Saunders 80-72 Round 9 Too easy for Saunders. He was able to stand off and pierce Murray’s guard with jabs and straight lefts and then step back and connected with left uppercuts. Murray could not score at distance and Saunders was tying him up inside and Murray was looking tired and with no plan B is sight. Score: 10-9 Saunders Saunders 90-81 Round 10 Saunders was boxing with great skill but Murray was making it easy for him by not exerting any pressure. Murray was tending to stand right in front of Saunders behind a high guard and let Saunders pick his spot for his punches with the action becoming one-sided. Score: 10-9 Saunders Saunders 100-90 Round 11 The only question left in this fight is whether Saunders could win inside the distance. Saunders was able to tee-off on Murray but was himself tiring and was too cautious to really open up so no drama in yet another round for Saunders. Score: 10-9 Saunders Saunders 110-99 Round 12 Saunders fired off early in this round but when he saw Murray was not going to crumble he settled for just dancing and launching the occasionally attack. Murray was just looking to survive and made no attempt to swing punches hoping to get lucky. Score: 10-9 Saunders Saunders 120-108 Official Scores: Judge Steve Gray 120-108 Saunders. Judge Marcus McDonnell 118-110 Saunders. Judge Robert Williams 120-109 Saunders Second defence of the WBO title for Saunders. His name comes up often enough when big fights at super middle are imminent but never gets the call. He is a very talented boxer but a difficult opponent and capable of indifferent almost boring performances at times so it could be that the big fights will always pass him by. Murray showed all of his 38 years in this fight. He is a former WBA interim champion His four shots at a real world title have resulted in a draw and three losses and with luck he could have won two of those fights so deserves a better legacy than boxing history might award him. Tennyson vs. O’Reilly Tennyson overwhelms Canadian O’Reilly. In typical Tennyson style the Northern Ireland banger went straight after O’Reilly throwing left hooks to the body and over hand rights to the head. He hurt O’Reilly with three rights to the head and a big uppercut before sending O’Reilly sprawling on the canvas with another right to the head. O’Reilly looked ready to continue after the eight count but Tennyson jumped on him and put him down with a series of punches. O’Reilly was up quickly but when a right to the head had him staggering the referee stopped the fight. That’s six consecutive inside the distance wins for the British champion as he rebuilds after a loss to Tevin Farmer for the IBF title in 2018. He is rated WBO 7/WBA 9/IBF 13 so still has a lot of work to do to get another title shot but always brings excitement. O’Reilly never had a chance to get into the fight. Tennyson just hit too hard for O’Reilly who found the step up in level of opposition too much of a reach. Richards vs. Laine Richards grinds out points win over Laine. In his first contest for 13 months Richards seemed to treat the fight as a good opportunity to spend some useful time in the ring. Richards was dictating the action from the centre of the ring with his southpaw jab with Laine initially doing some showy work but without any substance. He never found a way past the strong southpaw jabs of Richards and spent more and more time pressed against the ropes as the fight progressed. Laine switched guards and did plenty of bobbing and weaving but too little punching. With Laine in survival mode and happy to play a supporting role the fight was too one-sided to be entertaining and at times it was target practice for Richards. He showcased his powerful jabs and he varied his work well but never sustained his attacks and virtually allowed Laine to last the distance. Referee’s score 80-72 for Richards. Despite impressive domestic wins over Tommy Langford and Lennox Clarke the British and Commonwealth champion has yet to make any impact on the ratings with his only rank being No 14 with the WBO but with Matchroom behind him that should change over 2021. Finn Laine did his bit in going the full eight rounds 5 December Arlington. TX, USA: Welter: Errol Spence (27-0) W PTS 12 Danny Garcia (36-3). Feather: Eduardo Ramirez (24-2-3) W KO 5 Miguel Flores (24-4). Super Welter: Sebastian Fundora (16-0-1) W TKO 2 Habib Ahmed (27-2-1,1ND). Welter: Josesito Lopez (38-8,1ND) W TKO 10 Francisco Santana (25-9-1). Super Feather: Isaac Avelar (17-2) W PTS 10 Sakaria Lukas (23-1). Spence vs. Garcia In his first fight since recovering from serious injuries in a car smash Spence proves too strong for veteran Garcia and batters his way to the unanimous decision. Round 1 After some early probing by both fighters Spence began to find the body regularly with lefts. He was a bit quicker with his jab and although Garcia landed two looping rights to the head it was those lefts to the body that gave Spence this round. Score: 10-9 Spence Round 2 A closer round. It was a battle of jabs early with Spence just having the edge. He was also finding the target with lefts again. Garcia upped the pace at the end of the round and did some useful scoring but Spence was quicker and more accurate. Garcia launched a left hook which landed just after the bell Score: 10-9 Spence Spence 20-18 Round 3 Spence was controlling the fight with Garcia on the back foot looking to counter. Again Spence was scoring well to the body with Garcia jabbing quickly and firing little bunches of punches but Spence did enough to win the round with his solid body punches Score: 10-9 Spence Spence 30-27 Round 4 Spence did the scoring at the start of the round forcing Garcia back with a series of right jabs. Garcia then began to throw lead rights and was getting through Spence’s guard setting Spence back on heels a couple of times and he also dug in a good right hook to the body and took the round. Score: 10-9 Garcia Spence 39-37 Round 5 A competitive fast-paced round. Spence was moving Garcia back with his jab and reaching in to score with long lefts to the body. Garcia was jabbing well and again was finding the gaps for his lead rights. They swapped punches regularly with some good defensive work helping Garcia have a slight edge, Score: 10-9 Garcia Spence 48-47 Round 6 Spence ramped up the pressure from the start of this round. His persistence and strong jab had Garcia going back to the ropes where Spence was banging home punches with both hands. Garcia’s lead rights were no longer effective and straight lefts from Spence were the punches connecting. Score: 10-9 Spence Spence 58-56 Round 7 Spence used his jab and his strength to have Garcia going backwards. Garcia was countering but under too much pressure to really let his hands go. Spence was rolling forward chopping away at Garcia’s body. Garcia threw lots of punches late in the round but not enough to swing it his way. Score: 10-9 Spence Spence 68-65 Round 8 Spence made a slow start to the round allowing Garcia to come forward firing rapier-lie jabs and straight rights. Spence then switched back to his previous approach and from then Garcia spent most of the round pinned against the ropes as Spence pounded away to his body. Occasionally a right from Garcia would have Spence backing off but not for long and it was Spence’s round. Score: 10-9 Spence Spence 78-74 Round 9 Total change of tactics from Spence. Now he was on the back foot not throwing much and not exerting any pressure. With the room to box Garcia was snapping home jabs and was again finding gaps for his straight rights. Both fighters scored with a hard cross each but it was a round to Garcia almost by default. Score: 10-9 Garcia Spence 87-84 Round 10 Very strange tactics from Spence as he gifted this round to Garcia. He was on the retreat throwing very few punches. Garcia was able to come forward behind his jab and connected with right crosses and even hooks to the body. Spence came to life over the last twenty seconds but that was too late. Score: 10-9 Garcia Spence 96-94 Round 11 Spence was back in control in the eleventh. He was coming forward behind his jab forcing Garcia back and connecting with body punches. Garcia was under too much pressure to do any useful work and although Spence went off the boil again late in the round he had done enough to win it. Score: 10-9 Spence Spence 106-103 Round 12 Spence walked Garcia down in the last. He was rolling forward pushing out his jab then going to the body with hooks. Garcia kept popping Spence with his jab but Spence walked through it and kept connecting with body shots before they stood and exchanged a flurry of quick punches at the bell. Score 10-9 Spence Spence 116-112 Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 117-111 Spence, Judge Barry Lindenman 116-112 Spence, Judge Steve Weisfeld 116-112 Spence. Spence would have won by a mulch bigger margin if he had not chosen to coast through the ninth and tenth and it always looked as though he was in command. He retains the IBF and WBC titles and hopefully that might lead to a unification match against Terrence Crawford which would be a great fight to look forward to for next year. A two-division world champion and a 7-2 record in world title fights at 32 Garcia still has more to offer and there are plenty of good fight in the division if he decides to carry on. Ramirez vs. Flores Ramirez walks through Flores before stopping Flores late. There was a fast-paced opening round with both busy and both having some success with the quicker Flores just having the edge. In the second Ramirez tried to blow Flores away with a fierce attack and connected with some slashing hooks but Flores saw out the storm. Ramirez worked hard in the third and fourth taking the fight to Flores throughout the rounds firing punches from both hands and connecting with some thumping shots. The first punch Ramirez threw in the fifth was a left hook that sent the charging Flores crashing to the canvas. Ramirez was sure Flores was not going to get up and was already parading around the ring with his arms aloft. Flores did manage to get up but there was blood streaming from his mouth and he stumbled into the ropes and the referee halted the fight. Ramirez had lost to Lee Selby for the IBF feather title in 2017 when he came in as a late replacement. He subsequently scored victories over 24-1-1 Bryan de Gracia and Leduan Barthelemy and is No 5 with the WBC and No 13 with the WBA. After starting out with a 22-bout winning streak things have turned tougher for Flores but somehow the WBA put him high enough to face Leo Santa Cruz for their super feather title in November and he lost on points. Fundora vs. Ahmed Fundora was 5” taller than Ahmed but it looked much more in the opening round as Fundora poked Ahmed with a couple of jabs and then a left uppercut that sent Ahmed staggering across the ring to the ropes. Ahmed took some punishment but managed to work his way off the ropes but was shaken by more left hooks. The Ghanaian tried to come forward but he could not get past the long southpaw jabs of Fundora and looked unsteady every time Fundora landed a punch. In the second Fundora launched a fierce attack driving Ahmed back to and along the ropes to a corner. Fundora bombarded Ahmed with punches. The Ghanaian was bobbing and weaving but plenty were landing and the referee stopped the fight over protests from Ahmed. At 6’5 ½” Fundora, 22, is ridiculously tall and reed-thin for a super welter but he gets some nasty whipping power into his punches and this is his eleventh victory by KO/TKO. The draw was with Jamontay Clark in August last year but he has since scored good wins over Australian hope Daniel Lewis and Nathan Gallimore and is No 7 in the WBA rankings. Ahmed was stopped in six round by Gilberto Ramirez in a challenge for the WBO super middleweight title in 2018 but was 14lbs lighter for this fight. Lopez vs. Santana Lopez leads all the way before flooring and stopping Santana in the last. After some early sparring Lopez cut loose with a series of shots to head and body dropping Santana to his knees. Santana arose and traded punches to the bell. Santana tried to take the fight to Lopez but he was too slow and just throwing one punch at a time. Lopez was constantly moving and jabbing and then stringing together some rapid combinations. Santana scored well with left hooks when he managed to get inside but was finding the quicker Lopez a difficult target and being out worked. Santana