By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Filipino Mark Magsayo wins the WBC featherweight title with majority verdict over champion Gary Russell -Puerto Rican super lightweight Subriel Matias beats Petros Ananyan to reverses his only loss -Tugstsogt Nyambayar and Sakaria Lukas fight to a draw in a featherweight clash -Antonio Todd scores upset victory over Hugo Centeno at middleweight World Title/Major Shows January 22 Atlantic City, NJ, USA: Feather: Mark Magsayo (24-0) W PTS 12 Gary Allen Russell (31-2). Super Light: Subriel Matias (18-1) W TKO 9 Petros Ananyan (16-3-2). Feather: Tugstsogt Nyambayar (12-2-1) DREW 10 Sakaria Lukas (25-1-1). Super Bantam: Abimael Ortiz (10-1-1) W PTS 8 Ryan Lee Allen (10-6-1). Middle: LeShawn Rodriguez (13-0) W TKO 1 Sixto Suazo (9-3-1). Feather: Katsuma Akitsugi (8-0) W PTS 8 Rasheen Brown (11-1). Super Welter: Evan Holyfield (9-0) W PTS 6 Chris Rollins (5-4-1). Magsayo vs. Russell The Philippines have a new hero as Magsayo takes a majority verdict over an injured Russell to win the WBC title. Round 1 Magsayo made a confident start. He had the edge in reach and was quickly on target with his jab and straight rights. He was stepping in quickly and was effective with right hooks to the body. Southpaw Russell landed a couple of good lefts but was frustrated by Magsayo’s speed in moving out of range. Score: 10-9 Magsayo Round 2 Magsayo continued to rip right hooks to the body. Russell tried to come forward but was having trouble getting past Magsayo’s jab and the challenger was darting forward throwing a couple of punches and getting out before Russell could land a counter. Score: 10-9 Magsayo Magsayo 20-18 Round 3 A better round from Russell. He was getting through with his right jabs and bringing his left hook into action more. After again scoring with rights to the body early Magsayo was off target or coming up short with his punches and Russell was able to counter him better. Score: 10-9 Russell Magsayo 29-28 Round 4 Magsayo landed a right early which saw Russell dip at the knees. Magsayo tried to capitalise on that success but slick boxing from Russell saw him slipping away from Magsayo’s shots and scoring repeatedly with straight lefts. He continued to land those lefts throughout the round but it was apparent that he was not using his right at all. Before the fight Russell had hinted that he had suffered an injury but was going ahead with the fight. At the end of the round the doctor climbed in the ring to examine Russell’s right arm and it was obvious from the way Russell was wincing that he was injured but did not want out so the fight continued. Score: 10-9 Russell TIED 38-38 Official Scores: Judge Lynne Carter 38-38, Judge Henry Eugene Grant 38-38, Judge Mark Consentino 39-37 Magsayo. Round 5 Brilliant boxing from Russell. He was slipping and sliding away from Magsayo’s punches and scoring with straight lefts. Magsayo seemed to have lost his rhythm and was not forcing the fight as hard as he had. Russell was just using his right as a measuring stick for his straight lefts and although under pressure at the end of the round had done enough to earn the points. Score: 10-9 Russell Russell 48-47 Round 6 Magsayo upped the pressure in this round and was banging to the body again. He was also stepping to his left away from Russell’s good left arm making it more difficult for Russell land counters and was able to drive Russell back with his jab. Score: 10-9 Magsayo TIED 57-57 Round 7 Another round for Magsayo. He was coming forward behind his jab and putting together some quick combinations. Russell was limited to his left hand alone so his only form of combination was to throw three or four straight lefts and if the first landed than Magsayo just had to take a step back and the others fell short and Russell was open then for a counter. Score: 10-9 Magsayo Magsayo 67-66 Round 8 Boxing skill gave Russell this one. He was ducking under and around Magsayo’s punches and slotting home single straight lefts. Magsayo connected with a couple of hard rights but Russell was constantly finding gaps for sneaky lefts and using plenty of movement to leave Magsayo swishing air. Score: 10-9 Russell TIED 76-76 Official Scores: Judge Lynne Carter 77-75 Magsayo, Judge Henry Eugene Grant 77-75 Magsayo, Judge Mark Consentino 77-75 Magsayo. Round 9 A close round Magsayo upped the pressure. Russell was side-stepping Magsayo’s charges and catching him with left hooks but one punch at a time. Magsayo was able to put together some combinations and was working the body when he could pin Russell to the ropes and did enough to edge the round. Score: 10-9 Magsayo Magsayo 86-85 Round 10 A good round for Magsayo. He went back to his body punching and consistently ripped shots to Russell’s ribs. The pressure and pace were telling on Russell and Magsayo was able to hunt him down and work him over on the ropes more than in the earlier rounds. Russell’s overworked left arm must have been tiring. Score: 10-9 Magsayo Magsayo 96-94 Round 11 Relentless pressure from Magsayo now and only some slippery defensive work from Russell and very little else. Magsayo did what scoring there was with Russell now hardly using his left and when he did there was no snap and Magsayo was able to get close and score with hooks. Score: 10-9 Magsayo Magsayo 106-103 Round 12 Magsayo did the scoring over the first minute but after some artful defensive work Russell lifted his arms to celebrate his skill and from there he was landing his lefts as leads and counters and took the round. Score:10-9 Russell Magsayo 115-113 Official Scores: Judge Lynne Carter 114-114 DRAW, Judge Henry Eugene Grant 115-113 Magsayo, Judge Mark Consentino 115-113 Magsayo. Huge result for Magsayo as he joins fellow-Filipinos Nonito Donaire and Jerwin Ancajas as title holders. With Magsayo having been rated No 3 by the WBC this was not a mandatory defence so there will be pressure for Magsayo to defend against No 1 Rey Vargas but there is no doubt that Russell deserves a return as this fight hinged on the injury which forced him to fight for eight rounds with just one usable arm. Matias vs. Ananyan Payback time as Magsayo gets revenge for his only loss as he stops Ananyan after nine rounds of savagery. These two declared war from the first minute and then knocked lumps off each other for nine rounds. Over the first two sessions Ananyan was rumbling forward poking out jabs and then walking through the punches from Matias getting inside and landing clubbing hooks and uppercuts. Matias was letting Ananyan come and connecting with his own hooks and uppercuts. Matias had the advantage in that he was also doing some basic defensive work whereas Ananyan was just soaking up the punches aiming to wear Matias down. It was brutal stuff with both sporting bumps and bruises after just those six minutes. Ananyan landed some heavy rights to the head at the start of the third but Matias blasted him with punch after punch before the end of the round and Ananyan was cut under one eye, had a bruise under then other and was dripping blood from his nose. Matias continued to score with the better shots in the fourth but Ananyan was wasn’t going anywhere and he stayed there pushing out punches and landed with a series of shots at the end of the fifth with Matias being warned for a low punch. The six saw Ananyan connecting with bludgeoning head punches and forcing Matias back but Matias was making Ananyan pay for every step with hooks and uppercuts. Ananyan was throwing more but Matias was landing more. The seventh was even more brutal as they traded hard punches for three minutes with Matias deducted a point for low punches. Matias was on top in the eighth rocking Ananyan with a right late in the round. In the ninth Matias hurt Ananyan with a body punch and then landed a fearsome left hook that spun Ananyan around and sent him down heavily. Ananyan made it to his feet and survived to the bell but in the interval the doctor signalled Ananyan had taken enough punishment and the fight was over. All of the eighteen wins scored by the 29-year-old Puerto Rican have come inside the distance and he is No 2 with the IBF so in a long line queuing up for a shot at Josh Taylor. First inside the distance loss for Ananyan who had beaten 20-2-1 Daniel Gonzalez in October. Nyambayar vs. Lukas Nyambayar and Lukas finish all even after a fast-paced entertaining fight. Nyambayar made a strong start. He was forcing Lukas onto the back foot with stiff jabs and knocked him off balance with great left hook. Lukas had his own jab working in the second and scored with some hefty straight rights. There was lots of confusion before the start of the third. His corner seemed to be considering pulling Lukas out of the fight because of swelling by his right eye and there was a conference between the referee the corner team and a doctor but Lukas was determined to continue. Nyambayar welcomed Lukas back with a low punch and rocked him with a right uppercut. Nyambayar’s round but Lucas again found the target with rights in the fourth only for Nyambayar to take the fifth with some accurate jabbing. Lukas connected with crisp jabs and over hand rights in both the sixth and seventh and there was a big controversy in the eighth. Early in the round Lukas connected with a right to the head that shook Nyambayar then a left that knocked Nyambayar’s legs from under him. Although it was cleared caused by a punch the referee ruled it a slip and Lukas scored heavily until Nyambayar fired back just before the bell. The knock down looked genuine so what should have been 10-8 was a 10-9 round for Lukas. I had Lukas two points in front but Nyambayar was stronger over the ninth and tenth. The judges scored it 96-94 Lukas, 96-94 Nyambayar and 95-95 Mongolian “King Tut” has lost to Gary Russell for the WBC title and Chris Colbert for the now defunct WBA interim title but was still No 7 with the WBC. Namibian Lukas, 37, was 23-0 before losing to Isaac Avelar in December 2020 and since then had restricted himself to two wins against low level opposition and was unrated but his performance in this one will have raised his profile. Ortiz vs. Allen Ortiz gets unanimous verdict over Allen. This one was very close with a knockdown in the second just being enough to get Ortiz the win. Scores 76-75 on the three cards. Rodriguez vs. Suazo Former top amateur Rodriguez continues to make progress under the radar. Rodriguez took just 96 seconds to batter an overmatched Suazo to defeat. The 28-year-old “Lightning” was twice US amateur champion and won a silver medal at the National Golden Gloves. A loss to Charles Conwell cost him a spot at the 2016 Olympics but he has won ten of his fights by KO/TKO. Second inside the loss for Bronx-born Suazo. Akitsugi vs. Brown Japanese-born Akitsugi wins this clash of unbeaten southpaws with unanimous decision over Brown. Scores 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 for Akitsugi. Brown, a silver medal winner at the national Golden Gloves can rebound Holyfield vs. Rollins Holyfield gets another win as he outscores a competitive Rollins. Holyfield rocked Rollins a few times but Rollins fought back hard and had a good second round. From there Holyfield dominated the fight but Rollins fought back strongly before tiring and just making it to the final bell after taking heavy punishment in the sixth. Scores 60-54 twice and 59-55 for Holyfield. Evan is the only one of Evander’s eleven children to have taken up boxing. January 21 Buenos Aires, Argentina: Super Feather: Cristian Gonzalez (10-13-1) W PTS 10 Guillermo Crocco (18-1-1). Super Welter: Brian Arregui (4-0) W PTS 8 Nicolas Jara (3-1).Middle: Francisco Veron (7-0) W TKO 1 Carlos Ronner (3-2). Gonzalez vs. Crocco Local fighter Gonzalez gets unexpected victory over favoured Crocco. Gonzalez was 2-5-1 in his last eight fights going into this one but he hustled and harried the better boxer out of his stride to take a split decision on scores of 95-93 twice against 97-92 from one judge for Crocco who had a 16-bout winning streak going. Arregui vs. Jara Former leading amateur Arregui remains unbeaten as he takes decision over a competitive Jara. Arregui, 22, won a gold medal at the Youth Olympics and boxed for Argentina at the Pan American Games and in the Tokyo Olympics. Veron vs. Ronner Verona blitzed Ronner in the first round. He sent Ronner flying into the ropes and down with a right. Ronner bounced up but another right sent him to the floor and the referee signalled the fight was over. Fifth win by KO/TKO for the 23-year-old prospect a former national champion and like Arregui competed at the Pan American Games and the Tokyo Olympics. La Calera, Argentina: Feather: Mayco Estadella (10-0-1) W TKO 5 Federico Pedraza (13-1-1). Welter: Williams Herrera (11-1,1ND) W TKO 1 Juan Balmaceda (10-4-2).Super Middle: David Romero (12-14-1) W PTS 8 Cesar Barrionuevo (35-5-2). In a clash of southpaws Estadella won the South American title with stoppage of champion Pedraza. Estadella dropped Pedraza with a right early in the first and put him down again in the second. Pedraza did better in the third and fourth but a sustained attack from Estadella in the fifth led first to a standing count and then to the referee stopping the fight. The 23-year-old “Little Lion” makes it seven consecutive victories. Pedraza had won his last eleven fights. Herrera vs. Balmaceda Herrera extends his winning run to eight bouts as he scores two knockdowns in the first round. There was some query over whether the bell had gone before the second knockdown but after reviewing the video the referee confirmed the stoppage. Three inside the route defeats in a row for Balmaceda. Romero vs. Barrionuevo Disastrous return for Barrionuevo as in his first fight for almost two years he losses every round against Romero with all three cards reading 80-72. After a 3-2-2,1ND start to his career Barrionuevo went 31-1 before losing to Yordenis Ugas in a title eliminator. Romero looked a safe choice for Barrionuevo to shake any rust as he was 0-8-1 in his previous nine fights. Romero 0-8-1 January 22 Karlsruhe, Germany: Middle: Andrii Velikovskyi (20-2-2) W RTD 2Rafael Bejaran (29-6-1). Welter: Karen Chukhadzhian (20-1) W TKO 8 Ryan Martin (14-3-1). Heavy: Oleksandr Zakhozhyi (16-0) W TKO 3 Pavel Sour (14-7). Super Middle: Petro Ivanov (15-0-2) W RTD 1 Nuhu Lawal (27-10). Middle: Simon Zachenhuber (14-0) W PTS 10 Maurice Morio (8-1). Velikovskyi vs. Bejaran German-based Ukrainian Velikovskyi gets win over experienced Bejaran. Velikovskyi was quicker and more accurate than Bejaran in the first and then floored Bejaran in the second. Bejaran’s corner retired their man because of swelling around his right eye possible caused by a thumb in the eye at the knockdown. Velikovskyi collects the IBO Inter-Continental title. Dominican Bejaran, 39, lost only one of his first 28 fights but age plus tougher opposition has added a dose of reality. Chukhadzhian vs. Martin Chukhadzhian extends his winning run to 20 with stoppage of Swindon’s Martin. The action was close in the early rounds with Chukhadzhian having the edge but Martin competing hard and keeping the rounds tight. Body punches from Chukhadzhian started to slow Martin in the fifth and he put Martin on the floor in the sixth. With Martin also showing wear and tear under his right eye Chukhadzhian had Martin under heavy fire late in the seventh. Velikovskyi ended it in the eighth flooring Martin with a series of punches and although Martin beat the count the follow-up attack from Chukhadzhian saw the referee stop the fight. Chukhadzhian wins the vacant IBF Inter-Continental title. He lost his first pro fight to Velikovskyi but has now climbed to No 6 in the EBU ratings. Martin had been 6-0-1 going into this one. Zakhozhyi vs. Sour The 6’9”, 250lbs Ukrainian Zakhozhyi too big and too strong for 6’5” 230lbs Czech Sour. Zakhozhyi staggered Sour in the first and then floored him late in the second. Sour beat the count but was down twice more in the third round and the fight was halted. Twelfth inside the distance win for Zakhozhyi but the quality of opposition has him down at No 16 in the EBU-EEU ratings for fighters from outside the European Union. Sixth loss by KO/TKO for Sour all in tough matches. Ivanov vs. Lawal Ivanov makes it a clean sweep for the Ukrainians on the card as a sliding Lawal retires after the first round. Fifth victory by KO/TKO in his last six fights for WBC International champion Ivanov. At one time Lawal was 23-0 but it is now just four wins in his last fourteen contests. Zachenhuber vs. Morio Zachenhuber wins the vacant IBF Youth belt with unanimous decision over Morio in an entertaining contest. Morio did enough to collect the points in the first round but then Zachenhuber boxed well scoring with strong jab and straight rights. Morio made the rounds close pressing forward trying to unsettle Zachenhuber but despite Morio’s efforts Zachenhuber took most of the early rounds. Morio edged the sixth and ninth but by then Zachenhuber had built a big lead and was able to box his way to victory. Scores 98-92 twice and 97-94 for the 23-year-old Zachenhuber. German champion Morio, 21, showed promise. Dearborn, MI, USA: Middle: Antonio Todd (13-5-1ND) W PTS 10 Hugo Centeno (28-4-1,1ND).Middle: Winfred Harris (21-1-1) W PTS 8 Esau Herrera (19-14-1). Todd vs. Centeno Todd pulls off a surprise as he takes majority decision over Centeno. Superior speed saw Centeno build an early lead as he swept the first three rounds. Todd came into the fight from the fourth pressurising Centeno and beginning to find the target with some heavy rights. The fight was close over the middle rounds but a strong finish from Todd clawed back Centeno’s early lead and was enough to see him get the verdict. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Todd and 95-95. Easily the biggest success of his career so far for Todd who has been strictly a modest preliminary performer. Centeno’s previous losses had been against Maciej Sulecki and Willie Monroe and he had been knocked out in two rounds by Jermall Charlo for the WBC interim title. He was rated No 10 by the WBC. Harris vs. Herrera Harris keeps busy with a points win over experienced Mexican Herrera. Scores 79-73 twice and 77-75 for Harris. After being inactive in 2019 and 2020 Harris returned to action in May had is 4-0-1 since then. Herrera drops to 1-8 in his last 9 fights. Merlo, Argentina: Fly: Gabriela Alaniz (12-0) W TKO 4 Johana Zuniga (16-2). Argentinian champion Alaniz stops Zuniga in four rounds. Alaniz dropped Zuniga in the third and was pounding her along the ropes in the fourth. There was nothing coming back from Zuniga so the referee came in to save her from more punishment. Alaniz, 25, had over 70 amateur fights and this is her fourth inside the distance victory as a pro. She collects the WBC Latino belt. Zuniga had been stopped in four rounds by Yesica Bopp in a challenge for the WBA Female light flyweight title in October. Fight of the week (Significance): Mark Magsayo’s win over Gary Russell adds new factor to the featherweight title stakes. Fight of the week (Entertainment) Subriel Matias vs. Petros Ananyan was not a fight for the faint hearted as they battled toe-to-toe for nine rounds Fighter of the week: Magsayo gives the Philippines another title holder but Gary Russell has to get an honourable mention after battling with that injury Punch of the week: The left hook from Subriel Matias that floored Petros Ananyan was a real thunderbolt Upset of the week: Antonio Todd 12-5-1 beating 28-3-1 Hugo Centeno was not in the script. Prospect watch: Middleweight LeShawn Rodriguez 13-0 10 wins by KO/TKO is coming along nicely. Observations Rosette: To all involved in the Atlantic City show.Good top liners with Magsayo vs.Russell a majority verdict, Nyambayar vs. Lukas a split draw and Matias vs. Ananyan a battle royal Red Card: No baddies this week but a mistake in not counting the knockdown scored by Lukas against Nyambayar which cost Lukas victory. It is understandable that Gary Russell chose to go ahead with his title fight against Mark Magsayo despite his injury. Russell had had just one fight in each of years 2015, 2016 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 and was inactive in 2021. The 2020 fight was in February so he had gone almost two years without a fight. He had been a title holder for almost seven years making him the longest serving of the current title holders. That honour now passes to Thai Thammanoon Niyomtrong (Knockout CP Freshmart) who won the WBA minimumweight title in July 2016. CP Freshmart was upgraded to super champion in March 2020 but had been the sole holder of that title before being promoted so has a legitimate claim to have been WBA title holder for over five years. Having one fighter holding all four versions of a title is a recipe for a log jam. Josh Taylor will look after his business with the WBO by defending against Jack Catterall but if gets though that then the WBC will be pushing for him to fight Jose Ramirez the WBA to fight Alberto Puello and the IBF Jeremias Ponce and with Jose Zepeda and Antonio Barboza also in the wings so despite an impressive win on Saturday Subriel Matias could have a very long wait for a title shot. COVID is still having its effect with no spectators allowed at the Karlsruhe show.
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By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Joe Smith Jr kayos Steve Geffrard in nine rounds in WBO light heavyweight title defence -Jade Bornea beats Mohammad Obbadi in three rounds in IBF super flyweight eliminator -Super Featherweight Abraham Nova stops William Encarnacion to go to 20-0 -Hugo Roldan and Jaime Arboleda both climb off the canvas twice to score wins in Panama -Yamil Peralta remain unbeaten as floors Mariano Gudino three times on the way to retaining the Argentinian cruiserweight title on points.- World Title/Major Shows January 15 Verona, NY, USA: Light Heavy: Joe Smith Jr (28-3) W KO 9 Steve Geffrard (18-3). Feather: Abraham Nova (21-0) W TKO 8 William Encarnacion (19-2). Heavy: Lyubomyr Pinchuk (14-2-1) W PTS 8 Jose Flores (8-3-2). Middle: Troy Isley (4-0) W PTS 6 Harry Cruz (6-2). Super Light: Omar Rosario (6-0) W PTS 6 Raekwon Butler (4-2). Smith vs. Geffrard Smith beats substitute Geffrard in nine rounds in a low key title defence of his WBO title. Round 1 Smith immediately went on the attack forcing Geffrard to the ropes and firing clubbing shots. Geffrard was hiding behind a high peek-a-boo guard and not throwing punches allowing Smith to bang away finding gaps. Eventually Geffrard started throwing jabs but then retreated behind his guard again as Smith landed some hurtful shots late in the round. Score: 10-9 Smith Round 2 Smith changed tactics in the second. He backed off and allowed Geffrard to come forward. Geffrard scored with some stiff jabs and a couple of rights but instead of staying there punching Geffrard was then hiding behind his guard again allowing Smith some target practice. Smith was not pressing his attacks although he did enough scoring in short bursts to win the round. Score: 10-9 Smith Smith 20-18 Round 3 Smith started this one coming forward throwing punches but then again backed off letting Geffrard do some work with his jab and straight rights. Geffrard stood and traded more but at the end of the round had backed to the ropes allowing Smith to pound him with body punches. Score: 10-9 Smith Smith 30-27 Round 4 They traded jabs early in this round until Smith suddenly launches a fierce attack driving Geffrard around landing hooks and uppercuts with Geffrard just covering up and having to absorb some painful body shots. Geffrard dropped his hands to show he wasn’t hurt but it was another round for Smith. Score: 10-9 Smith Smith 40-36 Official Scores: Judge Glenn Feldman 40-36 Smith, Judge Tom Schreck 40-36 Smith, Judge Don Trella 39-37 Smith Round 5 This was a totally one-sided round. With Geffrard just hiding behind his guard it was target practice for Smith who was getting through with uppercuts and hooks. There was nothing coming back from Geffrard and as Smith continued to pour on the punches the referee was taking a long hard look at Geffrard at the end of the round (one judge scored this a 10-8 round). Score: 10-9 Smith Smith 50-45 Round 6 After his fireworks in the last round Smith took a more measured approach in this one. Too measured as he was landing a few hooks and then backing off and setting himself to repeat the exercise. Geffrard found a little more room for his jab but was just not throwing enough punches. Score: 10-9 Smith Smith 60-54 Round 7 Smith looked to be operating at about 60% power but it was still enough. For much of the round Smith was content to throw jabs and then follow with a few hooks and uppercuts. Geffrard landed a sneak straight right but Smith shook it off and scored with some bludgeoning hooks. Score: 10-9 Smith Smith 70-63 Round 8 Smith backed up at the start of this round and that allowed Geffrard to find some room and he scored well with jabs and straight rights. A heavy hook from Smith sent Geffrard back into his shell and Smith scored heavily with hooks and uppercuts with Geffrard being bounced along the ropes and not throwing any punches of his own. Score: 10-9 Smith Smith 80-72 Official Scores: Judge Glenn Feldman 80-72 Smith, Judge Tom Schreck 79-73 Smith, Judge Don Trella 79-72 Smith Round 9 There was sense of purpose behind Smith in this one. He came out throwing punches and forced Geffrard to the ropes. Geffrard made no attempt to fight back and dropped to one knee under a hail of punches and was counted out. Smith was making the first defence of the WBO title he won with a majority verdict over Max Vlasov in April. He now wants a unification fight against WBC/IBF champion Artur Beterbiev. However with Anthony Yarde jumping to the No 1 spot after beating Lyndon Arthur and Frank Warren having a good working relationship with the WBO Warren may press for a shot for Yarde. Geffrard was never really in this fight and as he only stepped in at eight days notice when Callum Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 it was unrealistic to think he would be a serious threat. Johnson himself will be pushing for the chance he missed and Gilbert Ramirez is also in the picture so plenty of options for Smith. Nova vs. Encarnacion Nova wears down and halts Encarnacion in the eighth, Encarnacion had a good first round catching Nova with a strong right but Nova upped his pace in the second. Nova began to score heavily in the third and Encarnacion switched to southpaw to try to stem the tide. From the fourth Nova was scoring with some scorching body shots and Encarnacion was holding to stop Nova scoring inside but Nova was also mixing in some rights to the head. As heads bumped in the sixth Nova suffered a cut over his right eye but it did not slow his attacks. He punished Encarnacion over the sixth and had him reeling under a series of rights at the end of the seventh. A right shook Encarnacion early in the eighth and Encarnacion’s second waived for the fight to be stopped. Fifteenth win by KO/TKO for 27-year-old Puerto Rican-born Nova who is rated No 3 with the WBO. Dominican Encarnacion, 33, was knocked out in four rounds by newcomer Giovanni Gutierrez in July 2019 and was then inactive until recording a low level win in December 2020- his last fight. Pinchuk vs. Flores Pinchuk scores wide unanimous decision over Flores but the fight was closer than the scores indicate. The 6’3” Ukrainian used his longer reach to score well in the first. In the second a clash of heads saw Pinchuk cut over his left eye and shaken by a right just before the bell. Pinchuk worked hard with his jab over the third and fourth outscoring Flores and landed with good shots in the fifth but with Flores connecting with some accurate counters. A punch from Flores re-opened the cut over Pinchuk’s left eye in the sixth and Flores also had a good seventh. Pinchuk put the result in the bag in the eighth as he landed a powerful right on Flores that sent his mouthguard flying and clearly won the round. Scores 79-73 twice and 80-72 for Pinchuk who is 10-1-1 in his last 12 outings. Flores had lost one of his last ten fights. Isley vs. Cruz Tokyo Olympian Isley cruises to victory in his first six round fight with comfortable points victory against Puerto Rican southpaw Cruz. The Puerto Rican took the fight to Isley but paid for that as Isley’s counters had him bleeding from nose and mouth. Isley shook Cruz a few times but Cruz showed plenty of determination giving Isley some useful ring time. Isley went low in the sixth which cost him a point but he won on scores of 59-54 twice and 59-53. Isley, 23, was twice US National champion and won bronze medals at the World Championships and Pan American Games but did not medal in Tokyo. Cruz had won his last two fights but Isley was much too polished for him. Rosario vs. Butler Like Isley Puerto Rican Rosario, a former amateur star, was moving up to six rounds for the first time. He came close to ending this early blasting Butler with punches in the first and carrying that on into the early part of the second. Butler overcame the crisis and fought well over the remaining rounds although generally being outscored by Rosario. Butler was shaken with a right in the sixth but recovered and competed well. Scores 59-54 twice and 58-55 for Rosario who was Puerto Rican champion in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Butler out of his depth but did his job. January 14 Monterrey, Mexico: Super Fly: Jade Bornea (17-0) W KO 3 Mohammed Obbadi (22-2). Bantam: Francisco Rodriguez (35-5-1) W TKO 7 Arnulfo Salvador (15-2-1). Light Fly: Daniel Valladares (26-3-1) W PTS 8 Gabriel Loranca (4-6-1). Obbadi vs. Bornea Bornea wins IBF eliminator with third round victory over Obbadi. Moroccan-born Obbadi took the opening round with plenty of movement and a quick jab that consistently pierced Bornea’s guard. Bornea kept marching forward looking to score to the body but Obbadi’s speedy footwork took him away from Bornea’s attacks. Bornea began the second round switching to a southpaw stance and connected with a couple of right hooks and knocked Obbadi off balance with a straight left. Obbadi found the target with a pair of rights late in the round but was under continuous pressure. Bornea hunted Obbadi down in the third and landed a wicked left hook to the body. Obbadi froze for a second and then dropped to his hands and knees and was counted out. Filipino Bornea will now leap into the mandatory challengers slot with the possibility of a challenge to fellow-Filipino Jerwin Ancajas later in the year. Second inside the distance defeat for Obbadi who has a rebuilding job on his hands. Rodriguez vs. Salvador Rodriguez batters Salvador to defeat in seven rounds. Fighting in his home town Rodriguez bossed the fight against the less experienced southpaw Salvador. Rodriguez exerted constant pressure and was getting his punches off first with Salvador looking tentative. Rodriguez put Salvador down with a straight right in the third but Salvador got up and fought hard to make it to the bell. Rodriguez scored with scorching body punches over the fourth and fifth and had Salvador reeling at the end of the sixth. Salvador put in a big effort at the start of the seventh but when Rodriguez connected with a series of head punches the referee stopped the fight. Rodriguez, a former IBF and WBO minimumweight champion, lost on points to Kazuto Ioka for the WBO super flyweight title in September. He was above Bornea in the IBF ratings before the two fights on this card so should also be in line for a shot at Ancajas. This was too big a step-up for Salvador. Valladares vs. Loranca Local light flyweight Valladares outpoints Locarno. Valladares had late substitute Loranca under heavy pressure for all eight rounds but never looked like ending things early. He scored heavily with hooks and uppercuts and rocked Loranca a few times but Loranca took the beating and survived a fifth rounds inspection by the doctor of a cut and swelling by his left eye and fought hard to still be there at the end. Scores 80-71, 79-72 and 79-73 for Valladares who claimed an injury to his right hand hampered him in this fight. He fought a technical draw with Pedro Taduran for the IBF minimum title last year but that was followed by two losses. Loranca’s recent form is now 0-1-5. Bella Vista, Panama: Super Light: Hugo Roldan (21-0-1) W PTS 10 German del Castillo (10-2-2). Light: Jaime Arboleda (18-2) W PTS 10 Nicolas Polanco (20-2-1). Fly: Gabriela Fundora (5-0,1ND) W PTS 8 Nataly Delgado (8-5-1). Roldan vs. del Castillo In both of the main bouts on this card the eventual winner had to suffer two knockdowns before winning a majority decision. There was plenty of speed and plenty of movement and guard changes from Roldan as he outscored del Castillo. In the second de Castillo swung a left hook. His fist missed but his forearm connected with the side of Roldan’s head and sent him down. Roldan was not badly hurt and took control of the action in the third. At the end of the fourth del Castillo rushed forward pushing Roldan back and Roldan lost his balance and fell into the ropes. It was a push not a punch and also the push happened after the bell to end the round but it was counted as a knockdown. From there Roldan used his speed and footwork to bamboozle del Castillo and deservedly won the decision. Scores 96-92 twice for Roldan and 94-94. Only the second fight outside of his native Argentina for Roldan who needs tougher tests to establish his credentials. Colombian del Castillo had won his last four fights but his victims have been easy touches. Arboleda vs. Polanco Panamanian Arboleda survived a near disaster in the second round to take a majority verdict over Dominican Polanco. After edging the first round Arboleda was down twice in the second. Late in the round he was dropped by a left hook from the wild swinging Polanco. After the eight count he shipped some more punches but then slipped to the floor. There was no count and then both fighters just stood flinging wild shots and Arboleda was shaken a couple of times and put down by a right. After getting up he clinched and made it to the bell. From there he kept the pressure on the erratic Polanco to outbox him over the middle rounds and held off a late effort by Polanco to wrap up the victory. Scores 95-93 twice for Arboleda and 94-94. Arboleda was halted in eleven rounds in December 2020 by Chris Colbert for the interim WBA title but had stopped former WBA secondary featherweight title holder Jonathan Barros in August. Polanco had lost a wide unanimous decision to Javier Fortuna in 2017 and since then only faced mediocre opposition. Fundora vs. Delgado Floridian southpaw Fundora outpoints Panamanian Delgado. The 5’9” Fundora towered over Delgado and won all the way flooring Delgado with a southpaw right hook in the fifth as she eased to victory. All three judges gave it to Fundora 80-71. She wins the vacant WBC Latino belt. She is the sister of world rated super welterweight Sebastian Fundora. Delgado had lost on points to Micaela Lujan for the IBF female super fly title in November. Lagos, Nigeria: Cruiser: Olan Durodola (37-9) W RTD 1 Idowu Okusote (2-5). This was a waste of a canvas. Durodola had height, reach, weight and experience over Okusote and just trundle around the ring as Okusote skittered about trying to stay out of trouble. Durodola managed to land a couple of glancing blows and Okusote did not come out for the second round. January 15 Mar del Plata, Argentina: Cruiser: Yamil Peralta (13-0) W PTS 10 Mariano Gudino (14-5). Peralta retains national title with points victory over Gudino. It was an easy defence for Peralta as he floored Gudino three times on the way to victory. The first knockdown came from a straight in the second round. Gudino protested that the punch that put him down landed on his neck but he beat the count only to be dropped again in the sixth by a left hook. The fight should have ended then as Gudino’s corner tried to throw in the towel but it got caught up in the ropes and was ignored. A right counter put Gudino down for the third time in the tenth with Pe4ralta settling for a points victory. Scores 99-88 twice and 98-89. Peralta was making the first defence of the Argentinian title and he retained the WBC Latino belt. A double-Olympian Peralta should now be looking to face some better class opposition if he wants to crash the ratings. Gudino falls to 2-5 in his last 7 fights Tijuana, Mexico: Super Welter: Carlos Ocampo (32-1) W TKO 1 Omir Rodriguez (11-4-1). Super Bantam: David Picasso (20-0-1) W TKO 7 Cesar Paredes (15-4-1). Super Light: Carlos Sanchez (22-0) W KO 1 Jorge Pacheco (9-2-1). Ocampo vs. Rodriguez Ocampo massacres poor over-matched Rodriguez. Panamanian Rodriguez had only very rudimentary skills and just walked in head down swinging his arms. Ocampo battered him with punches to and then around the ropes until Rodriguez went down. He got up and despite taking more punishment kept slinging wild punches until he was dropped face down by a series of shots just before the bell. He tried to rise but tumbled backwards and the referee waived the fight over. Twentieth inside the distance win for Ocampo but really nothing worth saying about this sorry spectacle. Picasso vs. Paredes Prospect “King” Picasso adds another victory as he stops Peruvian southpaw Paredes in seven rounds. The 21-year-old from Mexico City is trained by former champion Erik Morales. The draw on his record is a case where he lost on a fourth round stoppage early in his career but the Mexico City commission changed the result to a technical draw and this is his seventeenth win since then. Paredes has lost a split decision and a majority decision against Chilean Jose Velasquez who challenged for the WBA super bantam title in November. Sanchez vs. Pacheco Another terrible mismatch saw Sanchez beat Pacheco in 60 seconds. Sanchez scored with a couple of hefty body punches that had Pacheco backing to the ropes and a right to the ribs dropped Pacheco who took the ten count kneeling in a corner. Eighteen wins by KO/TKO for “The Shark” but again nothing worth reporting. Pacheco hardly threw a punch. Cheswick, PA, USA: Super Feather: Avery Sparrow (11-3,1ND) W TKO 10 Matt Conway (20-3,1ND). Sparrow was not supposed to win this one. He had been beaten in his last two fights and with only three inside the distance wins did not look a danger. However he outlasted the favourite Conway in a war. By the tenth Conway had nothing left and Sparrow actually signalled to referee he should step in. He didn’t but a left from Sparrow sent Conway stumbling across the ring to the ropes and as Sparrow bombarded Conway with head punches the referee stopped the fight. Sparrow wins both the vacant IBA title and Pennsylvania State title. The No Decision on Sparrows record was a win that was changed to a ND when he tested positive for a banned substance. Conway had been outpointed by Gabriel Flores in February 2020 but had then won three in a row. Fight of the week (Significance): Having retained his WBO title Joe Smith can now look either to further defences or a unification fight. Fight of the week (Entertainment) Not much to get excited about this week. Fighter of the week: Joe Smith Punch of the week: The left hook to the body from Jade Bornea that finished Mohammed Obbadi was a corker. Upset of the week: Avery Sparrow (10-3,1ND) was an outsider against 20-2,1ND Matt Conway but stopped Conway late. Prospect watch: Puerto Rican super light Omar Rosario 6-0 was a top class amateur and is looking good as a pro. Observations: There is no doubt that the Fundora family like to do things in a big way. Super welterweight Sebastian is 6’5 ½” and his sister Gabriela although a flyweight is 5’9”. Taller than most welterweights. The IBF super flyweight eliminator between Jade Bornea and Mohammed Obbadi shows what a whacky sport ours is. The first two spots in the IBF ratings were vacant. Obbadi was No 3. He had gone from being unrated in the IBF ratings posted 10 January 2020 to No 3 in the ratings posted 2 February 2020 without even fighting and in fact did not have a single fight between December 2019 and April 2021! The situation was not nearly so blatant with Jade Bornea who went from unrated to No 7 for wins over unrated opponents with 10-10-1, 11-0-2 and 15-7-1 records. Putting that to one side the real condemnation of the IBF ratings is that the No 1 and 2 spots were vacant as to fill one of those spots you have to have a win over another rated fighter-and no one in their ratings qualified! But if you can get to No 3 without facing a rated opponent why take the risk-only in boxing is this stupidity tolerated and looked upon as “normal”. By Eric Armit