was plodding forward in a straight line with very little upper body movement making it easy for Lopez to find the target with his jab. Lopez had Santana under pressure for much of the fifth and rocked him with a left hook in the sixth. Lopez continued to outscore Santana in the seventh and eighth and then shook the oncoming Santana with a right to the temple. Santana stumbled to the ropes and Lopez bombarded him with punches until he dropped to one knee. Santana made it to his feet and the referee hard a long hard look before allowing him to continue. There were less than ten second remaining in the round but Lopez rocked Santana again with a pair of head punches. A left to the head floored Santana at the start of the tenth and although he got up when Lopez again landed heavily with head punches the referee stepped in to save Santana. At 36 Lopez must rue his lack of activity. After losing to Andre Berto for the interim WBA title he had just one fight each in years 2016, 2017 and 2018. In January 2019 he gave Keith Thurman all the trouble he could handle when losing a majority decision to Thurman for the full WBA title and he battered John Molina to defeat in eight rounds in September. He is rated No 8 by the WBC but in a division dominated by Terrence Crawford and Errol Spence title chances will be hard to come by for fighters such as Lopez. For Santana it is now 5 losses in his last 6 fights and that has been a hard road and it showed on him in this fight. Avelar vs. Lukas The strength and aggression of Avelar prove too much for Namibian Lukas. Avelar was coming forward throwing punches with Lukas lacking the power to counter the Mexican effectively. Avelar had Lukas in trouble in the second with Lukas holding to survive. Lukas got into the fight in a small way in the third and fourth and had a big fifth as he rocked Avelar with a left and then piled on right hands that had Avelar staggering. Avelar was back on top after that as the pace told on Lukas but the Namibian found enough in the last round to again rock Avelar. Scores 98-92 for Avelar on the cards of the three judges. The 23-year-old “Little Canelito” Avelar was coming off two straight losses so badly needed to win here. Lukas had been high in the WBO rating but a spell of inactivity from December 2017 to May 2019 cost him his place and at 36 he has a limited future. 2 December South Kirkby, England: Feather: James Dickens (30-3) W PTS 10 Ryan Walsh (26-3-2). Light Heavy: Ricards Bolotniks (18-5-1) W TKO 10 Serge Michel (11-2). Super Light: Harlem Eubank (11-0) W PTS 10 Daniel Egbunike (6-1). Dickens vs. Walsh In a clash of two of the UK’s world rated featherweights Dickens takes the unanimous decision and wins the MTK Global featherweight tournament. There was never much between these two over the early rounds. Both are quick and clever though not heavy punchers. If anything Walsh probably built a small lead early with his more eye-catching combinations but southpaw Dickens showed solid defence and accurate counters. Dickens was eating into any lead Walsh had by the fifth and Walsh switched to southpaw in the sixth but without a great deal of success. Dickens was busier and more accurate over the seventh and eighth and withstood some strong pressure from Walsh in the ninth. Walsh put in a big effort in the last and did enough to shade it but it was not enough to swing the fight his way. Scores 98-93, 97-94 and 96-94 all for Dickens who was defending his WBO European title. The 29-year-old from Liverpool is the IBF No 3 (2) but with Josh Warrington as champion, Kid Galahad as No 1 and No 2 vacant there has to be a good chance that Dickens could fight for the IBF title next year. However with Walsh No 1 with the WBO this win should open the door for Dickens to look for a shot at the WBO title instead so plenty of options for him. His victory in the tournament guarantees him a two-year, five-fight contract with six figure purses. The loss is a huge blow for Walsh. After almost thirteen years as a pro to be poised to fight for a world title and then have his hopes crushed by this loss must hurt and at 34 time is running out for him to rebuild. Bolotniks vs. Michel Latvian Bolotniks wins the MTK Global Golden Contract light heavyweight tournament and retains the WBO European title with stoppage of German Michel. Over the first four rounds the more mobile Michel looked to have the edge but things change in the fifth. A body punch had Michel hurt and although he fought back a big right had him in deep trouble against the ropes which were all that held him up. As a result he was given a standing count and never really recovered. Bolotniks keep pressing and Michel was spending more and more time trapped against the ropes. The German just did not have the power to keep Bolotniks out and was rocked again in the seventh and eighth and it seemed as though Bolotniks might end it in the ninth but Michel survived that crisis. It looked as if Michel might make it through the last round but he was floored with just ten seconds left in the fight and his corner threw in the towel. The 30-year-old Bolotniks has been the surprise package of the tournament. At one stage in his career he was 11-5-1 but in subsequent fights and through the tournament he has put together a seven-fight winning run including victories over 18-0 Sergei Ekimov, unbeaten Steven Ward, Hosea Burton and now Michel . He was No 9 with the WBO before this Michel fight and with the WBO title vacant it is a quite fluid situation so a title shot next year is a possibility. Like Dickens he is guaranteed a two-year, six-fight contract with purses of six figures. A life changer. Russian-born Michel was a top flight amateur representing Germany at the Rio Olympics but this inside the distance loss plus an earlier stoppage by Ryan Ford may be an accurate measure of his ceiling. Eubank vs. Egbunike Eubank wins this English title eliminator on points over Egbunike (Danny Darko). Egbunike had a good first round finding the target with some heavy rights. Eubank was rolling from the second. He was quicker than Egbunike and busier and moved into a good lead. Egbunike came back into the fight in the sixth but the rounds were very even. Eubank rebounded to edge the seventh doing some clever defensive work and countering well. With the fight close they fought hard over the closing rounds. Egbunike surged strong at the end but it was just not enough to overcome Eubank’s work in the first half of the fight. Referee’s score 97-94 for Eubank. Harlem is the nephew of Chris Eubank Snr and won 22 of his 33 amateur fights. Southern Area champion Egbunike can rebound from this loss. Brisbane, Australia: Heavy: Justis Huni (2-0) W TKO 4 Arsene Fosso (3-1). Middle: Isaac Hardman (8-0) W PTS 10 Tej Pratap Singh (16-5-3,1ND). Welter: Ben Kite (18-4-1) W PTS 10 Danny Kennedy (9-2-1). Huni vs. Fosso Australia prospect Huni successfully retains the national title with stoppage of Fosso. Huni was much quicker than the 16lbs heavier Fosso. Fosso came out looking to trade punches with Huni but found himself getting pounded with jabs and uppercuts although he did manage to give Huni a bloody nose. Huni controlled the fight in the second being too fast for Fosso changing angles and landing hard head punches. Fosso just could not get a toe-hold in the fight as Huni dominated at distance and inside. Huni handed out more punishment in the third and the referee warned Fosso at the start of the fourth that he needed to show more or he would stop the fight. Huni made the stoppage an easy decision as he again rattled heavy right off Fosso’s head until the referee came in just as Fosso’s corner were preparing to throw in the towel. The 6’4” Huni who is of mixed Dutch, Swedish and Tongan heritage, again showed some impressive foot speed for such a big guy and also that he has real power. Huni has already qualified for the rescheduled Olympics to be held in Tokyo in August. The plan is for him to stay busy with talk of fights in February and March then with 41-year-old former World title challenger Alex Leapai in May and Lucas Browne, also 41, in July with the Browne fight seemingly already signed. Cameroon boxer Fokou Fosso, 37, is a former African Championship gold medal winner and World Championship bronze medallist. He travelled to Australia to compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games but was one of five Cameroon athletes to abscond and holds a refugee bridging visa at this time. He also competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the 91kg (200lbs) division but was 255lbs for this fight with Huni. Hardman vs. Singh Hardman wins the Australian title from champion Singh with a majority decision featuring quite a variation in the scoring. This really was a case of Hardman throwing more and Singh throwing less but with greater accuracy. That’s the type of fight that often leads to the judges holding different views. It was certainly a tough fight with many of the fans as well as the judges seeing it differently but it is the judge’s opinion that counts and they came up with sores of 98-92 and 97-93 for Hardman and 96-96. 24-year-old new champion is a former MMA exponent who moved over to boxing after a knee injury cut short his MMA career. He has the splendid nickname of “Headsplitter”. Hardman also collects the IBF Australasian and WBO Oriental belts. Indian-born southpaw Singh, 34, was making the second defence of the national title and was 7-0-1,1ND going into this fight. Kite vs. Kennedy Kite retains the Australian title in his first defence as he halts challenger Kennedy in the last round. This was the best fight of the night as they traded punches throughout a gruelling scrap. First one and then the other would seem to be on top only for the fight to swing the other way and both were rocked at times but as the fight progressed the 37-yerat-old Kennedy was under more and more pressure. After being shaken himself by a right to the head Kite broke through in a big way in the ninth. A right sent Kennedy spiralling along the ropes and Kite followed him and then drove him to the canvas with another right. Somehow Kennedy made it to his feet and to the bell. In the tenth another right put Kennedy down on his back and as he tried to rise his corner threw in the towel. Now 13 wins in a row for 30-year-old Kite who was 5-4-1 at the start of his career. Kennedy is from Jersey in the Channel Islands and turned pro in Britain. He is now 2-2- in fights in Australia. Tokyo, Japan: Minimum: Masataka Taniguchi (13-3) W TKO 10 Hizuki Saso (12-7-2). Outstanding performance from southpaw Taniguchi as has too much skill for limited Saso and wins the vacant Japanese title with late stoppage. From the moment in the first round when Taniguchi floored Saso with a straight left it ceased to be a contest. With his superior skills Taniguchi swept the first five rounds being 50-44 in front on all three cards at the half way mark. Saso bravely tried to roll forward to put pressure on Taniguchi but that just resulted in more punishment. After Taniguchi scored with a succession of punches at the start of the tenth the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight. Taniguchi is 5-1 in his last 6 fights with the loss being a points defeat by Vic Saludar for the WBO title in February last year. Taniguchi, 26, is with the Watanabe Gym of former world champion Jiro Watanabe and was 55-19 as an amateur. He is currently No 3 with the WBO. Second stoppage loss for Saso and this was his first time at ten rounds, Los Angeles, CA, USA: Welter: Brian Ceballo (12-0) W PTS 10 Larry Gomez (10-2). Super Welter: Brandon Adams (22-3) W TKO 2 Sanny Duversonne (11-3-2). Welter: Gor Yeritsyan (14-0) W TKO 6 Mahonri Montes (36-10-1). Ceballo vs. Gomez Ceballo showcases his considerable skills in outpointing a game Gomez. It was clear from the first round that Ceballo had quicker hands and faster movement than Gomez. He speared Gomez with lightning jabs and put together a couple of impressive combinations. Gomes pressed hard over the second and third and had some success with left hooks but Ceballo was too quick for him on the offensive and too clever on the defensive. Ceballo took the fourth dominating the action with his jab and putting together some flashy combinations. Gomez fought hard enough to edge the fifth despite losing his mouthguard twice. Ceballo took control again in the sixth and connected with two hard right crosses in the seventh and eighth as he began to take the fight to Gomez. That produced a stirring finish as they traded punches over the last two rounds with Gomez losing a point in the tenth after spitting out his mouthguard again. Scores 98-90, 98-91and 96-93 for Ceballo. The 26-year-old Puerto Rican is a former US National champion, National Golden Gloves winner and National PAL gold medallist. He paraded some outstanding skills here marking him as one to watch. Gomez- from Fullmer country West Jordan Utah-had outpointed 18-0 Brian Mendoza in November so a reasonable level test for Ceballo. Adams vs. Duversonne Adams blows away lanky Duversonne in two rounds Duversonne took the opening round as he was on the front foot forcing Adams back with his longer reach and letting his punches go. Adams was under pressure but looked dangerous with the occasional right. In the second Adams drove Duversonne into a corner and never let him out. Adams was scoring with scorching body punches and hooks to the head. Duversonne tried to punch with him but a left had Duversonne badly stunned and he stopped punching back and with Adams landing more heavy punches the referee stopped the fight. In his last fight in June last year an over-matched Adams took a solid beating over twelve rounds from Jermall Charlo in a challenge for the WBC middleweight title. This is a good first step on his road to recovery. Floridian Duversonne suffers his third loss in a row and his first inside the distance. Yeritsyan vs. Montes Yeritsyan gets his third win in the USA as he halts Montes. Confident start from Armenian Yeritsyan. Boxing on the back foot he held his left at hip level shooting jabs up and through the guard of Montes. With his slow plodding pace the Mexican was making it easy for Yeritsyan to land consistently as he came forward behind a high but very porous guard. As the fight progressed Montes managed to close the distance occasionally but Yeritsyan was still sticking him with the jabs and bring his right into play more. Montez was cut over his left eye in the fourth and Yeritsyan began to put his punches together in bunches. Montes just walked onto punch after punch in the fifth with no defence in sight and when Yeritsyan landed a series of head punches in the sixth the referee stepped in just as Montes dropped to one knee. The 25-year-old Yeritsyan has won 12 of his fights by KO/TKO. He fights out of Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym. In the amateurs he was Armenian champion, a bronze medallist at the European Youth Championships and had a win over Brian Ceballo. Montes, 31, went 25-0-1 at the start of his career but has had too many tough fights against opponents such as Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Jamal James and Chris van Heerden and looked a totally shot fighter. 4 December Lodz, Poland: Cruiser: Mateusz Masternak (43-5) W TKO 7 Jose Ulrich (17-4). Super Welter: Kamil Gardzielik (11-0) W PTS 8 David Bency (14-19-1,2ND). Light Heavy: Marek Matyja (18-2-2) W PTS 6 Ondrej Budera (13-19-1). Masternak vs. Ulrich Masternak breaks down and halts Ulrich. A composed Masternak eased his way into the fight scoring with some good left hooks in the first. Ulrich tried to go on the attack but Masternak was taller with a longer reach and had no problem in blocking or dodging the Argentinian’s efforts and scoring with counters. He was almost using the contest as just useful ring time allowing Ulrich to take the lead and then choosing his moment to open up and take control. He handed out punishment over the third and fourth. Ulrich only just got through the fifth as Masternak connected with hard rights and he was rocked again in the sixth. In the seventh a left hook sent Ulrich into a corner and as Masternak bombarded him with punches Ulrich dropped to a knee and did not protest when the referee waived the fight off. The 33-year-old former European champion now intends to take a break and will then try to qualify for the postponed Tokyo Olympics. Fourth consecutive defeat for former Argentinian champion Ulrich. Gardzielik vs. Bency Gardzielik gets routine and uninspired win over Bency. The Pole towered over little Bency and was able to use his jab to control the action. Gardzielik began to use his right more in the third and connected with a succession of rights in the sixth. Bency worked hard throwing lots of hooks. He has no real power but is an experienced survivor. Gardzielik finished strongly but Bency had no trouble in lasting the distance. Scores 80-72 on the three cards for Gardzielik a former Polish Junior, Youth and Senior champion. Spanish-based Nicaraguan Bency drops to 0-9 in his last 9 fights. Matyja vs. Budera Matyja outboxes Budera and emerges with the unanimous decision. Matyja worked his jab well from the first and was mixing in some good body shots. Budera was slower and just not throwing enough punches. Matyja was able to find gaps for his jab and landed some crisp straight rights but the fight never really caught alight and lacked any highlights. Scores 59-55 twice and 60-54 for Matyja. The EBU 14 rated Matyja was coming off a loss in July to unbeaten Pawel Stepien for the vacant Polish title. Czech Budera is 1-6 in his last 7 contests. Miami, FL, USA: Light Heavy: Yunieski Gonzalez (20-3) W KO 2 Alex Theran (22-5). Super Feather: Luis Melendez (9-1) W TKO 2 Mario Lozano (18-5-1). Feather: Neslan Machado (17-0,1ND) W PTS 6 Angel Contreras (10-3-1). Super Welter: Damian Bonelli (24-8) W PTS 6 Derrieck Cuevas (23-1-1). Gonzalez vs. Theran Gonzalez disposes of Theran inside two rounds. Gonzalez went to work early on Theran banging home shots to the body from both hands. Theran looked fleshy and slow and was just prodding with his jab which Gonzalez walked through. He consistently forced Theran into corners and unloaded punches to head and body. In the second there was more pressure and more body punches from Gonzalez. Twice rights to the ribs put Theran down. He made it to his feet on each occasion. Gonzalez then landed a low blow and Theran was given some recovery time. When the action resumed he tried to trade punches but a right to the head put him down on his back and he was counted out. The 35-year-old “Cuban Monster” Gonzalez won his first 16 fights but then losses to Jean Pascual, Vyacheslav Shabranskyy and Olek Gvozdyk cost him his place in the pecking order. This victory wins him the WBA Fedelatin title and he promptly called out Artur Beterbiev-be careful what you wish for Yunieski. Theran failed to make the weight for this fight and when I said he looked fleshy he turned pro at 160lbs and was 189lbs for this fight. Melendez vs. Lozano Plenty of pushing and probing in the first round before Melendez let some punches go before the bell. There was frantic action in the second. Melendez hurt Lozano early with a left hook. With Lozano on the ropes Melendez threw some body punches. Lozano dropped his guard to complain of a low punch and Melendez took advantage of that to score with more punches as Lozano dropped to the floor. Lozano was still complaining when he got up but as he rushed forward he was met by a left hook that put him face down on the canvas and the fight was halted. Seven wins on the trot for Melendez and his fourth inside the distance win in a row, three of them coming in the first round. Argentinian Lozano suffers his fourth inside the distance loss in consecutive fights all of the losses coming inside three rounds. Machado vs. Contreras Cuban Machado remains unbeaten with points decision over Mexican Contreras. Due to injuries and the pandemic this was Machado’s first fight since March 2019 but he had too much skill and talent for the limited Contreras. Scores 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 for Machado. He is with MTK Global and had three fights in Britain in 2018. Contreras had won his last three fights. Bonelli vs. Cuevas An upset here as Bonelli takes split decision over Cuevas. Cuevas was on a long unbeaten streak with a few reasonable names on his list of victims and Bonelli had lost his seven fights. Bonelli proved a tough opponent. Cuevas was the better boxer but Bonelli alternated between laying against the ropes and driving forward throwing punches wildly. Bonelli warned about punches to the back of the head and was confusing Cuevas with his tactics. He was sometimes willing to hide behind a high guard against the ropes letting Curves try to find gaps and then driving forward throwing wild swingeing punches. Bonelli was warned for punches to the back of the head and Cuevas was being dragged into a maul too often. Bonelli continued to land punches to the back of the head and was deducted a point in the fourth. When he found some space Cuevas scored well with his jab and left hooks to the body but by the last he seemed totally exhausted and well beaten. Scores 58-56 twice for Bonelli and 58-56 for Cuevas. The 42-year-old Bonelli did not turn pro until he was 35 and will have been delighted to break his losing streak. Big set-back for Puerto Rican Cuevas who just never came to terms with the wild and unpredictable attacks of Bonelli. Rome, Italy: Super Feather: Haithem Laamouz (17-1) W PTS 12 Mario Alfano (15-2-1). Laamouz wins the vacant European title with points decision over Italian Alfano. With less than two minutes of ring time in the last 20 months Laamouz made a slow start but once he shed some rust he was able to use his longer reach and better skills to keep the aggressive Alfano out. Alfano pressed hard but Laamouz’s jabbing and a tight defence frustrated the attacks of the local fighter. Alfano kept taking the fight to Laamouz and had more success as Laamouz tired but he was countering well with hooks inside and had built a good lead and ended a deserving winner. Scores 116-112 twice and 115-113 for Laamouz as he makes history for boxing in Malta. Laamouz fought in England as an amateur and then turned pro in Australia. He won the Australian title but returned to Malta after losing his title on a majority decision against Gaige Ireland in 2018. A shoulder injury and COVID-19 led to inactivity from March 2019 until October this year when he knocked out Slaveya Stefanov in 66 seconds. Alfano, 29, lost his unbeaten record when being outpointed by Lavisas Williams in the USA in June 2019 but won the Italian title in August this year, 5 December London, England: Light Heavy: Lyndon Arthur (18-0) W PTS 12 Anthony Yarde (20-2). Super Bantam: Chris Bourke (9-0) W TKO 2 Michael Ramabeletsa (18-18 ). Arthur vs. Yarde Arthur gets a split decision over Yarde in a close technical battle. Arthur was looking to use his height and longer reach to keep Yarde on the end of his jab and that worked for him in a low action first round. Arthur continued the same approach in the second and third also dropping a right cross over Yarde’s guard. Yarde kept prowling after Arthur but was having trouble getting past Arthur’s jab. Yarde did better in the fourth being able to get in close and landed a right his best punch so far. There were no fiery exchanges to liven the pace which suited Arthur and not Yarde. Arthur had used his right very little and there were time when it was the natural punch to throw but Arthur kept it stuck against his chin. There was a suggestion he had injured the hand but that was not confirmed. Instead it was Yarde scoring with good rights in the fifth and sixth but he was simply not throwing enough punches. Arthur edged a low action seventh but Yarde upped his pace in the eighth coming forward with more purpose but never really shaking Arthur. In the ninth Arthur finally threw a hard right and then managed to outbox Yarde at distance. Art that point Arthur seemed to have built a good lead but Yarde showed urgency in the tenth and in the eleventh with Arthur holding to contains Yarde’s attacks. They stood and exchanged punches briefly in the last for the first time in the fight with Yarde getting the better of the trading but it was a question as to whether he had done enough to cancel out Arthur’s early lead. Scores 115-114 twice for Arthur and 117-111 for Yarde. Artur was defending the Commonwealth title and he also wins the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title. The 29-year-old Arthur was rated IBF 6(5)/WBO 6 and will be hoping for promotion. Yarde was aiming to build towards another shot at a title after being stopped in eleven rounds by Sergey Kovalev for the WBO title in August last year but he has the backing to work his back