Highlights: - Nonito Donaire knocks out fellow-Filipino Reymart Gaballo in four rounds in WBC bantam title defence -Dmitry Bivol outclasses Umar Salamov in WBA light heavyweight title defence -Sunny Edwards outboxes Filipino Jayson Mama to retain the IBF flyweight title -Donnie Nietes gets split decision over Norberto Jimenez at super flyweight -Conor Benn kayos Chris Algieri in four rounds -Katie Taylor successfully defends her IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO lightweight title belts with points decision over Firuza Sharipova Kosei Tanaka, Tomoki Kameda, Robbie Davies, Marlon Tapales, Brandun Lee, Jared Anderson, Xander Zayas and Keyshawn Davis score wins. World Title/Major Shows December 11 Carson, CA, USA: Bantam: Nonito Donaire (42-6) W KO 4 Reymart Gaballo (24-1). Super Bantam: Marlon Tapales (35-3) W KO 2 Hiroaki Teshigawara (22-3-2). Super Light: Brandun Lee (24-0) W KO 7 Juan Heraldez (16-2-1). Welter: Cody Crowley (20-0) W PTS 10 Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (18-1). Cruiser: Andrew Tabiti (18-1) W KO 5 Mitch Williams (16-9-3). Welter: Custio Clayton (19-0-1 W PTS 10 Cameron Krael (18-20-3). Welter: Bryan Flores (31-2-1 W KO 1 Tyrone Luckey (15-16-4) Donaire vs. Gaballo Donaire shows the value of experience as he patiently hunts down the much quicker Gaballo and finishes the fight with a classic left hook to the body. Round 1 Donaire took the fight to Gaballo coming forward behind a strong jab. Gaballo tried to counter but Donaire showed a tight defence. Donaire rocked Gaballo with a right to the head and finished the round getting through with a couple of head shots. Score: 10-9 Donaire Round 2 Good round from Gaballo. He used his greater mobility to change angles and stabbed home jabs and then evaded Donaire’s counters. When Donaire managed to get Gaballo against the ropes and connected with a hard right to the head Gaballo banged back with two hard rights. Score: 10-9 Gaballo TIED 19-19 Round 3 An entertaining round. Both fighters had success when they traded punches. Donaire was still coming forward but Gaballo was spearing him with jabs. Donaire found the target with a series of punches and looked to have shaken Gaballo with a right just before the bell.` Score: 10-9 Donaire Donaire 29-28 Round 4 Donaire was stalking Gaballo trying to connect with right crosses. Gaballo was firing jabs but was generally out of range. Donaire landed a couple of good shots and then buried a left hook into the body of Gaballo. He went down on one knee then got up as the count reached eight but was in considerable pain and dropped straight back down and the referee completed the count. The 39-year-old 4-division champion was making the first defence of the WBC title. He won his first title back in 2007 and is 16-4 in title fights. A modern great. Gaballo, 25, showed enough to make it clear that he will be a force in this division and could fight for a title again in 2022. Tapales vs. Teshigawara Tapales crushes Teshigawara in two rounds. Teshigawara tried to box his way through the first round but southpaw Tapales gave him a taste of things to come and connected with two strong right hooks. He later took Teshigawara to the ropes and bombarded him with hooks and uppercuts with Teshigawara dropping back into the ropes. The referee decided the ropes had held Teshigawara up and administered a count. When the action resumed Tapales again landed a succession of punches from both hands dumping Teshigawara down heavily on the canvas against the ropes with less than ten seconds left in the round. Teshigawara clawed his way up but was staggering along the ropes during the count and the fight should have been stopped. When the eighth count was completed the round had ended during the count so Tapales had no time to land another punch. Tapales landed a right hook just six seconds into the second round and as Teshigawara went down the referee waived the finish. Former WBO bantam title holder Tapales move into the mandatory challenger slot for Murodjon Akhmadaliev’s IBF version of the super bantam title although on the same night Tomoki Kameda won an eliminator for Akhmadaliev’ s WBA version. Once Tapales began to connect Teshigawara was on borrowed time-and not much of that. Lee vs. Heraldez Lee makes it fifteen inside the distance wins in a row but has to go past the fourth round for the first time. Heraldez was firing jabs from the off trying to keep Lee from landing anything of note. However Lee did connect with a hard right. Heraldez boxed behind a tight defence but Lee was getting through with some useful shots and rocked Heraldez with left in the third. Lee was constantly scoring with five/six punch combinations . He had Heraldez hurt again with a right in the fourth but Heraldez was doing enough good work to stay in the fight. Lee kept up the pressure in the fifth and by the sixth Heraldez was beginning to tire from the effect of the body shots. Lee finished the job in the seventh driving a straight right to the chin of Heraldez sending him down and he was counted out. Only two of Lee’s 24 victims have gone the distance and those fights were both just four rounds. He has great power and needs tougher opposition to be tested as his 24 wins have taken him less than 50 rounds to complete. Heraldez had drawn with former IBF super featherweight champion Argenis Mendez in 2019 but was halted in three rounds by Regis Prograis in October 2020. Crowley vs. Abdukakhorov Canadian southpaw Crowley gets knocked down in the second but then outworks and outscores Abdukakhorov. The opener was a close round with Crowley forcing the action. As he came forward in the second a left from Abdukakhorov put him down. He recovered to score well with left crosses in the third but Abdukakhorov scored some good punches inside in the fourth. A punch from Crowley in the fifth had blood trickling from Abdukakhorov’s left ear and the Canadian took that round and the sixth. The seventh was edged by Crowley but Abdukakhorov closed out the eighth with a series of hard hooks. From there Abdukakhorov seemed to tire and Crawley swept the ninth and tenth. The judges all had Crowley winning but the scores were varied at 98-91, 97-94 and 95-94 for Crowley. Huge win for Crowley as Abdukakhorov was rated No 1 by the IBF. Abdukakhorov had scored wins over Keita Obara and Luis Collazo but was well beaten here. Tabiti vs. Williams Tabiti returns to action with a win. Action is probably not the right word as this was a dire spectacle. Both fighters seemed to be more interested in stopping the other guy from fighting so there was too much clinching. Both committed fouls in the first round. Tabiti struck Williams after the call to break and Williams promptly did the same knocking Tabiti down. Tabiti was not hurt and both boxers were given a warning. There was very little action in the second and third and Williams landed another punch after the break call in the fourth and was deducted a point. Thankfully it ended in the fifth with Tabiti firing a volley of punches and flooring Williams. It looks as though Williams just beat the count but the referee waived the fight over despite protests from Williams. This was Tabiti’s first fight since losing on a tenth round kayo against Yuniel Dorticos for the IBF title in June 2019 a bout which was a semi-final in the WBSS tournament. Williams drops to 1-5 in his most recent nights. Clayton vs. Krael Canadian Clayton gets back into action with a win. In his first fight since drawing with Sergey Lipinets in October 2020 in a fight for the IBF interim title. Clayton won on scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 96-94. Five losses in succession for Krael. New York, NY, USA: Light: Vasyl Lomachenko (16-2) W PTS 12 Richard Commey (30-4). Heavy: Jared Anderson (11-0) W TKO 2 Oleksandr Teslenko (17-2). Super Light: John Bauza (16-0) W KO 4 Michael Williams (19-1). Super Welter: Xander Zayas (12-0) W TKO 1 Alessio Mastronunzio (9-2). Light Heavy: Joe Ward (6-1) W TKO 1 Britton Norwood (10-4-1,1ND). Super Light: Keyshawn Davis (4-0) W TKO 2 Jose Zaragoza (8-4-1). 20 Lomachenko vs. Commey Lomachenko turns in a towering performance as he floors and outboxes Commey with a remarkable display of boxing skills. Round 1 Lots of careful probing at the start and really not much happened in the round. Commey was a little more active but Lomachenko was a little more accurate and that was enough to take a cautious opening round. Score: 10-9 Lomachenko Round 2 The old Lomachenko was back in this round. He was fast, constantly changing angles, bobbing and weaving around Commey’s punches and then banging home his own. He staggered Commey with a couple of lefts just before he bell. Score: 10-9 Lomachenko Lomachenko 20-18 Round 3 Commey was warned twice in the space of five seconds for holding. He knew he needed Lomachenko in close where his greater mobility could be smothered. Lomachenko was buzzing around Commey firing rapid shots from both hands and he landed a peach of a left hook with Commey reduced to throwing wild punches. Score: 10-9 Lomachenko Lomachenko30-27 Round 4 Another brilliant round for Lomachenko. Commey was throwing single shots whereas Lomachenko was firing his in clusters. There were too many punches and they were coming too quick for Commey to block or counter but Commey did land a few body punches in the middle of the round. Score: 10-9 Lomachenko Lomachenko 40-36 Round 5 Commey adopted a side-on approach in this round and by leaning over to his right presenting Lomachenko with a limited target. For a short while Lomachenko studied the best way to counter this and Commey was able to march forward and land some meaty body paunches. Lomachenko quickly adjusted and had Commey under fire again for the rest of the round. Score: 10-9 Lomachenko Lomachenko 50-45 Round 6 Commey managed to pin Lomachenko in a corner briefly and landed some good body shots. Lomachenko then spun around and now it was Commey in the corner and Lomachenko showered him with straight rights, hooks and uppercuts. Commey worked his way out of the corner but his stance was square-on again and Lomachenko threaded punches through Commey’s guard Score: 10-9 Lomachenko Lomachenko 60-54 Round 7 Commey started the round with a strong attack but then Lomachenko landed two left hooks which staggered Commey. Lomachenko then forced Commey to the ropes and landed a left hook dropping Commey. He was up at five but looked dazed. Lomachenko glanced at Commey’s corner inviting them to stop the fight but got no response. In his next attack a right unhinged Commey’s knees but he stayed upright and this time Lomachenko was gesturing to the referee to stop the fight. That did not happen and Lomachenko drove Commey into a corner and pounded away with the referee watching very closely but a gutsy Commey, although again near to going down, punched back enough for the referee to let him continue to the bell and he also passed a doctor’s examination. Score: 10-8 Lomachenko Lomachenko 70-63 Round 8 A good recovery by Commey. He was firing jabs and long shots to the body and having some success. Lomachenko hardly threw a punch in the first half of the round and Commey continued to get through with jabs and came out equal when they traded punches. Score:10-9 Commey Lomachenko 79-73 Round 9 Lomachenko picked up the pace in this round. Commey was able to score with long jabs but he lacked accuracy. Lomachenko cut loose with a barrage of punches driving home two hard uppercuts and landing shots to head and body Score: 10-9 Lomachenko Lomachenko 89-82 Round 10 Another master class. Lomachenko was constantly shifting angles firing rapid burst of punches to head and body. Commey was blocking some and Lomachenko wasn’t loading up of them but they were getting through. Commey landed a pair of rights but a left to the head rocked Commey at the bell. Score: 10-9 Lomachenko Lomachenko 99-91 Round 11 Brilliant boxing by Lomachenko. He was circling Commey constantly changing direction then darting inside whipping bursts of punches home. Commey never knew which angle Lomachenko was coming in from or going out so he did not know where to block or where to counter and Lomachenko gave a little skip after banging home seventh punches in one burst. They traded shots at the end and this time Commey managed to land some hard shots. Score: 10-9 Lomachenko Lomachenko 109-100 Round 12 Commey tried to stage a strong finish but once again he was being battered by punches from every angle and at times looked baffled and befuddled. He kept trying to come forward but just before the bell a series of Lomachenko punches sent him staggering into the ropes and it looked as though it might end then but Commey stayed upright. Score:10-9 Lomachenko Lomachenko 119-109 Official Scores: Judge Eric Marlinski 119-108 Lomachenko, Judge Tony Paolillo 117-110 , Judge Tom Schreck 119-108 The Ukrainian star was back to his best. A long way from the passive fighter who gave away the first six rounds against Teo Lopez. He was more like the Lomachenko of old and ready to be a big player and get into some massive fights. Former IBF champion Commey was outclassed but stuck to his task and he can still be a good test for any lightweight-except Lomachenko. Anderson vs. Teslenko Anderson dismantles Teslenko in two rounds. Anderson started the opening round fighting as a southpaw and immediately found gaps for his jab. He put Teslenko under pressure after shaking him with a right Teslenko tested Anderson’s chin with a couple of shots but all of the pressure was coming from Anderson. In the second Anderson turned orthodox and hunted the retreating Teslenko around the ring and connected with right that sent Teslenko down. He struggled to his feet but was on wobbly legs and the referee stopped the fight. The 22-year-old from Toledo has taken less than 24 rounds for his eleven inside the distance wins with his last two victims, Vladimir Tereshkin and Teslenko, having combined records of 39-1-1. Ukrainian-born Teslenko had been stopped in five rounds by Shawndell Williams in 2019 but was coming off a win. Bauza vs. Williams Puerto Rican southpaw Bauza annihilates Williams in four rounds. Despite conceding 5” in height some powerful shots from both hands from Bauza saw Williams go down once each in rounds one, two and three. The knockdown scores was doubled in the fourth as Bauza put Williams down twice before flattening him with a big right that saw the referee just waive the fight over. Impressive punching power by the 23-year-old who has seven wins by KO/TKO. Williams seemed to go over every time he was hit cleanly and he had built his record in the boxing backwoods of Alabama, Kentucky and North Carolina. Zayas vs. Mastronunzio Zayas out classes Italian Mastronunzio and bombs him out in the first round. Zayas started fast and dropped Mastronunzio with an overhand right less than fifteen seconds into the round. Mastronunzio was up quickly and did not look too badly shaken. He tried to come forward but Zayas’ hand speed was too much for him and he was put down by another right. He made it to his feet but was shaken time and again by electrifying combinations from Zayas and as yet another bunch of punches drove him reeling into the ropes the fight was stopped. Zayas again showed outstanding hand speed, power and accuracy and gets his ninth win by KO/TKO. Mastronunzio was just overwhelmed by the flashing fists of Zayas. Ward vs. Norwood Irish southpaw Ward stops Norwood in 95 seconds. Ward floored Norwood with a left early in the round and although Norwood beat the count he was shipping heavy punishment when the referee intervened to end the slaughter. One of the most decorated Irish amateur boxers Ward makes it six wins in twelve months. Second loss by KO/TKO for Norwood. Davis vs. Zaragoza Impressive power show from Davis as he wipes out Zaragoza in the second round. A stunning right hook to the chin had Zaragoza pitching forward and down. He made it to the vertical but then Davis again landed a right to the head before delivering the coup de grace in the shape of a rib bending left hook to the body that had Zaragoza writhing in agony on the canvas. Davis, 22, an Olympic silver medal winner in Tokyo looks a sure bet to be a champion in the future., Zaragoza never in with a chance of going the distance Ekaterinburg, Russia: Light Heavy: Dmitry Bivol (19-0) W PTS 12 Umar Salamov (26-2). Super Feather: Ruslan Kamilov (12-0-1) W KO 6 Dimitrii Khasiev (12-3-2). Super Feather: Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (16-0-1) W TKO 2 Sardor Muzaffarov (4-5). 15 Bivol vs. Salamov Round 1 Both boxers used the opening round just to study what the other one brought to the table. The obvious difference was in Salamov having almost 4” in height over Bivol and a longer reach but Bivol was much quicker and more mobile and did what little scoring there was. Score: 10-9 Bivol Round 2 Bivol was using his superior hand speed and quicker reflexes to stand in front of Salamov beating him to the punch and firing accurate lefts and rights. Salamov’s jab is not much of a weapon. Instead of snapping it out from bent to straight he was fully extending it and then pushing forward with his whole body making it slower and less powerful than Bivol’s. Score: 10-9 Bivol Bivol 20-18 Round 3 Salamov tried to put Bivol under pressure but it was not working. Bivol was easily avoiding Salamov’s ponderous rights and finding gaps for jabs and rights of his own and putting together some smart combinations. Score: 10-9 Bivol Bivol 30-27 Round 4 Bivol was in charge now. He was busier than Salamov probing for openings then slotting home jabs and quick rights. He was throwing so many jabs that Salamov was being forced to back up to try to get some space so he could counter. He looked dangerous with an occasional right but Bivol was aware of Salamov’s power and evaded those shots. Score: 10-9 Bivol Bivol 40-36 Round 5 Another round for Bivol. He just kept popping Salamov with jabs. He was changing angles and picking the time and place for adding some rights behind his jabs. Salamov has very little footwork . He was padding forward with his left fully extended trying to set Bivol up for a right cross but Bivol was too smart to get caught that way. Score: 10-9 Bivol Bivol 50-45 Round 6 Bivol was really warming to his task. In this round on three occasions he blasted Salamov with six or seven punch combinations. Each time Salamov dropped his hands and taunted Bivol but you don’t win points for that. Salamov did land a couple of rights but Bivol just shrugged them off. Score: 10-9 Bivol Bivol 60-54 Round 7 Bivol boxed on the back foot at the start of the round walking the advancing Salamov on to jab after jab. Over the last minute Bivol stepped up the pace driving into Salamov and showering him with lefts and rights to head and body. Score: 10-9 Bivol Bivol 70-63 Round 8 Salamov had some small success early in this round. Bivol was not throwing so many jabs and Salamov managed to land a couple of rights. Over the last minute once again Bivol was raking Salamov with straight shots, hooks and uppercuts although the punches were just bouncing off the big challenger. Score: 10-9 Bivol Bivol 80-72 Round 9 A similar pattern to the last round saw Salamov coming forward pushing out his left and connecting with a couple of rights. Bivol was content to just box on the retreat and slip home some jabs. Over the last minute Bivol again exploded with effective eye-catching bursts of punches. Score: 10-9 Bivol Bivol 90-81 Round 10 Finally a round for Salamov. Bivol hardly used his jab and that allowed Salamov to march forward throwing clubbing rights a few of those did land and with no late flourish from Bivol it was Salamov’s round. Score: 10-9 Salamov Bivol 99-91 Round 11 Bivol brought his jabs into play again. He was circling Salamov snapping out his jab with Salamov resorting to slow swings with his right which Bivol easily avoided. Bivol also picked up the pace again late drilling Salamov with lefts and rights. Score: 10-9 Bivol Bivol 109-100 Round 12 Salamov clipped Bivol with a right to the head early in the round and Bivol decided there was no point taking risks in a fight he knew he had won. He then really just stayed out of trouble and although Salamov connected with a couple of swings Bivol was never in any danger. Score: 10-9 Salamov Bivol 118-110 Official Scores: Judge Andri Baliasov 118-110 Bivol, Judge Joerg Milke 118-110 Bivol, Judge Giuseppe Quartarone 119-109 Bivol Bivol was making the third defence of the WBA title. He really needs a unification fight to raise his profile further and with their contrasting styles a fight with Artur Beterbiev would be a great attraction. Salamov had won his last nine fights. Kamilov vs. Khasiev Kamilov retains the WBO Inter-Continental title with sixth round victory over Khasiev. Kamilov floored Khasiev in the first but Khasiev was not finished and fought hard to make the fight close after five rounds. Kamilov, the WBO No 8, ended it with a body punch in the sixth in the third defence of his WBO belt. Khasiev had scoured inside the distance victories in his last four fights, Rakhimov vs. Muzaffarov Tajik-born southpaw Rakhimov crushes substitute Muzaffarov in two rounds. Rakhimov had drawn with Joseph Diaz in a challenge for the IBF super featherweight title in February when Diaz lost the title on the scales. Rakhimov was installed as the mandatory challenger and he was paired with Kenichi Ogawa for the vacant title but uncertainty over recovery time from an injury saw him step aside and be replaced by Azinga Fuzile. Ogawa beat Fuzile and must now fight Rakhimov. Uzbek Muzaffarov had lost his last three fights on majority decisions Dubai, UAE: Fly: Sunny Edwards (17-0) W PTS 12 Jayson Mama (16-0). Super Fly: Donnie Nietes (43-1-6) DREW 10 Norberto Jimenez (30-9-6). Light: Jono Carroll (21-2-1) W KO 2 Aelio Mesquita (20-5-1). Heavy: Bakhodir Jalolov (9-0) W KO 1 Julio Calimeno (4-2). Edwards vs. Mama Edwards cruises to victory over a limited Mama. Round 1 Fast jabs and nifty footwork from Edwards. He was flitting around Mama stabbing him with jabs then darting in to land a right. He was switching guards and was just too quick for Maya. Score 10-9 Edwards Round 2 Edwards was again switching guards and doing the scoring with his jab, He was also moving in quickly to score with overhand rights with Mama too slow to counter, Mama was warned twice for punches to the back of the head and then landed another blatant one which the referee ignored. Edwards was holding inside to smother Mama’s attacks and was cut high on his forehead from a clash of heads. Score: 10-9 Edwards Edwards 20-18 Round 3 Mama was given another warning about punches to the back of the head. The Filipino did a bit better connecting with some punches early but Edwards finished the round strongly scoring with bursts of punches. The fight was messy with too many clinches and there was blood running down Edwards face from the cut. Score: 10-9 Edwards Edwards 30-27 Round 4 A better round for Mama. He was closing the distance quicker and connecting with straight rights. He pressed hard and Edwards was moving more and punching less and Mama refused to be drawn inside where Edwards had been holding to prevent him working. Score: 10-9 Mama Edwards 39-37 Round 5 A close round. Mama again had some success but Edwards was moving and jabbing and then picking his moment to burst forward with a little group of punches and his greater accuracy just gave him the edge. Score: 10-9 Edwards Edwards 49-46 Round 6 Edwards was just too speedy for Mama. He was changing guard, changing direction and catching Mama with jabs and using quick foot work to be out of range when Mama tried to counter. Mama kept lunging forward but Edwards was too elusive for Mama to land. Score: 10-9 Edwards Edwards 59-55 Round 7 A frustrating round for Mama. He was stuck on the end of the jabs from Edwards. Mama seemed to have decided he would do better counter punching but he was not fast enough for that and his counters just swished air as Edwards piled up the points with his jab. Score: 10-9 Edwards Edwards 69-64 Round 8 Mama had a bit more success in this one. He was tracking the fleet-footed Edwards and managing to land some useful body shots. Edwards was doing more moving than punching early in the round and that outweighed an increase use of his jab by Edwards at the end of the round. Score: 10-9 Mama Edwards 78-74 Round 9 It was jab and move again, and then again from Edwards in this one. He would stop then jump in quickly with a punch then set off around the perimeter of the ring. Mama just could not move quickly enough to pose a threat but it was making for a far from entertaining g fight. Score: 10-9 Edwards Edwards 88-83 Round 10 Edwards scored a knock down in this round. He stepped past Mama and then landed a right which knocked Mama off balance. He was not hurt and bounced up indicating the punch had landed well behind his ear so he had a case. There was very little action in the round with a right from Edwards the only other punch of note. Score: 10-8 Edwards Edwards 98-91 Round 11 Repetition is the order of the day. Edwards just kept flitting around the ring occasionally stabbing out a jab-right or left- and then throwing an occasional power punch. He did stand and fire punches for a few brief seconds Score: 10-9 Edwards Edwards 108 100 Round 12 Edwards wrapped up the victory with a fairly active last round as he found the target a few times with jabs and following rights and a dispirited Mama was well beaten at the end. Score: 10-9 Edwards Edwards 118-109 Official Scores: Judge Vincent Dupas 117-110 Edwards, Judge Francis Jackson 118-109 Edwards, Judge Matteo Montella 118-109 Edwards. A comfortable title defence for Edwards as he showcased his skills against a challenger who was flattered by his No 3(2) rating by the IBF. He never at any time posed a threat to Edwards and his lack of speed allowed Edwards to pick his moment to fight or flee. With so many clinches it was not be any means an entertaining fight and the flyweight division whilst having some good title holders is not strong. Richie Sandoval is the mandatory challenger for Edwards and that will be different fight altogether. Mama was one-paced and that pace was too slow for him to be able to cut off the ring and force Edwards to fight the fight Mama wanted. Nietes vs. Jimenez Nietes and Jimenez fight to a draw in a bout marred by confusion at the end. Nietes won the early rounds as he outboxed Jimenez who was sluggish from the start. At times it looked as though Nietes might be on his way to a stoppage win but Jimenez was too resilient for that. Jimenez finally started to roll from the sixth and was eating into the Filipino’s lead. It looked close going into the tenth but Jimenez spent the tenth just avoiding contact and handing the round to Nietes. There was confusion as Jimenez’s team had believed it was a ten round fight but were now told it was for twelve rounds. It was agreed just to go with ten rounds and the scores were 96-94 Nietes, 96-94 Jimenez and 95-95 so giving away that last round away cost Jimenez a possible win. Nietes, 39, has a remarkable record with his only loss being a highly questionable one back in 2004 so he is now unbeaten in 36 fights over a 17-year spread and is a four-division champion. Jimenez is also in good form having lost only one of his last 32 fights and that loss was against Khalid Yafai for the WBA title. Carroll vs. Mesquita Easy night for Carroll against a pitiful Mesquita. Carroll put Mesquita down early in the first round but the referee ruled it a push. At the end of the round the referee reviewed his call and it was accepted as a genuine knockdown. Carroll scored two more knockdowns in the second and when he dropped Mesquita in the third the fight was stopped. Carroll lost a wide unanimous decision to Tevin Farmer for the IBF super feather title in March 2019 and lost a close verdict against Maxi Hughes in August last year. He has rebuilt with three wins including a majority decision over Andy Vences. Mesquita’s record looks decent but he is now 0-6-1 in fights outside of Brazil with five of those losses by KO/TKO. Jalolov vs. Calimeno After some preliminary sparring Jalolov connected with a straight left the floored Calimeno who showed no inclination to get up and was counted out. The 27-year-old 6’7” Uzbek southpaw won gold at the 2019 World Championships and at the Tokyo Olympics. His nine win have taken him less than sixteen rounds but against some very dire opponents. Colombian Calimeno could not wait to lie down and get out of there. Liverpool, England: Light: Katie Taylor (20-0) W PTS 10 Firuza Sharipova (14-2). Welter: Connor Benn (20-0) W KO 4 Chris Algieri (25-4). Super Light: Robbie Davies (22-3) W KO 2 Henry Lundy (31-10-1). Super Feather: Joe Cordina (14-0) W PTS 10 Miko Khatchatryan (13-1). Middle: Caolmhin Agyarko (10-0) W TKO 9 Noe Larios (14-1). Feather: Peter McGrail (2-0) W TKO 2 Engel Gomez (8-4-1). Taylor vs. Sharipova Taylor retains her four belts as she wins unanimous decision over tough challenger Sharipova. A close opening round saw both fighters scoring well. Taylor had the best of the exchanges in the second. Her speed and accuracy and powerful body punching gave her a big edge. The strong Sharipova was taking the fight to Taylor in a competitive third but Taylor outworked Sharipova in the fourth. Sharipova had her best round so far in the fifth again showing her strength by outpunching Taylor inside. Her good work was wasted when she lost a point in the sixth for hitting on the break. Sharipova tried to force her way inside over the seventh and eighth and although she had some success was made to pay by some sharp counters from Taylor as she came forward. Taylor boxed her way through the ninth and tenth with Sharipova putting on plenty of pressure but Taylor was a clear winner. Scores 98-92, 97-92 and 96-93 for Taylor . The Irish star holds the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO belts and the plan now is for a huge fight against Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano who has a 41-1-1 record and holds the WC, WBO and IBO titles at lightweight and has not lost a fight since 2012. Kazak Sharipova was in good form having won her last 14 fights Benn vs. Algieri Benn destroys Algieri with a brutal kayo. Benn was firing shots to the body from the start with Algieri jabbing to try to keep Benn out but Benn was able to reach Algieri with jabs. In the second Algieri was not showing much except a weak jab and a right to the side of the head sent him lurching across the ring and somehow ending almost hanging upside down over the bottom rope. He righted himself and got up as the referee counted with Algieri protesting he had tripped. Benn connected with some strong combinations in the third and was cleverly bobbing and weaving around and under Algieri’s jabs. Algieri was showing more life in the fourth coming forward and throwing more punches. With just seconds remaining in the round Benn landed a left and followed that with a thunderbolt-like straight right to the head that had Algieri pitching forward to the canvas and he was counted out. Benn again showed the power that has brought him thirteen inside the distance wins but also some improved defensive work. Former WBO super welterweight title holder Algieri, 37, was coming off a win in August over 22-2-1 Mikkel LesPierre so was in decent form and Errol Spence had previously been the only one to beat him inside the distance but he looked fragile whenever Benn connected. Davies vs. Lundy Davies blasts out a jaded-looking Lundy in two rounds. The fight was a bit untidy at the start with the referee warning both fighters for holding. Just seconds before the bell to end the first round Davies clipped Lundy with a right to the temple that unhinged Lundy’s legs but Davies was too wild with his punches to take full advantage of that. In the second Davies shook Lundy with a left to the head and later with a right and Lundy did not look at all steady on his legs. A right to the head sent Lundy tumbling into the ropes and half way through onto the ring apron. He struggled to untangle himself and get back up but was counted just as he made it to his feet. A loss to unheralded Gabriel Valenzuela in February had put questions over Davies’ future but this win will have boosted his confidence. He wins the vacant WBA Continental title. Lundy has been a great warrior but he failed to make the weight and looked a shot fighter in the second round and announced his retirement. Cordina vs. Khatchatryan Cordina takes unanimous decision over Khatchatryan. Both fighters had good skills with Cordina the harder puncher already putting together some crisp combinations in the first. Khatchatryan showed a nice jab but was light on power. Cordina upped his pace from the second. He was scoring with some hurtful body shots in the third but Khatchatryan fired back forcing Cordina to regroup. They both did some clowning in the fourth but on the serious side Cordina was hammering at Khatchatryan’s body with hooks with Khatchatryan firing back but not having the punch to dissuade Cordina. Cordina continued to advance behind a high guard aware that Khatchatryan could not hurt him and was then landing powerful hooks when he pinned Khatchatryan to the ropes. Cordina scored heavily in the ninth. He was winning the rounds but could neither hurt nor subdued Khatchatryan and despite plenty of punishment in the last Khatchatryan fought back hard to the bell. Scores 98-92 twice and 100-90 for Cordina. A former British and Commonwealth champion Cordina retains the WBC Continental title. Khatchatryan showed good skills and plenty of speed and only his lack of power let him down. Cordina’s only fight in the last nine months lasted just 53 seconds so Khatchatryan gave him some priceless ring time. Agyarko vs. Larios The 6’0” tall Larios had lots of high and reach over Agyarko but lacked any significant power. Agyarko was able to get past the jab of Larios and was looking to attack the body. Agyarko scored with a good left hook in the third which stung Larios into action and he connected with a strong left hook of his own. Larios went onto the front foot in the fourth and there were some fierce exchanges. Agyarko worked Larios over in a corner in the fifth and his harder punching was allowing him to dictate the fight and he was out jabbing the taller man. Agyarko continued to press and by the ninth Larios was being rocked time-and –again by right jabs. When he tried to stand and trade punches a left hook sent him staggering back across the ring to the ropes and as Agyarko followed up landing more punches the referee stepped in to stop the fight. Agyarko gets his seventh inside the distance and wins the vacant WBA International belt-his first pro title. Larios just could not compete with the power of Agyarko. McGrail vs. Gomez McGrail gets his first inside the distance win as he halts Gomez in the second. McGrail was busy in the first with plenty of southpaw jabs and straight lefts with Gomez too slow to cover or counter. McGrail was really putting his punches together in the second. Heads collided and McGrail was cut over his left eye but seconds later a driven straight left dropped Gomez on his back and the referee immediately stopped the fight. Good showing from the talented former European Championships and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner. Nicaraguan Gomez is 0-2 in fights in England. December 10 London, England: Cruiser: Isaac Chamberlain (13-1) W KO 1 Dilan Prasovic (15-2). Welter: Stephen McKenna (11-0) W Jack Ewbank W TKO 1(4-5). Super Light: Kaisee Benjamin (15-1-1) W KO 2 Wiston Campos (33-9-6). Chamberlain vs. Prasovic Chamberlain demolishes Prasovic inside a round. Prasovic looked useful as he connected with a sharp left hook and a right to the body. That was about it for him. Chamberlain landed a series of body punches that had Prasovic retreating and then scored with a left to the head and a left hook to the body and Prasovic went down. He managed to get up but too late and was counted out. Chamberlain’s only loss was on points over ten rounds against the current WBO champion Lawrence Okolie and COVID-19 and an injury have restricted him to five fights in the past three years. He wins the vacant IBF International belt. Prasovic was knocked out in three rounds by Okolie for the WBO title in September. He had been elevated to No 1 without a single win over a quality opponent and he was exposed again here. McKenna vs. Ewbank “The Hitman” continues to blow the opposition out of the water. He dropped substitute Ewbank twice and then trapped him on the ropes and unloaded with a fusillade of punches until the referee jumped in and halted the fight . The 24-year-old from Ireland makes it ten quick wins. Fifth loss on the trot for Ewbank. Benjamin vs. Campos Early night for Benjamin as he floors Campos in the first then puts him down and out in the second to get his eighth consecutive victory. Nicaraguan Campos had taken Josh Kelly the full ten rounds in losing to Kelly in December 2019. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Super Middle: Abraham Buonarrigo (10-2) W KO 4 Ezequiel Maderna (27-6). Super Middle: Victor Exner (7-8-1) W PTS 10 Ramon Lovera (15-2-1). Buonarrigo vs. Maderna Buonarrigo stops Maderna in four rounds. Maderna was a firm favourite in this fight but Buonarrigo dominated the action from the outset. He was able to get past the longer reach of the 6’2” Maderna to score to head and body inside. A combination to the head in the second had Madera unsteady and he was given a standing count. In the fourth two slashing uppercuts from Buonarrigo put Maderna down and he was counted out. Buonarrigo, the Argentinian No 4, had lost two of his last three bouts but he collected the vacant South American title with this victory. Maderna, a 2008 Olympian, had competed at a much higher level but is on the slope-downwards. Exner vs. Lovera Exner gets off the canvas to floor and then outpoint Lovera. This was intended to be a defence of the Argentinian title by Lovera against unrated Exner however on the day of the fight the Argentinian Boxing Federation withdrew recognition of it as a title fight. It looked to be going with the in-form Lovera when he put Exner on the floor in the first round. Exner recovered and dropped Lovera in the fifth. From there Exner took control and Lovera tired badly over the closing rounds. Scores 98-91, 97 ½ -91 and 96-92. Exner gets revenge for a three round loss to Lovera in 2018. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Super Welter: Alejandro Silva (18-0-1) W RTD 3 Yeison Gonzalez (15-6). Argentinian champion Silva makes it 16 wins in a row as he beats Venezuelan Gonzalez. Silva handed out severe punishment to Gonzalez over the first three rounds and Gonzalez did not come out for the fourth giving Silva his twelfth inside the distance finish. He also collects the vacant WBC Latino title. First fight for Gonzalez for 21 months. Dauis, Philippines: Light Fly: Mark Vicelles (15-0-1) W PTS 10 Toto Landero (11-7-2). Vicelles wins a tight unanimous decision over Landero. It was Landero who made the better start attacking hard in the first round. Southpaw Vicelles got into his stride with some accurate counters over the second and third but Landero’s higher work rate then saw him move into the lead by winning the fourth and fifth. Vicelles was finding gaps in the oncoming Landero’s guard and made it even by outscoring Landero in the sixth. The fight continued to swing from one to the other with the every rounds close. It was difficult to separate them at the end. Vicelles got the decision but it could have gone to either fighter. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 for Vicelles who makes it twelve successive wins. Landero is 1-6 in his most recent fights. Montebello, CA, USA: Super Middle: Ali Akhmedov (18-1) W TKO 1 Paul Valenzuela (26-11,1ND). Kazak Akhmedov continues his rebuilding programme as he demolishes Valenzuela in the first round. One left hook to the chin was all it took and the referee waived the fight off with no need for a count. When Akhmedov fought Carlos Gongora for the IBO title in December last year he was so far in front after eleven rounds that Gongora’s only chance was to score a knockout- which Gongora did with just a minute left in the fight. Valenzuela had gone the full tenth rounds in losing to unbeaten D’Mitrius Ballard four weeks ago. December 11 Nagoya, Japan: Bantam: Kosei Tanaka (16-1-0) W PTS 10 Sho Ishida (29-3). Tanaka takes a split decision in this clash of world rated fighters. Ishida clearly took the first round as Tanaka tried to box and Ishida used his substantial advantages in height and reach to score. Tanaka realised his mistake and from there stormed forward to work inside. Initially he was caught by some savage uppercuts as he came forward but began to land hurtful body shots and a left had Ishida bleeding from the nose in the fourth. Seeing his lead being eroded Ishida upped his pace over the second half of the fight scoring strongly with counters in the eighth but Tanaka was on top and finished strongly to emerge a good winner. Scores 96-94 and 96-95 for Tanaka and 96-95 for Ishida. Former WBO flyweight title holder Tanaka was having his first fight since losing to Kazuto Ioka in a challenge for the WBO super flyweight belt in December last year. Ishida was 24-0 before losing to Khalid Yafai for the WBA super fly title in 2017 and had won six of his seven fights since then. Hermosillo, Mexico: Super Bantam: Tomoki Kameda (38-3) W PTS 12 Yonfrez Parejo (24-5-1). Kameda wins WBA eliminator with unanimous verdict against Parejo. In a slow opening to the bout Kameda went out in front. He established his jab with some good work in the first and found the target with rights in the second switching his attack to the body in the third. Parejo just found Kameda too quick and strong. After a good fourth Kameda seemed to lose his way but he was back in the groove connecting with straight rights in the seventh. Parejo finally came in to the fight in the eighth and landed some useful body punches of his own in the ninth. The tenth and eleventh were close and Kameda took no risks in the last. Scores 118-110, 117-111 and 116-114 all for Kameda. Murodjon Akhmadaliev holds the IBF and WBA titles. Former WBO bantamweight champion Kameda is now the mandatory challenger for the WBA version of the title-with Marlon Tapales winning an IBF eliminator on the same night! Venezuelan Parejo past his best. Harrisburg, PA, USA: Super Middle: Christian Mbilli (20-0) W PTS 10 Ronald Ellis (18-3-2,1ND). Mbilli outworks Ellis and hardly lets him get even a toehold in the fight as he takes the decision. Pressure and work rate won this one for the French prospect. He attacked hard from the start constantly forcing Ellis to the ropes and bombarding him with punches. Ellis tried to fight fire with fire but quickly found that was the wrong tactic. He needed to create some space to box and counter Mbilli. Ellis had some success in the third and the sixth but after that the sheer pressure from Mbilli saw him capture the closing rounds. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91 for Cameroun-born Mbilli. Ellis heading in the other direction as after being 16-0-2 he now has three defeats in his last five fights. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Super Middle: Jesse Hart (27-3) David Murray (10-2-1). Jesse Hart continues campaign for a third title shot as he stops Murray in three rounds. Hart put Murray down in the first and again in the third. Murray made it to his feet in the third but was taking punishment and the fight was halted. In his title challenges Hart has lost a close decision to Gilberto Ramirez and a split decision against Joe Smith Jr. Murray was 9-1-1 going into this one but against a very different level of opponent to Hart. Cordoba, Argentina: Light: Matias Rueda (36-1) W Miguel Acosta (13-8-2). Rueda gets his eleventh successive victory but what should have been a routine win turned into a struggle. The show was title “The Rueda Knockout” but southpaw Acosta did not read the script and Rueda had to settle for a split decision on scores of 97-95 ½ and 95 ½-95 with the third judge having Acosta the winner by 96 ½ -96. Liege, Belgium: Super Feather: Faroukh Kourbanov (19-3) W PTS 12 Nicola Henchiri (10-6-2). Kourbanov wins the vacant European title with majority decision over Italian Henchiri. Scores 116-112 and 115-113 for Kourbanov and 114-114. This one was close but Henchiri’s team felt they had been robbed and complained that all three judges were French speaking. One judge was a Moroccan-born Dutchman another was Spanish and the third was French but since Kourbanov is a Kyrgyzstan-born Belgium it all gets a bit confusing. Kourbanov had been 3-3 going in with points losses to Devis Boschiero, Samir Ziani for this same title and unbeaten Joe Cordina in those six fights. Henchiri is a former European Union champion. Tours, France: Middle: Moughit El Moutaouakil (15-2-1) W Idaas Redjdal (10-2-2,1ND). El Moutaouakil wins the vacant French title in a split decision. They don’t come much closer than this as El Moutaouakil won on scores of 95-94 twice and 95-94 for Redjdal. El Moutaouakil lost in shot for this title in October. Redjdal falls to 2-2-2 in his last six contests. Windhoek, Namibia: Middle: Nkululeko Mhlongo (23-9-1) Lukas Ndafoluma (20-4,1ND) W. Fly: Immanuel Josef (12-4-1) W Muhsin Kizota (12-3). Super Light: Felesianu Albino (20-2-1) W TKO 4 Yohani Banda (8-7). Ndafoluma vs. Mhlongo Mhlongo gets off the floor to drop and stop home town fighter Ndafoluma. The fight started well for Ndafoluma as he put Mhlongo on the floor in the first but Mhlongo got up and survived to the bell. From there Mhlongo gradually took control of the fight and floored Ndafoluma in the sixth. Ndafoluma got through that crisis but Mhlongo continued to score heavily in the seventh and the referee stopped the fight in the eighth. Mhlongo “The South African Bulldog” wins the WBO African title. Defending champion Ndafoluma had won his last four outings. Josef vs. Kizota Namibian Josef takes comfort decision over Kizota. Although buzzed twice in head clashes Josef had no trouble handling the keen but limited Kizota. He had Kizota badly rocked in the seventh but failed to finish the job and had to settle for a points win. Scores 98-91 twice and 97-92 as Josef retains the WBO African belt. Tanzanian Kizota is 2-5 in his last seven fights. Albino vs. Banda Albino extends his unbeaten streak to 18 with stoppage of overmatched Banda. Albino weakened Banda with body punches and floored him in the third and again in the fourth with the fight being stopped. Albino gets his seventh inside the distance finish and Banda his fourth loss by KO/TKO. Szeligi, Poland: Super Feather: Radomir Obrusniak (5-0) W TKO 4 Caril Herrera (41-6,1ND).Light Heavy: Osleys Iglesias (4-0) W TKO 1 Rafael Sosa (61-17). Heavy: Marcin Siwa (24-0) W TKO 1 Adanna Deronja (7-3). Obrusniak vs. Herrera Obrusniak stops veteran Herrera in four. Obrusniak had a 6’” height advantage and a much longer reach and outscored Herrera with ease in the first. In the second a left from Obrusniak knocked Herrera off balance and he put his glove on the canvas to avoid going down but the referee missed that so no count. Obrusniak stepped up his attacks in the third and with Herrera soaking up too much punishment the fight was halted in the fourth. The 27-year-old southpaw was twice Polish Under-23 champion and won a bronze medal at the European Union Championships. He is Polish champion and wins then Polish International title. Uruguayan Herrera, 41, suffers only his fifth inside the distance defeat in his long career. Iglesias vs. Sosa Cuban southpaw Iglesias gets another quick win as he blasts out Sosa, another 41-year-old Uruguayan. Iglesias ended it in just 72 seconds meaning his four wins have taken him less than six rounds to accomplish. Iglesias was a top level amateur and could be a serious threat in this division. Eighth inside the distance defeat for Sosa. Siwa vs. Deronja Siwa destroys Deronja with a fierce attack. In the first thirty seconds of the fight Siwa landed a series of punches that put Deronja on the floor. He got up but was wobbling about and in no condition to continue. Twelfth quick win for Siwa but his victims have all been carefully selected and Bosnian Deronja falls into that category. Baden, Switzerland: Welter: Andranik Hakobyan (16-1-2) W PTS 10 Alessandro Fersula (6-1). Armenian-born Swiss Hakobyan wins the vacant WBFederation Inter-Continental title as he outpoints Italian Fersula. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91. Hakobyan, 32, is 6-0-1 in his last seven bouts. Fersula really just a prelim fighter with his six victories scored over fighters with five wins between them so he did well to go ten rounds. Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Super Light: Shohjahon Ergashev (21-0 W KO 1 Aekkawee Kaewmanee (23-14). A ridiculous mismatch sees Ergashev destroy Kaewmanee in one round. The 40-year-old Thai was 5” smaller than Ergashev and much slower. Ergashev drove Kaewmanee to his knees under a pile of punches. Kaewmanee got up and tried to put some pressure on Ergashev but was flattened by a devastating right uppercut and needed medical attention before recovering. The Uzbek southpaw is based in Detroit. He has won 19 of his fights by KO/TKO and has victories over reasonable level opposition in Mykal Fox, Abdiel Ramirez and Adrian Estrella but needs to move to some real tests if he is to justify his No 4 rating with the IBF. Eighth inside the distant loss for poor Kaewmanee Fight of the week (Significance): Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Richard Commey putting Lomachenko in the frame for any one of the exciting fights in the lightweight division Fight of the week (Entertainment)Some goodies but none that really stirred me Fighter of the week: Nonito Donaire who just goes on and on with honourable mention to Lomachenko Punch of the week: There were so many. Keyshawn Davis produced two a left hook and a ,left uppercut which destroyed Jose Zaragoza and the body punch from Donaire that finished Reymart Gaballo but I go for the straight right from Conor Benn that had Chris Algieri out on his feet. Upset of the week: Things mainly went the way of the favourite but Canadian Cody Crowley’s win over unbeaten IBF No 1Kudratillo Abdukakhorov was a shock-to the IBF! Prospect watch: Some coming up but need more time to be assessed Observations Rosette: To those putting on the huge shows in Dubai, Liverpool, Carson and New York making it a great boxing weekend Red Card; For whoever thought it would be good for boxing to match 5’10 ½” 19-0 17 KO TKO wins Shohjahon Ergashev against 40-year-old 5’5 ½” Thai Aekkawee Kaewmanee A strange weekend with title fights between Arsen Goulamirian vs. Aleksi Egorov, John Riel Casimero vs. Paul Butler and then Butler vs. Joseph Agbeko all called off for differing reasons. There are a number of former members of the Cuban elite boxing team now fighting pro. The one I would love to see doing so is Andy Cruz-why? Well Keyshawn Davis looks a great talent sure to follow in the footsteps of Shakur Stevenson etc. S why Cruz 2019 World Championships Davis won a silver medal beaten in the final 5-0 by Andy Cruz 2019 PanAmerican Games Davis won a silver medal beaten in the final by Andy Cruz 4-1 2020 Olympic Games Davis won a silver medal beaten in the final 4-1 by Andy Cruz Better hope he stays amateur Keyshawn” Sanctioning body madness. I hope Murodjon Akhmadaliev has a split personality because at the week end Tomoki Kameda won a final eliminator to fight for Akhmadaliev’ s IBF title and Marlon Tapales won a final eliminators for Akhmadaliev’s WBA title!! By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Devin Haney retains the WBC lightweight title with unanimous decision over Joseph Diaz -Anthony Yarde gets revenge as he knocks out Lyndon Arthur in four rounds to win the Commonwealth light heavyweight title -Kevin Lejarraga knocks out Jack Flatley in European welterweight title defence -In heavyweight action Michael Hunter and Jerry Forrest fight to a draw, Filip Hrgovic gets a win and Lucas Brown revives his career with kayo of Faiga Opetu World Title/Major Shows Atlantic City, NJ, USA: Super Feather: Christian Tapia (13-0 W TKO 10 Iron Alvarez (14-1). Welter: Anthony Young (23-2) W PTS 8 Luis Sanchez (9-2). Light: Nestor Bravo (20-0) W KO 3 Vitor Jones (16-6). Tapia vs. Alvarez Tapia scores stoppage of Alvarez in the tenth. Alvarez was 5” taller than Tapia and his jab was his best weapon but Tapia was able to bob and weave his way inside and batter Alvarez with hooks and uppercuts. Tapia was relentless and although Alvarez scored with some hard counters he was usually found against the ropes covering up under a barrage of punches from Tapia. By the eighth Alvarez had little left and Tapia was connecting with clubbing shots with very little coming back from Alvarez. In the ninth Alvarez was shaken by straight rights from Tapia. Alvarez still had some spirit remaining in the tenth but when Tapia drove him into a corner and landed a couple of heavy punches the referee stopped the fight. Seventh inside the distance victory in a row Puerto Rican Tapia who had knocked out experienced Mason Menard in July. Alvarez was going up to ten rounds for the first time but could not match Tapia's work rate or his power. Young vs. Sanchez Young extends his winning streak to twelve as he edges past Puerto Rican Sanchez on a split decision. No scores available. Bravo vs. Jones Fourteen is the number for Bravo as the Puerto Rican gets win No 14 by KO/TKO with knockout of Brazilian Jones in three rounds. Only the second fight in two years for Bravo. Jones is 0-5 in fights outside of Brazil. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Light: Devin Haney (27-0) W PTS 12 Joseph Diaz (32-2-1). Super Light: Montana Love (17-0-1) W TKO 3 Carlos Diaz (29-2). Super Light: Jessica McCaskill (11-2) W TKO 7 Kandi Wyatt (10-4). Heavy: Filip Hrgovic (14-0) W TKO 3 Emir Ahmatovic (10-1). Fly: Ricardo Sandoval W TKO 3 (20-1) W Carlos Buitrago (32-7-1). Haney vs. Diaz Haney remains WBC champion as he takes unanimous decision over Diaz. Round 1 Good opening round for Haney. With his longer reach and hand speed he was able to score on Diaz with jabs and also connected with some rights. Diaz was following Haney around just hiding behind a guard and hardly threw a punch. Score: 10-9 Haney Round 2 Lovely boxing from Haney. He was using his left to slot home jabs but also to stop Diaz setting himself for an attack. He also put together a couple of useful combinations. Diaz was much more active than in the first and managed to force Haney to the ropes a couple of times and landed with hooks but Haney scored consistently and drove hooks to Diaz’s body Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 20-18 Round 3 Haney was circling Diaz and then stepping in with quick burst of punches. Diaz was not having much success in cutting the ring off and so most of the action was in the centre of the ring where Haney’s movement and hand speed gave him the edge Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 30-27 Round 4 Diaz did a much better job of closing Haney down. He was coming forward much quicker and connecting with hooks to the body even out jabbing Haney at times. At one point Diaz lifted Haney of his feet and tossed him to the floor and was warned by the referee. Score: 10-9 Diaz Haney 39-37 Round 5 Haney was back in control. He was finding gaps in Diaz’s high guard for jabs and firing rights to the body. Diaz managed to land some to the body but Haney kept the action to the centre of the ring and picked Diaz off with long rights. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 49-46 Round 6 Another round for Haney. He was threading jabs through Diaz’s high guard and then firing straight rights through the same gaps. Diaz managed to get home with some hooks to the body but mostly he was tracking Haney but not able to close Haney down. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 59-55 Round 7 A closer round because Haney chose to stand in front of Diaz instead of moving. That allowed Diaz to get home hooks to the body and he cracked Haney with a left hook to the head. He was also doing a better job of blocking Haney’s punches. Haney was still finding gaps but some of his body punches had been going low in every round. Score: 10-9 Diaz Haney 68-65 Round 8 Haney went back to constant movement being too quick for Diaz to cut off the ring. Haney was banging home jabs and lightning quick rights and then tying Diaz up inside. He was still landing low with an occasional rights but getting plenty on target too. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 78-74 Round 9 Haney used lots of movement circling Diaz and jolting him with rapier-like jabs and fast rights. Diaz was too often static in front of Haney allowing Haney to pick his spots and he also caught Diaz with some punishing counters. Diaz plugged away but with little success. Haney was finally warned for low punches. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 88-83 Round 10 This one could have been scored either way. For much of the round Haney stayed in front of Diaz giving Diaz the chance to do some useful scoring. He sent home some right hooks and a good left to the head. Late in the round Haney put together some crisp combinations but Diaz just had the edge. Score: 10-9 Diaz Haney 97-93 Round 11 Movement and hand speed won this one for Haney. Diaz just could not hunt him down and meanwhile Haney was doubling up on his left hooks banging home straight rights and uppercuts and outscoring Diaz Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 107-102 Round 12 Diaz was on fire for the first half of the round driving Haney back and landing hooks from both hands with Haney seeming content to just get through the round. That then changed with Haney taking charge and Diaz being driven back as Haney connected with punch after punch to take the round. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 117-111 Official Scores: Judge Dave Moretti 117-111 Haney, Judge Tim Cheatham 116-112 Haney, Judge Max DeLuca 117-111 Haney. Third title defence for the 23-year-old “The Dream”. He had beaten Yuriorkis Gamboa and Jorge Linares in his other two defences and looked better here than when he made hard work of beating Linares. Naturally unification is on his mind. Former IBF super featherweight champion Diaz has had weight problems in the past. After losing to Gary Russell in a challenge for the WBC featherweight title he beat WBA featherweight title holder Jesus Rojas but could not win the title as he came in over weight. He also lost his IBF super feather when he did not make the weight for his first defence. He moved up to lightweight and won the interim WBC title in July with a victory over Javier Fortuna. Love vs. Diaz Love stops Diaz in three rounds. Love made a strong start and landed some savage body punches in the first. Love floored Diaz early in the second with a hard left and an accurate right. Diaz managed to get up but was put down again seconds later. He was up and did not look too badly shaken but was put down by an uppercut-and there was still a minutes remaining in the round. Despite the knockdowns Diaz fought back hard and was still standing at the bell. A series of punches from Love in the third brought the referee’s intervention over protests from Diaz. Love, 26, had beaten Ivan Baranchyk on a seventh retirement in August so could turn out to be a force in an already crowded super lightweight division. Diaz was knocked out in five rounds by Jose Zepeda in 2018. McCaskill vs. Wyatt McCaskill retains her five titles with inside the distance victory over Wyatt. McCaskill tried to blow Wyatt away with a fierce attack in the first which had Wyatt reeling. McCaskill left herself open for counters as she continued to attack in the second and Wyatt managed to get through with some good shots of her own. McCaskill continued to land heavily over the next three rounds with Wyatt doing enough to stay in the fight but was taking punishment. A series of head and body punches in the sixth had Wyatt in trouble. The referee had warned at the end of the sixth round he would stop the fight if Wyatt continued to take a beating and he did so after a flurry of punches from McCaskill in the seventh. The 37-year-old from Chicago holds five titles the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC and WBO. She lost to Katie Taylor in 2017 and beat Cecilia Braekhus in 2020. Canadian Wyatt suffers her third loss in a row. Hrgovic vs. Ahmatovic Hrgovic stops substitute Ahmatovic after three one-sided rounds. Hrgovic had height and weight over Ahmatovic and in the first used powerful jabs to land at distance and rocked Ahmatovic with clubbing head shots. Hrgovic scored with thudding right in the second and when Ahmatovic tried to trade punches he was sent down under a under a bundle of rights. He was up at eight but went down again and when he arose the bell went. Hrgovic clubbed Ahmatovic to the canvas in the third and the referee waived the fight over. Hrgovic was defending the IBF International belt and gets his twelfth inside the distance victory. He has power but is cumbersome and one of these days he is going to be disqualified as he has a propensity to treat the back of an opponent’s head a legitimate target. Serbian-born German Ahmatovic lacked the experience to be a match for Hrgovic. e was up at eight but driven to his knees. He arose and the bell went. Sandoval vs. Buitrago Sandoval stops Buitrago in the seventh. Sandoval was quicker, busier and more accurate than the experienced Nicaraguan. Sandoval was able to use his height and long reach to score well with his jab and to keep Buitrago on the back foot. Sandoval switched guard at times and in the third was adding neck-snapping uppercuts to the diet of jabs and straight rights he was feeding Buitrago. When Sandoval stood inside it gave Buitrago a chance to connect with some hooks but he was taking steady punishment. Sandoval landed series of heavy rights in the fifth and Buitrago showed signs of wilting. It was one-way traffic in the sixth with a tiring Buitrago just trying to survive and the referee indicated unless things improved for Buitrago he would stop them fight. Early in the seventh as Sandoval bombed Buitrago with punches the referee did as he threatened and stepped in to save Buitrago. Sandoval’s kayo of Jay Harris in June lifted him into the No 1 spot with the IBF and he accepted this fight at short notice to stay busy as he waits for a date for a title shot at Sunny Edwards. Buitrago also took the fight without a lot of time to prepare as he had not had a fight since October 2020. Buitrago has had four title shots but his recent form shows him as 2-5 with three of the losses in title fights. December 2 New York, NY, USA: Heavy: Jerry Forrest (26-4-2) DREW 10 Michael Hunter (20-1-2). Heavy: George Arias (17-0) W PTS 10 Cassius Chaney (21-1) W George Arias (17-0) W PTS 10. Heavy: Mike Balogun (18-0) W TKO 1Trey Lippe (18-1). Forrest vs. Hunter Hunter looks fortunate to get away with a majority draw against Forrest. Hunter made the more positive start firing shots looking to blow Forrest away. He shook Forrest a couple of times but Forrest settled into the fight coming forward behind a high guard and making Hunter work hard in every round. As the fight progressed Forrest began to eat into the lead Hunter had established with his early aggression. By the end of the eighth Hunter had run out of gas and only just managed to make it though those last two rounds with Forrest looking to have done enough to take the decision. Scores 96-94 Forrest, 96-94 Hunter and 95-95. In Forrest’s last fight in February he was down in each of the first three rounds but battled back to earn a draw. This was a huge result for Forrest who was trying to get revenge for a loss to Hunter way back in 2014. Forrest was unrated and Hunter was WBA No 2 now the WBA has to make a decision on what you when an unrated fighter leaves you with egg on your face. A draw with Alexander Povetkin and wins over Martin Bakole, Sergey Kuzmin, and Mike Wilson had seen Hunter flying high now his No 2 spot has to be at risk. Arias vs. Chaney Arias wins split decision over Chaney in a clash of unbeaten heavyweights. Chaney at 6’6” was 6” taller than Arias but Arias chose to box on the outside early which suited Chaney who collected those rounds. Arias came into the fight in the third rocking Chaney with a left. The pace was slow in this fight and there was not a lot of action over the middle rounds. Chaney seemed reluctant to take any risks and his output dropped with Arias by no means busy but busier than Chaney and that was enough to give him the edge in some very strange scoring of 99-91 and 97-93 for Arias and 96-94 for Chaney. Only five inside the distance victories for Dominican Arias and at 6’0” he is small for today’s heavyweights. He was giving away 24lbs to Chaney. For Chaney this is a big setback as at 32 time is not on his side. Balogun vs. Lippe Balogun wipes out Lippe in one round. Balogun was on target early and dropped Lippe. He managed to get up and come forward punching but was down again from a combination of punches. Lippe made it to his feet but was wobbling and the referee stopped the fight. Balogun, 38, gets his ninth first round win and Lippe, the son of Tommy Morrison, gets a taste of reality. December 3 Bilbao, Spain: Super Welter: Kevin Lejarraga (34-2) W KO 9 Jack Flatley (17-2-1). Super Middle: Damian Biacho (12-0) W RTD 7 Guillermo Rivero (8-1-1). Super Light: Jonathan Alonso (21-1) W PTS 8 Mohamed El Marcouchi (28-3). Super Fly: Samuel Carmona (6-0) W TKO 1 Luis Villa (13-3-2). Super Light: Campbell Hatton (5-0) W KO 2 Attila Csereklye (10-25). Lejarraga vs. Flatley Lejarraga knocks out Flatley in European title defence. It looked as though this one might be over in the first three minutes as Lejarraga landed some good body punches then dropped Flatley with a left. Flatley recovered and had a good second round and used his longer breach to score with some good counters through Lejarraga’s leaky defence. From the fifth Lejarraga continued to take the fight to Flatley and the Englishman survived with some nifty movement and good defensive work but he was being weakened by some hurtful body punches. The end was near after Flatley was floored in the eighth and Lejarraga ended it in the ninth. He connected with a left to the body and a thundering short right to the head. Flatley went down heavily on his back and the referee waived the fight over. The “Revolver” was defending the title he won in September with a technical decision over Frenchman Dylan Charrat and a return with Charrat may be next for Lejarraga. Former English champion Flatley had at best tenuous rights to a title shot but he was competitive until the heavier punching from Lejarraga wore him down. Biacho vs. Rivero Biacho wins the vacant Spanish title with victory over local fighter Rivero. This was Rivero’s first fight since March 2019 and he was never able to get a foothold in the fight. Biacho softened Rivero up with body punches before dropping him in the third and twice more in the sixth with the bell saving Rivero. Biacho scored another knockdown in the seventh and Rivero did not come out for the eighth. Biacho was defending the national title. Alonso vs. El Marcouchi “Maravilla” Alonso impresses as he outboxes Belgian El Marcouchi. The visitor did what he could to hustle, bustle and rough up Alonso but to no effect as Alonso was in charge from bell to bell and all three judges scored it 80-72 for the Dominican-born Spaniard. Alonso was out for 19 months before returning with a win in July. Alonso, who reportedly won 98 of 110 amateur fights, suffered his only pro defeat when he lost to Alberto Puello for the interim WBA super light title in July 2019 when all three judges gave it to Puello 115-113- so as close as it gets. El Marcouchi had lost only one of his last 27 fights but showed nothing here. Carmona vs. Villa Olympian Carmona gets his fourth inside the distance victory as he stops Villa in ninety seconds. Carmona was an outstanding amateur and is a significant addition to the flyweight ranks in Europe. Third consecutive loss for Mexican Villa. Hatton vs. Csereklye Hatton, 20, gets his first inside the distance victory as he floors Csereklye twice in the first round and again in the second. Hutton is the son of Ricky Hatton. Ninth loss in a row for Hungarian Csereklye. London, England: Feather: Luis Lopez (24-2) W KO 7 Isaac Lowe (21-1-3)).Bantam: Charlie Edwards (17-1) W TKO 2 Jacob Barreto (13-4). Lopez vs. Lowe Mexican Lopez wins IBF final eliminator with kayo of Lowe. Lopez showed his power within the first few seconds of the fight as he floored Lowe with a left hook. Lowe beat the count and fought back hard in an exciting opening round. The danger was not past and a right from Lopez put Lowe down again in the second. In a repeat of the earlier action Lowe got up and stood and traded punches with Lopez to the bell. Being four points behind after two rounds may have affected Lowe’s approach as he too often allowed himself to be dragged into exchanging punches instead of boxing and was rocked again at the end of the third. Despite that Lowe was working hard and connecting with some good shots. Lopez was not as accurate but still dangerous and clearly the harder puncher. Lopez upped his pace in the seventh launching a fierce attack and landing a series of punches that had Lowe reeling and a left to the body sent him down and he just failed to beat the count. Position 1 and 2 are vacant in the IBF ratings and since neither Lopez (No 5) nor Lowe (No 8) had beaten an IBF ranked boxer so neither could go to 1 or 2 but with both ranked this win will make Lopez the mandatory challenger for Kiko Martinez. Mexican Lopez, 28, was 11-1 in his last twelve fights with wins over Andy Vences and Gabriel Flores Jr with the loss coming against Ruben Villa. Former Commonwealth and WBC International champion Lowe had won his last seven fights and at 27 can come back stronger. Edwards vs. Barreto No problems for former undefeated WBC flyweight champion Edwards. A left hook dumped Barreto in a corner and the fight was over with the referee seeing Spaniard Barreto was unable to continue. An easy night’s work for Edwards. Barreto a lamb to the slaughter. Ilsenburg, Germany: Middle: Denis Radovan (15-0-1) W RTD 7 Brian Rose (32-8-1). Super Welter: Abass Baraou (11-1) W PTS 10 Meriton Karaxha (29-6-3). Middle: Patrick Wojcicki (15-0-1) W KO 6 Alexander Pavlov (12-3). Super Middle: Christina Hammer (27-1,1ND) W TKO 1 Daniele Bastieri (3-2). Light Heavy: Leon Bunn (16-0) W PTS 8 Iago Kiziria (5-3). Radovan vs. Rose Radovan retains the IBF European belt as Rose retires after seven rounds due to a swelling affecting his vision. After a couple of even rounds Radovan began to exert plenty of pressure but Rose was countering well. Both scored with good shots in the fourth but by the end of the round there was swelling around the left eye of Rose. The Englishman put in a big effort in the fifth but Radovan was taking control. Left jabs from Radovan increased the swelling in the sixth as they swapped hard punches with Rose’s output dropping. Rose was deducted a point in the seventh for a low punch and with his vision affected by the swelling around his eye Rose did not come out for the eighth. Second defence of the IBF European belt for Radovan. Rose had lost on points to Sergio Martinez in September. Baraou vs. Karaxha Baraou takes unanimous verdict over Karaxha. Baraou controlled much of the fight with hard accurate jabs and some powerful rights. Karaxha was under constant pressure but competed well. Baraou was firing some impressive combinations and built a substantial lead but Karaxha fought strongly over the seventh and eighth before Baraou finished put in a big effort over the ninth and tenth to emerge the winner on all three cards. Scores 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93 for Baraou who gets his second win since losing a split decision against Jack Culcay in August last year. He remains a big threat in this division. Belgian-based Albanian Karaxha had gone 11-0-2 in his previous 13 fights. Wojcicki vs. Pavlov Wojcicki returns after more than two years out of the ring and disposes of Pavlov in six rounds. Wojcicki had no trouble outboxing the inexperienced Pavlov. He got in some valuable ring time before ending it in the sixth. He drove Pavlov to the ropes and put him down and out with a couple of head punches. Only the IBF knows why with the first two positions in their middleweight ratings vacant why Wojcicki who has never faced a rated fighter and has been inactive for two years is their highest rated fighter at No 3. Pavlov lacked the skill and experience to compete against Wojcicki Hammer vs. Bastieri Unfortunate ending in this one as Bastieri is unable to continue after suffering an injury. Southpaw Bastieri missed with a punch and then turned away in pain having dislocated her right shoulder. Hammer had spent 2021 trying to qualify for the Olympic Games but failed to get through to Tokyo. Her only loss came against Claressa Shields in April 2019. Brazilian Bastieri lost in nine rounds against Savannah Marshall in August 2019 Bunn vs. Kiziria Disappointing performance from Bunn in his first fight for 14 months as he struggles to majority verdict over Georgian neophyte Kiziria. Scores 77-75 twice and 76-76. Domestic wins over Leon Harth and Enrico Koelling have seen Bunn rated WBO 6/WBC 9 but on this performance his No 11 with the EBU looks more realistic. Kiziria had shown well in losing only on a split verdict against 27-1 Wanik Awdijan but then lost to a fighter with a 3-0 record Turin, Italy: Feather: Davide Tassi (13-0) W PTS 10 Jacopo Lusci (6-9-1). Super Feather: Daniele Limon (18-8-1) W PTS 10 Hassan Nourdine (13-6). 4 Tassi vs. Lusci Tassi wins a wide unanimous verdict over Lusci in a national title defence. Southpaw Tassi was just too quick and too clever for Lusci who was never really able to exert enough pressure on the constantly moving champion. Tassi was down in the eighth but it was a slip. There was concern as Tassi seemed to have injured himself in the slip but was given a little recovery time and was able to continue and boxed his way to victory. Scores 99-91 twice and 99-92 for Tassi who is in his second reign as champion. Lusci, 33, had lost in a shot at the super bantamweight title in 2019 Limon vs. Nourdine Limon is Italian champion again as he outpoints champion Nourdine. Limon looked to use his skill and movement to blunt the attacks of the aggressive Nourdine. Limon worked well with his jab scoring at distance and building a slight lead over the first half of the fight but Nourdine did some good work when he was able to get inside. Limon built on that with a good sixth but his legs were unhinged by a right in the seventh. Limon recovered and the closing rounds were close. Scores 97-94 twice and 97-93 for Limon. He is a former featherweight champion and has also lost in shots at this same super featherweight title and three times at the super bantamweight. Moroccan-born Nourdine loses his title in his first defence. Panama City, Panama: Minimum: Oscar Collazo (4-0) W TKO 3 Pedro Villegas (13-2). Fly: Gilberto Pedraza (19-8-2) W PTS 8 Gabriel Ramirez (10-23-1). Collazo vs. Villegas Outstanding Puerto Rican prospect Collazo wins a title in only his fourth pro fight. He ended this one with three knockdowns in the third round and took the vacant WBO NABO title. He is 24 and a former Pan American Games gold medallist so one to follow. After eight wins Ecuadorian Villegas is 1-2 in his last three bouts. Pedraza vs. Ramirez Pedraza snaps a five-bout losing streak as he floors and decisions Ramirez. Pedraza put Ramirez down in the second and won on scores of 80-71 on the three cards. Mexican Ramirez has lost 7 of his last 8. Villa Maria, Argentina: Middle: Gerardo Vergara (15-0) W PTS 10 Diego Ramirez (24-6-1). Vergara retains the Argentinian title as he outpoints Ramirez. The fight started badly for Vergara as a punch from Ramirez busted his nose open and he continued to bleed form the nose throughout the fight. The taller Ramirez took the first two rounds but Vergara battled black and repaid Ramirez bringing blood from Ramirez’s nose in the third. Vergara’s strength and harder punch began to tell and he won the late rounds forcing Ramirez to the ropes and handing out steady punishment. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 ½ although Vergara looked a clearer winner than the scores indicate. First defence of the national title for Vergara. Ramirez was having his second shot at the title. December 4 London, England: Light Heavy: Anthony Yarde (22-2) KO 4 Lyndon Arthur (19-1). Super Welter: Hamzah Sheeraz (14-0) W TKO 9 Bradley Skeete (29-4). Light Sam Noakes (8-0) W TKO 9 Shaun Cooper (11-3). Yarde vs. Arthur Yarde gets his revenge as he kayos Arthur in the fourth round. For the first three rounds this followed the pattern of their first fight. Arthur was boxing on the retreat using his longer reach to spear the advancing Yarde with jabs and then smothering Yarde’s work by holding on the inside. Yarde started with plenty of fire but Arthur’s tactics had him frustrated and Arthur scored with two heavy rights at the end of the third round. After Arthur landed another right in the fourth Yarde launched a furious attack. He drove Arthur along with ropes firing punches until two rights dropped Arthur and he was counted out. Sweet revenge for Yarde who had lost a split decision to Arthur in December. Yarde wins the Commonwealth and WBO Inter-Continental titles. Arthur was No 1 with the WBO and with Frank Warren having a good working relationship with the WBO Yarde could be fighting for the WBO title early next year. A huge blow for Arthur who was making the third defence of the Commonwealth title. Sheeraz vs. Skeete Sheeraz gets controversial win over Skeete. From the start Skeete was boxing quite brilliantly. He was constantly moving, changing direction, changing guard and slotting punches through the guard of Sheeraz. Although Sheeraz was much the bigger man with the longer reach he just could not pin Skeete down and it was Skeete who was piling up the points. Sheeraz managed to land some heavy punches but never had Skeete in any trouble and Skeete looked to have won the early rounds. Sheeraz finally hunted Skeete down in the eighth and landed two heavy rights. He caught Skeete with a glancing blow as Skeete went down but then landed two substantial punches when Skeete was clearly on the floor. Instead of disqualifying Sheeraz the referee chose to give Skeete ample time to recover. Skeete was not surprisingly reluctant to get up and box on but he did. Sheeraz closed on Skeete in the ninth and connected with two rights that saw Skeete drop to one knee. He watched the referee’s count and made it to his feet but had been counted out. The incident of the punches landed when Skeete was on the floor in the eighth are subject to a review by the BBB of C but as it stands Sheeraz is the winner and retains the WBO European belt. Two second round losses suffered by Skeete had knocked the former British and Commonwealth title off track but he was boxing with real skill in this one so an unfortunate ending. Noakes vs. Cooper Noakes maintains 100% record of inside the distance wins as he stops Cooper in the ninth round. This was an entertaining scrap between two good young fighters. From the outset Noakes was his usual aggressive self putting Cooper under constant pressure and connecting with hooks and uppercuts. Cooper showed a very useful left jab and lots of clever defensive moves whilst landing some good shots of his own. Noakes was being made to work hard as he tried to hunt Cooper down. He was investing in some choice body punches but Cooper kept coming right back at him. Noakes had never been past the fifth round before and the pace slowed a little in the sixth before Noakes picked it up again in the seventh. He was busier than Cooper but Cooper was moving and countering. In the ninth a left hook to the head put Cooper down. He beat the count and boxed well. The crisis looked to have passed but Noakes landed heavily again and when a right to the temple rocked Cooper the referee stopped the fight. Cooper protested strongly and it looked a bit early but Noakes had landed some powerful head punches just before the stoppage. Excellent learning fight for Noakes who had taken less than eighteen rounds for his seven previous wins. He lifts the vacant WBC International Silver title. Cooper played his part in making it tough for Noakes and providing plenty of action. Brisbane, Australia: Cruiser: Floyd Masson (11-0) W PTS 10 Mark Flanagan (25-9). Super Welter: Luke Woods (8-4) W PTS 10 Tysinn Best (14-2). Masson vs. Flanagan Masson gets off the floor to outpoint champion Flanagan to win the Australian title. It looked as though “Bang Bang” Flanagan was going to live up to his nickname as he floored Masson in the opening round. The punch did not land flush and Masson was up immediately. After the count he showed some nifty footwork and he was standing and trading with Flanagan at the end of the round. Flanagan forced the fight but Masson showed some clever movement and good hand speed. He alternated between stabbing jabs, darting in with quick lefts and choosing his moment to go toe-to-toe. Flanagan did his best work inside and always looked dangerous with his rights but Masson’s mobility gave him the edge. Scores 96-92 twice for Masson and 94-94. Flanagan constituted a huge step-up in the quality of his opposition for New Zealand-born Masson but he won impressively. Flanagan had lost big fights against Arsen Goulamirian, David Light and Jai Opetaia before winning the Australian title in June. Woods vs. Best Tasmanian southpaw Woods too good for local lad Best on the night and successfully defends the national title with a unanimous points victory. Relentless pressure from Woods was just too much for Best. Scores 99-92, 98-92 and 97-93 for Woods. Former welterweight champion Best had moved up to super welter after losing his welterweight title. Brisbane, Australia: Heavy: Lucas Browne (30-3) W KO 7 Faiga Opetu (14-3-1) W. Welter: Andrew Hunt (8-0-1) W PTS 10 Ben Kite (18-6-1). Middle: Isaac Hardman (12-0) W TKO 4 Adam Stowe (6-2-2,1ND). Super Feather: Dana Coolwell (7-1) W KO 10 Miles Zalewski (9-2). Cruiser: Jai Opetaia (21-0) W TKO 3 Daniel Russell (7-3-2). Browne vs. Opetu Browne lifts his career out of the dustbin with kayo of young Samoan-born Opetu. Browne had looked awful in losing to Paul Gallen in April and he looked on his way to losing this one as well. Opetu won the early rounds with Browne just too slow. Browne was landing and landing hard when he did. Those punches finally started to catch up with Opetu in the seventh and with Opetu pinned to the ropes a series of punches ending with a left hook dropped him on his face on the canvas and he was counted out. Browne wins the vacant WBA Oceania title. A career saver for Browne but at 42 he has a very limited shelf life now. Former Australian champion Opetu lost his national title when he was stopped in seven rounds by Justis Huni in October last year in what was Huni’s first pro fight. Hunt vs. Kite Hunt and Kite could probably fight each other a dozen times as the result would always be close. When they met in April Hunt lifted Kite’s Australian title with paper-thin unanimous decision. There was no difference in this fight. Southpaw Hunt was able to use his longer reach to connect at range but is no power puncher so Kite was able to get inside and do some good work. The score were even closer this time with Hunt retaining the title on a majority decision on scores of 96-94 twice and 95-95. Hardman vs. Stowe Hardman wore down and stopped Stowe in four rounds-and saved himself a bundle of money. A confident Hardman had said he would buy everyone in the place a beer if Stowe lasted more than five rounds. He floored Stowe with a right in the second and with a body punch in the third. Erich time Stowe got up and stood and punched with Hardman. In the fourth Hardman trapped Stowe in a corner and as he landed a sickening right hook to start Stowe on the way down the towel came in from Stowe’s team. Tenth win by KO/TKO for Hardman and the third defence of the Australian title. Brave display from Stowe who was having his first fight since February 2020. Coolwell vs. Zalewski Coolwell wins the vacant Australian title with last round kayo of Zalewski. Coolwell looked on his way to an inside the distance win when he had Zalewski in trouble in the sixth round but the bell saved Zalewski-a bell went 59 seconds early! Coolwell finally ended the fight with a left hook in the tenth round which put Zalewski down on his back as his corner threw in the towel. Fifth inside the distance finish for Coolwell. Zalewski is a former Australian lightweight champion. Opetaia vs. Russell Opetaia stops Russell in three. After taking the first round Opetaia put Russell down in the second. A series of head punches sent Russell down on one knee at the start of the third and when a three-punch series saw Russell drop to one knee later in the round the fight was stopped. Now 17 wins by KO/TKO for Opetaia. He is the second highest rated Cruiser with the IBF so a title shot should come in 2022. First fight for Russell since being stopped in one round by Jason Whateley for the Australian title in December 2019. This was a catchweight fight at 95kg (209lbs). Cologne, Germany: Cruiser: Firat Arslan (50-9-3) W TKO 4 Alejandro Berrio (39-10). Heavy: Edi Delibaltaoglu (8-5) W TKO 5 Sami Enbom (19-8). Cruiser: Huseyin Cinkara (17-0) W TKO 2 Gusmyr Perdomo (27-12). Cruiser: Yakup Saglam (45-7) W TKO 1 Andy Hoeschier (9-1). Arslan vs. Berrio Arslan continues his campaign for another title shot with stoppage of Berrio. As usual over the first two rounds Arslan walked forward behind a high guard just letting Berrio throw punches most of which Arslan blocked and with Arslan throwing an occasional counter. It was going the same way in the third until Arslan floored Berrio but failed to finish the job. In the fourth Arslan connected with body punches and sent Berrio down twice and the fight was stopped. Arslan is 16-1-1 in his last 18 fights but the only real opponent he has faced in that run is Kevin Lerena who stopped him in six rounds. Despite this the 51-year-old Arslan is No 6 with the WBA so could land the title shot he is chasing. Colombian Berrio, 41, won the IBF super middleweight title in 2007 but lost it in his first defence against Lucien Bute and has put on quite a bit of weight since then. Delibaltaoglu vs. Enbom Fourth consecutive win for Turkish-born Delibaltaoglu as Finn Enbom retires after four rounds. Delibaltaoglu collects the WBFederation Inter-Continental belt. Sixth inside the distance defeat in his last seven bouts for Enbom. Cinkara vs. Perdomo Another meaningless win for Cinkara. After tracking the retreating Perdomo in the first Cinkara landed series of punches in the second that saw Perdomo pitch forward and put his glove on the canvas to avoid going down. He was given a count and when Cinkara chased him to a corner and belted him a couple of times the referee came in as Perdomo was dropping to the floor and stopped the fight. Ten wins by KO/TKO in his last eleven contests for Cinkara and not a genuine test on his record. Perdomo, 44, had his best days as a super middle-a long time ago. Saglam vs. Hoeschier Oldie Saglam finishes Hoeschier in the first round. Saglam had done his fighting at heavyweight but took off more than 20lbs for this fight. He shook Hoeschier early and then put him down and the fight was all over. The 44-year-old Turkish-born Saglam wins the vacant German title with win No 41 by KO/TKO. Hoeschier had won all of his fights by KO/TKO taking less than 18 rounds in total for the wins. His opposition had been poor but even so this was a shock result. Tokyo, Japan: Welter: Ryota Toyoshima (15-2-1) W PTS 12 Shoki Sakai (26-13-2). Toyoshima defends the OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific titles with a points victory over Saki. Toyoshima made the body his target from the outset with Sakai mixing his attack more with head and body shots. Sakai was competitive but Toyoshima was stronger and quicker. After five rounds Toyoshima was in front on the three cards at 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47 which looked a bit too generous to Sakai. The challenger tried hard to turn the fight his way but Toyoshima outscored Sakai over the middle rounds and then chose to coast over the last couple of rounds with Sakai finishing strongly but never likely to overturn Toyoshima’s lead. Scores 116-112 twice and 117-111 for Toyoshima who registers his eight win in a row. Sakai turned pro in Mexico and fought extensively in the USA. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico: Bantam: Karina Fernandez (17-6-1) W PTS 10 Jacqueline Mucio (7-10-1). Welter: Marcos Gonzalez (21-2) W PTS 10 Dunis Linan (25-48-6). Fernandez vs. Mucio Home town fighter “La Bella” Fernandez gets unanimous decision over Mucio but it seems the judges were the only ones who felt Fernandez was the winner. Coming in as a substitute Mucio was more than ready to swop punches with Fernandez so they started at a fast pace. Mucio seemed to get the better of the exchanges with Fernandez often pinned to the ropes as Mucino unloaded on her. Fernandez had her moments but Mucino looked a clear winner. The judges scored it 97-93 twice and 96-94 for Fernandez who reportedly wins the belt from a newly constituted World Professional Boxing Federation (WPBF). Gonzalez vs. Linan Gonzalez also looked to get the benefit of some home town support as he is given a questionable decision over Linan. Gonzalez was shaken in the first and under fire for most of the second. Linan eventually slowed letting Gonzalez into the fight but at the end Linan looked to have done enough to cause an upset. Gonzalez was the unanimous selection by the three judges (no scores available) which moved him to 9-1 in his last 10 fights with the loss being a disqualification. Colombian Linan, 40, is used to losing as he is now 1-18-2 in his last 21 bouts. Leon, Mexico: Atom: Montserrat Alarcon (17-4-2) W PTS 10 Silvia Torres (20-3-2).Feather: Sergio Chirino (17-1) W PTS 10 Alie Laurel (18-6-1). Alarcon vs. Torres Alarcon wins the vacant WBC Fecarbox Female title as she scores majority decision over Torres. This was one of those great fights if you just ignore the scores. Alarcon was busier at the start but despite being out of the ring for two years Torres boxed well and scored with accurate single shots. The rounds were close and the fight swung back and forth with Alarcon busy, busy and Torres cool and picking her punches well. The pace picked up as war broke out over the second half of the fight and they stood and traded punches. In the end Alarcon just seemed to have done enough and she got the decision on scores of 99-91 and 98-92 which were not a fair reflection of how close Torres made this with the third judge scoring it 95-95. Although the WBA Atom champion Alarcon’s title was not on the line. Torres is a former WBA interim champion who had fought a draw for the IBF Female light flyweight title and her inactivity might well have been a factor in this fight. Chirino vs. Laurel Now eight wins in a row for Chirino as he outboxes Filipino southpaw Laurel. Chirino was in top form and Laurel was never really a threat but also never really in any trouble. The judges all gave Chirino every round with scores of 100-90. Chirino’s only loss was a second round retirement in 2018 against Mauricio Lara who crushed Josh Warrington in London in February. Laurel was 5-1-1 going in. Manila, Philippines: Super Bantam: Carl Martin (18-0) W PTS 12 Mark Geraldo (38-10-3). Super Feather: Charly Suarez (9-0) W PTS 10 Delmar Pellio (9-1). Super Bantam: Michael Dasmarinas (30-3-2) Tec Daw 2 Ernesto Saulong (22-7-3). Geraldo vs. Martin “Wonder Boy” Martin passes his biggest test to date as he takes unanimous decision over experienced fellow-southpaw Geraldo. Despite having won 12 of his last 13 fights inside the distance Martin displayed growing maturity as he curbed any instinct to go toe-to-toe with Geraldo but instead boxed cleverly using his longer reach to pick up the points. Geraldo had the strength and experience to be a consistent threat and in the end Martin only just squeezed past Geraldo to win the Philippines title on scores of 115-113 twice and 117-111. The 22-year-old Martin is No 14 (12) with the IBF and will now be looking for some international fights to boost his ratings. Geraldo had won his last four fights and is the only man to have beaten IBF champion Jerwin Ancajas. Suarez vs. Pellio “King’s Warrior” Suarez continues his winning start to his belated pro career with a points win over an unbeaten but much less experienced Pellio. Suarez had Pellio down twice but the young southpaw stuck it out to the final bell. Scores 99-89 twice and 100-88. At 33 Suarez needs to make a move soon. Pellio was going ten rounds for the first time. Dasmarinas vs. Saulong If Dasmarinas was aiming for some extended ring time he was disappointed. He had taken the opening round but when heads banged together in the second Saulong suffered a bad cut on his left eyelid and the fight was halted and ruled a technical draw. First outing for Dasmarinas since his third round kayo loss against Naoya Inoue for the IBF and WBA belts in June. Second technical draw in his last five fights for Saulong. Kempton Park, South Africa: Super Welter: Roarke Knapp (13-1-1) W RTD 5 Cristiano Ndombassy (12-6). Super Welter: Shervantaigh Koopman (8-0) W PTS 10 Henriques Lando (6-3). Knapp vs. Ndombassy Plenty of drama and controversy over this fight as Knapp climbs off the floor three times in a dramatic third round then battles back with Ndombassy retiring after the end of the fourth. Facing a late substitute Knapp made a confident start and looked to be on his way to a win when he connected with some hard body punches in the second. In the third Ndombassy, who had won nine of his fights inside the distance, shook Knapp with a couple of punches and then landed a fearsome right that sent Knapp down heavily. Knapp somehow dragged himself upright but was unsteady and went down from another right. He was up again and after going down from a slip a right put him on the canvas for the third time. It was a case of true grit as Knapp arose and made it to the bell. The situation changed dramatically again in the fourth. Ndombassy looked to have exhausted himself in his effort to finish the fight in the third and Knapp had shaken off the effects of those knockdowns. Now it was Knapp landing heavy rights and driving Ndombassy back with a storm of punches that had Ndombassy reeling and on the point of going down. Before the start of the fifth Ndombassy got up from his stool crossed the ring to say something to Knapp and then went back to his corner and the fight was over. Knapp showed tremendous guts to survive that third round and come back so strongly in the fourth. However this fight was for the vacant WBA Pan African title and was fought under WBA rules with the three knockdown rule in force so the fight should have been stopped in the third round and Ndombassy declared the winner. The result is in doubt as Ndombassy’s team have lodged a protest and Hall of Fame inductee Stanley Christodoulou who administers the Pan African activity for the WBA was supervisor at the fight so a decision one way or the other should be made very quickly. Knapp had been looking to get revenge for a knockout loss against Brandon Thysse in 2019 but Thysse tested positive for COVID-19 and Ndombassy replaced him. Koopmans vs. Lando South African champion Koopmans collected the vacant IBF Continental Africa title with unanimous decision over Angolan Lando. Scores 98-91, 97-92 and 96-93 for Koopmans. Durban, South Africa: Bantam: Sharadene Fortuin (12-1-1) W Melissa Miller (5-11-3) Fortuin holds on to her national title with a split decision over past foe Miller. Scores 98-93 and 96-94 for Fortuin and 96-95 for Miller. These two have met three times now with Fortuin winning all three. When they met in August Fortuin took a majority decision. She is undefeated in eleven fights going back to 2013. Miller herself is a former South African champion at bantam. Basel, Switzerland: Middle: Faton Vukshinaj (13-0-2) W TKO 2 Florin Cardos (21-3). Fighting in his home city “Vulcan” Vukshinaj puts away useful Romanian Cardos in two rounds. After a round where the boxers were feeling each other out things heated up considerably in the second. Vukshinaj fired a series of punches punctuated by a right hook to the head that floored Cardos. The visitor got up but was put down for a second time. He again climbed to the vertical but was still dazed and the referee rightly stopped the fight. Vukshinaj wins the vacant WBC Francophone title with his eighth inside the distance finish. Former EU champion Cardos was having only his second fight in two years. Pont-Sainte-Maxence, France: Light Heavy: Daniel Bienda Dos Santos (18-1) W PTS 8 Tomasz Bezvoda (11-17). Dos Santos gets through an easy night as he wins every round against Czech Bezvoda. The referee scored it 80-72. Third win for Dos Santos since losing in May against Joshua Buatsi. What Bezvoda lacks in skill he makes up for with durability with only two inside the distance losses. Fight of the week (Significance): Devin Haney’s win over Joseph Diaz keeps the pot boiling in the hot lightweight division Fight of the week (Entertainment): Good mix of styles helped make Haney vs. Diaz a good fight to watch. Fighter of the week: Haney for his win mover Diaz Punch of the week: The short right from Kevin Lejarraga that floored Jack Flatley was a thunderbolt with honourable mention to the fight finishing Left hook from Lucas Browne that finished Faiga Opetu Upset of the week: Jerry Forrest’s draw with Michael Hunter was a surprise Prospect watch: Only 4-0 but Puerto Rican minimumweight Oscar Collazo looks good Observations Rosette: Big cards in Australia and Germany giving fighters work Red Card No real horrors this week There were two very controversial incidents at the weekend both involving referees. In the fight in South Africa between Roarke Knapp and Cristiano Ndombassy Knapp made a miraculous recovery from being knocked down three times in the third round to winning the fight when Ndombassy retired at the end of the fourth nrio9und. However this was for a WBA Regional title under WBA rules including the three knockdown rule so Ndombassy should have won on a third round stoppage. In London when Hamzah Sheeraz twice landed hard punches to Bradley Skeete when Skeete was clearly on the floor should have led to instant disqualification. Both results are being reviewed. Both referees are star level referees and have to make instant divisions in a highly charged atmosphere. They really are at the sharp end and I don’t envy them their roles. There is a wide differing cultural approach towards nicknames between male and female fighters. This week we had Karina “La Bella” Fernandez and Susy Kandy “The Ruby” Sandoval and on the other hand Isaac “Headsplitter” Hardman. I am not suggesting there is anything wrong with this but a bit of crossover would not hurt in these flexible gender days. We could have Primrose “I’ll Moider de Bum” Smith and Rocky “lacy knickers” Brown. Nah doesn’t work for me! It must have been quiet in the old folk’s home this week. Out and about were Firat Arslan 51,Alejandro Berrio 45, Yakup Saglam 44, Gusmyr Perdomo 44,Lucas Browne 42, Kassim Ouma 42 and Dunis Linan 40…………….where have all the young men gone…………… I don’t know how he gets away with it but in every fight I have seen for Filip Hrgovic he consistently lands punches to the back of his opponents head. These are not the tip-tap punches you see in clinches but full blooded clubbing shots. An accident waiting to happen! On the same subject Devin Haney was landing below the belt shots in every round but at least he did eventually get a warning. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -George Kambosos springs gigantic surprise as he outpoints Teo Lopez to win the IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight titles -Stephen Fulton unifies the WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles with decision over Brandon Figueroa -Kenichi Ogawa floors Azinga Fuzile three times and takes a unanimous decision to collect the vacant IBF super featherweight title. -Ohara Davies, Muhammad Waseem, Badou Jack and Ricky Fielding score wins in Dubai -Ra’eese Aleem and Gary Antonio Russell close in on world title shots with wins. - Mexican light flyweight Hector Floes surprises with knockout of Jay Harris in six rounds World Title/Major Shows November 27 New York, NY, USA: Light: George Kambosos (20-0) W PTS 12 Teo Lopez (16-1). Super Feather: Kenichi Ogawa (26-1-1) W PTS 12 Azinga Fuzile (15-2). Feather: Ray Ford (10-0-1) W TKO 8 Felix Caraballo (13-4-2). Heavy: Zhilei Zhang (23-0-1 W TKO 2 Craig Lewis (14-5-1,1ND). 24 Lopez vs. Kambosos Kambosos pulls off a huge upset as he survives a late knockdown and then sweeps the last two rounds to take a split decision over Lopez to win the IBF, WBA and WBO titles. Round 1 Lopez came out going straight after Kambosos trying to catch him cold. Kambosos retreated and Lopez threw a punch after they were told to break and was given a stern warning. Lopez continued to come forward throwing punches with Kambosos staying cool and landing some good counters. Kambosos stumbled after a Lopez left hook then landed a goods left hook of his own. Kambosos was standing and punching with Lopez and as Lopez threw a lazy left Kambosos came over the top with a wide swinging shot to the head that had Lopez dropping and putting a glove on the canvas to avoid going all the way down and was given a count. Lopez was up early and when Kambosos came after Lopez Kambosos slipped to the canvas but no punch so no count. Score: 10-8 Kambosos Round 2 Lopez came forward throughout the round. Kambosos was on the back foot and then picking his moments to dart forward and when he did they were both throwing and landing fast, hard punches. Lopez worked solidly with his jab and that just gave him the edge and Kambosos had heavy bruising under his right eye. Score: 10-9 Lopez Kambosos 19-18 Round 3 The pace slowed a little in this one. Both fighters were holding there left at hip level and shooting punches from there. Both also used slick upper body movement to dodge punches. Kambosos scored well in bursts but Lopez outworked him and landed the better punches. Score: 10-9 Lopez TIED 28-28 Round 4 Kambosos made more use of his jab in this one and landed a heavy overhand right early in the round. Lopez was waiting too long to lets his hands go and Kambosos was darting in and scoring and then getting out. A fire fight broke out at the end of the round as they both scored with real power. Lopez had bruising by his right eye. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 38-37 Official Scores: Judge Glenn Feldman 40-36 Kambosos, Judge Frank Lombardi 39-36* Kambosos, Judge Don Trella 39-37, *Only Judge Lombardi scored the first round 10-8 for Kambosos Round 5 Some clever work from Kambosos. He was circling the perimeter of the ring sticking Lopez with jabs and then firing quick combinations. In the early rounds he would have stood and traded punches but now he was getting in scoring and getting out and Lopez could not pin him down. Lopez was bruised under both eyes and Kambosos had a little blood from under his right eye and a cut over his left. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 48-46 Round 6 Another round for Kambosos. He was just too quick for Lopez and was able to get his punches off first. Lopez was too slow to counter just pacing after Kambosos. By the end of the round Kambosos was confident enough to be wind milling his right taunting Lopez Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 58-55 Round 7 Lopez needed to win a round and he took this one although it was close. Lopez was closing Kambosos down quicker and he was the one scoring inside. Kambosos just did not work hard enough until the last ten seconds when he matched Lopez as they traded fiercely. Score: 10-9 Lopez Kambosos 67-65 Round 8 Once again the hand speed and footwork of Kambosos made the difference. Lopez was stalking but Kambosos was working his jab and firing little bunches of punches and not getting involved in any toe-to-toe stuff. There was a burst of punching from both at the end of the round with Lopez just getting the better of the exchanges but Kambosos’ early work giving him the round. Lopez was bleeding steadily from the nose Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 77-74 Official Scores: Glenn Feldman 79-73 Kambosos, Frank Lombardi 78-73 Kambosos, Don Trella 78-75 Kambosos, Round 9 The action was fairly even with Lopez just having the edge as he moved forward quicker closing Kambosos down. Over the last minute Lopez attacked hard sending Kambosos back with a series of head punches. Score: 10-9 Lopez Kambosos 86-84 Round 10 Two heavy rights from Lopez drove Kambosos to the canvas. He was up at four and after the count Lopez was throwing bombs trying to end the fight. Kambosos looked unsteady as he bobbed about trying to avoid Lopez’s shots. He threw an occasional punch but mainly survived due to movement and holding and Lopez let the chance of victory pass. Score: 10-8 Lopez TIED 94-94 Round 11 Lopez landed a couple of good rights early but Kambosos was jabbing and moving. Jabs from Kambosos had blood running from the cut over Lopez’s left eye and the referee stopped the fight so that a doctor could examine the cut. The fight continued and Kambosos staged a strong finish to the round connecting with hard rights. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 104-103 Round 12 A clear round for Kambosos. He was stabbing Lopez with jabs and landing quick combinations. The blood was now streaming down Lopez’s face. He just could not match the speed and output of Kambosos who finished the fight with a cluster of punches as Lopez tried desperately to land the big punch he needed. Score: 10-9 Kambosos Kambosos 114-112 Official Scores: Judge Glenn Feldman 115-11 Kambosos, Judge Frank Lombardi 115-111, Judge Don Trella 114-113 Lopez The tactics of Kambosos were perfect and he stuck to the game plan and boxed with speed and precision. In his last fight he had only got past Lee Selby on a split decision but here he was a clear winner despite the scores being split. Lopez was a disappointment . He will want a return but they are queuing up to get a shot at Kambosos who will have three sanctioning bodies to serve. The queue of challengers is already forming. but Kambosos has made it clear that whoever he fights will have to come to Australia to do so. In the meantime he can enjoy pulling off a huge upset. Lopez has said he is not interested in a return match and intends to move up to super lightweight to try to land a shot at Josh Taylor. Ogawa vs. Fuzile Ogawa wins the vacant IBF title with unanimous verdict over Fuzile. Ogawa was the aggressor throughout the fight. He was walking down Fuzile the whole way. Fuzile showed plenty of defensive skills and whilst lacking power he found gaps in Ogawa’s defence. Ogawa scored a knockdown in the fifth with a straight right that sent Fuzile staggering back and then going down on one knee. Fuzile made it to his feet but there was blood pouring from a damaged nose. He saw out the round and fought back. A cut opened over Fuzile’s right eye in the tenth but after an inspection by the doctor he was allowed to continue. The exam fired Fuzile up and he connected with a series of lefts later to take the round. Fuzile was cut over his left eye in the eleventh with the blood from both cut and his injured nose he looked a sorry sight at the start of the twelfth. Things got worse as a right sent Fuzile down and after he beat the count he was down again from another right. He arose and the bell went before another punch could be thrown. Ogawa won on scores of 115-110, 115-110, and 114-111. To show how close this one was you have to take account of a 10-8 in the fifth and a 10-7 in the last without which it would have made it a majority draw. Ogawa regains the title he held very briefly in 2017 when he beat Tevin Farmer but was then stripped of the title for testing positive for a banned substance. Fuzile’s previous loss came against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in 2019 but he had bounced back with a stoppage of 24-1-2 Martin Ward in May. Ford vs. Caraballo Southpaw prospect Ford stops Caraballo in eight rounds. Caraballo made things interesting for Ford from the start coming forward putting Ford under heavy pressure. Ford showed plenty of skill and fired flashing combinations at the advancing Puerto Rican. There was not a lot of power in Ford punches so Caraballo was able to walk through them and he landed heavily at the end of the third. Ford was quick and accurate with his right jabs and a swelling gradually blossomed by Caraballo’s right eye. He was examined by the doctor at the start of the seventh round but was allowed to continue. He attacked Ford hard but Ford fed him multi-punch combinations for the rest of the round and a series of punches in the eighth saw the referee step in to save Caraballo. Former National Golden Cloves champion Ford has impressive skills and hand speed but his lack of power is a drawback. Caraballo was coming off consecutive losses against Shakur Stevenson and Robeisy Ramirez. Zhang vs. Lewis These two big guys took a while to come out of hibernation and apart from a solid right from Zhang there was very little action in the first round. Zhang ended it ended it in the second. He floored Lewis early in the round and although Lewis beat the count he was wobbly and when a right sent Lewis down again the fight was stopped. Eighteenth inside the distance for the 38-year-old Chinese southpaw. He showed in a majority draw with Jerry Forrest that he is no threat to the top heavyweights. Lewis was having his first fight in two years and is 1-5 in his last six contests. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Bantam: Stephen Fulton (20-0) W PTS 12 Brandon Figueroa (22-1-1 W. Super Bantam: Reese Aleem (19-0) W PTS 10 Eduardo Baez (20-2-2). Bantam: Gary Antonio Russell (19-0,1ND) W PTS 10 Alexandro Santiago (24-3-5). Super Light: Kevin Johnson (20-2) W TKO 9 Rock Dodler Myrthil (17-1). Super Bantam: Aaron Alameda (26-2) W RTD 4 Angel Contreras (12-5-2). Fulton vs. Figueroa Fulton unifies the WBC and WBO titles with majority decision over Figueroa Round 1 Figueroa was coming forward throughout the round. Fulton was moving quickly on the back foot spearing Figueroa with jabs scoring at distance and tying Figueroa up inside not letting him work. Figueroa was warned twice for blows to the back of the head. Fulton just did enough to take the round. Score: 10-9 Fulton Round 2 Fulton showed a bit more aggression in this round but Figueroa was soon coming forward again. He was pumping out punches but without much accuracy. Fulton was slotting home jabs and rights as Figueroa came forward and again holding inside. Figueroa did some good work inside and it was his round. Score: 10-9 Figueroa TIED 19-19 Round 3 Fulton was again picking Figueroa off at distance and then smothering Figueroa’s work inside. Fulton was leaning forward and forcing Figueroa to the ropes with neither landing much. Late in the round there was less holding and they traded punches inside. Figueroa was letting his punches fly but was leaving himself open and Fulton landed the better quality shots but he should have been warned for holding in each of the rounds. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 29-28 Round 4 A much more entertaining round. Fulton was scoring well with hooks as he stood and traded with Figueroa in the centre of the ring. Figueroa was piling forward focusing on the body. Much of the action took place inside and there Fulton was blocking most of Figueroa’s work and connecting with hooks and uppercuts. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 39-37 Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 39-37 Fulton, Judge Dave Moretti 39-37 Fulton, Judge David Sutherland 38-38 TIED, Round 5 A closer round. It was quality vs. quantity. Figueroa had a tremendous output attacking hard to the body but Fulton was both defending and attacking so again blocking many of Figueroa’s punches scoring with jabs at distance and hooks and uppercuts inside. There was much less holding and it was becoming an entertaining battle of attrition. Score: 10-9 Fulton 49-46 Round 6 Much better round for Figueroa. His punch output was tremendous and the sheer quantity of his punches threatened to overwhelm Fulton who was being outlanded at distance and out punched inside. Score: 10-9 Figueroa ` Fulton 58-56 Round 7 A closer round. Figueroa continued to march forward throwing punches. Fulton punched with him early but Figueroa was getting the better of the exchanges. Fulton then moved inside where he was able to deny Figueroa the leverage he needed for his longer arms and again his accuracy gave him a slight edge. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 68-65 Round 8 A clear round for Figueroa. He just pilled forward throwing punches. He had to walk through some hooks and uppercuts from Fulton but eventually his attacks shut down Fulton’s counters and for the last thirty second of the round Fulton was trapped in a corner just try to defend himself under the onslaught from Figueroa. Score: 10-9 Figueroa Fulton 77-75 Official Scores: Tim Cheatham 78-75 Fulton, Dave Moretti 77-75 Fulton, Judge David Sutherland 77-75 Fulton Round 9 Once again the output from Figueroa had Fulton concentrating on defence. Figueroa was forcing Fulton back and firing hooks and uppercuts and landing scorching body punches. Fulton had some success at the end of the round but not enough. Score: 10-9 Figueroa Fulton 86-85 Round 10 A great round. Fulton put in a huge effort early to try and take charge again. Figueroa just kept firing punches and again it seemed the sheer volume might overwhelm Fulton who was drive back into a corner just trying to ride out the storm. Score: 10-9 Figueroa TIED 95-95 Round 11 A change of tactics worked for Fulton. He was circling on the outside sticking Figueroa with jabs and straight rights staying off the ropes and no longer looking to trade punches. Figueroa managed to trap Fulton on the ropes for a short spell and scored well but then Fulton returned to his jabbing and moving. Score: 10-9 Fulton Fulton 105-104 Round 12 Fulton moved and boxed over the early part of the round like a fighter who thought he had the fight won and his clever counters gave him the edge. Over the middle and end of the round Figueroa attacked relentlessly and outscored a defensively minded Fulton and did enough to take the round. Score: 10-9 Figueroa 114-114 Official Scores: Judge Ted Cheatham 116-112 Fulton, Judge Dave Moretti 116-112 Fulton, Judge David Sutherland 114-114 Having unified the WBC and WBO titles hopefully Fulton will move forward to face Murodjon Akhmadaliev who holds the WBA and IBF versions to result in a single title holder. Figueroa was strongly protesting that he was robbed. At just 24 he has time to put this behind him and will almost certainly be fighting for a title again in 2022. Aleem vs. Baez Aleem gets past tough Mexican Baez on a majority decision. This came down to the speed and skill of Aleem against a less flashy but stronger Baez. Aleem constantly switched guards and focused on effective body punching. Baez whilst not as busy scored regularly and made his strength tell. Most rounds were close and Baez fought from the sixth with a cut over his left eye. Aleem looked to have swu8ng the verdict his way when he staggered Baez in an impressive ninth but in the last Aleem was forced to hold to see out the round. Scores98-92and 96-94 for Aleem and 95-95. With this win Aleem protects his No 1 rating with the WBA but of course called out the new WBC/WBO champion Stephen Fulton. Baez had won his last nine fights but against modest opposition however he will have heightened his profile with the showing. Russell vs. Santiago Russell gets a majority decision over Santiago to remain undefeated. Russell was a big favourite and it looked as through the fight was going to be a fairly routine victory for him. Russell was quicker and more accurate than Santiago who had decided his only chance was to roll forward and keep rolling forward with a focused body attack . Santiago coming forward suited Russell over the first half of the fight as he found plenty of gaps for counters but the sheer pressure from Santiago was dragging Russell into going toe-to-toe which suited Santiago and he was cutting into Russell’s early lead. They fought desperately over the last two rounds with the result in the balance and it was Russell who got the decision on scores of 96-94 twice for Russell and 95-95. It really could have gone either way and many saw Santiago as the winner. Russell is No 2 with the WBA so will probably land a title shot early next year. Mexican Santiago was unbeaten in his last 21 fights with 18 wins and 3 draws. Johnson vs. Myrthil Second good win in a row for Johnson as he snaps the unbeaten streak of Myrthil. After scoring heavily in the first Johnson dominated the fight from there. He floored Myrthil with a left hook in the fourth and shook him with punches in the fifth. Johnson landed some big punches in the eighth as he continued to walk Myrthil down. A booming right had Myrthil retreating in the ninth with Johnson chasing him down and the towel came in from Myrthil’s corner. That’s just twelve fights in almost five years as a pro for Johnson but in his last outing he stopped unbeaten 15-0 Luis Salazar in eight rounds. Haitian-born Myrthil just could not handle the strength and aggression of Johnson. Alameda vs. Contreras Alameda starts his rebuilding project after back–to-back losses against Luis Nery for the vacant WBC super bantam title and Angelo Leo. Contreras was busy early throwing lots of punches and getting through with some straight nights. He lacked power and Alameda was landing less but harder punches. Contreras continued to take the fight to Alameda landing more but the quantity was having less effect than the power of Alameda’s shots. That power had swelling closing the right eye of Contreras in the fourth and the doctor ruled Contreras was unable to continue. Southpaw Alameda gets win No 14 by KO/TKO. Contreras is now 1-3-1 in his most recent contests. November 26 Dubai, UAE: Super Light: Ohara Davies (23-2) W PTS 10 Nicolas Mwangi (10-4-1). Fly: Muhammad Waseem (12-1) W PTS 12 Rober Barrera (23-4). Super Middle: Rocky Fielding (29-2) W RTD 2 Emmanuel Danso (32-7). Cruiser: Badou Jack (25-3-3) W TKO 2 Samuel Crossed (11-2-1). Davies vs. Mwangi Davies decisions late substitute Kenyan Mwangi. The Kenyan actually put up an unexpectedly competitive effort in the early rounds although being outboxed by Davies. Solid jabbing and some well executed body punches were winning the rounds for Davies but he never had Mwangi in any real trouble. Over the second half of the fight Mwangi faded badly with his work rate dropping. That just made it an easier job for Davies and he eased his way to a victory on points. Scores 99-91 for Davies on the judge’s cards. Davies wins the vacant WBA Gold title but it was not an impressive performance as he should have been able to beat a fighter such as was Mwangi inside the distance. Mwangi had won his last five fight against opponents with 17 wins between them-and ten of those wins were scored by one fighter Waseem vs. Barrera Waseem given a torrid time by experienced Colombian Barrera. The fight started badly for Waseem as he was cut over his left eye in the first round. He had a good second round forcing the fight. They clashed heads and in the interval it seemed Barrera might not continue. He did but he did only to be under relentless pressure from Waseem in the next three rounds. Barrera was trying to fight on the outside and did a little better until in the ninth Waseem suddenly showed signs of exhaustion. He could hardly keep his gloves up in the tenth with Barrera eating into Waseem’s early lead and Waseem struggling. Waseem recovered and fought hard in the last but it was close. Scores 117-111, 115-113 and 115-114 for Waseem. He lost a narrow verdict against Moruti Mthalane for the IBF title in 2018 and had not really done much in his three fights since then but this was said to be a WBA eliminator so he could face title holder Artem Dalakian next year and Waseem also won the vacant WBC International title. Barrera was stopped in eleven rounds by Luis Concepcion in a fight for the now defunct WBA interim title in February last year. Fielding vs. Danso In his first fight for two years Fielding beat Ghanaian Danso who retired after two rounds. Danso was giving away lots of height and reach and drove forward in the first trying to get in range. He was wild with his attacks and Fielding made him pay with some fierce counters. In the second Danso was down twice with neither knockdown looking very convincing and also lost a point for a punch to the back of Fielding’s head. He did not come out for the third round. Now based in Dubai this is only the second fight for the former WBA secondary super middleweight title holder since his loss to Saul Alvarez in December 2018. Sixth loss by KO/TKO for Danso. Jack vs. Crossed Jack dismantles overmatched Crossed in two rounds. Jack scored with some hurtful body shots in the first and then ended the contest with three knockdowns in the second. Jack won the WBC super middle title and the secondary WBA light heavy title and now at 38 is giving the cruiserweight ranks a try. He will have to face better opposition than Crossed before we can assess his chances in this division. Crossed, the “Vanilla Gorilla” was ranked No 246 by Box Rec. Moscow, Russia: Super Middle: Pavel Silyagin (9-0) W PTS 12 Isaac Chilemba (26-8-3). Light: Alexander Devyatov (12-0) W TKO 1 Adam Lazaro (10-3). Super Bantam: Vladimir Nikitin (6-1-1) W RTD 3 Tello Dithebe (21-14-1). Silyagin vs. Chilemba Silyagin gets important win over the ever competitive Chilemba. The Russian is a clever technical boxer and he was too quick for Chilemba over the early rounds with accurate jabs and a higher work rate. Chilemba had some success over the middle rounds as Silyagin slowed his pace. He may have been pacing himself due to his lack of experience in long fights and he picked the pace up again later and eased his way to victory. Scores 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 which indicate how well controlled the fight. Silyagin won bronze medals at the European Games and World Championships and defeated Joshua Buatsi in the World Boxing Series so he has strong credentials. No 33 Chilemba has lost in shots at the WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Devyatov vs. Lazaro Devyatov obliterates over matched Lazaro in 86 seconds. The Tanzanian tried to punch with Devyatov but was dropped by a series of punches. He made it to his feet but Devyatov was unloading on him when the referee stopped the fight. Now ten win by KO/TKO for Devyatov in his eleven fights. He wins the WBA Asian title for beating an African! First fight outside Tanzania for Lazaro. Nikitin vs. Dithebe Olympian Nikitin overwhelms South African Dithebe. Nikitin had Dithebe on the back foot and under fire from the start. Dithebe never stood a chance and after three rounds of incessant pressure from Nikitin he did not come out for the fourth round. Nikitin has been less than stellar as a pro and lost to Michael Conlan who he had scored a hotly dispute decision over in Rio. Only one win in his last nine fights for Dithebe. Moscow, Russia: Heavy: Sergey Kuzmin (16-2,1ND) W TKO 10 Igor Macedo da Silva (10-1). Kuzmin gets very late win over Brazilian da Silva. It looked as though this one was all over when Kuzmin floored da Silva in the sixth. The Brazilian proved tougher than expected and not only beat the count but took the fight to Kuzmin and was giving the home fighter plenty of trouble. Just when it seemed this fight was going the distance Kuzmin landed a fierce right in the last minute that put da Silva down. Again he beat the count but was in no condition to continue. Kuzmin needed a win after consecutive losses to Michael Hunter and Martin Bakole. Da Silva had won all of his ten fights by KO/TKO. Bolton, England: Cruiser: Jack Massey (19-1) W TKO 3 Bilal Laggoune (25-3-2). Feather: Nathaniel Collins (9-0) W KO 9 Thembani Mbangatha (11-1).Super Middle: Mark Jeffers (14-0) W PTS 10 Michel Garcia (16-1). Massey vs. Laggoune Massey halts Laggoune in three rounds to win the vacant IBO title. Things started badly for Laggoune when he needed a couple of attempts to make the weight and went downhill from there. Massey boxed confidently in the opening two rounds with both fighters feeling each other out before Massey exploded in the third. A booming left hook put Laggoune down. He was able to get up but Massey forced him to a corner and unloaded punches until Laggoune dropped to his knees and the fight was stopped. Impressive display from Massey. His only loss is a very narrow defeat against Richard Riakporhe for the vacant British title in December 2019 and this is his third win since then. Belgian Laggoune lost a majority decision to Tommy McCarthy for the European title in October last year. Collins vs. Mbangatha Collins makes a successful defence of the Commonwealth title with kayo of South African Mbangatha. The unbeaten South African was expected to give Collins a tough night but Collins took charge of the fight early and bossed the action all the way. He was too quick and too skilful for Mbangatha and had the challenger under pressure with stiff jabs and flashing combinations. After building a big lead Collins floored Mbangatha in the eighth and again in the ninth with the South African counted out on that second knockdown. First defence of the Commonwealth title for Collins which he won with a three round stoppage of Felix Williams in July. Jeffers vs. Garcia Jeffers wins the vacant WBO Global belt with points win over Garcia. Jeffers was always in control against a willing but limited opponent. Jeffers took the fight to Garcia who proved to be resilient and defied Jeffers’ attempts to end things early. The Belgian tired over the closing rounds as most of his fights have been four or six rounds He was deducted a point for losing his gumshield a couple of times in the eighth. Despite that he made it to the final bell. Scores 100-89 twice and 98-91 Jeffers. The Global belt will probably see Jeffers suddenly appear high in the WBO ratings for beating Garcia who Box Rec list as No 201 in the world which makes a farce of the whole principle which ratings are supposed to represent. Cardiff, Wales: Light Fly: Hector Flores (19-0-4,1ND) W KO 6 Jay Harris (18-3). Super Light: Akeem Ennis-Brown (15-1) W PTS 10 Daniel Combi (9-5). Feather: Jacob Robinson (9-0) W PTS 10 Angelo Dragone (5-3). Flores vs. Harris Flores beats Harris in six rounds. Harris was trying a move `down to light flyweight but it turned into a disaster. Being the bigger man Harris started aggressively forcing Flores to the ropes and keeping him under pressure. Flores was unperturbed and landed some useful counters. Harris kept up the pressure with Flores countering with some good body punches and shaking Harris with a left hook in the fourth. Harris had a good fifth connecting with a series of hooks. In the sixth a left hook to the body put Harris down on his knees. He got up but a right to the body put him down for the second time and he was counted out. Huge shock for Harris and huge win for Flores. Most of the Mexican’s opposition had been reasonable level in four and six round fights with Flores never being in a ten round fight so Harris, rated No 3 light flyweight by the WBA, was a huge step –up for Flores who wins the WBA Inter-Continental belt and will be certain to cash in on this result. For Harris it is a case of where he goes from here as he suffers his second inside the distance loss in a row. Ennis-Brown vs. Combi Ennis-Brown gets back into the winner’s ranks as he takes decision over Argentinian Combi. Ennis-Brown was able to use his longer reach and better skills to boss this one. Combi did his best but he was nowhere near good enough. Ennis-Brown outboxed the limited Combi who never worked how to deal with the very individualistic style of Ennis-Brown and apart from a cut over his right which was opened in the fifth round it was a comfortable night for Ennis-Brown. Scores 98-92 twice and 99-91 for Ennis-Brown. Having lost his Commonwealth and British titles to Sam Maxwell in August Ennis-Brown picked up the prestigious WBC International title with this win. Combi lacked the skill and experience to test Ennis-Brown. Robinson vs. Dragone Cardiff southpaw Robinson wins the vacant Welsh Area title with a very narrow one point win over Dragone. There was never much between them from bell to bell. Dragone was cut over his right eye and Robinson was deducted a point for holding in the sixth. The decisive round was the eighth in which Robinson floored Dragone. That 10-8 round off-set the point deduction from the sixth and gave Robinson a one point advantage which he held on to in winning 95-94 on the referee’s card. First ten round fight for Robinson. Dragone was having his second shot at the Welsh title. Berlin, Germany: Middle: Vincenzo Gualtieri (18-0-1) W PTS 12 Billi Godoy (38-7). Super Welter: Jama Saidi (20-2) W Fouad El Massoudi (17-14-1). Super Middle: William Scull (18-0) W KO 2 Deneb Diaz (16-2,1ND). Middle: Bjoern Schicke (18-1-1) W KO 2 Joel Julio (39-9). Gualtieri vs. Godoy Gualtieri wins the vacant IBF Inter-Continental belt with wide unanimous verdict over seasoned veteran Godoy. Gualtieri dominated the fight with his superior skills outboxing Godoy and flooring him in the ninth. Godoy fought hard but never came close to being a threat as Gualtieri won on scores of 120-106, 120-108 and 119-108. Gualtieri is progressing well but needs tougher tests. Godoy was 26-0 at the start of his career but higher level opposition has found him out. Saidi vs. El Massoudi Saidi retains the European Union title with points victory over El Massoudi. Scores 117-111 twice and 119-110 for Saidi. Fourth win in a row for Saidi whose losses have come in overly ambitious clashes with Jack Culcay and Vincent Feigenbutz. Former French champion El Massoudi lost on points to Sergio Garcia for the European title in December 2019. Times have been tough for him and he is 3-7-1 in his last 11 fights Scull vs. Diaz Cuban Scull racks up another inside the distance win. After a close opening round a right from Scull put Diaz down and out. Ninth inside the distance victory for Scull who wins the International Boxing Federation Latino belt. Diaz’s statistics look good but his home opposition has been pathetic and he is now 0-2 in fights outside Colombia. Schicke vs. Julio Schicke disposes of experienced Colombian Julio in two rounds. Julio looked a reasonable test for Schicke after a loss last year but he was floored heavily in the second. He made it to his feet was put down again and was counted out. Schicke, 33, had gone from 15-0 to 1-1-1 but has recovered with two quick wins this year. Julio, 36, challenged for the WBO super welterweight title in 2008 but this is now his fifth loss in a row. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Feather: Erika Cruz (14-1) W PTS 10 Melissa Esquivel (12-2-1). Light: Angel Fierro (19-1-1) W TKO 4 Cristian Bielma (18-4-1). Welter: Christian Gomez (22-2-1) W TKO 3 Javier Franco (35-22-6). Cruz vs. Esquivel In an all-Mexican scarp Cruz outpoints Esquivel in the first defence of the WBA Female title. Southpaw Cruz took the split decision in what was a close bout with the judges coming up with some quite different scores and Cruz herself admitted it was close and although she felt she won she would not have been unhappy with a draw. Scores 98-92 and 97-93 for Cruz and 97-93 for Esquivel. Fierro vs. Bielma Fifteen wins by KO/TKO for Fierro as he halts Bielma in four rounds. He was 16-0-1 before losing to Alex Martin on a majority decision last year but has rebounded knocking out former WBA secondary title holder Alberto Machado in March. Bielma was in reasonable form being 8-1-1 going in. Gomez vs. Franco Gomez’s fights rarely go the distance and this was no exception as he halted experienced Franco in three rounds. He has now scored 20 inside the distance wins and one of his two losses ended the same way. After nine victories in a row Franco is 2-3-1 in his last six fights. Radomsko, Poland: Super Middle: Robert Parzeczewski (28-2) W PTS 10 Taras Golovashchenko (6-5). Middle: Damian Jonak (41-1-2) DREW 8 Andrew Robinson (25-5-2). Parzeczewski vs. Golovashchenko Parzeczewski gets points win mover Golovashchenko but struggles winning a majority decision. Parzeczewski had Golovashchenko in some pain with a body shot in the first but did not follow up on that success. He did enough to get his nose in front but Golovashchenko shook Parzeczewski in the ninth and finished strongly. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Parzeczewski and 95-95. One loss in his last 22 fights for Parzeczewski as he retains the Polish International title but not a good performance although he later said he had been ill and injured. Ukrainian Golovashchenko very ordinary and should not have been a problem for Parzeczewski. Jonak vs. Robinson Jonak had suffered an upset loss to Robinson in 2019 so he wanted to get revenge. It did not work out that way as Robinson came away with a deserved majority draw. Scores 76-76 twice and 77-75 for Jonak. Jonak has settled for a no risk career and at 38 is going nowhere. Robinson was knocked out by Liam Williams in a fight for the British title in October last year so a good result for him. November 27 Villaneuve sur Lot, France: Super Feather: Samir Ziani (33-3-1) W RTD 9 Serif Gurdijeljac (21-6). Ziani wins the vacant IBF Inter-Continental title. Fighting in his home town Ziani was well on his way to a wide points win when Serb Gurdijeljac retired at the end of the ninth round apparently having suffered a fracture to his right hand. The former undefeated European champion extends his current unbeaten run to eleven bouts. Gurdijeljac had lost only one of his last 15 outings. Laval, France: Welter: Jordy Weiss (28-0) W PTS 10 Aitor Nieto (25-7-1). Weiss collects the WBA and IBO International belts with majority verdict over Nieto. The judges all saw a different fight with scores of 98-92 and 96-94 for Weiss and 95-95. These two had fought back in 2018 with Weiss getting the unanimous decision in a contest for the European Union title. Weiss is the official next mandatory challenger for the winner of David Avanesyan vs. Liam Taylor. Ferrara, Italy: Super Light: Arblin Kaba (13-2-1) W PTS 10Daniele Zagatti (9-2-1). Kaba survives a sixth round crisis to retain the national title with points victory over Zagatti. The champion made a confident start and looked to be cruising to victory as he swept up the early rounds and was credited with a knockdown in the fifth. That changed when a left from Zagatti had Kaba badly shaken and in serious trouble in the sixth. Zagatti threw plenty of punches trying to force the stoppage but Kaba survived and steadied himself and was back on top over the remaining rounds. Scores 98-92, 98-93 and 96-93 for Kaba. The Albanian-born champion had hit a bad patch going 0-2-1 when only drawing with Luciano Randazzo to retain his title and losing twice inside the distance in non-title fights. Home town fighter Zagatti had won his last five fights but had not gone ten rounds before. Tokyo, Japan: Feather: Hinata Maruta (11-1-1) W PTS 10 Ryo Hino (14-3-2). Maruta floors Hino twice but in the end has to fight hard to retain his national title. Hino, an awkward southpaw, gave Maruta some problems in the first two rounds and moved in front but Maruta floored Hino with a right in the third and with a right hook in the fifth. After five rounds Murata was in front 48-45 on two cards and 49-44 on the third. Hino fought hard over the second half of the fight attacking fiercely with Murata looking for an inside the distance win countering with savage counters. Hino scored well in the eighth rocking Maruta and he looked to have shaken Murata in the tenth. Scores 97-91 twice and 96-93 for Murata. This was Maruta’s first defence and Hino’s second attempt to win the title. Ostroleka, Poland: Super Welter: Przemyslaw Zysk (18-0) W PTS 10 Juan Ruiz (27-6). Light Heavy: Pawel Stepien (16-0-1) W PTS 8 Hernan Perez (8-5). Middle: Kamil Szeremeta (21-2-1) DREW 8 Nizar Trimech (9-2-1). Zysk vs. Ruiz Zysk continues unbeaten with a good win over Ruiz in an entertaining contest. Zysk opened the first using his longer reach to score with some good jabs but Ruiz connected with a sharp right counter. They both landed well in the second with Zysk then boxing skilfully to edge the next three rounds but they were all close. Zysk had a big seventh but Ruiz rocked Zysk with rights in the eighth and Zysk banged back to finish strongly. Scores 98-92 twice and 97-93 for Zysk. First ten round fight for the 29-year-old local. Venezuelan Ruiz has slipped from the time he was 21-0 but he fought better than the scores indicate here. Stepien vs. Perez Stepien wins unanimous decision over Argentinian Perez. Stepien never really shifted from second gear being far too casual. He always had things in hand but he was allowing Perez too much room and almost gifting him a couple of rounds. He had Perez hurt a couple of times but did not press his advantage and surfed his way to a win. Scores 78-74 twice and 79-73. After the fight Stepien indicated he had injured a hand and had not been well during his preparations for the fight. South American champion Perez was halted in nine rounds by Anthony Sims in nine rounds in August. Szeremeta vs. Trimech Szeremeta has to finish strongly to get a majority draw in what was supposed to be a just a keep busy fight. Trimech scored with some well-timed rights in the first and second. Szeremeta settled and edged the third but Trimech was a danger again in the fourth. The fifth was close and Szeremeta upped his pace in the sixth trying to subdue Trimech and continued that aggression into the seventh as Trimech looked to be flagging. Both threw everything into the last with neither really dominating. Scores 76-76 twice and 77-75 for Szeremeta. Not a very good performance from Szeremeta who in the last twelve months had been in with both Gennady Golovkin and Jaime Munguia. Trimech proved a surprise as he is just a four and six round prelim fighter. East London, South Africa: Minimum: Ayanda Ndulani (12-2-1) W PTS 10 Siphamandla Baleni (18-4-2). Bantam: Gideon Buthelezi (23-5) W PTS 10 Jonas Matheus (14-4-1). Ndulani vs. Baleni Ndulani gains revenge as he decisions Baleni to win the vacant IBO title. This was a poor fight with too much holding and wrestling and too little boxing and one very strange score. Two judges had Ndulani winning 117-111 and 116-112 and the third gave it to Baleni 118-114. When they met for the vacant WBO African title in 2019 Baleni took the unanimous win. Now 7 wins in his last 8 bouts for Ndulani who knocked out former IBF champion Nkosinathi Joyi in four rounds in May. South African light fly champion Baleni was No 5 with the WBO. Buthelezi vs. Matheus In a much better fight Buthelezi took a split decision over Namibian Matheus. The fight swayed back and forth with both having periods of dominance and with Matheus close to a stoppage in the last round. Scores 96-94 twice for Buthelezi and 96-94 for Matheus. Both were on good form with Buthelezi having won his last eight fights and Matheus 9 of his last 10. Jonkoping, Sweden: Super Welter: Patricia Berghult (15-0) W PTS 10 Olivia Belkacem (10-3). Berghult wins the vacant WBC Female title with a unanimous decision over Belkacem. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 for the Swede who was previously the WBC interim title holder. Swiss Belkacem has lost in shots at WBFederation, Women’s International Boxing Association and European titles Swansea, Wales: Light: Gavin Gwynne (14-2) W PTS 12 Jack O’Keeffe (10-1). Gwynne retains the Commonwealth title as he breezes past O’Keeffe. It took Gywnne a few rounds to really get into his stride but after that he dominated the fight. When he chose to box he was totally in charge but at times he let himself be drawn into a scrap by O’Keeffe. The challenger was always busy but not to any great effect and with a bit more effort Gywnne might have handed O’Keefe his first inside the distance loss but the Midlander was made of sterner stuff and Gwynne had to go the distance. Scores 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 for Gwynn. He was making the first defence of the Commonwealth title and is aiming at the British title next. O’Keefe fought hard but lacked the power to be a threat. Birmingham, England: Super Welter: Sam Gilley (13-1) W KO 4 Evaldas Korsakas (10-8-3). Londoner Gilley wins the vacant English title with early kayo victory over Lithuanian Korsakas. Gilley finished the fight in the fourth putting Korsakas down with a left hook to the body and Korsakas was unable to beat the count. Gilley was moving up to super welter after winning the WBC International Silver title at welter. Korsakas is based in England and has done all of his fighting there. Springfield, MA, USA: Super Middle: Mike Guy (13-7-1) W TKO 9 Kendrick Ball (17-2-2) W. Feather: Shelly Vincent (27-2) W PTS 8 Shelly Barnett (5-5-2). Guy vs. Ball Minor upset as Guy wears down and stops local hope Ball in nine rounds. With Ball standing 6’2” and Guy 5’8” the tactics were obvious. Ball would use his height and reach to spear Guy with jabs at distance and Guy would rumble forward trying to get inside to attack Ball’s body. Ball’s plan worked-but for less than three minutes as Guy got past Ball’s guard and put him down with a right in the first round. Ball came though that crisis and was able to use his jab to fight his way back into contention. By the ninth it looked as though Ball’s tactics might work but Guy staggered Ball and then rained punches on him until the referee stepped in to save Ball. Guy, 40, had lost three tough fights in a row against Demond Nicholson, John Ryder and Jesse Hart so was due a win. He collects the WBC United States belt. Ball has an eight-bout winning streak snapped. Vincent vs. Barnett Even at 40 Guy was not the oldest winner on the card. In her first fight since August 2019 42-year-old Vincent came back with a win as she outpointed Canadian Barnett 80-72 on the three cards. Vincent lost to Heather Hardy for the WBO title in 2018 so will be hoping to work her way back to another title shot. Barnett now 1-6-1 in her last 8 fights. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Welter: Paul Kroll (9-0) W PTS 8 Mark Dawson (9-1-1). Philadelphian Kroll gets another win under his belt. Kroll floored Dawson in the first and then outboxed him the rest of the way. Scores 79-72 twice and 80-71. Kroll won the US Olympic Trials for Rio but lost out in the Americas Qualifier. Kroll was to have fought Dawson at the US Trials but Dawson was disqualified on medical grounds. Fight of the week (Significance): Kambosos win mover Lopez has shaken up the lightweight division and there is the prospect of some exciting fights Fight of the week (Entertainment): Fulton vs. Figueroa. After some early rounds spoiled by too much holding it developed into an exciting, close battle. Fighter of the week: George Kambosos Punch of the week: The booming left hook from Jack Massey that put Bilal Laggoune down Upset of the week: Kambosos’ victory over Lopez Prospect watch: Russian super middleweight Pavel Silyagin 9-0 looked good in outpointing experienced Isaac Chilemba. Observations Rosette: Some good match making in Las Vegas as the leading fights Fulton vs. Figueroa, Aleem vs. Baez and Russell vs. Santiago were all decided on majority decision and a six round prelim was decided on a split decision. Red Card: One of the fights I intended to cover was the WBC interim Female title fight between Kenia Enriquez and Gabriel Sanchez which was scheduled but did not take place. It would have shown the farce that the sanction bodies heap on us. Enriquez was to make the fifth defence of the “interim” title which she has held since 2017. An interim title for four years and five defences that is some interim-give them up WBC ! I find it a bit discomforting that the IBF were happy to have Kenichi Ogawa fight for their super featherweight title. He beat Tevin Farmer for that title in 2017 but was stripped off the title when testing positive for a banned substance. The Japanese Boxing Commission handed Ogawa suspension and he was out for fourteen months so served his punishment . He then came back had one fight against a guy with a 12-6-1 record and the IBF immediately slotted him into their ratings as the third highest ranked fighter in the division so it seems they see cheating as nothing to get too excited about. Can’t let the WBA go unnoticed. Tanzanian Adam Lazaro lost to Russian Alexander Devyatov for the WBA Asian title. It would take earth’s tectonic plates millions of years to move Tanzania from Africa to Asia but the WBA can do it in the flash of a sanction fee! By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Terence Crawford comes from behind to stop Shawn Porter in the tenth round in WBO welterweight title defence -Demetrius Andrade stops Jason Quigley in two rounds to retain the WBO middleweight title -The WBC flyweight title fight between champion Julio Cesar Martinez and McWilliams Arroyo ends in No Decision after two rounds when Arroyo is unable to continue due to a cut -Murodjon Akhmadaliev outpoints Jose Velasquez in WBA super bantamweight title defence -Artem Dalakian retains the WBA flyweight title with ninth round stoppage of Luis Concepcion -Esquiva Falcao gets technical decision over Patrice Volny in IBF middleweight eliminator -In Female title fights Kali Reis retains IBF and WBA super lightweight titles and wins the vacant WBO belt with split decision over Jessica Camara, Segolene Lefebvre collects the vacant WBO super bantamweight title and Debora Dionicius outpoints Marcela Acuna for interim WBO featherweight title -Former title holders IBF cruiserweight Yunier Dorticos and WBO super bantamweight Isaac Dogboe score wins -Tim Tszyu moves closer to a world title shot as he outpoints Takeshi Inoue World Title/Major Shows November 19 Manchester, NH, USA: Super Bantam: Murodjon Akhmadaliev (10-0) W PTS 12 Jose Velasquez (29-7-2). Fly: Julio Cesar Martinez (18-1,2ND) ND McWilliams Arroyo (21-4,1ND). Middle: Demetrius Andrade (31-0) W TKO 2 Jason Quigley (19-2). Super Light: Kali Reis (19-7-1) W PTS 10 Jessica Camara (8-3). Heavy: Dempsey McKean (20-0) W TKO 6 Don Haynesworth (16-8-1). Akhmadaliev vs. Velasquez Akhmadaliev outscores Velasquez by a large margin but the gutsy little Chilean makes Akhmadaliev fight hard in every round. Akhmadaliev was looking to get this one over in the first and he bombarded Velasquez with punches hardly even letting him out of his corner. Velasquez saw out the storm. At 5’ 2 ½” Velasquez is used to giving away height and reach but has never failed to last the distance. Akhmadaliev was using his longer reach to spear Velasquez with right jabs and following with straight lefts and was able to easily step back out of range as Velasquez had to stretch to get within distance. Velasquez did well in the third storming forward connecting with some short hooks and wide looping punches. Velasquez had no choice but to rumble forward and Akhmadaliev was finding the target with individual punches and fast combinations. Velasquez just soaked up the punishment and kept walking forward and the sheer volume of his punches had Akhmadaliev struggling to contain him. Akhmadaliev handed out serious punishment in the ninth and tenth and Velasquez finally looked to tire over the last two rounds-but after the bell did two somersaults and some press-up! Scores 119-111 for Akhmadaliev from the three judges as he makes a successful second defence of the IBF and WBA titles. Velasquez earned his title shot with wins over wins over 21-0 Melvin Lopez 16-0-1 Ariel Lopez. Martinez vs. Arroyo Martinez retains the WBC title in a disappointing ending. Both fighters were down in the first and Arroyo down again in the second but a clash of heads had opened a deep cut over Arroyo’s right eye and he was unable to come out for the third round and the fight was declared a No Decision. It had been short and explosive so it was a pity it ended so quickly. Andrade vs. Quigley Andre wipes out Quigley in two rounds. After a period of tentative pawing from both fighters Quigley launched a couple of attacks without landing any clean punches. Andrade sprang to life exploding on Quigley with a right hook and followed with a sequence of punches that sent Quigley down on his hands knees. Quigley got up and after the eight count Andrade piled forward throwing punches. He had Quigley hurt again but pushed Quigley to the floor which gave Quigley a smattering of recovery time and with the bell only seconds away Quigley survived. Quigley tried to box on the outside in the second but late in the round a fast straight left dropped Quigley on his rear. He was up and did not look too badly shaken. Andrade then chased him along the ropes and drove Quigley down with a volley of punches and the referee stopped the fight. Fifth defence of the WBO title and nineteenth win by KO/TKO for Andrade. He is still seeking a career defining fight but at 33 time is running out and it is difficult to see where the defining fight could come from at middleweight as Saul Alvarez has deserted the division, Gennady Golovkin has a unification fight lined up with Ryota Murata and the WBO No 1 Jaime Munguia has shown no interest in pressing for a title shot and the WBC is pushing him towards their title. Quigley had shown nothing since losing on a fifth round retirement against Tureano Johnson in July 2019 and was out of his depth here. Reis vs. Camara Reis now has three of the four titles at super light after outscoring Camara in a brutal scrap. This was a close fight all the way. Reis surprised by starting as a southpaw but switched to orthodox in the second. She took the centre of the ring with Camara circling and choosing her moment to dart inside with short punches. These tactics looked to move her in front but Reis upped her pace in the fourth and both were heavily marked as they connected with hard shots. The fight swung one way and then the other as they went toe-to-toe. Reis had a big last round that probably clinched the decision for her. The referee asked the doctor to look at a cut on Camara’s left eyelid and then Reis connected with a series of rights that had Camara staggering but she fought back to last to the bell. Scores 97-93 and 95-94 for Reis and 97-93 for Camara. Reis was defending the IBF and WBA titles and won the vacant WBO belt. Camara was short on experience but the Canadian proved to be a real battler. McKean vs. Haynesworth McQueen gets a win in his first fight in the USA as he stops Haynesworth is six rounds. McQueen had height and reach advantages and was able to work at distance with his jab on the plodding slow-paced Haynesworth who provided plenty of target practice but very little else. Demsey looked close to ending the fight with a sustained attack at the end of the fourth a bit more quality and a bit less quantity might have achieved that. A burst of punches from McQueen at the start of the sixth saw the referee stop the fight. Haynesworth was no test for McQueen and the quality of McQueen’s opposition has been less than mediocre with his last three opponents ranked 41,109 and now 206 by BoxRec. In fairness to McQueen he took this fight at fairly short notice but I can’t see him making much of an impact. All you need to know about 39-year-old Haynesworth’s value as a test is that although three inches shorter than McQueen at 293lbs he was 50lbs heavier. November 20 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Welter: Terence Crawford (38-0) W TKO 10 Shawn Porter (31-4-1). Middle: Esquiva Falcao (29-0) W TEC DEC 6 Patrice Volny (16-1). Middle: Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (11-0) W TKO 8 Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (38-6). Feather: Isaac Dogboe (23-2) W PTS 10 Christopher Diaz (26-4). Light: Ray Muratalla (13-0) W TKO 5 Elias Araujo (21-4). Feather: Adam Lopez (15-3-1) TEC DRAW 2 Adan Ochoa (12-2-1). Super Feather: Carlos Balderas (11-1) W TKO 4 Julio Cortez (15-1). Welter: Delante Johnson (0-0) W TKO 4 Antonius Grable (3-1-1). Crawford vs. Porter After a slow start Crawford comes on strong over the second half of a close battle to stop Porter and retain the WBO title. Round 1 A very positive start from Porter. He was showing plenty of quick movement throwing plenty of jabs and moving in behind them trying to connect with hooks. Crawford was on the back foot and defended well but hardly threw a punch. Score: 10-9 Porter Round 2 Once again Porter was the more active. He was getting through with jabs and landed a straight right. Crawford was a little livelier than in the first two rounds and connected with some strong left hand counters to make the round close Score: 10-9 Porter Porter 20-18 Round 3 Another close round. Crawford was now on the front foot tracking Porter but Porter used classy movement and when he was trapped in a corner cleverly slipped out and turned so that Crawford was in the corner. The best punch of the fight so far was a lovely left uppercut inside from Porter which snapped Crawford’s head back. Porter was down at the end of the round but from a push and he was showing a cut over his left eye. Score: 10 9 Porter Porter 30-27 Round 4 A better round for Crawford. He was anticipating Porter’s rushing attacks and either countering with a left or dancing back out of distance. Porter was a bit wild with his punches and tumbled head first into a corner after missing with a punch. Score: 10-9 Crawford Porter 39-37 Round 5 Porter was circling Crawford for much of the round and Crawford showed his edge in strength by pushing Porter out whenever he came inside. Porter twice stormed forward late in the round throwing hooks and uppercuts forcing Crawford to cover up but Crawford was the one landing punches at the bell. Porter’s early work gave him the round but it was ominous in that Crawford landed so well at the end. Score: 10-9 Porter Porter 49-46 Round 6 Crawford was more in control in this round. He was jabbing strongly with his right and bringing his left into play more often. Porter’s attacks now resembled wild lunges rather than planned attacks and Crawford was tying him up inside refusing to let Porter work. A clash of heads brought a temporary stoppage with Crawford pawing at his head looking to see if he was cut. Score: 10- Crawford Porter 58-56 Round 7 A less frantic round. Porter was still bouncing on his toes and still relying on lunging attacks. Crawford did what clean work there was. He was spearing Porter with jabs and left counters and smothering Porter’s work inside Score: 10-9 Crawford Porter 67-66 Round 8 Porter was still leaping forward but it was a case of head down and swing. He did land a couple of good head shots but Crawford outlanded him. He was more accurate and was starting to put together some flashing combinations. Score: 10-9 Crawford TIED 76-76 Round 9 Porter was noticeably tiring. He was no longer bouncing on his toes and when he did drive forward he was slower. Crawford was slotting home jabs and using his left hooks to score as Porter advanced. Crawford had swept the last three rounds and this round showed Porter had No Plan B to turn things around. Crawford banged home a couple of hooks to the body at the bell. Score: 10-9 Crawford Crawford 86-85 Round 10 As Porter tried to move inside at the start of the round Crawford countered him with a right and a left that dropped Porter on his rump. Porter was up at four and after the count again tried to get inside but Crawford met him with a six-punch series that put Porter down again. He beat the canvas with his fists in frustration but got up and was looked ready to continue but his father/trainer Kenny Porter was on the ring apron waiving for the fight to be stopped. Crawford was defending the WBO title for the fifth time. A three-division title holder Crawford is now 16-0 in title fights and has won his last nine fights by KO/TKO. A fight with Errol Spence would be huge and would unify the IBF, WBC and WBO titles. Let’s hope it happens. Porter announced his retirement. A former holder of the IBF and WBC welterweight titles his other three losses were in title fights against Kell Brook, Keith Thurman and a split decision against Errol Spence. Falcao vs. Volny Falcao edges Volny on a split technical decision after the fight is stopped after six rounds. Falcao made a fast start crowding Volny and throwing bunches of punches with Volny having difficulty dealing with Falcao’s output. Falcao continued his relentless pressure in the second but Volny was dealing with the pressure better. Falcao took the fight inside again in the third forcing Volny to the ropes and had some success with rights. Volny was able to land some crisp counters but Falcao’s higher work rate was winning him the rounds. Volny had a better fourth as he seemed to have settled into the fight after being under so much pressure at the start. Falcao outscored Volny over the first two minutes of the fifth although Volny closed the round landing some clean shots. Falcao landed a hurtful uppercut in the sixth but as they moved inside their heads banged together and Falcao suffered a bad cut on his head above his left eye brow and was unable to continue. It was decided on the scorecards which came out as 58-56 and 58-57 for Falcao and 58-56 for Volny. The Brazilian southpaw wins an IBF eliminator. Positions 1 and 2 in the IBF rankings are vacant and No 3 Patrick Wojcicki has not beaten a rated fighter so can’t move to one or two. Falcao was rated No 4 and Volny No 5 so by beating a rated opponent Falcao can leap into one of the vacant slots and become the mandatory challenger to Gennady Golovkin. Volny will be trying to find a way into another eliminator. Alimkhanuly vs. N’Jikam Alimkhanuly just too strong for an aging N’Jikam. Alimkhanuly landed a right early in the first that had N’Jikam retreating and dominated then fight from there. N’Jikam was circling the ring trying to stay out of trouble and did better in the second with some efficient jabbing. A sustained attack from Alimkhanuly in third saw N’Jikam going down and taking a count. Alimkhanuly scored heavily again in the fourth as N’Jikam was already slowing and a couple of heavy uppercuts from Alimkhanuly in the fifth had the referee taking a close watch on the punishment N’Jikam was taking. The sixth was another one-sided round. N’Jikam tried to punch back in the seventh but a right staggered him. N’Jikam got some respite as the fight was paused twice to deal with loose tape on N’Jikam’s gloves but in the eighth after two fierce attacks from Alimkhanuly the referee halted the fight to save N’Jikam from any more hurt. The Kazak southpaw climbed to No 2 in the WBO ratings with a win over Rob Brant and he would pose a real threat to Demetrius Andrade. At 37 N’Jikam is showing signs of wear and tear. He suffered consecutive losses against Callum Smith and Fedor Chudinov in 2019 and was then out for 19 months before returning with a low level win in July this year. Dogboe vs. Diaz Dogboe keeps his title ambitions alive with a majority verdict victory over Diaz. Dogboe was focusing on a body attack in the early rounds with Diaz scoring on the outside and countering or stepping out of range of Dogboe’s attacks. Diaz was picking up points with his jabs but Dogboe started to catch Diaz with rights to the head and had Diaz holding on from a right in the sixth. The Ghanaian had more success with rights in the seventh but Diaz fired back to rock Dogboe in the eighth. With the result seemingly in the balance they fought hard through the ninth and tenth of an entertaining scrap with Dogboe just getting the better of the trading. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Dogboe and 95-95. It is good news/bad news for Dogboe. The good news is that after successive loses to Emanuel Navarrete in super bantam title fights he has rebounded with three wins and is No 4 with the WBO at featherweight. The bad news is that Navarrete has also moved to featherweight and is the WBO champion. Diaz’s three previous losses have come against Masayuki Ito, Shakur Stevenson and Navarrete. Muratalla vs. Araujo Another quality performance by Muratalla as he halts Araujo in five rounds. Quick, accurate jabbing from Muratalla in the first posed problems for Araujo as he bobbed and weaved trying to get inside. When Muratalla opened up late in the round he shook Araujo with an uppercut. Araujo continued to come forward over the next three rounds and scored enough to be competitive but Muratalla was working on Araujo’s body and landing the heavier punches. Muratalla dug in some wicked left hooks to the body at the start of the fifth which momentarily had Araujo backing off. When Araujo marched forward again he walked into more severe hurt and the referee had seen enough and stepped in. Ninth inside the distance victory in a row for Muratalla. Former Argentinian champion Araujo is 0-2 in fights in the USA. Lopez vs. Ochoa This was another fight halted early due to a cut. After two fiery rounds won by Lopez a banging together of heads in the second had seen Ochoa cut over his right eye and the cut was too severe for the contest to continue and it was declared a No Decision. Lopez’s losses have been against Stephen Fulton and Isaac Dogboe on majority verdicts and a stoppage by Oscar Valdez. Ochoa had lost on points to Lopez in a four round fight in 2017 but he was 10-1 since then. Balderas vs. Cortez Balderas hands out a beating to Cortez and stops him in four rounds. Balderas had his jab working well in the first and late in the round a punch saw Cortez lose his mouthguard. Balderas scored with hurtful body punches in the second and staggered Cortez with a right in the third. Balderas rocked Cortez with two rights to the head in the fourth. He followed that with a crunching uppercut which shook Cortez and then a left and right that sent Cortez staggering back and the fights was stopped. Second win in three months for Balderas as the 2016 Olympian gets his career rolling again following 15 months of inactivity. Ecuadorian Cortez goes from 13-1 to 2-4. Johnson vs. Grable Tokyo 21 Olympian, World Youth and twice US National champion Johnson turns pro with stoppage of Floridian Grable. “Tiger” Johnson won all the way before flooring and stopping Grable in the sixth. Another outstanding amateur snapped up by Top Rank. Kiev, Ukraine: Fly: Artem Dalakian (21-0) W TKO 9 Luis Concepcion (39-9). Dalakian retains the WBA title with ninth round stoppage of Panamanian Concepcion. With Dalakian a natural counter-puncher and Concepcion’s default approach being aggression the tactics were easy to predict. Concepcion piled forward from the first aiming to get inside and score with hooks and uppercuts. Dalakian used his longer reach to score on Concepcion at distance and tied Conception up inside. Concepcion pressed hard but the defensive skills of Dalakian frustrated all of his effort. Dalakian floored Concepcion twice in the fifth the first was punch/push and Concepcion was not hurt. Late in the round Dalakian connected with a succession of hooks which dumped Conception on the canvas. This time Concepcion was most definitely hurt but the he made it to his feet and he had lost his mouthguard which had to be replaced so the bell went before Dalakian could finish the job. Dalakian scored heavily again at the start of the sixth and Concepcion looked to be in trouble but he fought back at the end of the round. Concepcion continued to drive forward over the seventh but a right in the eighth sent him staggering across the ring and Dalakian landed some more hooks before Concepcion recovered and fought back. Just 15 seconds into the ninth Dalakian connected with a right to the head that had Concepcion stumbling back and a left hook dumped him down against the ropes. He was up at four and ready to continue but as Dalakian drove him across the ring to the ropes a member of Concepcion's corner team climbed onto the ring apron waiving for the fight to be stopped. Fifth successful defence for the 34-year-old Azeri-born Ukrainian and fifteenth win by KO/TKO. Concepcion has held the secondary versions of both the WBA flyweight and super flyweight titles but at 36 is looking a bit battle worn. November 17 Sydney, Australia: Super Welter: Tim Tszyu (20-0) W VPTS 12 Takeshi Inoue (17-2-1). Super Welter: Wade Ryan (20-9) W PTS 10 Nath Nwachukwu (7-2-2). Super Welter: Koen Mazoudier (9-2) W PTS 8 Joel Camilleri (20-7-1). Middle: Dennis Hogan (28-5-1) W Tommy Browne (42-8-2). Tszyu vs. Inoue Tszyu takes wide unanimous verdict over Inoue. A right from Tszyu sent Inoue back on his heels in the first and he connected with uppercuts in the second as Inoue took some time to get into the fight. Tszyu scored again with rights and uppercuts in the third and by the end of the fourth Inoue was already showing swelling around his eyes. Tszyu piled on the pressure in the fifth and sixth forcing Inoue back around the ring and Inoue was hanging on. Tszyu landed heavily to the body in the seventh with Inoue almost touching the canvas. He had Inoue hurt in the eighth and although Inoue was countering there was no power there but he boxed well in the ninth his best round in the fight and although Inoue was outgunned in the tenth there was blood from Tszyu’s mouth. Tszyu was going past the tenth round for the first time but he was in control and a knockdown which might have been punch/push in the last closed out the fight. Scores 120-107 twice and 119-108 for Tszyu who was defending the WBO Global and WBO Asia Pacific titles. He is No 1 with them and looking to get a title shot but WBO title holder Brian Castano and IBF/WBC/WBA title holder Jermell have unfinished business after a draw in their unification clash in July and he is not the mandatory challenger in any of the other bodies. Inoue had lost almost every round when challenging Jaime Munguia for the WBO in January 2019 and done nothing of note since then. He was No 7 with the WBO but was not rated by the other three bodies. Ryan vs. Nwachukwu Ryan defends the IBO International title with his fourth win in a row. Southpaw Ryan edged three close opening rounds with Nwachukwu doing better in the fourth. Ryan gradually took control of the fight. He shook Nwachukwu with a left in the sixth and in the seventh. Nwachukwu was having trouble with his left eye after a punch from Ryan in the eighth but passed a doctor’s inspection. Nwachukwu fought hard in the ninth even though his left eye was closing and Ryan scored a knockdown in the tenth. Scores 100-89, 99-90 and 98-91 for Ryan. Nwachukwu had lost on points to Inoue in 2019. Mazoudier vs. Camilleri Local fighter Mazoudier takes a split verdict over former Australian champion Camilleri. Camilleri made the better start with Mazoudier edging the third. Camilleri had a good fourth to establish a lead but the rounds had all been close. Mazoudier scored with hard rights to take the fifth and sixth to even things up and then outscored Camilleri over the seventh and eighth to get the decision. Scores 78-74 and 77-75 for Mazoudier and 78-74 for Camilleri. Mazoudier had lost to Luke Woods and Wade Ryan so this is a good recovery effort. Camilleri had won 5 of his last 6 with the loss coming against Tim Tszyu. Hogan vs. Browne Hogan brings the curtain down on Browne’s career as he hands out steady punishment winning every round. Brown did well to get to the bell being hurt significantly in the each of the last three rounds. Scores 60-54 for Hogan from the judges. Hogan lost consecutive title fights in 2019 against Jaime Munguia for the WBO title and Jermall for the WBC belt then was stopped in five rounds by Tim Tszyu in March this year so badly needed a win. Browne had held the WBFoundation title and strangely the Thai title and announced his retirement November 18 Mexico City, Mexico: Feather: David Picasso (19-0-1) W KO 2 Luis Millan (17-5). Super Welter: Jorge Garcia (22-3) W PTS 6 Abraham Juarez (19-8). Super Fly: Argi Cortes (21-2-2) W PTS 6 Ivan Ochoa (8-6-1) Picasso vs. Millan Venezuelan Millan came determined to cause an upset but was overpowered by unbeaten Picasso. Millan was taking the fight to Picasso in the first and launched a strong attack at the start of the second. Picasso easily dealt with Millan’s efforts and then unleashed a barrage of punch that ended the fight. The draw on Picasso’s record was a strange “technical” one where Picasso was stopped in four rounds but the result was changed to a technical draw. Two losses in a row for Millan. Garcia vs. Juarez Garcia gets revenge as he takes a unanimous decision over Juarez. Garcia won on scores of 59-55 on the three cards, He had lost a split decision against Juarez in August 2019. Cortes vs. Ochoa Cortes extends his current unbeaten run as he outpoints Ochoa. Cortes is unbeaten in his last 21 fights. The small show was to celebrate the 15 year partnership between TV Azteca and Zanfer Boxing as part of the closing ceremonies for the WBC Convention November 19 Gregorio de Laferrere, Argentina: Middle: Gabriel Diaz (11-2) W DISQ 1 Jairo Rayman (16-1-1). This one was all over inside three minutes as Rayman is disqualified with 20 seconds to go in the round. He bundled Diaz to the ropes and swung two punches which curled around and landed on the back of Diaz’s head. He fell to his hands and knees and then down lying on the canvas holding the back of his head. A doctor decreed he was unable to continue and as the punches clearly landed to the rear of Diaz’s head Rayman was disqualified. Halle en der Saale, Germany: Super Feather: Nico Venetis (23-0) W PTS 12 Leonardo Uzcategui (10-5-2). German southpaw Venetis collects the vacant Global Boxing Council belt with one-sided points victory over Venezuelan Uzcategui on scores of 117-111 twice and 119-109. Venetis has been very carefully protected against anything remotely like a test and the last nine fighters Uzcategui has beaten could not muster a single win between them! Bangkok, Thailand: Super Light: Daud Yordan (41-4) W TKO 5 Rachata Khaophimal (7-1). Yordan halts novice Thai Rachata in the fifth. This was a total mismatch. Yordan cruised through the early rounds then rocked Rachata in the fourth and put him down with a body punch in the fifth. Rachata made it to his feet but unloaded on his and the referee stopped the mismatch. This was the former IBO champion’s first fight for two years. He wins the vacant WBX ABC belt. Novice Rachata a lamb to the slaughter. Glasgow, Scotland: Middle: Trigger Wood (9-0) W TKO 4 Paddy Pollock (8-11-3). Middle: Paul Kean (14-2) W PTS 8 Graham McCormack (6-1). Wood vs. Pollock Wood too good for a game Pollock and gets a fourth round stoppage to collect the BBB of C Scottish Area title. First ten round fight and first inside the