into contention. Bourke vs. Ramabeletsa Bourke scores second round stoppage victory over Ramabeletsa . Ramabeletsa began by throwing long rights to the body of southpaw Bourke but Bourke showed quick hands and was scoring with straight lefts and countering with left hooks. In the second Bourke scored with two lefts to the head and then connected with a lightning quick left hook that sent Ramabeletsa tumbling along the ropes and down. When Ramabeletsa got up Bourke blazed away with punches rocking Ramabeletsa a couple of times and Ramabeletsa dropped to a knee. He managed to get up but the referee completed the eight count and stopped the fight. Bourke, 26, the BBB of C Southern Area champion, showed impressive hand speed as he registered his sixth victory by KO/TKO and wins the vacant WBC International title. English champion Ramabeletsa had won 6 of his last 8 fights and this is only his second loss by KO/TKO. Levallois-Perret, France: Super Middle: Kevin Lele Sadjo (15-0) W PTS 10 Ronny Landaeta (17-3). Cruiser: Olivier Vautrain (18-3-1) W TKO 7 Aboulaye Diane (14-2-1). Super Light: Massi Tachour (15-4) W PTS 12 Giuseppe Carafa (12-4-2). Light: Yvan Mendy (46-5-1,1ND) W PTS 8 Miguel Antin (19-6). Light Heavy: Mathieu Bauderlique (20-1) W TKO 2 Beibi Berrocal (17-7,1ND). Sadjo vs. Landaeta Sadjo makes a successful second defence of the WBA Inter-Continental title but has to go the distance for the first time. Sadjo tried to blow away Landaeta in the first round and Landaeta was struggling. In the second under more pressure Landaeta lost a point for holding. Sadjo continued to take the fight to Landaeta but the Venezuelan-born Spaniard used his experience to stay in the fight. Sadjo’s pace dropped over the seventh and eighth which gave Landaeta a toe-hold but Sadjo came on strong again over the last two rounds and Landaeta did a good job in lasting the distance. Scores 97-92, 99-90 and 98-91 for Sadjo. The 30-year-old “Phenomen” did not start boxing until he was 24 when an ankle injury killed his football hopes . Landaeta, a former EU champion, lost to Robin Krasniqi for the EBU title in 2018. Vautrain vs. Diane Tall southpaw Vautrain wins the vacant French title with stoppage of Diane. The 6’3” Vautrain used his longer reach to score at distance and Diane just never really managed to overcome that edge of Vautrain’s. When he did try to work his way inside he was caught with solid counters and was badly rocked by an uppercut in the third. The accuracy of Vautrain’s jab worsened the cut and had Diane bleeding heavily from the nose. When a left hook staggered Diane in the seventh the referee made a well-timed stoppage. Vautrain, a former French amateur champion, had lost on points to Dylan Bergeron for this same title in January but had been 10-1 before that. Diale was 9-0-1 going in Tachour vs. Carafa Tachour wins the vacant EU title with unanimous verdict over Italian Carafa. Over the early rounds Carafa was competitive willing to stand close and try to outfight Tachour with the Frenchman’s strength giving him the edge. Over the seventh and eighth Tachour had Carafa under heavy pressure with right hooks causing bruising around the left eye of Carafa. In the eighth and ninth Carafa used clever boxing to frustrate Tachour but over the closing rounds Tachour’s aggression was slowing Carafa and although the rounds were close Tachour had done enough to win clearly. Scores 16-112 twice and 117-112 for Tachour. The Algerian-born former undefeated French champion has turned his career around with eight consecutive victories. Carafa, the former Italian super feather and WBC Mediterranean lightweight champion, might be better going down a weight. Mendy vs. Antin Mendy has a much tougher night than expected against Argentinian Antin. Mendy started well enough but then seemed to go off the boil with Antin often outscoring and outworking Mendy over the second half of the fight. Mendy had to fight hard to stay ahead against a not very threatening opponent but it was reported later that Mendy had injured his right hand which handicapped him over the late rounds. Scores 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75 for Mendy. The 35-year-old “Lion” has won and lost in fights against Luke Campbell and the defeat against Campbell is the only loss he has suffered in his last 16 fights. Antin is 2-6 in his last 8 fights. Bauderlique vs. Berrocal Easy night for Bauderlique as he floors Berrocal twice with the Colombian’s corner throwing in the towel. The 31-year-old former Olympic bronze medallist is rated WBA10/IBF 13(12)/WBC 14 and will be looking to make his move next year. Four consecutive defeats for Berrocal. Maclodio, Italy: Bantam: Vincenzo Picardi (3-0) W PTS 10 Gianluca Conselmo (6-2). Like Domenico Valentino Picardi is one of the mainstays of Italian amateur boxing who has left it too late to turn pro. However, even at 37 he was too much for the eleven year younger Conselmo and easily retained the Italian title in his first defence. These two had been teammates in the Italian international team but there the resemblance ended. Picardi fired fast and accurate punches whilst slipping those from Conselmo. Picardi was working well with body punches getting past Conselmo’s guard and rattling his ribs. Picardi attacked hard in the seventh and eighth trying to get the fight over but when Conselmo did not fall Picardi settled for outboxing the challenger over the last two rounds. All three judges scored it 100-90 for Picardi. It would take quite a few pages to list the amateur achievements of Picardi since he won his first Italian title 17 years ago and has competed in all of the major international tournaments including the World and European Championships and won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. With a couple more wins he would be eligible to fight for the European title. No one expected Conselmo to win this one but at 26 he seems certain to eventually get another shot at the national title. Warsaw, Poland: Cruiser: Michal Cieslak (20-1,1ND) W KO 6 Taylor Mabika (19-7-2). Super Welter: Przemyslaw Runowski (19-1) W RSF 4 Michal Syrowatka (22-4). Cieslak vs. Mabika Cieslak gets win over Mabika who sits out the count after injuring his right shoulder. Cieslak led all the way without really impressing. He found Mabika a slippery opponent but with the strength of his jab and his heavy rights he was winning the rounds. He was tending to throw his punches in singles with Mabika occasionally coming to life with quick attacks. Cieslak was starting to find the target with heavy punches in the seventh when Mabika suddenly backed out of the action after throwing a right and knelt on the canvas. He was shaking his right arm but climbed to his feet only to go down on one knee under an attack from Cieslak and was counted out. Cieslak lost on points to Ilunga Makabu for the WBC title in January. French-based Gabonese Mabika falls to 0-5-1 in a run of six tough fights. Runowski vs. Syrowatka Runowski crushes a sliding Syrowatka in four rounds. Runowski took his time breaking Syrowatka down. He upped his pace in the third and it was obvious the end was near. A thumping right sent Syrowatka flying into the ropes in the fourth and as Runowski piled on the punches the referee stopped the fight just as Syrowatka’s corner were ready to pull their man out of the fight. Runowski lost his unbeaten tag when he was floored three times and outpointed by Josh Kelly in April last year but had registered a routine win in December and is No 4 in the EBU ratings. Only the second inside the distance loss for Syrowatka but he has gone back a long way from when he scored an upset stoppage of Robbie Davies in 2018 Ekaterinburg, Russia: Super Feather: Ruslan Kamilkov (9-0-1) W PTS 10 Nikita Kuznetsov (11-2-2). Super Feather: Evgeny Chuprakov (23-3) W PTS 8 Sardor Muzaffarov (4-4). Super Bantam: Vladimir Nikitin (4-1) W PTS 8 Oleksandr Yegorov (20-4-1). Middle: Meiirim Nursultanov (14-0) W pts 8 Ilya Balandin (4-3-1). Welter: Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (9-1) W PTS 8 Manuk Dilantyan (11-5-1). Kamilkov vs. Kuznetsov Kamilkov collects the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title with wide unanimous decision over Kuznetsov. After a slow start to the fight Kamilkov proceeded to boss the action with his superior skills and higher work rate. Kuznetsov tried to put Kamilkov under pressure late in the fight but Kamilkov’s dominance was never really threatened. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92. The 32-year-old Kamilkov came to the pros with plenty of experience behind twice winning silver in the Russian championships in putting together a 45-16 record. Second loss in a row for Kuznetsov. Chuprakov vs. Muzaffarov Local fighter Chuprakov given a tough night by Uzbek Muzaffarov and has to come from behind to take a majority verdict. The visitor got off to a good start forcing Chuprakov onto the defensive and getting the better of the exchanges. Chuprakov took over in the later rounds as Muzaffarov tired and in the end Muzaffarov was just looking to last the distance. Scores 78-74 and 77-75 for Chuprakov and 76-76. Chuprakov has fallen away quite a bit since losing to Masayuki Ito for the WBO super feather title in 2018 and is 3-2 against modest opposition. Muzaffarov is 3-4 in fights in Russia. Nikitin vs. Yegorov No real problems for Olympian Nikitin but not a very impressive performance. Nikitin was too quick and set too high a work rate for former European title challenger Yegorov. Nikitin had Yegorov under strong pressure late in the fight with Yegorov wilting and only lack of power from Nikitin allowed him to last the distance. Things turned a little nasty late with both fighters being deducted a point for infractions of the rules. Nikitin a wide winner on all three cards. The 30-year-old Rio bronze medallist beat Michael Conlan in Rio but Conlan gained revenge with a win over Nikitin in December. Nikitin was 121 ¾ lbs for this so may be aiming to move down to super bantam. Ukrainian Yegorov was 20-1-1 before losing to Luca Rigoldi for the EBU super bantam title in September last year but is now 0-2 since then. Nursultanov vs. Balandin Kazakh prospect Nursultanov continues to make progress. The USA-based Nursultanov handed out steady punishment to Balandin over the early rounds ramming home strong jabs and connecting with heavy straight rights. Balandin withstood the punishment and Nursultanov took his foot of the gas allowing Balandin some success over the sixth and seventh rounds but Nursultanov against scored heavily in the last and was a clear winner taking the unanimous decision. The 27-year-old Oxnard-based Nursultanov was a national champion as an amateur and put together an impressive 12-1 record in the WSB. Russian Balandin lacked the experience to really trouble Nursultanov. Gaibnazarov vs. Dilantyan Gaibnazarov floors and outpoints Dilantyan. Despite his gold medal in Rio Gaibnazarov has yet to impress as a pro. He had too much skill for the limited Dilantyan but allowed himself to be dragged into too many clinches in a messy fight. He put Dilantyan down with a body punch in the third but never really kicked on from there and seemed to settle for boxing his way to a wide decision. The 29-year-old Uzbek lost twice to Vasyl Lomachenko in amateur tournaments but scored wins over Jose Carlos Ramirez and Gary Antuanne Russell. Armenian Dilantyan had won 7 of his last 8 fights. Bang Phun, Thailand: Light: Apichet Petchmanee (8-0) W PTS 8 Musheg Adolan (7-3). Super Fly: Phongsaphon (11-1) W KO 4 Kompayak (60-11). Petchmanee vs. Adolan Petchmanee gets repeat win over Russian Adolan but an injury to Adolan’s left arm is the deciding factor. Petchmanee had been floored twice and just scrape passed Adolan on a majority decision in October. Petchmanee outboxed Adolan in the first but when Adolan began to roll in the second ramming home heavy punches he had Petchmanee struggling to stay upright. Petchmanee used his better skills to edge the third in what looked like being a repeat of their first fight. Unfortunately in the fourth Adolan was suddenly one-armed. His left arm was of little use and Petchmanee was able to dominate the rest of the fight with Adolan only able to score with occasional rights. Scores 79-73 for the Thai from each of the judges. Second defence of the WBC Asian title for Petchmanee who holds two wins over former world title challenger Chonlatarn. Thai-based Adolan had scored seven inside the distance wins in a row before his first loss to Petchmanee Phongsaphon vs. Kompayak The youth and strength of Phongsaphon prove too much for Kompayak (Suriyan Satorn). For two rounds Kompayak gave the 20-year-old Phongsaphon all the trouble he could handle but those two rounds took more out of Kompayak than they did out of Phongsaphon and Kompayak was already fading by the start of the third. He fought hard during the third but in the fourth had nothing left and was driven to his knees by an attack from Phongsaphon and counted out. Phongsaphon had his first pro fight in Japan and lost but has won eleven since then and was defending his WBC Asian title. At 38, 5’0 ½” tall and 1-6 in his last seven contests the former WBA interim champion Kompayak may be near the end of the road. Sydney, Australia: Super Welter: Wade Ryan (17-9) W PTS 10 Troy O’Meley (11-1). Ryan proves persistence pays off as he wins the Australian title with a split decision over champion O’Meley. There was never much between them in this fight. O’Meley was cut but it did not hamper his performance. Southpaw Ryan had a slight edge in reach and that was enough to make the difference. Scores 97-94 and 96-94 for Ryan and 96-94 for O’Meley. This was Ryan’s third shot at winning a national title and he also wins the IBO International belt. He has the distinction of having floored Tim Tszyu before losing on points to him in 2017. O’Meley is 27 so has time to rebuild. Wavre, Belgium: Super Light: Antoine Vanackere (15-1) W PTS 10 Brayan Mairena (10-19-1) . Light: Miko Khatchatryan (11-0) W TKO 1 Joseafat Reyes (8-13-1). Vanackere vs. Mairena Vanackere wins the vacant Belgian title with unanimous decision over third-rate Nicaraguan loser Mairena. Scores 100-88, 100-90 and 99-91. The 25-year-old southpaw has a seven-bout winning streak going. Spanish-based Mairena, 24, has now lost his last 19 fights. What a ridiculous national title fight. Because there is such a lack of depth of boxing in Belgium it is allowable to have a non-Belgian contest the tile but importing a Spanish-based Central American who has lost his last 18 fights and never fought in a ten round fight to contest your national title is a disgrace and shows no respect whatsoever for the national title. It would be better to just appoint Vanackere champion than go through with this farce. Khatchatryan vs. Reyes Khatchatryan also picks up a vacant Belgian title as he stops Mexican Reyes in the first round. Sixth win by KO/TKO for 25-year-old Khatchatryan. A former Belgian amateur champion Khatchatryan competed at both the European Union and European championships and has made good progress. Spanish-based southpaw Reyes is 1-10 in fights in Europe so another poor excuse for a title fight. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Super Light: Danielito Zorrilla (14-0) W KO 2 Rodolfo Puente (19-4-2). Light Fly: Oscar Collazo (2-0) W TKO 2 Kevin Cruz (0-1). Zorrilla vs. Puente On a Miguel Cotto promotion-the first show in Puerto Rico since the pandemic struck- Zorrilla knocks out little Puente in two rounds. The 27-year-old Zorrilla makes it 11 wins by KO/TKO. Colombian Puente has lost 3 of his last 4 fights but what they were doing putting then 5’9” Zorrilla in with the 5’0” small Puente as a match beats me. Collazo vs. Cruz Big things are expected from Collazo and this was not the fight to test his potential as he overwhelmed novice Cruz. The 23-year-old Newark-born southpaw Collazo turned down the chance to go to the Olympics to sign with Cotto and Golden Boy but the pandemic brought his campaign to a stop in February after just one fight. Fight of the week (Significance): Errol Spence’s win over Danny Garcia keeps the hopes of a unification fight with Terrence Crawford a possibility. Honourable mention to Billy Joe Saunders who has spent too long outside with his nose pressed against the shop window of big fights. Fight of the week (Entertainment):Plenty of action and quality boxing in Spence vs. Garcia Fighter of the week: Errol Spence as he rebounds from serious injury to retain his title. Punch of the week: The left hook from Eduard Ramirez that sent Miguel Flores flat on the canvas was special. Upset of the week: Lyndon Arthur was an outsider against Anthony Yarde but came out a winner Prospect watch: Kazakh middleweight Meiirim Nursultanov 14-0 is coming along nicely Observations Billy Joe Saunders sees his name come up often in the context of big fights but he never draws the winning ticket. Unbeaten for eleven years but still finds himself running down the blind alley labelled WBO title. Good to see boxing restarted in Puerto Rico with the first small show under Miguel Cotto’s banner but more to come. Finding opposition that doesn’t look bizarre for the 6’5” Super welterweight Sebastian Fundora must be difficult but if Miguel Cotto can put 5’0” tall Rodolfo Puente in with 5’9” Danielito Zorrilla the as the song says “Anything Goes” I can understand the problem of keeping a national title alive if there are too few fighters to compete for them. That’s the situation in some weight categories in Belgium but if you accept a fighter who has lost his last 18 fights as suitable it raises the question of how bad a fighter would have to be to get turned down? It's rare for a Japanese fighter to make a mark above 135lbs but in the 1980's the country had a couple of fighters that bucked that trend and made a mark a little higher up the scales than usual. One of those did so with power, being an aggressive, slightly crude, but thrilling and explosive fighter. As we've said before in this series, when we see explosive and heavy handed fighters face off we can get some incredible bouts.Today's closet is one of those explosive bouts featuring the rare Japanese 140lb champion in a short, but very exciting brawl. The Fight Tsuyoshi Hamada (21-1, 19) Vs Rene Arredondo (39-3, 34) II The Japanese fighter in question was Tsuyoshi Hamada, who had won the Japanese and OPBF Lightweight titles before moving up in weight in 1986 to challenge Rene Arredondo for the WBC Light Welterweight title. The bout was a short lived one, with Hamada winning at 3:09 of round 1, knocking out Arredondo right on the 3:00 mark. The win had seen Hamada fulfil his potential and become only the second Japanese fighter to win a world title at 140lbs, following in the footsteps of Takeshi Fuji. Although now known for his work on TV and as a major part of Teiken, Hamada really was a dangerous fighter blessed with freakish power. He had scored his first 17 wins by T/KO and had only gone the distance once in his first 19 bouts, which was his loss. We say 19 because he had also had a No Contest early in his career before winning his titles. He was a brutish puncher, who tried swarm opponents and cut the distance. He relied mostly on his physicality, his strength and his explosive power, as well as his aggressive foot work and power, to make up for being a relatively smaller Light Welterweight. Due to his power it that what he he hit he tended to destroy, as Arrdeondo found out in his their first bout. Following his title win he had defended the belt once, taking a razor thin win over Ronnie Shields, who he really struggled against. Now he was set to face Arredondo for the second time. Rene Arrdeondo was a Mexican-American boxer-puncher who, like Hamada, had brutish power but was a much bigger man and a much more pure boxer. What he hit he tended to destroy, but unlike Hamada he set things up behind his boxing, not just his aggression. He was a long tall rangy fighter, who was blessed with heavy hands and had boxing in his veins, with with his older brother Ricardo being a success fighter himself. He had taken the WBC title in May 1986, when he stopped Lonnie Smith in 5 rounds, but had lost it in his first defense. To Hamada. Following the loss of the title he had bounced back with a single win, against talented veteran Saoul Mamby. Although not the best fighter out there Rene Arredondo was a danger man, and like Hamada he enjoyed a shoot out. In the opening round we saw an aggressive Hamada trying to blow away Arredondo as he had in their first bout. The Mexican managed to do well to avoid the bombs from Hamada, for the most part, but did take a huge shot about a minute into the bout. It was following that that Arredondo himself started to settle, and get behind his own shots at range, even rocking Hamada and putting the champion on the back foot. Given how the first bout went, and with Hamada being rocked early on, it was clear both men had the power to hurt the other. Hamada was rocked again in the opening round, as the round came to an end. Arredondo had learned from their first clash, but there was still a feeling this could go off the charts at any moment. There was a tension, and early in round 2 that tension rose as Hamada stumbled backwards across the ring. He recovered quickly and pressed forward, trying to land, but struggling against the taller man. In the final minute of round 2 Hamada finally got to Arredondo and it was clear that he believed his power would be too much for the challenger. Hamada would also hurt his man in round 3 as the tension kept rising. We'll leave the rest of the bout for you to enjoy, and it really is enjoyable. Unlike many closet classics this wasn't an all out war, but it was still a must watch bout. It was exciting, dramatic, had a raucous crowd, it was competitive, explosive and felt like it could end at any moment. There weren't big lulls in the action and what we got always left us feeling like the bout was about to end. This was tense, exciting and saw both men landing some huge blows as the bout went on. By Eric Armit
Highlights: - Petchmanee (Panya Pradabsri) snaps the 54-bout unbeaten run of Wanheng (Chayaphon Moonsri) to win the WBC minimumweight title. -Joe Joyce wins the battle of Britain as Daniel Dubois is counted out in the tenth round of their heavyweight fight -Daniel Jacobs continues his super middleweight campaign with split decision over Gabe Rosado -Badou Jack returns to the ring with points victory over Blake McKernan -Tony Yoka keeps busy with a points win over Christian Hammer -Michael Magnesi wins the vacant IBO super featherweight title with stoppage of Patrick Kinigamazi -There are wins for Emmanuel Tagoe, Daniyar Yeleussinov, Jack Catterall and Hamzah Sheeraz World Title/Major Shows 27 November Nakhon Sawan, Thailand: Minimum: Petchmanee (35-1) W PTS 12 Wanheng (54-0). Wanheng (Chayaphon Moonsri) sees both his reign as WBC champion and his unbeaten record ended as he loses a very close unanimous verdict to Petchmanee (Panya Pradabsri). Petchmanee had a good game plan and he stuck to it. The challenger made a fast start attacking Wanheng with the body as his target in the first. The champion came back strongly picking his punches well and doing enough to take the second but Petchmanee upped his pace over the third and fourth again focusing on the body aiming to tire Wanheng as they went into the late rounds. After four round the scores were 39-37 for Petchmanee on two cards and the third had then even at 38-38. Petchmanee continued his surge through the fifth maintaining a fast pace and scoring again with strong shots to the body. Wanheng showed champion quality as he took the fight strongly to Petchmanee in the sixth matching Petchmanee punch for punch in a fight that was warming up into a classic battle. Petchmanee swung things back his way in an exciting seventh. With Wanheng fighting hard to hold on to his title the rounds were close but once again Petchmanee came back strongly to collar the eighth. At this point the fight was still very much in the balance with all three judges having Petchmanee in the lead at 77-75. Wanheng closed the gap by taking the ninth and despite the pace and his 35 years Wanheng still looked fresh. Petchmanee saw his lead being whittled away and he again used some ferocious body punching to win the tenth. Wanheng needed to take the eleventh to stay in the fight with a chance but he slowed slightly and Petchmanee landed enough to have the edge. Wanheng pressed hard over the first two minutes of the twelfth hunting Petchmanee down and outscoring him and despite a late surge in the round by Petchmanee Wanheng did enough to win the round but it was not enough to save his title. Scores 115-113 for Petchmanee from all three judges. Petchmanee’s only loss was a majority decision against Chinese fighter Chaozhong Xiong in China in 2017 and he had scored 16 wins since then although many of those 16 fights were just really paid sparring against novices seven of whom had never previously had a fight. This one was very close with many having Wanheng the winner and he certainly deserves a return bout. Petchmanee’s mandatory challenger (well the WBC No 1 which as Dillan Whyte can testify is not something you can rely on) is Filipino Melvin Jerusalem. Although Jerusalem lost a disputed decision to Wanheng in January 2017 he subsequently lost to 12-3-1 Joey Canoy and only beaten three very low level opponents so his WBC rating is inexplicable but there he is at No 1. Hopefully somehow justice will win out and Wanheng will get his return fight and soon. For Wanheng the loss is a double blow. He not only lost his title but also his place in the pecking order of world champions who retired undefeated. If he had retired before this title defence he would have been No 2 in the all-time list of champion who retired undefeated behind Jimmy Barry (68) but above Ricardo Lopez (52) and Floyd Mayweather Jr (50). 28 November London, England: Heavy: Joe Joyce (12-0) W KO 10 Daniel Dubois (15-1). Super Light: Jack Catterall (26-0) W PTS 10 Abderrazak Houya (14-3). Super Welter: Hamzah Sheeraz (12-0) W TKO 10 Guido Pitto (26-8-2).Cruiser: Jack Massey (17-1) W PTS 8 Muhammad Ali Bayat Farid (16-2-1). Heavy: David Adeleye (4-0) W TKO 2 Danny Whitaker (4-213 Joyce vs. Dubois In this battle of big punchers in the end it was a left jab that got the job done as Joyce gets a kayo win over Dubois who chose to take the count over concern for a swollen shut left eye. In the first round Joyce continually found the target with his jab and Dubois only launched an occasional attack. Dubois changed tactics in the second and came out firing punches. Joyce looked far less comfortable on the back foot and Dubois did the scoring. Dubois continued to come forward in the third and fourth but was not sustaining his attack which was allowing Joyce to get back into the fight with his jab and Joyce edged the fourth. Dubois was showing a serious swelling over his left eye from Joyce’s jabs and it was beginning to affect his vision. I had it 38-38 at this stage Joyce made a solid start to the fifth but Dubois came on late and tested Joyce’s chin with a couple of rights to the head. Dubois better speed and mobility saw him take the sixth and seventh as he again put Joyce on the back foot. Dubois left eye was now closed and he showed some anxiety over the injury. Joyce had his jab working again in the eighth and he used that almost exclusively targeting Dubois left eye. Dubois landed some rights but they just bounced off Joyce. With Dubois good work over rounds 5, 6 and 7 I had Dubois 77-75 ahead but he almost shut down in the ninth doing very little work as Joyce and worked the jab and tried some meaty rights. Early in the tenth Joyce banged home a solid left that landed smack on the left eye of Dubois who turned away from the action and knelt on the floor not willing to chance any more damage to his eye and allowed himself to be counted out. Not a great fight with the eye injury being the deciding factor and not any supremacy by either fighter. Joyce. 35, now owns the British, European, Commonwealth, WBC Silver and WBO International titles so will have to spend some of his purse money on a new trophy cabinet. He was rated WBC 11/WBO 11/IBF 13 with Dubois WBO 2 and WBC 7. Joyce will now move into the No 2 spot with the WBO behind Olek Usyk so if Anthony Joshua retains his titles against Kubrat Pulev Joyce will be right in line for a shot at the Joshua vs. Usyk winner or against Usyk for the vacant WBO title. I felt that Dubois made a sensible decision. He is only 23 so can obviously come again and this was his first experience of dealing with such a potentially threatening injury and with his vision so badly affected things were only going to get worse in the fight. Catterall vs. Houya Houya tried to put Catterall under pressure early but Catterall camped in the centre of the ring and used his southpaw jab, some clever movement and hard lefts to boss the action. Heads clashed in the fourth but luckily neither fighter was cut. Houya always stayed competitive looking to attack but Catterall was getting his punches off first and outboxing Houya. Catterall had been finding the target regularly with his left and near the end of the sixth a left hook sent Houya down on his back. He was hurt but made it to his feet and to the bell. Houya was rocked again in the seventh but was still willing to trade with Catterall even if he was not having much success. A left from Catterall floored Houya again in the ninth. Catterall tried hard to put Houya away but the Tunisian boxed his way through the remainder of the ninth and was still fighting strongly at the end of the tenth. Referee’s score 99-90 for Catterall. Houya provided exactly the kind of fight that Catterall needed after a year without of forced inactivity. The 27-year-old from Chorley is No 1 with the WBO with his best wins being against domestic opposition in Ohara Davies and Tyrone McKenna. He is the mandatory challenger to Jose Carlos Ramirez but with a unification match against Josh Taylor easily the biggest fight in the division how so Catterall’s chance might come is difficult to say. French-based Houya, a former undefeated ABU champion, did his job well but has now suffered consecutive losses having lost a wide points verdict against Spaniard Jon Fernandez in December. Sheeraz vs. Pitto Sheeraz makes successful defence of the WBO European title with late stoppage of Argentinian Pitto. At 6’3” tall Sheeraz was just too much to tall and had too much of a reach advantage for Pitto. Sheeraz showed a strong jab and mixed his punches well to head and body. Over the first half of the fight he dominated the action constantly switching guards unnecessarily but he connected with some sweet hooks and uppercuts. Pitto kept marching forward bobbing and weaving and pumping out punches and over the sixth, seventh and eighth outworked Sheeraz. The ninth saw Sheeraz come to life again and he finished the fight in the tenth. A thunderous right sent Pitto staggering into the ropes and Sheeraz blasted away until the referee stopped the fight. Eighth inside the distance win for the 21-year-old Sheeraz who shows plenty of promise. Barcelona-based Pitto won and lost in fights against Jack Culcay and lost to Zaurbek Baysangurov for the vacant IBO super welter title in 2014 but is on the slide now being 1-4-1 in his last 6 fights. Massey vs. Farid Massey comfortably boxes his way to victory over a limited Bayat. Massey had lots of reach over Bayat and was content to box on the back foot piercing Bayat’s guard with stiff jabs and adding in occasional straight rights. Bayat was not quick enough to put Massey under any serious pressure. Bayat tried to weave his way inside but just never really found a way past Massey’s jab often enough to give Massey any problems. Massey went on the front foot a bit more over the seventh and eighth but never looked as though he wanted to finish this one early being glad to get in the ring time. Referee’s score 79-74. Massey, 27, a former ABA champion lost a very close verdict to Richard Riakporhe for the vacant title in December so he may build towards a return fight or aim for Commonwealth champion Chris Billiam Smith who he beat in the ABA final. Bayat a Dubai-based Iranian had been carefully under matched with 13 of his victims only managing 15 wins between him and the other three having poor records also. Adeleye vs. Whitaker Adeleye continues to show promise as he easily disposes of Whitaker. An uneventful first round saw Adeleye shadowing Whitaker around the ring probing with his jab and trying a few rights. Whitaker was in reverse gear and showing no real aggressive intent. Adeleye got down to business in the second hurting Whitaker with a right the dropping him with a left hook. Whitaker made it to the vertical but dropped again under a series of punches one of which landed when Whitaker’s knee touched the canvas. The referee warned Adeleye and gave Whitaker a chance to recover but Whitaker when he got up walked to a corner and his team indicated they wanted the fight stopped. The 24-year-old Londoner has won his four fights by KO/TKO taking less than eight rounds to do so. He won ABA titles at Novice, Senior Novice and Senior levels and at the British Universities Championships. He is a university graduate with a BA in Business Management with a dissertation on management in boxing. It is early days but he is another young English boxer to make a note of. Whitaker was carrying too much weight at 260lbs and was in way over his head. 27 November Hollywood, FL, USA: Super Middle: Daniel Jacobs (37-3) W PTS 12 Gabriel Rosado (25-13-1,1ND). Light: Emmanuel Tagoe (32-1) W PTS 10 Mason Menard (36-5). Heavy: Mahammadrasul Majidov (3-0) W TKO 3 Sahret Delgado (8-1). Welter: Daniyar Yeleussinov (10-0) W TKO 2 Julius Indongo (23-3). Jacobs vs. Rosado If a fighter is only as good as his last fight then Daniel Jacobs is in trouble. He managed to eke out a very close split decision over Gabe Rosado in a disappointing flat performance. Rosado just did enough to edge a slow opening round but then Jacobs came to life and outscored Rosado over the second and third. Rosado was the one forcing the fight but Jacobs had a good fourth as he constantly pierced Rosado’s guard with his jab and landed some good rights. It might have been expected that Jacobs would kick-on from there but the pace of the fight was slow, Jacobs punch output dropped and Rosado pressed hard to take a low-action fifth. Jacobs came back into the fight over the sixth and seventh and connected with some good body punches. Rosado had a higher work rate but less accuracy and Jacobs should have been dominating this fight but seemed to mentally dip in and out of the action. Jacobs had built a lead but faded out again over the ninth and tenth rounds that saw very little activity. With Rosado taking those two rounds the fight was poised and just when he needed to put in a big effort Jacobs hardly worked at all in the eleventh. Despite how close the fight was neither fought with the expected passion in the last and Jacobs just did enough to take it and the decision. Scores 115-113 twice for Jacobs and 115-113 for Rosado. As if losing by such a narrow margin was not enough agony for Rosado the announcer messed up and started to announce the winner “from Philadelphia” which was Rosado’s home but then corrected his error confirming the winner came from Brownsville-if there was a winner in this fight. Jacobs admitted he had approached the fight as a sparring session and nearly paid the price. He is rated WBO 3/WBC 5/WBA 5/IBF 9(7) and is much better than he showed in this fight. He was at 167 ½ lbs tonight so may decide to stay at super middle but with Saul Alvarez already booked to fight Callum Smith there is not much to attract him in this division in the near future. Rosado, 34, deserves credit for running Jacobs so close. He had lost important fights against Willie Monroe, Martin Murray and Maciej Sulecki and was No 11 middle with the WBC but running Jacobs this close could get him some more useful paydays. Tagoe vs. Menard In his first fight in the USA for six years Tagoe takes a majority decision over Menard. Styles dictated tactics here with the smart boxing Tagoe using clever movement and fast hands to outbox the ever aggressive Menard. Tagoe was shooting quick but light jabs and then firing some cracking counters. Menard was marching forward looking to get close where he could work on the body to slow the Ghanaian but Tagoe was doing some holding inside to stifle Menard’s work and was warned for that in the fourth. Menard’s task was not made any easier by cut over his left eye which hampered his vision later but it did not deter the Louisiana fight from continuing to roll forward. Both scored well over the middle rounds with Tagoe establishing a lead with some crisp right counters and rocked Menard in the eighth with a right. Tagoe then seemed to take his foot off the gas and Menard came on strong over the ninth and tenth to make it close. Scores 98-92 and 96-94 for Tagoe and 95-95. Tagoe, 31, is a former undefeated IBO champion and after losing his first paid fight he has put together a 32 bout winning streak. His opposition has been mainly experienced but aging fighters on the way down but now he is in the USA the level of that opposition should improve. He is No 5 with the WBO but there are some very good fighters ahead of him in the queue for a shot at Teo Lopez. “Rock Hard Mighty” Menard from Rayne has been in some tough fights suffering a brutal KO loss against Ray Beltran, a stoppage loss against Devin Haney and a 44 second blow away defeat against Lopez. He went back home and scored two wins in 2019 now he has to decide whether to stick with small money winnable fights back home or big money big risk fights Majidov vs. Delgado Madijov obliterates poor Delgado. An uninspiring start saw Delgado engage reverse gear and stick with it. Majidov was tracking him around the ring connecting with a few jabs until the end of the round when a succession of head punches had Delgado shaky. It was one-way traffic again in the second with Majidov landing heavy jabs bringing blood from Delgado’s nose and catching him with a variety of shots to head and body. Delgado decided to attack in the third and landed a couple of left hooks. A left from Majidov made Delgado stumble and then Majidov drove him to the ropes and landed three heavy rights to the head that had Delgado virtually out on his feet as the referee jumped in to stop the fight. The 34-year-old Russian-born Azeri has won his three fights inside the distance. He won gold medals at both the 2011 and 2013 World Championships stopping Erislandy Savon and beating Ivan Dychko and Anthony Joshua in 2011 and won a bronze medal at the London Olympics. At 6’3” he is not big by today’s standard but he very mobile and a good puncher. It was some time before Delgado recovered and as for his conditioning he is also 6’3” but weighed 70lbs more than Madijov! Yeleussinov vs. Indongo In a clash of southpaws Kazak Yeleussinov blows away Indongo in two rounds. After an opening exchange of jabs Yeleussinov rocked Indongo with a left uppercut and as they traded punches later in the round a short left hook dumped Indongo on his rump. He got up and survived to the bell. Indongo tried to work with his jab in the second but two rights to the head put him on the floor and although he made it to his feet he walked away from the referee indicating he wanted no more. This was for the vacant IBF Inter-Continental title and marks the first title as a pro for former Rio gold medallist and World Amateur Champion. Yeleussinov beat Josh Taylor, Jamal Herring and Josh Kelly in the amateurs but has so far travelled under the radar as a pro but at 29 now needs to move along. Namibian Indongo, a former WBA and IBF champion, looked the goods when he knocked Eduard Troyanovsky cold and outclassed Ricky Burns but quick losses to Terrence Crawford and Regis Prograis brought a touch of reality to his record and at 37 he does not look to have any future. In boxing. Nantes, France: Heavy: Tony Yoka (9-0) W PTS 10 Christian Hammer (25-7). Heavy: Viktor Vykhryst (5-0) W PTS 6 Kamil Sokolowski (10-20-2). Yoka vs. Hammer Yoka outpoints Hammer in a disappointing fight and also suffers a hand injury. Yoka used his longer reach to slot jabs home and land long rights. Hammer was rumbling forward behind a high guard but Yoka was tying him up inside. Hammer came charging out in the second swinging wide punches and their heads banged together with Hammer suffering a cut over his right eye. Yoka continued to score at distance and Hammer was trying to rough Yoka up inside. The pattern did not change much in the third and fourth with Yoka still able to find gaps for his jab and long rights to the head but there was too many clinches for the fight to be entertaining. Hammer was given a warning at the start of the fifth for wrestling Yoka to the canvas. The Romanian showed a little more fire but Yoka was still the one doing the scoring. Hammer did better in the sixth throwing more and landing some hooks but he was deducted a point for hitting on the break. Yoka was given a warning for a butt at the start of the seventh another round with too much wrestling and too little fighting. Yoka was still picking up points at distance and looked good when he did put his punches together but it was a poor fight. Hammer walked away from the action at the start of the eighth complaining of another butt but the referee ignored him. Things livened up for a short while as they both had some success but again it descended into a holding and wrestling competition and the ninth and tenth were equally uneventful . Scores 100-89 for Yoka from the three judges. Yoka gets another win but he never seemed to get out of second gear and showed little fire against an awkward opponent but it was reported that he had suffered a fracture of his hand which may have affected his performance and will mean the cancellation of his fight for the EU title against Peter Milas which it was hoped to stage in December. He won gold medals at the World Championships and the Rio Olympics and beat both Filip Hrgovic and Joe Joyce in both competitions so the quality is there but he is not showing it yet in the pros. Hammer had used his strength to beat down both Erkan Teper and David Price. He is very crude and limited but strong and he has taken both Alexander Povetkin and Luis Ortiz the distance. Vykhryst vs. Sokolowski Vykhryst gets some useful ring time as he decisions Pole Sokolwski. The 6’5” Ukrainian was 5” taller than Sokolwski and showed a strong jab and power in his straight rights. He is quite mobile for his size and mixed his punches well but there are still some rough edges to be smoothed out. Sokolowski persisted in trying to get inside but had very little success and a series of punches ending with a left hook floored him late in the third. Vykhryst continued to land well and rocked Sokolowski with a big right cross in the fifth but Sokolwski kept bouncing back and made Vykhryst work hard for the whole six rounds testing Vykhryst’s chin with a right cross in the last. Scores 60-53 on all three cards for Vykhryst. He lost to Joe Joyce at both the European Olympic qualifiers for Rio and in the WSB where he was knocked out in two rounds but the 28-year-old European Championships and European Games gold medal winner is certainly one to watch. British-based Pole Sokolowski has only lost by KO/TKO three times and two of those were against Dillan Whyte and Nathan Gorman and he showed a good chin here. Fondi, Italy: Super Feather: Michael Magnesi (18-0) W TKO 5 Patrick Kinigamazi (32-3). Local fighter Magnesi wins the vacant IBO title as he floors Rwandan Kinigamazi twice on the way to a fifth round victory. Magnesi set a fast pace in the opening round. He was walking in behind a high guard looking to get close and land with left hooks and uppercuts. Kinigamazi was boxing on the back foot almost exclusively with his left jab but not being able to keep Magnesi out. Magnesi stepped up his attacks in the second switching guards and getting through with hooks and uppercuts from both hands. Kinigamazi switched to southpaw and was landing some hard counters but Magnesi was either blocking or ignoring them. Kinigamazi tried to stand and punch with Magnesi in the third but the ferocity of Magnesi’s attacks had him retreating and short straight right sent him into the ropes and down. He bounced up quickly and then stayed off the ropes and out of corners as he boxed his way to survival. The fourth was a great round as Kinigamazi decided to stand and exchange punches with Magnesi. It was punch for punch and if Kinigamazi had more power he might have turned the fight his way but terrific body punches from Magnesi were taking their toll. Magnesi was hounding Kinigamazi in the fifth and rocked him a number of times. Kinigamazi tried to come forward but was met with a stunning short right hook that sent him crashing to the floor. He made it to his feet but wobbled a bit and the referee waived the fight over. An impressive all-action display by 26-year-old Magnesi and the tenth inside the distance win an fifth in a row. He is a former undefeated Italian champion was Italian Youth champion and was part of the Italia Thunder team in the WSB. He was rated No 5 by the EBU. No big names on his record but those should follow now that he has the IBO title. First loss by KO/TKO for the 37-year-old Swiss-based Kinigamazi a former WBFederation champion who had won his last 14 fights but proved underpowered here. Culiacan, Mexico: Light Heavy: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (52-5-1) W TKO 4 Jeyson Minda (14-3-1). Super Bantam: Karim Arce (18-0-2) W PTS 10 Jesus Carlon (9-8-2). Chavez returns home to Culiacan to try to kick start his career yet again. Chavez was crowding Minda and getting through with left hooks to the body. Minda managed to give Chavez a bloody nose but lost the round. Chavez’s pressure paid off in the second as he dropped Minda with a barrage of punches just before the bell but Minda beat the count. Minda had a good spell in the third scoring with hooks and uppercuts but was soon under fire again. He dropped to one knee under a shower of punches and the bell went as Minda got up. A right to the head floored Minda in the fourth and the Ecuadorian’s corner waived the towel to end the fight. Chavez had looked poor in losing a technical points decision against novice Mario Cazares and a blonde rinse can’t cover the fact that he has gone back a long way. He is under temporary suspension in both Nevada and Arizona and should not have been allowed to fight here. Minda was suffering his third inside the distance loss in his last four fights. Arce vs. Carlon In his first ten round fight Arce gets a unanimous decision over Carlon but there were concerns over Arce after the fight. Despite his indifferent record Carlon gave Arce a very tough night flooring and having Arce in trouble in the first. Arce held on and survived and these two then put on a great fight matching the heavier punching of Arce against the higher output of Carlon. In the end the judges gave Arce the decision and both were heavily applauded. Arce then complained of a fierce headache, dizziness and vomiting and he was taken to a local clinic but no update available at this time. La Calera, Argentina: Feather: Mayco Estadella (8-0-1) W PTS 10 Reuquen Arce (12-3-2). Estadella comfortably outpoints Arce to win the interim national title. Arce jumped into the attack from the first bell but southpaw Estadella avoided the early rushes and began to find the range with his right jab. Arce continued to press but Estadella was controlling the pace of the fight with his jab and slotting home straight lefts. Arce had a good fourth round but much of his early fire had gone and Estadella handed out plenty of punishment in the fifth. There was nothing spectacular in Estadella’s work as he fed Arce a diet of right jabs and straight lefts with the occasional body shot and from the eighth he dominated the fight with Arce mostly on the back foot and under fire. Scores 99-92 ½, 98 ½, 98-93 ½ for the “Little Lion” from Villa Maria as he enters the ten round class for the first time. Arce, the Argentinian No 1 at super feather, was 11-0-2 going into this and a slight favourite Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania: Super Feather: Ibrahim Class (24-6) W PTS 10 Simon Ngoma (6-2). Southpaw Class (Ibrahim Mgender) retains the Global Boxing Council title with unanimous decision over Zambian Ngoma. This was not an easy fight for Class. Ngoma had a big edge in height and he came to fight. Class was under severe pressure at times but Ngoma had poor footwork a not much of a defence. Class scored two flash knockdowns and constantly found the target with rights to the head. Ngoma’s attacks were wild and uncoordinated but he threw plenty of punches with enough getting through to rock Class once or twice. The very slippery canvas saw both boxers sliding to the floor on numerous occasions. The better skills of Class made the difference here. Scores 98-88 twice and 95-91. Class put together a run of eight victories but then suffered back-to-back inside the distance defeats against Azinga Fuzile and Eduardo Hernandez. Ngoma had won his last four fights. Lagos, Nigeria: Bantam: Habeeb Oladeji (1-1) W PTS 10 Tunde Olojede (3-2). Light: Rilwan Oladosu (14-0) W PTS 8 Prince Nwoye (3-4). ). Super Light: Olaide Fijabi (13-0) W TKO 4 Dennis Mbat (0-9). Welter: Rilliwan Ayodele Babatunde (12-0) W TKO 2 Jubril Olalekan (0-2 Oladeji vs. Olodeji In the fourth show of the year in Nigeria Oladeji wins the national bantamweight title with a split decision over Olojede Oladosu vs. Nwoye “Real One” Oladosu, 28, the West African champion remains unbeaten with a clear unanimous verdict over substitute Nwoye Fijabi vs. Mbat Fijabi returns to action for the first time since December 2018 and stops a competitive Mbat in four rounds. Fijabi is a former unbeaten ABU champion and has seven wins by KO/TKO Babatunde vs. Olalekan Tall welterweight “Baby Face” Babatunde, 24, the West African champion, halts Olalekan for his fourth inside the distance win in a row. Gabarone, Botswana: Super Bantam: Onkarabile Mothibedi (4-2) W PTS 12 Tshepang Babui (3-4-2). Mothibedi wins the vacant WBFoundation International title with unanimous decision over fellow-Botswanan Babui. This was a bit of a bizarre fight with Mothibedi being 5’” 11” and Babui 5’3 ½”. Some of the attraction was taken out of the fight when Babui failed to make the weight coming in 4kgs too heavy. Mothibedi used his jab to move ahead over the early rounds but Babui began to take control from the fifth and ate into Mothibedi’s lead. Mothibedi rallied over the closing rounds and was a good winner. He claimed that he had slowed his work rate over those middle rounds as he had never been past six rounds before and wanted to pace himself. Babui had lost to South African Tholumusa Ngema for this title in April last year. 28 November Los Angeles, CA, USA: Cruiser: Badou Jack (23-3-3) W PTS 8 Blake McKernan (13-1). Light Jermaine Ortiz (14-0) W KO 7 Suliman Segawa (13-3-1).Heavy: Joe Cusumano (19-3) W KO 6 Gregory Corbin (15-4,1ND). Feather: Edward Vazquez (9-0,1ND) W PTS 8 Irvin Gonzalez (14-314 Jack vs. McKernan Jack gets in eight rounds of work against inexperienced McKernan. Jack was on the front foot tracking down a retreating McKernan all the way. Jack was sparing with his punches but he had a high accuracy with those he was throwing. McKernan tried a bit of aggression now and then. Jack connected with some hard right crosses in the third but McKernan took them well. Jack went to the body more over the fifth and sixth but was generally satisfied with landing a couple of punches but not putting together any substantial combinations. Jack finally cut loose in the eighth driving McKernan around the ropes connecting with heavy rights to the head and digging in body punches but McKernan absorbed the punishment and was still there at the final bell. All three judges had it 80-72 for Jack. The 37-year-old former WBC super middle and holder of the secondary WBA light heavyweight title was 188 ¾ lbs and was having his first fight since losing a split decision against Jean Pascal for the secondary WBA title. He is still rated WBC 5/WBA 13 at light heavyweight. McKernan, 33, was only really required to give Jack some ring time and he did that and no more. Ortiz vs. Segawa Ortiz floors Segawa twice for stoppage. Ortiz was using plenty of movement and flashing jabs with Segawa coming forward applying pressure but a bit slower than the flashy Ortiz. As Ortiz upped his pace from the third Segawa was finding Ortiz speed and clever defensive work a big problem. Segawa had a good fifth as he connected with some heavy rights but by the sixth Ortiz was back in control with his fast jabs and in the seventh a tiring Segawa went down from a left hook to the body. Initially when he got up Segawa took out his mouthguard but then put it back in and tried to continue but slumped to the canvas under another attack and the fight was stopped. Ortiz wins the vacant WBC US title. In the amateurs he was New England Golden Gloves champion but lost out to Gary Antuanne Russell at the US Trials and missed out on the 2016 Olympic Games. First loss by KO/TKO for Segawa who coincidentally failed to win his way through the African Trials for Rio. Cusumano vs. Corbin Cusumano wins the vacant WBC US title with stoppage of Corbin. The 32-year-old Virginian has scored 17 of his 19 wins by KO/TKO but in a previous shot at this title in August last year he was floored and outpointed by Steve Vukosa. Fourth loss in a row for 40-year-old Corbin. Vazquez vs. Gonzalez Vazquez wins a split decision over Gonzalez in the best fight on the card. These two went to war all the way with never much between them but in the end the superior movement and hand speed just gave Vazquez a slight edge. Texan Vazquez has won his last eight fights and Gonzalez his last two. Tokyo, Japan: Feather: Musashi Mori (12-0) W TKO 11 Tsuyoshi Tameda (21-6 -2). Japanese prospect Mori overcomes a slow start to get late stoppage of Tameda. Tameda made the early running. He set a fast pace with a high work rate and plenty of pressure. He was in front on two cards after the first four rounds but had used up plenty of energy. In the fourth southpaw Mori began to come forward more and connect with straight lefts and uppercuts. Tameda bounced back to have a good eighth and the fight was in the balance with the judges all disagreeing with each other at 76-76, 78-74 for Tameda which looked too generous and 77-75 for Mori. From the ninth Mori dominated the action and a straight left opened a cut over the right eye of Tameda who survived a doctor’s inspection. Mori piled on the punishment until the referee stepped in to save Tameda in the eleventh round. The 20-year-old cherubic-featured Mori was making the third defence of the WBO Asia Pacific title and in the WBO world where sanctioning fees count more than the quality of the opposition he is No 4 in their ratings. He made a remarkable recovery from the time when he was 13 and a car ran into the back of him leaving him with a broken hip and two broken legs. He recovered so quickly that he was Japanese Under 15 champion in 2011 and 2014 and turned pro At 17. He was All Japan Rookie King an annual tournament for Japanese fighters in their first year as pros. Tameda suffers his fourth inside the distance defeat but he gave Mori a tough test. Bangkok. Thailand: Super Light: Sangarthit (10-0) W Atchariya (13-0). Thai teenager Sangarthit (Phoobadin Yoohanngoh) retains the WBA Asian title with stoppage of Atchariya. Still only 16, he will be 17 in January, Sangarthit showed real maturity here has he boxed conservatively early and then crushed Atchariya. The challenger had the longer reach and used that to put Sangarthit on the back foot and showed good hand speed testing Sangarthit’s chin with some quick rights. The champion boxed cleverly on the retreat firing quick accurate counters that had the effect of slowing the challenger. Sangarthit showed some classy defensive skills in the fifth before coming forward taking the fight to Atchariya. At the start of the sixth Sangarthit ducked under a couple of punches from Atchariya then came up an over with a right to the side of the head that sent Atchariya sprawling on the canvas. Sangarthit turned tiger and had Atchariya stumbling around the ring before putting him down with a right. Another right brought the third knockdown with the referee immediately waiving the end to the fight. Fifth inside the distance for Sangarthit and the first defence of his title. He turned pro at 14 and shows tremendous potential. Atchariya was considered a prospect a couple of years back and he had met better opposition but had no answer when Sangarthit cut loose Luis Guillon, Argentina: Light: Claudio Daneff (11-1-1,1ND) W PTS 10 Agustin Kucharski (6-2-1). Argentinian No 3 Daneff overcomes the longer reach of the 6’0” tall Kucharski to forge a victory. Southpaw Daneff was much the better technical boxer and worked his way inside to attack the body of Kucharski. The taller man landed some good counter hooks but Daneff’s accurate work and harder punch gave him a big edge and Kucharski had to take on board quite a bit of punishment and never really managed to threaten Daneff’s dominance. Scores 98-92 twice and 97-93 for Daneff/ He wins the vacant WBC Latino title having won the same title last year at lightweight. Although short on experience Kucharski had turned in a good performance in drawing with 17-0 Hugo Roldan in December. Junin, Argentina: Middle: Abraham Buonarrigo (7-0) W Luis Vera (10-16-2). Buonarrigo gets the win but in a bizarre ending. Buonarrigo the bigger and stronger man had taken the first three rounds and was putting pressure on Vera in the fourth. Vera threw a counter which missed and then just knelt with one knee on the canvas. He got up but whilst the referee was giving him the eight count Vera then began arguing with someone outside the ring and then with the referee showing no inclination to fight on and the referee stopped the fight with Vera still arguing. Buonarrigo was in his first fight scheduled for ten rounds and gets his seventh win by KO/TKO. He is Argentinian No 2 super middleweight. Four inside the distance losses in a row for Vera who could face some disciplinary action. Brisbane, Australia: Super Light: Justin Frost (11-1-1) W PTS 10 Waylon Law (12-7). Frost regains the Australian title with majority decision over Law in a hard-fought very close contest. When these two clashed in September Law won a split decision and took Frosts title and his unbeaten tag so sweet revenge for Frost. Scores 98-92 and 97-93 for Frost and 95-95. Law seems to specialise in close fights as six of his contests have ended in a majority decision and three in a split decision. Mexicali, Mexico: Super Welter: Jorge Paez Jr (41-13-2,1ND) W KO 4 Christian Solano (28-26-4). Paez stops Solano in four rounds in a clash of two fighters badly in need of a win. Solano was 6” taller than Paez with a much longer reach but it did him no good as Paez just walked through Solano’s weak jab and beat Solano around the ribs. Paez was all over Solano pumping home body punches. Solano went down in the third complaining of a punch to the back of the head. Later in the round a vicious left hook to the body finished Solano. He went down on one knee and stayed there as the referee counted out the ten. The 32-year-old Paez had lost 6 of his last 7 fights and this will probably be just a stop on the way further down. Solano, 39, has won only one of his last 10 fights. Fight of the week (Significance): Joe Joyce’s win over Daniel Dubois puts him firmly in the mix at heavyweight and could see him fight for the heavyweight title in 2021. Fight of the week (Entertainment);Pechmanee’s win over long time WBC minimumweight champion Wanheng was twelve rounds of all out action as Wanheng fought bravely to try to hold on to his title. Fighter of the week: Petchmanee for beating a champion who was undefeated in 54 fights with honourable mention to Joe Joyce for his big win over Daniel Dubois. Punch of the week: The short right hook from Michael Magnesi that finished Patrick Kinigamazi was a beauty Upset of the week: Petchmanee was an outsider against Wanheng Prospect watch: Japanese featherweight Musashi Mori 12-0 shows promise and I will watch Thai 16-year-old hope Sangarthit 10-0 a bit longer before committing myself. Observations A pity to see Wanheng taking that one fight too many. If he had retired he would have had that meritorious second place in the all-time ranking of world champions who retired undefeated with the most fights. Not only that but 54 is not good enough to get him into the top ten of: A) Fighters with the longest unbeaten run at the start of their career but lost subsequent fights. B) Fighters with the longest unbeaten run at any time in their career It is tough ar the top Wanheng Amateur fights seem to be coming back to “haunt” the top heavyweights. In recent months we have had a Russian who knocked out Deontay Wilder, a Pole who beat Daniel Dubois and this weekend Mahammadrasul Majidov who beat Anthony Joshua now if we can just get Max Babanin to turn pro we will have someone who beat Tyson Fury Seems like we have regressed on the highly technical science of binding a glove. In the Tony Yoka vs. Christian Hammer fight Yoka’s tape came loose three times in the space of a couple of rounds. The tape being used looked about as broad as my thumb. It causes a halt in the action and could even cause injury if it snapped into a boxers eye. Nevada has solved it and Britain has solved it so why can’t France do so? It’s a strange world when a 5’11” Onkarabile Mothibedi makes the weight for a super bantam bout and his opponent 5’3 ½” Tshepang Babui come in 4 kgs overweight. You would have expected the 5’11” boxer to be the one to struggle. |
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