distance win for Wood. Kean vs. McCormack Dundee southpaw Kean wins all eight rounds on his way to securing the vacant BUI Celtic title. The referee scored it 80-72 for Kean over fellow-southpaw McCormack. November 20 London, England: Light Heavy: Dan Azeez (15-0) W TKO 7 Hosea Burton (26-3). Cruiser: Richard Riakporhe (13-0) W TKO 5 Olan Durodola (36-9). Cruiser: Mikael Lawal (15-0) W TKO 5 Leonardo Bruzzese (20-7). Welter: Florian Marku (10-0-1 W PTS 8 Jorick Luisetto (11-3). Azeez vs. Burton Azeez breaks down and dismantles Burton in seven rounds. Burton tried to make use of his 6” height edge and longer reach to box in the first round but Azeez was getting inside and he wobbled Burton with a right. Burton did better with his boxing in the second but Azeez dominated the third. Burton was being forced to stand and trade punches and he was hurt by a left hook in the third. Azeez continued to swarm forward in the fourth and Burton could not keep him out. Burton was staggered by a powerful jab in the fifth and sent sagging into the ropes by a punch in sixth. Azeez opened the seventh by landing two rights to the head that had Burton stumbling back. Burton recovered and hit back with jabs and right crosses as he steadied himself and stood and exchanged punches. He looked to have weathered the storm but Azeez forced him to the ropes and landed a neck-snapping left hook then poured on a series of lefts and rights to the head until the referee leapt in to protect Burton. Azeez wins the vacant British title and has established himself as a real threat in this division. He is No 9 with the WBA in a division that is heavy with British fighters with Joshua Buatsi, Lyndon Arthur, Callum Johnson, Anthony Yarde, Callum Smith and Craig Richards all world rated. Burton suffered an upset loss in September last year when being beaten on points by Ricards Bolotniks for the WBO European title in the final of the MTK-Global tournament and this was a crushing defeat which must put a question mark over his future. Riakporhe vs. Durodola After two years out of the ring Riakporhe is making up for lost time as he disposed off experienced Durodola in five rounds. Riakporhe made a confident start, He was jabbing smartly getting through Durodola’s guard and he shook Durodola at the end of the round with a powerful uppercut. Riakporhe dominated the early part of the second with a laser-like jab and then began to land with rights and left hooks to the body and was still scoring with jabs at the end of the round. Riakporhe connected with two heavy rights in the third but Durodola shook them off. A right cross followed by a right uppercut had Durodola backing off in the fourth but again Durodola shook them off. The first punch Riakporhe threw in the fifth was a short left hook to the chin that dropped Durodola. He beat the count but then Riakporhe drove him along the ropes landing hooks and uppercuts and with Durodola staggering the referee stopped the fight. The 6’5” Londoner wins the WBC Silver title. He had scored victories over Tommy McCarthy and Chris Billam-Smith but then the pandemic struck and he was out of action for almost two years which cost him his high ranking. He is back on track and a threat to any cruiserweight. Durodola was stopped in seven rounds by Ilunga Makabu in a challenge for the WBC title in December Lawal vs. Bruzzese Lawal demolishes Argentinian Bruzzese. The visitor was willing enough but limited. After winning the opening round Lawal dropped Bruzzese twice in the second. Bruzzese recovered and roiled forward over the third and fourth with a casual looking Lawal boxing patiently. Bruzzese continued to take the fight to Lawal in the fifth. Lawal waited for an opening and when Bruzzese came forward a thunderous overhand right sent him crashing to the canvas and the fight was quickly stopped to allow him to get some medical assistance. With this ninth inside the distance victory behind him Lawal is now looking to get a shot at Chris Billam-Smith who holds the British, Commonwealth and European titles. Fifth loss by KO/TKO for Bruzzese. Marku vs. Luisetto London-based Albanian southpaw Marku scores another win as he outpoints Frenchman Luisetto. Marku was quicker and cleverer than Luisetto switching guards and scoring with some flashy combinations. Luisetto fought hard and ignored Marku’s taunts. He did enough to pick up a couple of rounds but never really looked a threat. The referee scored the fight 78-75 for Marku who is building a big following. Miami, FL, USA: Cruiser: Yunier Dorticos (25-2) W TKO 2 Jesse Bryan (20-6-2,2ND). Super Feather: Luis Lebron-Ortiz (18-2-1) W TKO 7 Frank Diaz (9-0). Super Bantam: Mike Plania (26-1) W TKO 1 Ricardo Nunez (29-13). Heavy: Istvan Bernath (9-0) W TKO 2 Deon Hale (5-14-1). Dorticos vs. Bryan More of a massacre than a match as Dorticos batters poor Bryan to defeat. Dorticos was a clear head taller than the game Bryan. The Cuban scored two knockdowns in the first but Bryan gamely Bryan got up and continued. Bryan marched forward into fire in the second until Dorticos drove him to the ropes and then bombed Bryan with punches until he slumped to the floor with the fight then being stopped. Return to the ring for the first time for Dorticos since his loss to Mairis Breidis for the IBF title in September last year. Bryan used to facing only a diet of the hopeless. Lebron-Ortiz vs. Diaz This proved a couple of steps too far for Diaz. Lebron-Ortiz used his greater experience to overcome Diaz and force the stoppage in the seventh round. Puerto Rican Lebron-Ortiz might have seemed to be slipping after going from 17-0 to 1-2 but he had too much for the 20-year-old Diaz. Plania vs. Nunez World rated Filipino Plania wipes out Panamanian Nunez inside a round. The 24-year-old lost a decision to Juan Carlos Payano back in 2018 but has since won eleven in a row including a victory over 22-1-1 Joshua Greer. He is rated WBO 4/WBA 5/IBF 9(7)/WBC 15. Now 33 Nunez’s punching power saw him land two world title shots but he has now lost seven in a row. Bernath vs. Hale Bernath gets a second round stoppage in a fight that shows boxing matching at its worst. Bernath had about 4 inches in height over Hale but did not need any advantage as Hale’s fastest pace was slower than a trundle. Mercifully the referee stopped the farce in the second after Bernath had walked Hale to the ropes and landed a few punches. Hale protested the stoppage refusing to leave the centre of the ring and arguing with the referee. Although considerably shorter than Bernath Hale was 75lbs heavier than Bernath at 321lbs. Enough said! Buenos Aires, Argentina: Feather: Debora Anahl Dionicius (32-3) W PTS 10 Marcela Eliana Acuna (50-8-2). Bantam: Angel Aquino (9-4-1) W TKO 5 Kevin Munoz (12-1,1ND). Light Heavy: Braian Suarez (16-0) W TKO 3 Juan Boada (11-3). Dionicius vs. Acuna Dionicius springs an upset as she outpoints Acuna. Dionicius was younger and quicker than Acuna and took the opening round. Acuna pressed hard over the second and third and probably edged them. From there Dionicius took control outboxing her more experienced opponent and Acuna just could not land often enough to pose a real threat. The fight was halted temporarily in the ninth for the doctor to examine a cut suffered by Acuna in a clash of heads but was allowed to continue and although Acuna put in a huge effort in the last round Dionicius was a good winner. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 all for Dionicius who wins the interim WBO Female title. Acuna 45 was the first female fighter to be licensed in Argentina. She won the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF super bantamweight belts but at separate times, was 15-2-1 in world title fights and scored wins over top female stars such as Shannon O’Connell and Jackie Nava- so perhaps it is time to retire. Aquino vs. Munoz Another upset in this one as Argentinian bantamweight champion Aquino ends his fight with South American title holder Munoz with a big left hook in the fifth that put Munoz down heavily. He tried to struggle to his feet but the referee could see he was finished and waived the fight off. The only title on the line here was the vacant IBF Latino title which Aquino adds to his national title. Suarez vs. Boada Another display of power from unbeaten Suarez as he disposes of Colombian Boada in three rounds to collect the vacant WBO Latino title. Suarez scored two knockdowns in the second and was battering Boada in the third when Boada’s corner threw in the towel. Suarez has won his last seven fights by KO/TKO and has only been take the distance once in his 16 fights. Boada had won his last 5 fights. Grenoble, France: Cruiser: Eddy Lacrosse (13-7-2) W TKO 8 Nicolas Sais (11-5-1). Lacrosse wins the vacant French title with stoppage of Sais. Lacrosse was scoring heavily to the body from the start. Sais would have preferred to work at distance but Lacrosse pressed hard. Sais did manage to create some room and boxed on the outside from the fourth but Lacrosse maintained the pressure and early in the eighth connected with a right to the head that put Sais on the floor. Although he managed to get up a fresh stream of punches from Lacrosse saw the referee stop the fight. Second national title for Lacrosse a former holder of the light heavyweight belt. Sais,40, did not turn pro until he was 30, and he announced his retirement. Douai, France: Super Bantam: Segolene Lefebvre (15-0) W PTS 10 Paulette Valenzuela (13-2). With the vacant WBO Female title on the line local boxer Lefebvre put on a sparkling display of skill to outpoint Mexican Valenzuela. Lefebvre had a much longer reach and used that edge to box at distance. Valenzuela kept rolling forward but skilled footwork and accurate countering allowed Lefebvre to build a substantial lead and she had a good fifth round shaking Valenzuela with uppercuts. Valenzuela continued her attacks and scored well in the seventh and landed a big left hook in the tenth. Lefebvre did go down in the tenth and was given a count but it looked to have been a slip. Scores 96-93 twice and 97-92 for Lefebvre. She is no stranger to titles having held the French, World Boxing Federation, IBO and WBC Silver titles. Valenzuela came in on the back of six wins in a row. Hellbronn , Germany : Super Welter: Slawa Spomer (15-0) W PTS 10 Jose Suero (8-1-1). Heavy: Albon Pervizaj (17-1) W KO 2 Pavel Sour (13-6). Spomer vs. Suero German champion Spomer wins the vacant IBO Inter-Continental title with points victory over Spanish-based Dominican Suero. Spomer was giving lots of reach to the 6’0” tall Suero but with Suero not begin a heavy puncher he was able to hustle and bustle Suero who rarely got off the back foot. In an exciting sixth Suero did connect with a series of head punches that had Spomer badly shaken. Suero’s lack of power let him down and Spomer revived and by the end of the sixth Spomer was just one punch away from victory when the bell saved Suero. From there Spomer continued to boss the fight. Scores 100-89,100-90 and 99-91 for Spomer. Pervizaj vs. Sour Pervizaj racks up his thirteenth inside the distance win as he kayos Czech Sour in the second round. Going into round two almost counts as overtime for Pervizaj who had won 3 of his last 4 fights in the first round. Pervizaj statistics hide a collection of “no hope” opponents and his loss was against a fighter with a 3-0-1 record. Sour , 39, is earning his money the hard way having been in with Jermaine Franklin, Hughie Fury and Nathan Gorman and lost on a first round kayo against Arslanbek Makhmudov in July. Munich, Germany: Super Middle: Emre Cukur (18-1) W PTS 10 Matteo Hache (8-1). Middle: Uwel Hernandez (12-1) W PTS 10 Pavel Semjonov (25-20-2). Cukur vs. Hache Cukur wins the vacant WBA Continental title but struggles to overcome young French champion Hache. Scores 96-94 twice and 96-93. The Munich southpaw is scheduled to face England’s Jack Cullen for the vacant European title on 18 December in Manchester and he will have to improve a lot on this showing to win that fight. Hache, 22, showed real promise and will be back stronger. Hernandez vs. Semjonov In what passes for a title shot with the WBFederation Cuban Hernandez outpoints Estonian Semjonov who is well-versed in losing. Scores 97-91 twice and 96-92. Six wins in a row against very modest opponents for Hernandez. Now 9 losses in his last 10 fights for Semjonov which tells you how highly the WBFederation values their title. Hamburg, Germany: Heavy: Zhan Kossobutskiy (17-0) W TKO 5 Alexis Garcia (11-1). Middle: Avni Yildirim (24-4) W PTS 10 Yusuf Kanguel (20-5-1). Heavy: Jose Larduet (7-0,1ND) W KO 2 Leandro Robutti (8-5). Super Light: Jeremias Ponce (29-0) W KO 2 Michel Marcano (22-5-1). Welter: Freddy Kiwitt (20-3) W TKO 3 Wilber Blanco (8-1). Heavy: Senad Gashi (22-3,1ND) W PTS 6 Jairo Diaz (6-8). Kossobutskiy vs. Garcia Kossobutskiy has no problems dealing with the obese Dominican Garcia and stops him in the fifth. The tall southpaw was able to score at ease on the plodding until the referee halted the mismatch. Kossobutskiy wins the vacant WBC International Silver title. He has won 16 of his 17 fights by KO/TKO and was coming off what looked a good win but this one was poor as Garcia weighed 218lbs for his pro fight and was 264lbs for this one. Yildirim vs. Kanguel Yildirim outpoints a game but overmatched Kanguel. Yildirim worked the body well in every round hurting Kanguel time and again. Kanguel took the punishment and kept fighting back showing guts if very little skill. Yildirim won on scores of 100-90, 100-92 and 99-91 and gets his third win in a row. German Kanguel had won 4 of his last 5 outings Larduet vs. Robutti Larduet retains the WBC Latino belt with second round dismissal of southpaw Robutti. Larduet shook Robutti late in the first then ended it in the second. The Cuban connected with a volley of punches ending with an uppercut that sent Robutti down and he was counted out needing medical assistance to recover. The 31-year-old has taken less than nine rounds for his last five wins. Argentinian champion Robutti had lost only one of his last six fights Ponce vs. Marcano Ponce scores a second round knockout. The IBF No 1 landed jabs and long rights in the first and ended things in the second. A powerful right to the body which hooked around behind Marcano’s elbow sent the Venezuelan down in pain and he was unable to beat the count. Strange to find the IBF No 1 fighting in an eight round support bout but it keeps Ponce busy as he waits for a shot Josh Taylor. Third inside the distance loss in four fights this year for Marcano. Kiwitt vs. Blanco Kiwitt punches too hard for Colombian Blanco and forces a third round stoppage. Kiwitt just edged the first two rounds as both scored with some stiff punches. In the third Blanco landed a sharp left hook that sent Kiwitt staggering back but Kiwitt banged back. He landed a left hook to the body then a left to the head followed by a booming right that sent Blanco down on his back. Blanco got up but after the eight count the referee waived the fight over. Ninth win in his ten most recent fight for UK-based Kiwitt. Blanco had won 7 of his 8 fights inside the distance but his opposition had been weak. Gashi vs. Diaz Gashi gets six rounds of work against Argentinian Diaz. It was a reasonably level fight over the first two rounds. Gashi upped the pressure from the third and Diaz went into survival mode allowing Gashi to cruise to victory. All three judges scored it 59-55 for Kosovon-born Gashi. His losses have come against Tom Schwarz , Carlos Takam and Dereck Chisora. Carugate, Italy: Bantam: Alessio Lorusso (16-4-2) W PTS 12 Thomas Masson (19-5). Lorusso boxes his way to a unanimous verdict over Frenchman Masson in a contest for the vacant European Union title. Not a heavy puncher the Italian southpaw evaded Masson’s early attacks with some skilful footwork and classy jabbing. Masson was having only his second fight in three years and although he pressed hard he just could not pin Lorusso down. It was the second half of the fight before Masson began to have some success as he outscored Lorusso over then sixth and seventh. Lorusso rebounded over the eighth and ninth but was wobbled badly by a right in the tenth before easing his way through the last two rounds. Scores for Lorusso 117-112 twice and 118-112 for Lorusso and he gets his ninth successive victory. Former European title holder Masson lost on a seventh round stoppage against Daigo Higa for the WBC fly title in 2017. Seville, Spain: Light: Carlos Perez (17-6-2) W PTS 10 Salvador Baron (7-1-2). Perez wins the vacant national title as he stages a strong finish to outscore less inexperienced Baron. Perez went into the lead early with some cool, clever boxing with Baron just trying to batter his way inside. Baron changed tactics over the middle rounds boxing more and he had Perez in trouble a couple of times. As Baron began to flag Perez took over again late in the fight and was a good winner. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Perez. He wins the Spanish title after being 0-2-1 in pervious title fights. Baron took the fight at only three weeks’ notice and the scores did not really reflect how hard he made it for Perez at times. Fight of the week (Significance): In beating Shawn Porter Terence Crawford keeps the door open for a number of significant fights with a unifying one against Errol Spence sure to be a big attraction. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Crawford vs. Porter held the attention all the way as Crawford clawed back Porter’s early lead Fighter of the week: Terence Crawford as he goes 16-0 (12)in world title fights Punch of the week: The overhand right from Mikael Lawal that flattened Leonardo Bruzzese gets the vote with honourable mention to the left hook from Angel Aquino that laid out Kevin Munoz Upset of the week: None Prospect watch: None I have not already noted and a few who are in the “too early to judge” stage Observations Rosette: To Crawford and Porter for a great example of what championship boxing is all about Red Card: To the Miami show where poor little Jesse Bryan was thrown in for Yunier Dorticos to feast on and to whoever thought that the obscenely obese 321lbs Deon Hale was a reasonable match for Istvan Bernath. Good to see boxing returning to Luna Park in Buenos Aires after seven years with 6,000 turning up to celebrate in the one-time heart of Argentinian boxing Unbeaten Mexican prospect 19-0-1 David Picasso is juggling boxing with studying neuroscience at the UNAM University so sort of knocking them down and putting them back together again. A boxer named Picasso is about as likely as a painter named Rocky! Big celebration for the 15th year of partnership between TV Azteca the premier boxing TV site in Mexico and leading promoter Zanfer with the show featuring Picasso put on as part of the closing ceremony of the WBC Convention. The Tszyu dynasty is taking shape with 23-year-old Nikita, Tim’s younger brother about to turn pro. After success as an amateur Nikita dropped boxing to pursue a degree in architecture. Another case of learning to build things up and then knock them down. Neuroscience and architecture-not exactly Rocky Balboa or I’ll moider de bum these days! I guess when you have an almost insignificant profile you have to settle for what crumbs you can pick up but surely the World Boxing Federation could have done better than Estonian journeyman Pavel Semjonov with 8 losses in his last 9 fights to contest their vacant middleweight title- or maybe not. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Kiko Martinez pulls off huge shock as he floors Kid Galahad twice and stops him in six rounds to win the IBF featherweight title. -Jaime Munguia gets wide unanimous decision over Gabriel Rosado -David Benavidez beats Kyrone Davis in seven rounds and brother Jose draws with Francisco Torres -Chris Billam-Smith outpoints Dylan Bregeon in EBU cruiserweight title defence -In Female title fights Lourdes Juarez scores unanimous decision over Luiz Elena Aguilar to retain WBC super flyweight title, Dane Dina Thorslund knocks out Zulina Munoz in defence of her WBO Female bantam title and Alycia Baumgardner stops Terri Harper in four rounds to win the WBC and IBO super feather titles World Title/Major Shows November 13 Sheffield, England: Feather: Kiko Martinez (43-10-2) W TKO 6 Kid Galahad (28-2). Cruiser: Chris Billam-Smith (14-1) W PTS 12 Dylan Bregeon (11-2-1). Super Feather: Alycia Baumgardner (11-1) W TKO 4Terri Harper (11-1-1). Super Light: Dom Hunt (8-0) W PTS 10 James Flint (9-1-1). 17 Martinez vs. Galahad When I was a mere lad the group the Four Aces had a hit with a song titled “You Gotta Have Heart” that could be Kiko Martinez’s theme tune. The former IBF super bantamweight title holder had lost in three subsequent world title attempts and at 35 needed a manipulation of the ratings to get a shot at title holder Galahad. He lost the first four rounds of their fight but just kept on coming and eventually stopped Galahad to become a two division title winner as he halted Galahad in the sixth round to win the IBF title. From the first round Galahad was just too quick for Martinez. He was constantly switching guards and connecting with straight shots with both hands. Martinez just kept coming forward walking through Galahad’s punches trying to get within range to score with hooks but was eating punches. He was cut over his right eye in the third and lost all of the first four rounds as Galahad peppered him with hooks and uppercuts and slid away from Martinez’s attempts to cut off the ring. Martinez stepped up his pace in the fifth storming forward. Galahad continued to pepper Martinez with punches back could not keep him out and late in the fifth a sizzling right hook to the head sent Galahad down heavily. Galahad only just made it to his feet and he was badly shaken and luckily for him the bell at the end of the count. The first punch Martinez threw just five seconds into the sixth round was 1 which sent Galahad down flat on his back with his head bouncing off the canvas and the referee immediately waived the fight over and Galahad was down receiving medical attention for a while. Huge surprise but as Martinez showed you can never write off a fighter with a warrior’s heart and a punch to match. Galahad was 1lb 1oz. over at the first weigh-in but subsequently made the weight. Having fought for twelve years to win a title it is a huge blow to lose the title in his first defence. Martinez looked a reasonably safe choice as a challenger but after this bad knockout Galahad has a massive rebuilding jab ahead of him but he has said that he wants a return fight with Martinez. Billam-Smith vs. Bregeon Billam-Smith makes successful first defence of the European title against Frenchman Bregeon. In the early rounds Bregeon seemed more interested in wrestling and holding with Billam-Smith doing what scoring there was. Billam-Smith managed to connect with body shots in the second and third but Bregeon was content to smother Billam-Smith’s attacks. Bregeon connected with a big right cross at the start of the fourth and showed a useful jab but rarely used it to any effect. The fifth had some good exchanges with both landing strong shot but Bregeon looked to be tiring from the sixth with Billam-Smith landing clubbing head punches when he could make some room. Billam-Smith scored heavily in the ninth with Bregeon trying to punch back but flagging and a stoppage looked possible but Bregeon rallied. Billam-Smith stormed forward over the closing rounds and a tiring Bregeon struggled to make it to the final bell. Scores 119-109 twice and 120-109 for Billam-Smith. Former French champion Bregeon lacked the strength to match Billam-Smith. Baumgardner vs. Harper Second upset in a title fight on this show as Baumgardner stops Harper in the fourth round. These two exchanged heavy punches in the first but there were danger signals for Harper as she was shaken by an overhand right in the second. Harper did better in the third but Baumgardner continued to look dangerous with rights. In the fourth a right to the head from Baumgardner stiffened Harper’s legs and she half turned away out on her feet. Luckily the referee jumped in quickly to protect Harper before Baumgardner could land another punch. With her seventh inside the distance win the 27-year-old American wins the WBC and IBO titles that Harper was defending. Harper had been plagued with hand injuries including one in her last fight a title defence in November 2020. There is a return clause in the contract but Harper will need a long rest due to the nature this chilling loss Hunt v Flint Hunt and Flint produced an entertaining fight in which their styles melded well. Hunt had the more aggressive tactics with Flint busier and putting together some smart combinations. Hunt’s pressure paid off and he took the deserved decision on a score of 98-93 to lift the vacant BBB of C Central Area title. Both were testing the water at ten rounds for the first time. Phoenix, Arizona, USA: Super Middle: David Benavidez (25-0) W TKO 7 Kyrone Davis (16-3-1). Super Welter: Jose Benavidez (27-1-1) DREW 10 Francisco Torres (17-3-1). Feather: Keenan Carbajal (23-2-1) W TKO 4 Josean Bonilla (12-7-2). Benavidez vs. Davis A typical Benavidez fight as he slowly breaks down and batters Davis to defeat in seven rounds. Davis danced his way around the perimeter of the ring in the opener. Benavidez tracked him connecting with a few rights with Davis hardly throwing a punch. Davis was more positive in the second showing some sharp jabbing and firing a couple of quick combinations. At the end of the round Benavidez caught up with Davis and scored with bursts punches to head and body. Benavidez continued to walk Davis down in the fourth and fifth. Davis slowed and stood and traded more fighting back against the punishment Benavidez was handing out. He paid for that in the fifth when he looked ready to go but he fought back and survived. Davis put in a big effort at the start of the sixth. Again he was standing in front of Benavidez and trading punches. When Benavidez landed heavily Davis taunted Benavidez and invited him to throw some more. Benavidez did and all of the fight went out of Davis as Benavidez walked forward landing thumping hooks to the body and straight rights. Davis threw an occasional counter but by the bell was taking heavy hits and again looking ready to go. Benavidez pounded Davis with punches driving him around the ropes until the towel came flying from Davis’ corner. The 24-year-old former WBC title holder is No 1 with the WBC and the fight he wants is with Saul Alvarez but there is no guarantee he will get that fight. Alvarez will make that decision with the names of Gennady Golovkin –probably the fight the fans would want- Artur Beterbiev, Jaime Munguia, Jermall Charlo also being mentioned but Benavidez has indicated that he too has other options. Davis had taken this fight at two week’s notice and that was a factor. He had found his way into the fight after a negative start but the power of Benavidez particular his body punching proved too much in the end. Benavidez vs. Torres Benavidez fails to make it a family double and looks fortunate to get a draw against Argentinian Torres. Benavidez was in his first fight since losing on a twelfth round stoppage against Terence Crawford for the WBO welter title back in 2018 and Torres took advantage of that to outbox Benavidez in the first. Benavidez did a bit better in the second and third but good movement from Torres and accurate jabbing looked to give him the edge. Torres had a good fourth with strong body attacks from Benavidez getting him into the fight in the fifth and sixth which were close rounds. Pressure from Benavidez had Torres on the back foot for much of the eighth and ninth. Benavidez was landing the heavier shots but Torres found plenty of gaps for counters. With the fight seemingly in the balance Torres produced an impressive last round and looked to have done enough to get the verdict but two judges scored it 95-95 and the third saw it for Benavidez 96-94. A close call for Benavidez the elder brother of David. He was only just inside the middleweight limit for this fight, 13lbs heavier than when he fought Crawford, but he will probably aim to get a few pounds off for his next fight. Former undefeated Argentinian champion Torres had won his last nine fights including victories in the USA and Colombia and has boosted his stock with his performance in this fight. Carbajal vs. Bonilla Carbajal moves to 18 consecutive wins with stoppage of Bonilla. The tall local featherweight, the nephew of Hall of Fame inductee Michael Carbajal, was an ordinary 5-2-1 at the start of his career. Bonilla had been inactive since January 2019. Anaheim, CA, USA: Middle: Jaime Munguia (38-0) W PTS 12 Gabriel Rosado (26-14-1,1ND). Fly: Arely Mucino (30-3-2,1ND) W PTS 10 Jacky Calvo (14-7-2). Middle: D’Mitrius Ballard (21-0-1,2ND) W PTS 10 Paul Valenzuela (26-10). Welter: Alexis Rocha (18-1) W TKO 9 Jeovanis Barraza (23-2). Light: William Zepeda (24-0) W TKO 4 John Vincent Moralde (24-5). Munguia vs. Rosado Impressive show from Munguia as he outworks and outscores Rosado who was always dangerous and although Munguia won by good margins Rosado played his part in an entertaining contest. Munguia was the busier fighter from the start. Showing growing maturity and setting the pace as he scored well with jabs and long rights. Rosado was using his jab to probe for opening for right counters but had no success. Munguia continued to take the fight to Rosado in the second outworking Rosado who was still relying heavily on his jab. There was plenty of action in the third and fourth with Rosado finally finding the target with power punches to head and body but with Munguia having Rosado rocking in the fourth. The fierce exchanges continued over the fifth and sixth with both landing cracking punches and Rosado this time rocking Munguia with a right. At the half way point Munguia had won every round but they had all been close and fiercely contested. Over the seventh and eighth Munguia was in control and Rosado looked to be feeling the pace but he still landed a cracking right late in the eighth. Munguia scored heavily at the start of the ninth but Rosado banged back strongly just before the bell. The youth and strength of Munguia told over the closing rounds as he piled on the punches with Rosado just hanging on as Munguia tried to blow him away in the last. Scores 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111 for Munguia. No doubt about the winner but Rosado made Munguia fight hard until he tired down the stretch. He could not match the work rate or power of Munguia who is rated No 1 by both the WBC and WBO so has plenty of options. Rosado has lost some big fights but always rebounds and will probably do so again. Mucino vs. Calvo In an all-Mexican clash Mucino racks up her ninth win in a row with a split verdict over Calvo. Most of the fight took place on the inside with Mucino dominating the exchanges. Calvo did better over the second half of the fight as the pace dropped. Mucino still looked in front but was floored late in the ninth and rocked again by a left to the head in the tenth but made it to the bell. Her early work just earned her the nod from the judges at 96-93 twice for Mucino against a 96-93 for Calvo from the third judge. Mucino is a former WBC flyweight title holder and former undefeated WBO flyweight title holder. Calvo holds the WBC International Female flyweight title. Ballard vs. Valenzuela Ballard had plenty of rust to shed but after a slow start he went on to take the decision over Valenzuela. Ballard was having his first fight since November 2019 and his timing was out over the first three rounds. Valenzuela tried to take advantage of that with a fast start of his own. He outscored Ballard in the first and had him in some trouble in the second. Ballard reared back out of an exchanged seeming to have inured his mouth and was momentarily shaken and had to survive a fierce attack from Valenzuela. Ballard settled into the fight and outworked Valenzuela putting Valenzuela under constant pressure putting him on the back foot and raking him with punches but Valenzuela remained competitive. Ballard opened a cut over Valenzuela’s right eye in the ninth as he swept the last three rounds to overcome Valenzuela’s early lead and take the decision on scores of 98-92 on the three cards which was a bit harsh on Valenzuela. He will now be looking to work his way into the ratings. Mexican Valenzuela has been matched tough. He was 15-1 at one stage but life has been tougher since then. Rocha vs. Barraza Rocha gets a late stoppage win over Barraza. From the start Rocha made Barraza’s body his preferred target area. He used some punishing jabbing to put Barraza on the back foot and worked him over with a barrage of body punches whenever he trapped Barraza on the ropes. Barraza scored with enough counters to stay in the fight but as the rounds passed his output plunged whilst Rocha stepped up the pressure. Barraza stood and exchange punches in the eighth but was fading badly and when in the ninth Rocha again pinned Barraza to the ropes and pounded him with punches the referee stopped the fight. This is the second win for the 24-year-old Californian since losing a close decision to Rashidi Ellis in October last year and he has now put his career back on track. Colombian Barraza had lost on a second round stoppage in July 2019 against former amateur star Gabriel Maestre in Maestre’s first paid fight but had rebuilt with three wins against reasonable level opponents. Zepeda vs. Moralde Another power show from Zepeda as he beats Moralde in four rounds. Filipino Moralde tried to use his longer reach to keep Zepeda out in the first but Zepeda was scoring with right jabs and straight lefts. Zepeda increased the pressure in the second hunting Moralde around the ring. Moralde tried to stand and trade with Zepeda in the third but was bombarded by slashing combinations to head and body. Zepeda was ruthless in the fourth overwhelming Moralde with punch after punch until Moralde could not take any more and turned away from the action in surrender. The 25-year-old Mexican southpaw has won 22 of his 24 fights by KO/TKO including a current run of fourteen in a row giving him a 91.67 kayo percentage. His previous two victims 23-2-1 Robert Ramirez and 19-0 Hector Tanajara were credible opponents and he mercilessly brushed them aside and is ready for a test against a rated fighter. November 11 Tokyo, Japan: Super Bantam: Takuma Inoue (15-1) W PTS 12 Shingo Wake (27-7-2). Takuma keeps the Inoue clan flag flying as he takes wide unanimous decision over experienced former IBF title challenger Wake. Inoue was conceding a lot in height and reach against Wake but used good movement and hand speed to offset that. A right put Wake down in the fourth and at that stage all three judges had Inoue 39-36 ahead. Wake survived the knockdown but Inoue continued to outbox him and widened the gap in the points so that after eight with two having it 78-73 and the other 79-72. Wake rallied late but Inoue remained in control and boxed his way to victory. Scores 117-110 on all three cards. Inoue, 25, lost on points to Nordine Oubaali in a challenge for the WBC bantam title in November 2019 and with elder brother Naoya fighting at bantam he is now eyeing a title shot at 122lbs. Southpaw Wake, 35, lost to Jonathan Guzman for the vacant IBF title in 2016 but had won 7 of his last 8 bouts. Huntington, NY, USA: Super Feather: Michael Magnesi (20-0) W TKO 3 Eugene Lagos (16-6-3). Light Heavy: Joe Ward (5-1) W PTS 6 Leandro Silva (3-5). Magnesi vs. Lagos In his first fight in the USA after an early shock Italian hope Magnesi stops Lagos. Magnesi was down in the first but recovered and handed out punishment to Lagos in the second. He continued to come forward scoring with heavy hooks in the third. He forced Lagos to the ropes and unloaded a series of shots until a right sent Lagos sliding down the ropes with Magnesi adding a left and another right as Logos was on the way down. Lagos made it to his feet but the fight was stopped. Twelfth inside the distance victory for Magnesi. Second loss by KO/TKO for Filipino Lagos. Ward vs. Silva Irish southpaw Ward gets a comfortable points win over Brazilian Silva. The judges gave Ward all four rounds scoring the fight 60-54. Ward’s loss came in his first pro fight due a knee injury and that injury and the pandemic have slowed his progress. In the amateur ranks he was World Junior and World Youth champion was three time European Champion and won two silvers and a bronze medal at the World Championships. Silva has done all of his fighting in the USA. November 12 Montpellier, France: Welter: Mehdi Mouhib (20-2) W PTS 12 Mohamed Kani (19-3). Mouhib retains the EU title and gains revenge as he scores a split decision victory over Kani. This was a close tactical battle with Mouhib a worthy winner more so as he beat Kani in Kani’s home town. Scores 115-113 twice for Mouhib and 116-112 for Kani. First defence for Mouhib who lost to Kani in January 2020 for the vacant French title. Bielefeld, Germany: Cruiser: Enrico Koelling (28-4) W PTS 10 Leon Harth (20-5). Super Middle: Dimitar Tilev (15-0) W PTS 10 Siarhei Khamitski (32-22-3). Middle: Bujar Tahiri (9-0) W PTS 8 Ivan Alvarez (31-13-1). Light Heavy: Emin Atra (18-0) W PTS 6 Michael Obin (5-11). Koelling vs. Harth Koelling wins the WBO European title with decision over champion Harth. Koelling took control early setting the pace and rocking local boxer Harth with a right in the third. Harth was cut over his right eye in the fifth and the cut continued to re-open in subsequent rounds. Harth had been going to the body over the early rounds and that began to pay dividends later and he staged a strong finish but Koelling had already built an unassailable lead and took the decision majority decision but Koelling was a clear winner. Scores 96-94 twice for Koelling and 95-95. Koelling lost on a last round stoppage against Artur Beterbiev for the vacant IBF title in 2017 and consecutive losses to Domenic Boesel and Leon Bunn pushed him out of the rating but this win will get him a spot with the WBO. Armenian-born German Harth has lost big fights against Krzys Wlodarczyk, Artur Mann and Leon Bunn. Tilev vs. Khamitski In his first ten round fight Tilev was in charge from the start and slowly wound up the pressure in round after round. Belarusian Khamitski spent most of the fight on the back foot and soaked up plenty of punishment but frustrated Tilev’s attempts to score an inside the distance win and although losing every round Khamitski lasted the distance. No scores given. Good learning fight for local hope Tilev. Now 47 and a pro for 22 years Khamitski was considered something of a prospect when he went 17-0-1 at the start of his career but is now a reliable loser having won only one of his last ten fights. Tahiri vs. Alvarez Tahiri has to fight hard to get a win over Mexican Alvarez. Tahiri made a slow start finally having some success from the third. He countered well against the constant attacks from Alvarez and showed some good defensive skills. Alvarez was too often inaccurate but his sheer work rate kept him very much in a close and hard fought contest. Scores 77-75 for Tahiri on the three cards. Tahiri, 23, had won 7 of his previous 8 fights by KO/TKO and holds the German International title. Alvarez 33 gave Tahiri just the type of fight he needs to develop his skills. Atra vs. Obin Neighbourhood fighter Atra returned to action with a points win over Ugandan-born Swede Obin. The visitor went in front early as Atra had to shake off the dust from a long period of inactivity. He came though over the last three rounds and got the unanimous verdict but Obin gave him an unpleasant night. First fight for Atra since December 2019. Eight losses in a row for Obin. Tokyo, Japan: Minimum: Yudai Shigeoka (4-0) W PTS 12 Tsubasa Koura (15-2). Southpaw Shigeoka picks up the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title with very narrow majority decision over Koura. It was close all the way. Koura took the first round but Shigeoka bounced back and Koura was cut over his left eye in a clash of heads in the third. After four rounds the scores were 39-37, 37-39 and 38-38. Koura’s experience and strength saw him move into the lead over the middle rounds and he was up 77-75 and 76-74 with the third having them level at 76-76. Shigeoka staged a stronger finish and just scraped home. Scores 115-113 twice and 114-114. Although this was only Shigeoka’s fourth pro fight he was an outstanding amateur with an 81-10 record before turning pro when he was unable to get a berth at the Tokyo Olympics. His brother Gingiro had held this title but relinquished it in August. Gingiro is unbeaten as a pro and was 56-1 as an amateur. Another Japanese dynasty building? Former OPBF champion Koura was rated No 9 by the WBO. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Super Fly: Lourdes Juarez (33-2,1ND) W PTS 10 Luz Elena Aguilar (7-3-1). Super Bantam: Christian Medina (18-3) W KO 1 Edinso Torres (15-6). Juarez vs. Aguilar Juarez decisions Aguilar in WBC Female title defence. Juarez’s skills were too much for inexperienced Aguilar. Juarez was able to use her hand speed and accuracy to outscore Aguilar and upper body movement to off-set an aggressive Aguilar’s attacks. Aguilar never stopped pressing making it an entertaining match but she was well beaten. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92 for Juarez. “The Little Lulu”, 34, was making the second defence of her title and is now 30-0,1ND in her last 31 bouts. Aguilar, 19, was 3-0-1 going in. Medina vs. Torres Medina wins the vacant WBC Youth title with a first round kayo of Venezuelan Torres. A devastating left hook sent Torres down out cold with no count needed. The 21-year-old “Wasp” now has nine wins in a row and thirteen victories by KO/TKO. London. England: Heavy: David Adeleye (8-0) W RTD 4 Dominik Musil (6-4). Adeleye beats Musil on a fourth round retirement. A cagey opening round saw Musil using his longer reach to score with Adeleye firing dangerous rights. Adeleye took over in the second and he had Musil reeling under a series of rights crosses at the bell. Adeleye scored heavily again late in the third. He continued to connect with rights in the fourth and just before the bell a right sent Musil flying back to the ropes where he hung suspended with his arms spread along the ropes. He stood up and was give a count. The bell had gone and he was able to get to his corner but did not come out for the fifth. Seventh inside the distance win for the 24-year-old Londoner. Musil had won his last three by KO/TKO. Aberdeen, Scotland: Welter: Dean Sutherland (12-0) W TKO 8 Michele Esposito (18-5-1). Local southpaw Sutherland wins the vacant WBC International Silver title with stoppage of Italian Esposito. They fought on even terms in the early rounds but Sutherland gradually upped his pace. He had Esposito reeling in the fourth and continued to boss the action until the eighth when with Esposito pinned to the ropes and under fire the referee stopped the fight. Good win for the 23-year-old Aberdonian southpaw. Former Italian champion Esposito had won his last seven bouts. Leeds, England: Super Bantam: Jack Bateson (15-0) W PTS 10 Ramez Mahmood (11-2). Bateson delights his home fans as he wins his first pro title with victory over Mahmood. Bateson won a wide unanimous decision but it was at a price. He was cut over his right eye in the third and over the left eye in the seventh and also lost a point in the ninth for a punch to the back of Mahmood’s head. Despite the ups and downs Bateson won on scores of 97-92 twice and 99-90 and collects the vacant English title. Bateson, 27, won a cupboard full of trophies as an amateur and is making good progress. Mahmood is a former BBB of C Southern Area champion. November 13 Kolding, Denmark: Bantam: Dina Thorslund (17-0) W TKO 7 Zulina Munoz (53-4-2). Super Middle: Jacob Bank (5-0) W RTD 7Aku Kanninen (9-1-1). Thorslund vs. Munoz Impressive performance from Thorslund as she outboxes and then halts the more experienced Mexican Munoz to retain her WBO title. She was quicker and more mobile than Munoz and was able to score and get out before Munoz could counter. Munoz was dangerous with occasional left hooks but Thorslund’s left hook was the dominating punch. She dropped Muniz with that punch in the second. Munoz did a bit better in the subsequent rounds but Thorslund was well in front when she put Munoz down with a left hook to the body in the seventh and although Munoz arose she was unable to continue. Thorslund, 28, a former WBO super bantamweight title holder, had moved down to bantam and this is her first defence of that title. Her preparation was far from ideal have been laid low by COVID-19 and sprained a wrist just a few weeks before this fight but she won through and is now looking to unify the bantamweight titles. Munoz, a former WBC super flyweight title holder, turned pro in 2005 and at one time had a 48-1-2 record. Bank vs. Kanninen Youngster Bank wins his first pro title with victory over Finn Kanninen. Bank took charge early and had both superior skill and power than Kanninen. He outscored Kanninen over the first half of the fight but slack defensive work allowed Kanninen a foot hold in the fight. From the sixth Bank tightened up and began to land heavily. A right in the seventh had Kanninen badly shaken and he did not come out for the eighth. Bank, 20, wins the vacant WBO Youth title. Kanninen 21 had won the Finnish title in July. Charleville-Mezieres, France: Super Light: Walid Ouizza (15-2) W PTS 10 Romain Couture (10-4-1). Ouizza retains the French title with split decision over Couture. No scores available. Seventh consecutive win for Ouizza who was making the first defence of the title. Clermont-Ferrand, France: Light Heavy: Kevin Cojean (27-10-2) W TKO 7 Hugo Kasperski (34-11-1 ). Heavy: Nicolas Wamba (8-0) W PTS 10 Karim Berredjem (10-8). Cojean vs. Kasperski Cojean wins the French title with stoppage of Kasperski in a clash of seasoned former champions. Kasperski was considered the harder puncher but Cojean whilst down on all three cards forced the stoppage in the seventh. Kasperski was in control until he was floored with a right hook late in the sixth. He made it to his feet and came out for the seventh but was quickly rocked by another right hook and the fight was stopped. Cojean is on a small streak of good results being 5-0-1 in his last six contests and is hoping to land a shot at the EU title. Home advantage was not enough to get Kasperski the win as he suffers his third inside the distance defeat. Wamba vs. Berredjem Wamba has no trouble in retaining the French title as he takes unanimous verdict over challenger Berredjem on scores of 98-92 on the three cards. A former kickboxing and full contact champion he was making the first defence of the national title. Berredjem is now 0-3 in shots at the title. Tarbes, France: Super Bantam: Mathis Vegas (8-0) W PTS 10 Sebastian Iacobas (4-3-2). Plenty of French title fights about right now as the French Boxing Federation is determined to keep the titles flourishing. In this one in his first ten rounds fight Tarbes fighter Vegas outclassed Iacobas to lift the vacant super title bantam on scores of 99-91 from the three judges. Iacobas is a former French bantamweight champion. Dusseldorf, Germany: Cruiser: Mike Perez (26-3-1) W TKO 6 Jose Ulrich (17-5,1ND). Light Fly: Augustin Gauto (17-0) W TKO 1 Jaba Memishishi (8-16) Heavy: Lenroy Thomas (25-5-1) W TKO ? Marcos Aumada (21-11). Perez vs. Ulrich Perez bludgeons Ulrich to defeat. The Cuban southpaw dominated the action with Ulrich having neither the skill nor the punch to be very competitive. Ulrich hung tough until the sixth round but was up against the ropes and being rocked by punch after punch when the fight was called off. Now 36, the former WBC cruiser title challenger was inactive between October 2018 and August this year and gets his second win in three months. Former Argentinian champion Ulrich has lost five in a row now. Gauto vs. Memishishi Argentinian Gauto wipes out substitute Memishishi inside a round. The little Argentinian tiger dropped Memishishi twice with left hooks to the body and then backed him to a corner and unleashed a torrent of hooks until the referee stopped the fight. The 23-year-old Gauto was having his first fight for eleven months and his first fight in Europe. He is No 3 with the WBO. Ninth loss in a row for Memishishi who is really a full super bantamweight. Thomas vs. Aumada Thomas gets a win in an untidy, messy fight. The 6’4 ½” Aumada was quicker on his feet than Thomas and had a much longer reach. Aumada’s tactics were to circle the ring then lunge inside with a burst of punches and then hold giving Thomas no chance to connect with any significant punches. As Thomas began to find the target from the second Aumada spent time on the floor complaining of punches to the back of the head or just simply falling over. The referee gave Aumada a count went he went down from what was a punch to the back of the head in the fourth and after Aumada seemingly exhausted fell down twice more the referee stopped the untidy mess. Former Commonwealth champion Thomas must have been hoping for a better fight than this mess in his first contest in eleven months. Fifth loss in a row for Aumada. Coventry, England: Middle: River Wilson Bent (10-0-1) TEC DRAW 7 Tyler Denny (13-2-3). Light Heavy: Shakan Pitters (17-1) W KO 8 Reece Cartwright (23-2) Welter: Stephen McKenna 10-0) W KO 1 Richmond Djarbeng (31-5-1). Middle: Aaron McKenna (13-0) W PTS 8 Gabor Gorbics (26-22-2). Bent vs. Denny The English title remains vacant when the clash of Bent and Denny ended in a technical draw after seven rounds. Local fighter Bent had the better of the exchanges in the first but Denny evened things up with a good second. Quick, accurate jabbing from Bent helped him pocket the third and fourth. Again Denny responded hurting Bent with a body punch in the fifth and a punch opened a cut over Bent’s left eye in the sixth. The referee stopped the fight to have a look at the cut but let the fight continue. When a punch worsened the injury in the seventh the fight was stopped. Denny was celebrating his win victory but the referee had decided the cut was caused by a clash of heads so it went to the score cards. One judge had Bent in front 68-65 another had it 67-66 for Denny and the third had them even at 67-67. The fight was delicately poised at the end and hopefully there will be a return. Pitters vs. Cartwright Pitters stops Cartwright in the eighth round. The 6’6” Pitters had plenty of reach over Cartwright but Cartwright was quick and clever and boxed his way in front. He had Pitters fighting on the back foot and looked comfortable. Slowly Pitters body punching began to have an effect but after the seventh Cartwright was still boxing well. In the eighth Pitters exploded with a left hook that shook Cartwright and then floored him with a powerful right. Cartwright beat the count but the referee stopped the fight despite protests from Cartwright. Former British champion Pitters wins the vacant WBC International title. Cartwright had won his last six fights but only returned to action in July after almost three years out of the ring. McKenna vs. Djarbeng Ireland’s McKenna overwhelms poor Ghanaian Djarbeng in the first round. Immediately the bell sounded McKenna rushed across the ring and was landing punches before Djarbeng had advanced more than a couple of steps. McKenna drove Djarbeng back into his own corned and blasted the Ghanaian with punches until he slumped to the canvas and was counted out after just 41 seconds. Too easy for McKenna who gets his sixth first round victory. Djarbeng’s record is heavily padded with low level victims. McKenna vs. Gorbics It looked as though Aaron might also get a first round win as he floored Gorbics with a right to the head in the first round. Gorbics is an experienced survivor and he showed enough fight to convince the referee to let him continue. McKenna poured on the punishment in every round but Gorbics has only lost inside the distance in six times and he was still there at the end. The referee scored it 80-71. Both Aaron and older brother Stephen were outstanding amateurs and are now based in California. Gorbics is 0-10 2 in his last 12 outings. Dudelange, Luxemburg: Heavy: Johann Duhaupas (39-6) W TKO 2 Andras Csomor (18-33-2). Super Middle: Bakary Samake (6-0) W TKO 2 Gyorgy Mizsei (27-30-1). Duhaupas vs. Csomor “The Reptile” returns to action with an easy second round stoppage of poor Csomor who needs to be saved from himself but is probably making someone too much money for that to happen. First fight for Duhaupas since being stopped in a round by Tony Yoka in September last year. Csomor is 0-19-1 in his last 20 fights. Samake vs. Mizsei Luxemburg-based French teenager Bakary gets his fourth inside the distance win. The 18-year-old has an aim of being a world title holder by the time he is 20! Experienced Hungarian Mizsei suffers his third inside the distance loss this year. Fight of the week (Significance): The wins for both David Benavidez and Jaime Munguia keep some exciting options on the table. Fight of the week (Entertainment); Jaime Munguia vs. Gabriel Rosado had plenty of heated exchanges until Rosado ran out of puff Fighter of the week: Kiko Martinez for his upset victory over Kid Galahad Punch of the week: The right hook that floored Galahad in the fifth was devastating. Honourable mention to the right from Alycia Baumgardner that froze Terri Harper. Upset of the week: Kiko Martinez was given no chance against Kid Galahad Prospect watch: Argentinian light flyweight Agustin Mauro Gauto 17-0 impressed in his first fight in Europe. Observations Rosette Kiko Martinez for never giving up and the French Federation who keep their national title alive and well Red Card to whoever keeps booking Hungarian heavyweight Andras Csomor. He has an 18-33-2 record and there are plenty around worse than that but 28 of his 33 losses have come by KO/TKO. He is 0-19-1 in his last 20 fights with 17 of those 19 losses by KO/TKO Kid Galahad’s loss was a blow for Eddie Haran but don’t feel sorry for him. He picked Martinez and the IBF of course then slipped Marinez into the ratings issued on 10 October at No 15 after he beat a guy with a 14-9 record to legitimise it. Eddie must be wishing the IBF had refused to play the ratings game. By Eric Armit:
Highlights: -Saul Alvarez unifies the super middleweight titles with eleventh round stoppage of IBF title holder Caleb Plant -Former title holders Anthony Dirrell, Rey Vargas and Rances Barthelemy scores wins on the Alvarez vs. Plant undercard with victories also for Elvis Rodriguez and Joselito Velazquez -Zac Parker cements his No 1 super middleweight rating with the WBO by stopping Marcus Morrison in four rounds to retains the WBO International title -Hannah Rankin wins the vacant WBA and IBO Female super welterweight titles with points win over Maria Lindberg -Mikaela Mayer outpoints Maiva Hamadouche at super featherweight to retain her WBO title, win Hamadouche’s IBF title and collect the vacant IBO title -Matteo Signani retains the European middleweight title with decision over Ruben Diaz World Title/Major Shows November 6 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Middle: Saul Alvarez (57-1-2) W TKO 11 Caleb Plant (21-1). Super Light: Elvis Rodriguez (12-1-1) W KO 5 Juan Romero (14-1). Super Bantam: Rey Vargas (35-0) W PTS 10 Leonardo Baez (21-5). Super Middle: Anthony Dirrell (34-2-2) W TKO 4 Marcos Hernandez (15-5-2). Super Light: Rances Barthelemy (29-1-1) W TKO 2 Gustavo Vittori (25-10-1). Fly: Joselito Velazquez (14-0-1) W PTS 8 Gilberto Mendoza (19-11-3,1ND). Alvarez vs. Plant Alvarez hunts down a clever boxing Plant and catches up with him finally in the eleventh round finishing the fight with two knockdowns to unify the super middleweight division titles. Round 1 Plenty of movement and plenty of jabs from Plant. He was staying off the ropes and out of corners and trying an occasional right. Alvarez was tracking Plant but hardly threw a punch in the round until the last thirty seconds. Score: 10-9 Plant Round 2 A much better round from Alvarez. He was hunting Plant down pinning him to the ropes and scoring with left hooks to head and body. Plant was using his jab less and there was no conviction when he did use it. Score: 10-9 Alvarez TIED 19-19 Round 3 Plant kept on the move. He was circling the ring constantly changing direction stabbing out jabs and firing an occasional right. Alvarez had problems cutting off the ring and although he landed a couple of left hooks late in the round Plant fired back each time and did most of the scoring. Score: 10-9 Plant PLANT 29-28 Round 4 Plant opened the round with a burst of punches but Alvarez kept rolling forward. He managed to trap Plant against the ropes a few times and landed some wicked left hooks. Plant has a style which sees him leaning to his right which took him away from Alvarez overhand rights all night but into the path of the left hooks. Score: 10-9 Alvarez TIED 38-38 Official Scores: Judge David Moretti 39-37 Alvarez, Judge Patricia Morse Jarman 38-38 Tied, Judge Steve Weisfeld 39-37 Alvarez Round 5 Alvarez was warned for a low punch at the start of the round as again hunted down Plant. Alvarez was loading up on his left hooks and had success with those but Plant was able to duck under the overhand rights. Good defensive work by Plant but he was not throwing much and Alvarez took the round on the basis of his left hooks. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 48-47 Round 6 Alvarez best round so far. He pressed Plant hard doubling up his left hooks to head and body and shook Plant with a left to the head with very little coming back from Plant. He did not have the power to get Alvarez’s respect and by the end of the round a confident Alvarez was dropping his hands and standing in front of Plant and still getting through with left hooks. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 58-56 Round 7 After starting the fight retreating around the ring and under fire from the left hooks of Alvarez Plant changed tactics and took the fight to Alvarez trading shots which momentarily confused Alvarez and that allowed Plant backed him to the ropes. Alvarez stood there covering up and inviting Plant to do his worst and then staged a late attack that just earned him the round. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 68-65 Round 8 Plant did better in this one. Again he tried to stay in the centre of the ring and he was connecting with plenty of jabs. They were light punches and Alvarez was able to ignore them and get through with plenty of hooks and some jabs but it was a close round thanks to some clever boxing by Plant. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 78-74 Official Scores: Judge David Moretti 78-74 Alvarez, Judge Patricia Morse Jarman 78-74 Alvarez , Judge Steve Weisfeld 79-73 Alvarez Round 9 A good round for Plant. He moved well, kept pining Alvarez with jabs and sneak rights. Alvarez was waiting too long to throw his punches so Plant was picking him off on the way in and ended the round with a burst of punches including a straight right that sent Alvarez backwards on his heels. Score: 10-9 Plant Alvarez 87-84 Round 10 Plant was too confident in this one and stood and traded with Alvarez who was able to put together some powerful combinations. Whereas in the early rounds Plant would have backed up now he stayed in front of Alvarez landing some good shots but taking more than he was giving with Alvarez connecting with some hard uppercuts and rights to the body. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 97-93 Round 11 Suddenly Alvarez found a new gear. He came out throwing punches and a sweeping left hook staggered Plant and he slumped down along the ropes bending over with both extended arms resting on the canvas. He was up early but there was some confusion over whether he wanted to continue. The action did resume but Alvarez pounced on Plant and a series of punches put him down on his back and the referee waived the fight over. Alvarez becomes the first undisputed champion of the super middleweight division and only the sixth to be undisputed champion in any division in the four-belt era as well as being the first Mexican to be an undisputed division champion. Now he will need to seek another peak to climb perhaps at light heavyweight with Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol and Joe Smith waiting and of course Gennady Golovkin down at middleweight and Jermall Charlo. There are already claims that he is the greatest Mexican fighter of all time. He is certainly the most successful as far as titles go. Plant showed plenty of skill but in the end did not have the power to keep Alvarez out for twelve rounds and paid the price. There are still good fights out there for him. Rodriguez vs. Romero Rodriguez rebounds from his first loss with stoppage of unbeaten Romero. Over the first two rounds it was Mexican Olympian Romero forcing the action against a sluggish Rodriguez. The third was a more balanced round as Rodriguez, a slow starter, began to put his punches together. He floored Romero with a right in the fourth and although Romero started the fifth brightly another left put him over and he sat out the full count. Eleventh inside the distance victory for the 25-year-old southpaw from the Dominican Republic who had dropped a majority against Kenneth Sims in May. Romero had met a series of decent level opponents but was under-powered for this one. Vargas vs. Baez Vargas gets in some much needed ring time as he outpoints fellow-Mexican Baez. Vargas showed some rust early and Baez failed to capitalise on that not really forcing the fight hard. Vargas gradually found his groove and began to use his longer reach to outbox Baez. The former undefeated WBC super bantam champion slowly stepped up his pace in round after round mainly sticking to his boxing but occasionally standing and trading. Attention from the jabs of Vargas had Baez’s right eye almost completely closed by a swelling late in the fight and Vargas took no chances settling for easing his way to a points win. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91. This is the first fight for Vargas since defeating Tomoki Kameda in a title defence in July 2019 with the that long absence due to COVID-19 and recovery time from a fractured left leg. With that extended period of inactivity he has fallen out of the ratings and will be aiming to battle his way to a title fight at featherweight. After consecutive losses against Jason Moloney and Carlos Caraballo Baez had put together three inside the distance wins against very modest opposition. Dirrell vs. Hernandez Dirrell finishes Hernandez with a booming uppercut in the fourth round. Dirrell was fired up from the first round. Faint thought the possibility might be he was hoping that an impressive showing might land him a fight with the winner of Alvarez vs. Plant. He landed heavily in the first surprising Hernandez with such a fast start. Hernandez settled in the second and although Dirrell again connected with some good shots Hernandez did enough to edge the round. Dirrell had the better of the exchanges in the third stunning Hernandez with a left. What Dirrell did not want was a drawn out scrap and he found the ending he was looking for in the fourth. Just after the bell to start the round as Hernandez came forward Dirrell nailed him with a right uppercut inside that Hernandez never saw coming. He went down on his back and although he climbed to his feet he was tottering on unsteady legs and the referee stopped the fight. In his previous two fights Dirrell had lost against David Benavidez and drawn with Kyrone Davis so it was win or bust for the 27-year-old former WBC super middleweight. It is doubtful if he will get a shot at Alvarez who has been operating at a financial level far above any money that would be paid for a fight against for Dirrell. Hernandez was coming off a useful win over unbeaten Jose Resendiz in September but that punch ended any hopes of building on that result. Barthelemy vs. Vittori Just a ring time outing for Barthelemy. He brushed aside overmatched Argentinian Vittori scoring two knock downs in the second round to force the stoppage. First fight for ten months and only the second since April 2019 for Barthelemy. Only two wins in his last seven fights for Vittori. Velazquez vs. Mendoza Mexican Olympian Velazquez gets back on track with a point wins over Mendoza. Velazquez boxed skilfully jabbing well and countering the aggressive Mendoza. He outworked Mendoza in every round without ever seeming likely to end it early. Scores 80-72 for Velazquez on all three cards. An improvement for Velazquez over his poor draw against novice Carlos Mejia in May. Mendoza did his job well. November 5 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Feather: Mikaela Mayer (16-0) W PTS 10 Maiva Hamadouche (22-2). Super Feather: Luis Melendez (17-1) W PTS 8 Thomas Mattice (17-3-1). Super Feather: Andres Cortes (16-0) W TKO 3 Mark Bernaldez (23-5). Light: Joseph Adorno (14-0-2 W Elias Araujo (21-3). Middle: Ian Green (15-2) W PTS 8 Tyler Howard (19-1). Mayer vs. Hamadouche Another great advert for female boxing sees WBO champion Mayer unify three titles as she outpoints IBF champion Hamadouche, retains her WBO belt and wins the vacant IBO title. A great advert for female boxing but not for scoring as this tense battle saw Hamadouche only credited with winning a total of three rounds over the three score sheets. Hamadouche made the better start as they waged war from the outset. She was forcing the taller Mayer to throw her reach advantage in the bin and fight toe-to-toe. They were both throwing bunches of punches and the more accurate punching from Mayer gave her the second. The frantic pace continued as Mayer took the third and Hamadouche banged back to edge the fourth and fifth with Mayer rebounding to pocket the sixth. Finally the better quality punching from Mayer gave her a modicum of control and although Hamadouche never gave up firing punches and although Mayer outscored her over the late rounds she had to fight all the way to the final bell. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92 for Mayer which was an injustice to Hamadouche. The 31-year-old US Olympian is now looking to unify the remaining titles. Hamadouche , also 31, had won her last 13 fights and was making the seventh defence of her IBF title. She has plenty of fights left in her. Melendez vs. Mattice Melendez extends his winning run to 15 with close unanimous verdict over Mattice. Both had success early with Mattice using plenty of jabs and smart movement against a slower starting Melendez. There was not much power in Mattice’s punches but Melendez was too sparing with his own punches not throwing enough. From the fifth Melendez was busier getting and was able to get inside to score. Mattice out worked Melendez in the sixth but was shaken by a right from Melendez. Over the last two rounds it was Mattice landing more but Melendez landing the heavier punches and that was what swayed the judges but it was desperately close at the finish with some not being happy with Melendez getting the nod. Scores 77-75 for Melendez on the three cards. Puerto Rican Melendez had won ten of his last eleven fights by KO/TKO with the ten wins all coming inside the first three rounds so a good, testing fight for him. Mattice had won four of his last five with the loss coming on a majority decision against 18-1-1 Isaac Cruz. Cortes vs. Bernaldez Cortes stops Bernaldez in three. These two set off a fast pace with both having some success in the first but Cortes just that bit sharper. Bernaldez put Cortes under plenty of pressure in the second connecting with some good rights to the head and left hooks. In the third Bernaldez again landed some heavy rights until Cortes fired back with a right and a left hook forcing Bernaldez to the ropes. Cortes then unloaded with punch after punch until the referee jumped in to stop the fight. It looked a little premature but Bernaldez was not punching back. Second win over a good quality Filipino opponent for Cortes who had knocked out 34-2 Genisis Servania in one round in August. Bernaldez had scored three wins over reasonable level opposition in Florida and had his moments in this fight. Green vs. Howard Green outboxes unbeaten Howard and wins a wide unanimous decision. Howard marched forward throughout the fight but Green used good movement and sound defensive work to frustrate Howard’s attacks. Howard only rarely managed to track Green down and too often when he did Green countered cleverly and tied Howard up inside. A frustrated Howard lost a point at the end of the fourth round for a punch after the bell and never really threatened Green’s dominance. Scores 79-72 twice and 80-71 for Green who is 7-1 in his last eight outings. Howard was having his first fight for a year and will be hoping to rebound with some more fights under his belt. London. England: Super Welter: Hannah Rankin (11-5) W PTS 10 Maria Lindberg (19-8-2,1ND). Super Feather: Michael Gomez Jr (15-1) W TKO 4 Sufyann Ahmed (5-3) Rankin vs. Lindberg Rankin collects the vacant WBA and IBO Female titles with unanimous decision over Lindberg. Rankin scored well with her jab at distance in the first but Lindberg weaved her way inside to score to the body in the second. The pattern was repeated in the third where Rankin’s jab again proved decisive but Lindberg evened things up with a good fourth. Rankin rocked Lindberg with a right in the fifth but the sixth and seventh were close and could have been scored either way. Rankin outscored Lindberg over the eighth and ninth. Lindberg drove forward in the last but Rankin was more accurate and landed the heavier punches. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92 all for Rankin. With two titles the Scot will be looking to get back into some unification matches. Lindberg, 44, a former IBF title holder, had been knocked out in three rounds by Savannah Marshall in April but she made Rankin work hard for her win. Gomez vs. Ahmed Gomez pounds out win over Ahmed. After being momentarily rocked in the first Gomez softened Ahmed up with powerful hooks. He slowly upped the pressure and with Ahmed hurt by a right early in the fourth Gomez landed a series of punches that brought the referee’s intervention. Gomez gets his sixth consecutive victory and collects the vacant BBB of C Central Area belt. Third loss in a row for Ahmed. Rome, Italy: Middle: Matteo Signani (31-5-3) W PTS 12 Ruben Diaz (26-3-2). Feather: Mauro Forte (16-0-2) DREW 12 Francesco Grandelli (15-1-2). Super Welter: Tony Dixon (13-3) W KO 1 Francesco Russo (10-2). Light Heavy: Hrvoje Sep (11-0) W PTS 6 Serhiy Demchenko (23-16-1). Signani vs. Diaz Signani holds on to the European title with a unanimous decision over Diaz in a low key defence. The fight had a slow start with Signani just doing enough to gather a small lead. Diaz had a good fourth momentarily rocking Signani but the champion altered his tactics in the fifth standing and fighting inside which actually suited Diaz. A clash of heads in the sixth saw Diaz cut over his left eye. The cut seemed to disturb Diaz and he loses some of his fire being shaken by an uppercut in the ninth. Knowing he is behind Diaz put in a big effort over the last three rounds but Signani boxed cleverly and was never in any real trouble. Scores 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 for Signani. At 42 Signani is unlikely to land a world title shot . Spaniard Diaz, 41, was knocked out in ten rounds by Kamil Szeremeta for this same title in 2018 and that had been his only loss in his last 27 fights. Forte vs. Grandelli Forte retains the European Union title with a split draw against fellow-Italian Grandelli. The challenger launched some furious attacks over the first two rounds but Forte steadied himself and was able to take the third. Grandelli then changed tactics and started to box with Forte pressing the fight and being caught by good counters. Forte then changed his tactics and boxed more and evened up the scores. A great tenth saw Forte stunned by a left uppercut only to bang back as they traded punches. They fought furiously over the last two rounds with Grandelli just looking to have the edge but it was very close. Scores 116-113 Forte, 115-114 Grandelli and 114-114. Forte was making the first defence of the EU title and Grandelli, who is unbeaten in his last 14 fights, deserves another shot. Dixon vs. Russo Welshman Dixon returns to Italy and springs an upset with a first round kayo of Russo. A right to the head from Dixon put Russo down and out and it was sometime before he recovered. All over in 63 seconds. Dixon’s last fight had been in Milan in October 2019 when he dropped a split verdict against 17-0-1 Maxim Prodan. Russo had won his last two fights. Sep vs. Demchenko Sep continues his winning progress with points victory over experienced Ukrainian-born Italian Demchenko. Sep was in charge from the start. Demchenko was cut in the second and took a pounding in the fifth but lasted the full six rounds. Scores 60-54 for Sep on the three cards. Croatian Sep, 35, did not turn pro until he was thirty. As an amateur he was six times Croatian champion and competed at the 2016 Olympics and four World Championships as well as going 22-8 in the WSB but at 35 his horizons are limited. Demchenko, 42, is always a good test. Belfast, Northern Island: Super Middle: Padraig McCrory (13-0) W TKO 2 Celso Neves (8-2-1) Welter: Lewis Crocker (14-0) W TKO 7 Artem Haroyan (17-3-1). Light: Sean McComb (13-1) W PTS 8 Ronnie Clark (21-6-2). McCrory vs. Neves McCrory punches too hard for Neves and gets a second round stoppage. Neves fired some useful looking shots in the first without giving McCrory any concerns. McCrory took over in the second dropping Neves twice with left hooks and the fight was stopped. The tall Irishman was defending the WBC International Silver belt with his seventh victory by KO/TKO. Swiss champion Neves never in with a chance. Croker vs. Haroyan Crocker chips away at Haroyan before flooring and stopping him in the seventh round. Crocker, the naturally bigger man, was able to muscle his way past Haroyan’s guard and score heavily. Haroyan fought tenaciously but just did not have the power to containing Croker’s attacks. Crocker dialled things back in the fourth but scored heavily in the fifth before sending Haroyan slumping into the ropes for a count. Haroyan made it out of the round but a left to the body in the seventh put him down and he was counted out. Crocker was defending the WBO European title for the second time. Having that WBO title gets Crocker a No 10 rating with that body. Armenian Haroyan suffers his second loss by KO/TKO. McComb vs. Clark McComb outboxes Clark for a win. As usual Clark walked forward trying to get past McCombs jab to work inside. McComb boxed skilfully making Clark pay for each forward step. Clark had a good third but McComb was back in charge again after that using fast hands and good movement to control the action. Clark pressed hard all the way and made it an entertaining fight but could never pin McComb down and the Irish southpaw took the verdict by 79-74 on the referee’s card. Second win for McComb after losing on a seventh round stoppage against Gavin Gwynne for the Commonwealth title in February. Consecutive points losses for Scot Clark since returning to action after over three years of inactivity. Pilar, Argentina: Cruiser: Yamil Peralta (12-0) W TKO 10 Cesar Reynosa (17-17-4).Bantam: Florencia Juarez (8-1) W PTS 10 Natalia Alderete (3-5). Peralta vs. Reynosa Peralta hands out a hammering to a brave Reynoso. Peralta scored heavily over the first three rounds and then things became really painful for Reynosa. Peralta scored a knockdown in the fourth and had Reynosa reeling on the ropes in the fifth when the referee gave Reynosa a standing count. A left to the body forced Reynosa to the canvas in the sixth and the same punch sent Reynosa to the floor again in both the seventh and eighth rounds. Reynosa’s left eye was almost shut and although he managed to get through the ninth without taking a count when a body punch sent him down again in the tenth the fight was finally stopped. Peralta boxed at both the London and Rio Olympics and won bronze medals at the PanAmerican Games and World Championships but has yet to fight outside of Argentina which is when the real tests will come. Poor but brave Reynosa suffers his seventh loss by KO/TKO. Juarez vs. Alderete Juarez wins the vacant South American Female title with comprehensive victory over Alderete. Juarez had Alderete reeling badly in the third but the referee stopped the action to give Alderete a standing count. Alderete survived the crisis but never came close to winning a round. Scores 100-89 twice and 100-89 ½ for Juarez. November 6 Wangen im Allgaeu, Germany: Super Light: Aram Fanilan (22-1) W PTS 10 Timo Schwarzkopf (20-5). Ukrainian Fanilan floors and outpoints Schwarzkopf to win the vacant IBO International title. Fanilan outboxed Schwarzkopf in the first and put him down in the second. Schwarzkopf recovered but had trouble getting to the taller Ukrainian. Schwarzkopf took the sixth but Fanilan dominated the seventh and eighth. In the ninth the referee decided that a slip by Fanilan was a knockdown and they fought on equal terms in the last. Scores 96-92, 96-93 and 95-93 for Fanilan. Ninth win in a row for Fanilan but against very ordinary opposition. Schwarzkopf was having his first fight since losing a wide unanimous decision against Jack Catterall in November 2019. Tokyo, Japan: Light Fly: Shokhichi Iwata (7-0) W TKO 9 Rikito Shiba (5-2). Iwata wins the vacant Japanese title with stoppage of Shiba. Despite suffering a cut over his left eye in the first Iwata built an early lead being more accurate and hitting harder than Shiba. The fight remained close with two judges seeing Iwata in front after five rounds and the third voting for Shiba. Iwata took complete control from there. He floored Shiba in the sixth with a right hook and punished him heavily over the seventh and eight. He closed out the fight in the ninth with a savage attack that had Shiba in deep trouble and the fight was stopped Five of Iwata’s wins have been achieved inside the distance. He beat Kosei Tanaka and Takuma Inoue before turning pro. Both of Shiba’s losses have been stoppages. Nowy Sacz, Poland: Middle: Kamil Gardzielik (13-0) W PTS 10 Nicolas Palacios (12-9-1). Cruiser: Krzys Wlodarczyk (60-4-1) W RTD 4 Maximiliano Gomez (29-6). Gardzielik vs. Palacios Gardzielik just squeezes past Palacios on a close decision. Gardzielik looked comfortable using his sharp jab to ease his way through the first round. Palacios then landed some heavy right is the second to let Gardzielik know he was in a fight. Gardzielik got back on top and went into a good lead. However punches from Palacios had caused a heavy swelling around the right eye of the Pole. Over the second half of the fight the swelling grew and Palacios was able to eat into Gardzielik’s lead. The local fighter’s eye was gradually closing and Gardzielik made it to the bell before the fight had to be stopped. Scores 96-94 twice and 98-92 for Gardzielik. First ten round fight for Gardzielik and a testing one. Palacios had made an unsuccessful challenge for the vacant Argentinian title in May. Wlodarczyk vs. Gomez Win No 60 for Wlodarczyk but at a price. He shook Gomez in the first with a left hook to the head but suffered an injury to his right arm in the second. Despite that he floored Gomez with a left hook to the head in the third and dropped him again in the fourth with a left hook to the body. Gomez did not come out for the fifth. The injury may keep Wlodarczyk out of action for a while and at 40 time is pressing as he is hoping for domestic fights against Artur Szpilka and unbeaten Lukasz Rozanski. Argentinian Gomez had won his last eleven fights but he is really just a beefed-up light heavy so was no threat to “Diablo”. Fight of the week: (Significance): Saul Alvarez vs. Caleb Plant Alvarez can now choose to go up down or sideways as he looks for more titles Fight of the week (Entertainment): There was always plenty of tension around in Alvarez vs. Plant. Honourable mention to Mikaela Mayer vs. Maiva Hamadouche. Fighter of the week: Saul Alvarez Punch of the week: The right uppercut from Anthony Dirrell that finished Marcos Hernandez Upset of the week: None Prospect watch: No new names Observations Rosette: Saul Alvarez for unifying the four super middleweight titles Red Card: Nothing too bad this week except perhaps the scoring in Mayer vs. Hamadouche fight which detracted from a such an entertaining fight -That’s two divisions-super light and super middle unified. Two more than we had at the start of the year. We could get a third with the rescheduled Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castano fight as these two hold the four super welterweight titles. Teo Lopez holds the IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight titles but is only holder of the ridiculous WBC “Franchise” title. Unfortunately we will have to wait until 2022 for any more-Fury vs. Usyk or Joshua would be my New Year wish to have a unified heavyweight title would be great but my fear and belief is that we will see the sanctioning bodies splitting the titles up again. Yamil Peralta is an unbeaten cruiserweight in Argentina but: Let me introduce you to: Gregorio “Goyo” Peralta: He was born in San Juan Argentina on 8 May 1935. As an amateur he was twice South American champion. He turned pro in April 1958 but had a rocky start going 6-2-3 in his first 11 fights. He fought in Peru in 1960 losing on points against Peruvian star Mauro Mina but then put together an unbeaten run of 30 fights including wins over Willie Pastrano in Miami and Wayne Thornton twice. Pastrano was WBA and WBC light heavyweight title holder at the time Peralta beat him but the fight was a non-title fight. He fought a return with Pastrano for the titles but lost on a cut eye stoppage in the fifth round. He lost on points to Oscar Bonavena for the Argentinian heavyweight title in 1965. He was then unbeaten in his next 32 fights, including a draw with Bonavena before losing on points to George Foreman in 1970 (being one of only three fighters to last the distance with Foreman before he won the title) and also on a tenth round stoppage against Forman in 1971. He continued to campaign until November 1973 and in his last fight drew with rated heavyweight Ron Lyle. He ended up with a record of 98 wins 9 losses and 9 draws with 60 wins by KO/TKO and in the multi-titled world of today would surely have been a cruiserweight title holder. He died in January 2001. Incidentally his younger brother Avenamar was also pretty useful with a record of 103 wins, 32 losses and 14 draws. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Radzhab Butaev stops Jamal James in nine rounds to win the secondary WBA welterweight title -Jose Zepeda destroys Jose Vargas in one round at super lightweight -Jaron Ennis wipes out Thomas Dulorme in one round at welterweight -Chantelle Cameron unifies the WBC and IBF Female super light titles with victory over IBF title holder Mary McGee -Jackie Nava outpoints Mariana Juarez in a clash of Mexican Female legends -Carlos Canizales, Archie Sharp, Alen Babic and Craig Richards score wins World Title/Major Shows October 30 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Welter: Radzhab Butaev (14-0,1ND) W TKO 10 Jamal James (27-2). Welter: Jaron Ennis (28-0,1ND) W TKO 1 Thomas Delorme (25-6-1). Light: Michel Rivera (22-0) W PTS 10 Jose Romero (24-2). Welter: Alberto Palmetta (17-1) W PTS 8 Yeis Solano (15-2). Super Light: Darwin Price (18-1) RTD 6 Jean Torres (19-1). Butaev vs. James Butaev wins the secondary WBA welterweight title at the second attempt as he grinds down and stops James. The first round saw James boxing well making good use of his height, longer reach and smart movement against the slower Butaev. The third and fourth were close. Butaev was managing to get inside and work the body. James was scoring with some good counters but letting himself be dragged into too much close quarters stuff. The accuracy of the James left jab was marking up Butaev but James was too often finding himself fighting with the ropes to his back. Butaev continued to target the body but lost a point in the fourth for a punch to the back of James head. The continual pressure and the body punches were having a cumulative effect on James who was slowing. They fought hard over the seventh and eighth with Butaev marching forward putting James under pressure and scoring with thumping shots to the body. At the end of the round Butaev was coming on strong and in front 77-74 on two cards with James ahead 76-75 on the third but looking weary and unsteady at times. James was popping Butaev with light jabs at the start of the ninth but was looking exhausted. Butaev kept marching forward throwing clubbing shots and James was boxing with his mouth open gasping for breath. Butaev launched an attack and with Jones not punching back the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. It looked a little premature but James made no protest. Russian Butaev, 27, lost to Alexander Besputin for this title in November 2019 but Besputin tested positive for a banned substance. James won the vacant interim title in August 2020 and was upped to secondary title holder in February. Ennis vs. Delorme Ennis annihilates Dulorme with two knockdown in the first round. Ennis seemed to stagger Dulorme with a left to the head then connected with a chopping right to the side of Delorme’s head. The Puerto Rican went down but managed to get up at the count of seven. When the action resumed Ennis jumped on Dulorme firing punches. Dulorme scored with a couple of counters but a straight right dropped him on his back and he was counted just as he made it to his feet. Towering performance from Ennis who has won 26 of his 28 fights by KO/TKO. A sliding Dulorme has won only one of his last six fights. Dulorme’s team has officially lodged a protest with the WBA claiming the first knockdown punch landed on the back of Dulorme’s head. It looked to have landed by Dulorme’s ear but not flush on the back of the head. Rivera vs. Romero Dominican hope Rivera remains unbeaten with points win over Argentinian Romero. Rivera’s jab gave Romero problems throughout the ten rounds. Rivera used his jab both to score at distance and to prevent Romero getting inside to work. Romero tried to apply some pressure early but just could not find his way past the jab with any consistency. Rivera on the other hand was on target with both his jab and some powerful body punches which slowed Romero as the fight went on. Although he had a slightly longer reach Romero’s jab was never a factor in the fight and Rivera was a comfortable winner. Scores 100-90 three times for Rivera. He has scored useful wins over Fidel Maldonado, Ladarius Miller and Jon Fernandez but even with those wins is too high at No 2 with the WBA. Former Argentinian champion Romero had mainly faced modest domestic opposition and lost on points against Isaac Cruz in March. Palmetta vs. Solano Palmetta takes a split decision over Solano in a fast-paced close fight. Both showed effective body attacks and both had periods of dominance. Palmetta had his best round in the fourth in which he shook Solano with a right to the head. Solano came back strongly in the fifth and Palmetta was just the stronger over the closing rounds to take the verdict. Scores 79-73 and 78-74 for Palmetta and 77-75 for Solano. Some useful ring time for Palmetta who had won his last ten fights inside the distance. Colombian Solano lost a decision against Mykquan Williams in January. Price vs. Torres Price beats Torres who retires at the end of the sixth round in their contest. Price used his longer reach and heavier punching and floored Torres on the way to victory. The doctor passed Torres as able to continue after an examination at the end of the fifth but after Price handed out more punishment Torres was ruled out at the end of the sixth. The lanky Price was out of the ring in 2018 and 2020 so needs to be more active. His lone loss came against 17-0 Malik Hawkins when he was forced to retire with a knee injury. Puerto Rican Torres had a streak of eight inside the distance wins going but was well beaten in this fight. New York, NY, USA: Super Light: Jose Zepeda (35-2) W TKO 1 Jose Vargas (19-2). Bantam: Jonas Sultan (18-5) W PTS 10 Carlos Caraballo (14-1). Super Bantam: Carlos Jackson (18-1) W PTS 10 Jonathan Guzman (24-1). Zepeda vs. Vargas Zepeda wipes out Vargas in the opening round. Zepeda drove a southpaw straight left to the head of Vargas and he went down heavily. He struggled to rise and then toppled over and nearly fell out of the ring. He managed to get up and was allowed to continue . Zepeda hunted him down and trapped him against the ropes and unloaded punches until Vargas slumped to the canvas and the referee pulled Zepeda off. The 32-year-old Zepeda reinforces his “dangerman” reputation with his twenty-seventh victory by KO/TKO. He lost a majority decision to Jose Ramirez for the WBC title in 2019 but has scored wins over Jose Pedraza, Kendo Castaneda and Ivan Baranchyk since then and is No 2 with the WBC. Vargas had won his last 13 fights. Sultan vs. Caraballo Filipino Sultan gets a close unanimous victory over Caraballo but needed four knockdowns to get the win. Caraballo made a good start edging the first round but paid his first visit to the floor in the second courtesy of a right uppercut from Sultan. The Filipino was fired up by that knockdown and put Caraballo down again in the third. Caraballo recovered enough to take the fourth and the fifth and had Sultan wobbling. The fight swung back to Sultan in the sixth as he caught Caraballo with a right that put Caraballo down for the third time. Caraballo took the fight to Sultan and both were shaken in the seventh and eighth but Caraballo took them both levelling the scores. Sultan had a decisive ninth as he connected with a combination to the head that sent Caraballo down for the fourth time and although Caraballo won the last round it was not enough and Sultan won on scores of 94-93 on all three cards. Exciting fight and a candidate for Fight of the Year. Sultan was the last fighter to beat John Riel Casimero having outpointed him in 2017 but was then outclassed by Jerwin Ancajas in a challenge for the IBF super fly title. It was no surprise that Puerto Rican Caraballo tried to punch his way out of trouble as he had won all 14 of his fights by KO/TKO including five first round finishes. Jackson vs. Guzman Jackson gets a split decision victory over Guzman. Over the early rounds Guzman built a lead being more accurate and landing the heavier punches. Jackson kept plugging away but the fight changed from the fifth when it slowly became apparent that Guzman had a problem with his right hand. From there Jackson grew in confidence and overcame the early lead of Guzman to move in front and strong last round from Guzman was not enough to save the day. Scores 78-74 and 77-75 for Jackson and 77-75 for Guzman. Second straight win for Jackson after losing his unbeaten tag when outpointed by 18-1 José Durantes Vivas in July 2020. Guzman lost a close decision to Yukinori Oguni for the IBF title in December 2016 and his only fights since then had been a win in November 2018 and in January 2021. London, England: Super Light: Chantelle Cameron (15-0) W PTS 10 Mary McGee (27-4). Light Heavy: Craig Richards (17-2-1) W TKO 6 Marek Matyja (20-3-2). Super Feather: Jorge Castaneda (15-1) W PTS 10 Youssef Khoumari (13-1-1). Heavy: Alen Babic (9-0) W TKO 2 Eric Molina (28-8). Cameron vs. McGee Cameron unifies the WBC and IBF titles with comprehensive win over McGee. Cameron was taking the fight to McGee from the start. She was outworking her and was more accurate when they stood and traded punches. By the second Cameron was on the front foot and following her stiff jabs with straight rights but was given a warning for sending McGee tumbling to the canvas at the end of the round. Cameron was getting her punches off first and when McGee did pile forward Cameron was getting the better of the exchanges. McGee did better over the third and fourth but Cameron outworked her over the fifth and sixth. McGee attack the body well in the seventh but again Cameron did the better work over the eighth and ninth before a huge effort from McGee saw her take the last round. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and 99-92 for Cameron who retains the WBC title and wins the IBF title. She clearly outfought a tough opponent who had won her last seven fights. Richards vs. Matyja Richards returns to the ring for the first time since losing a close decision against Dmitry Bivol for the secondary WBA title in May. He dominated the action with some strong jabbing and powerful hooks from both hands. Pole Matyja landed some stiff shots of his own but Richards had the edge in the exchanges and again his jab was the dominant punch. In the sixth a series of hooks and uppercuts had Matyja staggering and holding desperately and a few more clubbing head shots brought the referee’s intervention. His display in the Bivol fight has shown Richards is up there with the best and he will be looking to work his way to another title chance. First inside the distance defeat for former Polish champion Matyja. Castaneda vs. Khoumari Castaneda takes a majority verdict against previously unbeaten Khoumari. This was an interesting tactical fight rather than a tear up. Both are good technical fighters. Castaneda pressed hard early on with Khoumari looking to box rather than stand and trade and he was outscoring Castaneda. The second half of the fight saw Castaneda continue to come forward but Khoumari took the sixth before Castaneda landed hard shots in the seventh and shook Khoumari badly in the eighth. The last two rounds were close with Castaneda just looking to take them which earned him the decision. Scores 97-94 and 96-94 for Castaneda and 95-95. Castaneda wins the vacant WBC International Silver title. Khoumari can learn from this and come back stronger. Babic vs. Molina Babic blows away a badly faded Molina. Babic came out throwing punches and put Molina down with a right less than ten seconds into the round. Molina was up quickly and moved and held until his head cleared. Babic continued to plough forward throwing punches. He was wide open and Molina landed three heavy counters but they just bounced off Babic who tried in vain to land a big bomb. Babic stormed out in the second and put Molina down on his back. Molina climbed to his feet but was floored twice more and the fight was stopped. Nine fights and nine inside the distance wins for the hard punching Croat but Molina is way past his best and had earlier been knocked out by Filip Hrgovic and Fabio Wardley. October 28 Santiago de Tolu, Colombia: Super Bantam: Bryan De Gracia (27-2-1) W TKO 2 Luis de la Rosa (26-18-2). Panamanian De Gracia moves down to super bantam and takes his power with him as he halts Colombian de la Rosa in the second round. Now 7 wins in his last 8 fights for Gracia with all 7 wins by KO/TKO. de la Rosa just too small to compete and going in the opposite direction being 1-10-1 in his last outings. October 29 London, England: Super Feather: Archie Sharp (21) W PTS 10 Alexis Kabore (28-5).Super Welter: Juan Abreu (24-6-1,1ND) W TKO 7 Tursynbay Kulakhmet (4-1). Super Light: Pierce O’Leary (8-0) W TKO 7 Siar Ozgul (15-7). Middle: Jordan Reynolds (3-0) W TKO 1 Rodolfo Paterno (2-4-2). Sharp vs. Kabore Sharp retains the WBO Global belt with comfortable victory over limited Kabore from Burkina Faso. Sharp outboxed the slower Kabore all the way. Sharp was dealing with Kabore’s attempts at pressure with sharp, accurate counters and bobbed and weaved his way around Kabore’s punches and stepped up the pace gradually. Kabore was never able to get into the fight. Sharp was confident enough to switch guards a few times and put together some impressive combinations late in the fight but it was all too easy for Sharp. Scores 100-90 for Sharp on the three cards. Sharp is No m1 with the WBO but is nowhere near ready to challenge Shakur Stevenson. Kabore, 38, way out of his class. Kulakhmet vs. Abreu This was set to be an easy defence of the WBC International title for unbeaten Kazak Kulakhmet until Argentinian Abreu stuck around and spoiled the party. It looked as though Kulakhmet was going to get another early win. Abreu has had more fights than Kulakhmet has had rounds and a left to the head rocked Abreu in the first. The second saw Abreu down but he did not look too shaken. Things continued to go Kulakhmet’s way as a punch opened a cut over Abreu’s right eyebrow in the fourth and looked to have won every round at the half way point. However Abreu was still there and still fighting and he stunned Kulakhmet with a right late in the sixth. Abreu carried that success over into the seventh putting Kulakhmet down with a right early in the round and then connected with another right that deposited Kulakhmet face down on the canvas and the referee waived the fight over without bothering to count. Of his 24 wins Abreu has 22 by KO/TKO so the danger was always there. He was stopped in six rounds in September last year by Jaron Ennis, the only time he has lost by KO/TKO, and has also lost to Jamal James, Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Alexander Besputin all on points so had experience at top level. Back to the drawing board for Kulakhmet who had won the WBC International title in only his second pro fight. O’Leary vs. Ozgul O’Leary was moving up to eight rounds for the first time but he did not have to wait that long for the win. He floored Ozgul in the fourth staggered him and opened a cut below his left eye in the sixth and had Ozgul rocking when it was stopped in the seventh. Fourth inside the distance win for the 21-year-old Dubliner. Just one win in his last eight contests for British-based Turk Ozgul. Reynolds vs. Paterno Reynolds gets this one over quickly as a left to the body saw Paterno unable to continue. The former British and English gold medal winner is one to follow. Late substitute Paterno was badly mover-matched. Mexico City, Mexico: Light Fly: Carlos Canizales (23-1-1) W PTS 10German Valenzuela (16-3). Former WBA secondary title holder Canizales gets back into the winning column after losing his title five months ago. Canizales went into the lead early with his usual high work rate as Valenzuela took a time to settle into the fight not really giving Canizales any problems until the fourth round. Canizales was comfortable fighting at distance and countering the Mexican with Valenzuela not making use of his longer reach. Canizales continued to get the better of the exchanges and was a comfortable winner. Scores 98-92 twice and 99-91 for “CCC” who wins the vacant WBA Fedecaribe belt. Canizales lost his light flyweight title in Mexico City in May with an un upset stoppage by unfancied Esteban Bermudez. Venezuelan Canizales was just too good for the 22-year-old Valenzuela. Bella Vista, Panama: Middle: Sebastian Papeschi (18-3) W PTS 10 Hector Zepeda (20-3,1ND). Super Feather: Pablo Vicente (18-1,1ND) W PTS 10 Javier Herrera (17-5-1). Papeschi vs. Zepeda Papeschi outboxes and outscores Zepeda. The Argentinian southpaw was the outsider and was conceding height and reach to Zepeda but after a steady start he took control. He rocked Zepeda a couple of times and almost put him away in the seventh. Zepeda got through the round but was then in survival mode. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92 for Papeschi the Argentinian interim super middleweight title holder. Zepeda’s losses have come against Sebastian Fundora and Carlos Molina. Vicente vs. Herrera Cuban Vicente almost finished this in the first three minutes but in the end had to go the full ten rounds for victory. Vicente dropped Herrera twice in the first round but the Argentinian has yet to lose inside the distance and he survived. In the fifth a punch from Herrera started a swelling on Vicente’s right eye which rapidly closed the eye and from there Herrera attacked hard and Vicente boxed cautiously to victory. Scores 98-90 twice and 99-89 for Vicente. His lone loss is a controversial split verdict against Marcos Villasana in 2018 and this is his sixth victory since then. Herrera, the Argentinian No 7 lightweight, drops to 2-4-1 in his 7 most recent contests. Manila, Philippines: Super Fly: Renz Rosia (17-9-1) W TKO 6 Cris Paulino (21-6), Feather: Jhon Gemino (22-12-1) W TKO 5 Danny Tampipi (9-13-2). Rosia vs. Paulino Second upset victory in a row for Rosia as he wins the Philippines title with sixth round stoppage of champion Paulino in an all-southpaw contest. Rosia drove Paulino to the ropes in sixth and battered him with head shots until Paulino dropped to the floor with the referee coming in to stop the fight. In his last fight in December 2019 Rosia had outpointed former WBA title challenger Aston Palicte. He was 1-4-1 before beating Palicte so at 33 he is experiencing some success. Paulino was making the first defence of the belt. Gemino vs. Tampipi Gemino collects the Philippines title after stopping Tampipi in five rounds. Gemino seem to have found a punch late in his career as he has won 5 of his last 6 fights by KO/TKO. Unfortunately the odd one out of those six was a second kayo loss against WBO No1 feather Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov. General Santos City, Philippines: Welter: Adam Diu Abdulhamid (17-9) W TKO 8 Jason Egera (24-23-2). Bantam: Aston Palicte (28-4-1) W PTS 10 Roland Jay Biendima (15-10-1). Fly: Mark Barriga (11-1) W PTS 8 Ramel Antaran (4-14-2). Abdulhamid vs. Egera Abdulhamid batters Egera to defeat. Egera just rumbled forward throwing punches and trying to walk through Abdulhamid’s counters. A left staggered Egera in the first and Abdulhamid began to come forward from the second. He used his longer reach and better skills to pound Egera with punches but Egera was rumbling forward and scoring with meaty thumps. Abdulhamid dished out punishment over the fifth, sixth and seventh but it looked as though the constant pressure from Egera was wearing him down. In the seventh an arm weary Egera was coming apart. In the eighth the referee took Egera back to his corner for a costume adjustment as shorts were almost around his thighs and strangely when the action resumed Egera threw an arm in the air and just walked away from the fight in surrender. Third win by KO/TKO in a row for Abdulhamid. Egera falls to 1-6-2 in his last 9 BOUTS. Palicte vs. Biendima In his first fight for eleven months Palicte is given plenty of work by Biendima. He floored Biendima in the fourth and hammered home hooks and uppercuts. For Palicte it was almost exhibition stuff but despite taking heavy punishment Biendima just kept bouncing back and connecting with some powerful left hooks to the body. Amazing bravery but Palicte was in another class. Palicte went for broke over the last two rounds but Biendima deservedly was still there at the end. Scores 100-89 from the judges for Palicte who lost to Kazuto Ioka for the vacant secondary WBA super fly title in 2019. Fifth loss in a row for Biendima. Barriga vs. Antaran Barriga gets in some needed work but is given All sorts of problems by the eccentric and naturally bigger Antaran and just gets by with a very close decision. Barriga had all the skills but is not a big puncher and Antaran kept him under pressure all the way and gave Barriga a rough ride. Scores 76-75 twice and 77-74 for Barriga. An ex-Olympian Barriga beat Paddy Barnes in the world championships. He lost a split decision against Carlos Licona for the vacant IBF minimum title in December 2018 and was then out of the ring before returning with a win in March. Antaran who has fight as big as bantam falls to 1-8- in disappointing recent form. Jaworzno, Poland: Super Middle: Lukasz Stanioch (7-0) W PTS 10 Ryan Ford (17-7). Middle Michal Syrowatka (23-5) W KO 5 Piotr Szmajda (5-1). Stanioch vs. Ford Stanioch takes a step up in quality opposition and gets the unanimous decision over Canadian hard man Ford. The Canadian put Stanioch under pressure from the opening bell and it was obvious this was going to be a big test for the local fighter. By the third Stanioch had found his way into the fight and over the middle rounds these two went to war which should have suited Ford but with Stanioch more than holding his own. Stanioch was throwing and landing more but Ford was relying heavily on big single shots. Stanioch tired late but stayed cool and despite a strong effort from Ford he was a good winner. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92 for Stanioch who gets his best win in his short career. Ford always comes to fight but is now 1-3 in his last four bouts including a seventh round kayo loss against Joshua Buatsi in 2019 Syrowatka vs. Szmajda A loss against novice Szmajda would have pushed Syrowatka way down the slippery slope. Szmajda gave Syrowatka some early problems but slowly Syrowatka’s experience and better skills put him in charge. He was briefly shaken by a right in the third but ended the fight in the fifth. He floored Szmajda twice before connecting with a body punch that put Szmajda on the floor in agony and he was counted out. Syrowatka had lost his last two fights to domestic opposition so needed to win this one. Szmajda lacked the experience to cause Syrowatka any problems. Kalisz, Poland: Super Light: Kamil Mlodzinski (14-5-4) W PTS 8 Agustin Kucharski (7-4-1,1ND). Light: Damian Wrzesinski (23-2-2,1ND) W PTS 8 Victor Julio (16-1).Welter: Lukasz Wierzbicki (20-1) W PTS 8 Rodrigo Labre (6-6 Mlodzinski vs. Kucharski Mlodzinski take a split decision over Argentinian Kucharski but is lucky to do so. Kucharski was the better boxer and more mobile. He used his longer reach to score at distance and although he lacked the power to hurt Mlodzinski he built a lead and look on his way to a win. That changed in the sixth round when Mlodzinski connected with a left hook that put Kucharski down. From there the rounds were close but the knockdown was the decider. Scores 76-75 twice to Mlodzinski and 76-75 for Kucharski. Third consecutive victory for Mlodzinski. Kucharski, who has Polish antecedents, is 0-2 in fights in Poland. Wrzesinski vs. Julio Wrzesinski eases his way to victory over a disappointing Julio. After a bright start Julio faded out of the fight. Wrzesinski commanded from the centre of the ring and Julio showed a reluctance to apply the pressure needed to unsettle to local fighter and failed to use his longer reach . That allowed Wrzesinski to set the pace and he was busier and more accurate and won easily but without fire. Scores 80-72 on the three cards for Wrzesinski who lost an upset decision to Mexican Erick Encinia in May. Colombian Julio was flattered by his unbeaten record. Wierzbicki vs. Labre Wierzbicki returns to action with a unanimous verdict over Labre. After a year out of the ring Wierzbicki displayed some rust and a few errors but was a clear winner. Wierzbicki was at his best when he boxed at distance and countered the aggressive Labre. He had his hands down too low in the sixth and was clattered by a left to the head. He was badly shaken and Labre tried desperately to find another big punch but failed. Wierzbicki rebounded by flooring Labre in the seventh but Labre frustrated Wierzbicki’s attempts to finish the fight in the eighth. Scores 78-73 twice and 80-71 for Wierzbicki. The Pole lost his unbeaten record in October 2019 on a second round stoppage by England’s Louis Greene and won a low level domestic fight in September last year. Second loss in a row for Spanish-based Ecuadorian Labre. Washington, DC, USA: Feather: Cobia Breedy (15-1,1ND) ND 2 Sulaiman Segawa (13-3-1,1ND). Breedy vs. Segawa This one ends early as a clash of heads in the second saw Segawa badly cut and the fight was stopped at the end of the round and ruled a No Decision Breedy scored well with rights against southpaw Segawa in the first but already heads were bumping dangerously. In the second as heads banged together again Segawa suffered a cut over his left eye. The doctor examined the cut and the fight was allowed to restart. Breedy scored with more rights and had won the two rounds. Unfortunately the doctor again inspected Segawa’s cut and it was decided Segawa could not continue. Both were coming off loses Breedy a split decision against Tugstsogt Nyambayar in September and Segawa a seventh round kayo by Jamaine Ortiz in November. Kissimmee, FL, USA: Light Heavy: Fanlong Meng (17-0) W PTS 10 Israel Duffus (20-7). Light: Miguel Marrero (10-1-2) W PTS 10 Victor Betancourt (27-4,1ND). Meng vs. Duffus Meng sheds two years of dust with a unanimous decision over Duffus. Meng took a while to find his form but then outboxed Duffus. Meng looked to have scored a knockdown in the last with a series of punches sending Duffus into the ropes which held him up. It made no difference as Meng already had the fight won. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 for Meng The 33-year-old Chinese southpaw was sitting at No 1 with a title shot guaranteed but the COVID-19 pandemic ended that hope and only the WBC still have him rated and then down at No 8 so he is a long way from that title fight. Panamanian Duffus suffered losses against unbeaten fighters Charles Foster and Richard Rivera but had a win in his last fight in March 2020. Marrero vs. Betancourt Marrero takes a tight unanimous verdict over Betancourt. It was Betancourt who moved in front early with some accurate jabbing and left hooks. It was the third before Marrero made an impact in his first fight September 2019. He worked well to the body and although the rounds were close he edged in front over the middle rounds. Betancourt boxed well to get back in the fight in the seventh but Marrero was stronger over the closing rounds being denied what looked a genuine knockdown in the ninth and took the decision on scores of 97-93 96-94 and 96-95. Marrero’s lone defeat came on a unanimous verdict in an eight round fight against Alberto Mercado in 2018 and he collects the vacant WBA Fedecentro title. Betancourt had been stopped in one round by Jaime Arboleda in 2019 but returned with a low level win in July this year Melrose. MA, USA: Super Welter: Jeovanis Barraza (23-1) W PTS 8 Jorge Garcia (13-8-1). Barraza hits too hard for Argentinian Garcia. Colombian Barraza targeted Garcia’s body and although Garcia was competitive the effect of the body punches caught up with him eventually. He was down twice in the sixth and once in the seventh but despite the three knockdowns he made it the end of the fight. Scores 80-69 twice and 79-70 for Barraza. His loss came in a two round stoppage against former top level amateur Gabriel Maestre in 2019 but he has rebounded with three victories. Garcia was having his first fight for two years. October 30 Tijuana, Mexico: Super Bantam: Jackie Nava (39-4-4) W PTS 10 Mariana Juarez (55-11-4). Super Bantam: Bryan Mercado (20-1) W PTS 8 Gabino Hernandez (8-9-4). Fly: Carlos Mejia (7-2-1) W PTS 8 Brian Mosinos (21-3). Super Welter: Ruben Aguilar (17-0) W TKO 1 David Bustamante (4-4). Nava vs. Juarez “Aztec Princess” Nava comes out on top in a battle of two forty-year-old legends of female boxing as she outclasses “Barbie” Juarez to win the WBC Diamond super bantamweight belt. From the opening round Nava boxed quite beautifully. She was finding gaps for quick burst of punches with Juarez coming forward throwing harder single shots but missing the target and being made to pay as Nava hit her with accurate and quick counters. Nava picked up the pace and by the sixth Juarez had to pass a doctors examination due to a large swelling under her left eye. By the seventh it was Nava coming forward and in total control as she whipped quick lefts and rights through the guard of Juarez. Nava seemed to take a break the ninth but she took the fight to Juarez again in the tenth and outfought her inside. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and a generous 97-93. Nava, 41, won her first major title in 2005 collecting both the WBA and WBC titles that year. She is currently 14-0-1 and in great form. Juarez, also 41, turned pro in 1998. She is a former WBC fly and bantam champion and is 18-1 in title fights. Mercado vs. Hernandez Mercado boxes his way to victory. Mercado made good use of his better skills and longer reach to keep an aggressive Hernandez out and won every round. Scores 80-72 all for Mercado who registers his nineteenth win in a row. Mejia vs. Mosinos Mejia upset the odds makers in this one. He simply outfought the favoured Mosinos with a much higher work rate and beat the better technical boxer. Scores 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75 for Mejia who has improved his record by going 5-1-1 in recent fights. Mosinos had a nine-bout winning streak. Aguilar vs. Bustamante Aguilar comes out throwing bombs and blast out Bustamante in the first round. A series of shots to head and body dropped Bustamante and the fight was stopped. Tenth first round finish for the 20-year-old from Ensenada. Second stoppage loss in succession for Bustamante. Villa Nueva, Argentina: Light: Maria Moneo (8-1) W PTS 10 Paola Benavidez (8-5-3). Welter: Victoria Bustos (22-6) W PTS 8 Yamil Reynoso (11-9-3). Moneo vs. Benavidez Uruguayan Moneo wins the vacant IBF Female title with a wide unanimous decision over Argentinian Benavidez. Moneo’s aggression won this one as she constantly forced Benavidez to the ropes and worked her over to head and body. Benavidez lost a point in the fourth for holding and survived a crisis in the seventh but was well beaten. Scores 99-90, 99-91 and 97-92 for Moneo who also holds the WBA title. Third defeat in her last four fights for Benavidez. Bustos vs. Reynoso Bustos too experienced for Reynoso and gets the majority decision. The more stylish Bustos scored well boxing at distance with Reynoso having her success with body punches inside. Bustos looked to have clearly have landed more and heavier punches but one judge did not think she had done enough. Scores 78-74 ½ and 78-75 for Bustos and 77-77. A former IBF champion Bustos lost big fights against Katie Taylor and Cecilia Braekhus. Reynoso, a former Argentinian welterweight champion, suffers her fifth consecutive defeat. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Super Light: Jonathan Eniz (27-15-1,1NC) W PTS 10 Nicolas Demario (15-5-3). Eniz needs a strong finish to get the decision over Demario. A poor run where he won only two of his last six fights left Eniz badly in need of a win. He set a fast pace and attacked hard over the first three rounds out working Demario who was too cautious. Demario came on in the second half of the fight cutting Eniz over his right eye and on his lip as he took the seventh and eighth. With his deeper experience Eniz had paced the fight better and took the last two rounds and the decision. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-95 for Eniz who is now aiming to challenge for the national title. Demario had gone 6-0-1 in his last 7 fights. Sanvignes les mines, France: Super Welter: Mickael Lacombe (13-6-1,1ND) W PTS 10 Mirko Di Carlantonio (11-9-1). Local fighter Lacombe just edges past Italian Di Carlantonio on a split decision to win the vacant IBO Mediterranean title. Scores 95-94 twice for Lacombe and 96-93 for Di Carlantonio. Lacombe, 35, has come into some late form as he is 9-1-1 in his last 11 fights. Di Carlantonio had draw and lost in shots at the Italian title this year. Les Mureaux, France: Bantam: Elie Konki (12-0) W PTS 10 Ricardo Blandon (15-4). Unbeaten Konki has too much skill for Nicaraguan Blandon. The 29-year-old “Spider” was defending the WBA Inter-Continental title and took the decision on scores of 98-92 twice and a much closer 96-94. Blandon had lost only one of his last six fights going in. Koenigs Wusterhausen, Germany: Super Welter: Ronny Gabel (39-6-1,1ND) W PTS 8 Achilles Szabo (25-28). Light: Ramona Kuehne (32-1) W PTS 6 Klaudia Vigh (3-33-1,1ND). Gabel vs. Szabo Gabel gets another scalp as he outscores experienced Hungarian loser Szabo. The referee scored this 78-74 to give Gabel his seventeenth win in his last eighteen fights. His opposition has been very much second string but he has won the WBU (German) version belt-hooray! Another loss for Szabo but an improvement as he is now 1-9 in recent action with the other eight losses all by KO/TKO. Kuehne vs. Vigh Female star boxer Kuehne keeps busy as she floors and outpoints consistent loser Vigh. The referee’s card for this one was 60-53. Now 41 the former undefeated WBO and IBF title holder has won her last 15 bouts and her lone defeat came way back in 2010. Poor Vigh has won just one of her last 35 fights. Managua, Nicaragua: Feather: Elysson Marquez (11-2-2) W TKO 6 Marcio Soza (21-7-2). Super Light: Israel Lopez (9-1,1ND) W TKO 6 Gabriel Escalante (14-2). Marquez vs. Soza Marquez wins a war of attrition against Soza. The better boxing came from Soza with Marquez loading up on every punch with not a lot of accuracy and he was leaving himself wide open to counters. Soza looked the likely winner as Marquez seemed arm weary in the fourth. Despite that Marquez landed heavily in the fifth with the referee asking the doctor to inspect Soza who was bleeding heavily from the nose. They pounded on each other in the sixth until the referee again called the doctor who decided Soza’s nose injury was too serious for the fight to continue. Marquez wins the vacant WBA Fedecaribe title and is unbeaten in his last seven fights. Soza had a ten-bout winning streak going before this loss. Lopez vs. Escalante Lopez gets repeat win over Escalante. This was a mirror image of their previous fight in April. The lanky Escalante towered over Lopez and was able to score both at distant and as Lopez tried to fight his way inside. Escalante found Lopez an easy target but just could not keep him out. Eventually Escalate tired and in the sixth Lopez pinned him to the ropes and unloaded punches until Escalante was ready to drop and the referee stopped the fight. After losing on a disqualification in his second fight Lopez is now 8-0-1ND. Now consecutive losses to Lopez for Escalante. Talisay City, Philippines: Fly: April Jay Abne (7-0) W PTS 10 Bienvenido Ligas (13-2-2). Minor surprise as inexperienced Abne beats Philippines champion Ligas to win the vacant OPBF Silver title on a split verdict. Abne looked sharp over the early rounds boxing cleverly on the back foot .Ligas was the stronger and the harder puncher and applied constant pressure with Abne often pinned to the ropes. Abne had quicker hands and was firing accurate counters but without power. Abne was cut in the sixth round in a clash of heads and Ligas chased Abne down and looked to have done enough to take the decision but it went to Abne for his early work. Scores 96-94 twice for Abne and 96-94 for Ligas. First time Abne has gone ten rounds so good experience for him and Ligas still has the Philippines title if Abne wants a return. Santander, Spain: Welter: Jon Miguez (15-0) W KO 2 Jonathan Valero (10-7-1) Miguez makes a successful first defence of the national title with second round kayo of Valero. Miguez looked to have scored a knockdown in the first but the referee ruled it a slip. There was no doubt over the finish in the second. Miguez connected with a series of punches ending with a left hook that put Valero down and out for Miguez’s seventh victory by KO/TKO. Valero is 0-2 in shots at the national title. Madrid, Spain: Feather: Bernard Torres (15-0) W TKO 7 Jayro Duran (14-13, Philippines-born Torres breaks down and halts Spanish-based Honduran Duran in the seventh round. Seven inside the distance wins for Norwegian southpaw Torres but ninth loss on the trot for Duran. Atlantic City, NJ, USA: Welter: Shinard Bunch (17-1-1,1ND) W KO 1 Wilfrido Buelvas (22-15). Another power punching displays from Queens-born Bunch. He dropped Buelvas twice finishing him on the second knockdown with a big right. Fifteen wins by KO/TKO for Bunch. He is unbeaten in his last fifteen fight with fourteen wins and a draw in February with 17-0 0 Janelson Figueroa Bocachica. Colombian Buelvas suffers loss No 12 by KO/TKO Fight of the week (Significance): The wins scored by both Zepeda and Ennis are significant as they keep the door open and the interest up for title shots. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Jonas Sultan vs. Carlos Caraballo had thrills enough to please anyone (another Top Rank show). Fighter of the week: Ennis for his towering display in brushing aside Thomas Dulorme with honourable mention to the power show from Zepeda Punch of the week: The straight left from Zepeda that put Vargas down was like a thunderbolt. Upset of the week: Juan Abreu’s win over highly touted Kazak Tursynbay was not in the script. Honourable mention to Sebastian Papeschi who was supposed to lose to Hector Zepeda Prospect watch: None I have not already mentioned. Observations Rosette: To Jackie Nava and Mariana Juarez two legendary female Mexican boxers facing each other perhaps when they are both past their best but a brave decision from both. Red Card: Referees need to either stop signalling for a boxer who has just arisen from a knockdown to raise his gloves. On a number of occasions at the weekend the referee either ignored the fact the fighter did not raise his gloves-or raised them for him. What’s the point of issuing an instruction and then not caring whether the boxer follows the instruction or not-a waste of breath. It is part of the safety process to ensure a boxer is able to continue. Either make sure he does raise his gloves or don’t even bother instructing him to do so. Different standards also. The feeling was that perhaps the Butaev vs. James fight was stopped a little hastily. Better that than when poor Jose Vargas started to get after being knocked down by Jose Zepeda. He was so addled that he stumbled across the ring and almost fell out under the bottom rope. Somehow he made it to his feet but there was no way he had recovered literally seconds after being so jumbled he almost fell out of the ring. -Christmas is coming and everybody needs some Christmas money. The show in Panama on October 29 featured 14 fights with 128 rounds scheduled. Luckily 16 ended early. -Great to see boxers honoured in their own country. On Saturday night in Forli Italy Boxe Ring Web hosted the Italian Hall Of Fame dinner with the inductees being Dulio Loi, Loris Stecca, Massimiliano Duran, Patrizio Oliva, Sumbu Kalambay, Roberto Cammarelle and an Italian great from the past Cleto Locatelli. Some great names there. -A well deserved plug for International Boxing Hall of Fame promoter J Russell Peltz’s book “Thirty Dollars and a Cut Eye”. A great boxing story covering Russell’s early years promoting some of the greatest middleweights of the era and on through to the present time. -There’s a song line that goes ”It was a very good year for…….Well 1980 was a very good year for female boxers as both Jackie Nava and Mariana Juarez were born in 1980 as was another female boxing legend Germany’s Ramona Kuehne with her 32-1 record and unbeaten for eleven years. Let me introduce you to: Dulio Loi Dulio Loi was inducted into the Italian Boxing Hall of Fame this week. He was one of the most successful boxers in Italian boxing history. Born in Trieste on 19 April 1929 Loi turned professional in November 1948.and won the Italian lightweight title in 1952. In the same year he lost in a challenge for the European title against Jorgen Johansen in front of over 16,000 spectators which gave Loi a 35-1-2 record. He fought a return with Johansen in 1954 and outpointed him to win the European lightweight title. He challenged Carlos Ortiz for the world lightweight title in 1960 but lost on points-only his second loss in 111 fights-but then beat Ortiz for the title and made two successful defences against him. He suffered his third loss in a defence of the now WBA title against Eddie Perkins in September 1962 but then regained the WBA title with a points win over Perkins in December 1962. Loi retired after that fight with a record of 115-3-8 and he scored revenge wins over the three fighters who beat him. Dulio was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of fame in 2005- A true great. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Oscar Rivas outpoints Ryan Rozicki to win the WBC bridgerweight belt -Shakur Stevenson stops Jamel Herring to collect the WBO super featherweight title -Evan Holyfield the son of Evander and Nico Ali Walsh the grandson of Muhammad Ali score wins -In Female title fights Yesica Yolanda Bopp retains the WBA Super light flyweight title with stoppage of Johana Zuniga and Shannon O’Connell holds on to the Commonwealth bantamweight title with points win over Taylah Robertson and minimumweight Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen becomes the first Vietnamese to win a sanctioning body title World Title/Major Shows October 22 Quebec, Canada: Bridgerweight: Oscar Rivas (28-1) W PTS 12 Ryan Rozicki (13-12 Rivas wins the inaugural WBC bridgerweight title with unanimous decision over Rozicki in a competitive, entertaining and gruelling fight. Rivas, the naturally bigger man, made good use of his jab and rocked Rozicki with a right in the first and with an uppercut in the second. Rozicki came through over the next three rounds scoring with some hurtful punches of his own and looked to be getting on top in the sixth. Rivas took over again as he used his stiff jab and his 20lbs advantage to muscle Rozicki to the ropes and effectively shut down Rozicki’s attacks and had Rozicki looking tired in the seventh. Rozicki recovered and took the fight to Rivas over the eighth and ninth but was being caught with accurate counters that had blood flowing from his nose and he almost went down in the eleventh but just kept firing back. Rivas lost a point in the last for a low punch but was a clear victor. Scores 115-112 twice and 116-111. Montreal-based Colombian Rivas, 34, had moved down from heavyweight where he lost on points to Dillan Whyte in July 2019. It remains to be seen whether there are enough attractive fights in this new WBC division to keep him there or whether he will move back up to heavyweight. Rozicki, 26. from Sydney Nova Scotia, will go back down to cruiserweight with his reputation enhanced in his showing against what was a much higher level of opponent than he has faced in the past. October 23 Atlanta, GA, USA: Super Feather: Shakur Stevenson (17-0) W TKO 10 Jamel Herring (23-3).Super Welter: Evan Holyfield (8-0) W KO 2 Charles Stanford (6-4). Super Welter: Xander Zayas (11-0) W RTD 4 Dan Karpency (9-4-1). Middle: Troy Isley (3-0) W TKO 1 Nicholi Navarro (2-2). Super Middle: Nico Ali Walsh (2-0) W TKO 3 James Westley (1-1). Stevenson vs. Herring Stevenson wins the WBO title with a tenth round stoppage over title holder Herring in a one-sided fight. Round 1 After some early probing jabs from both southpaws Stevenson landed a sharp straight left and then got through with jabs with Herring not quick enough to land a punch Score: 10-9 Round 2 Stevenson landed a couple of good lefts early in the round. He continually beat Herring to the punch sliding jabs through Herring’s defence. Stevenson was not looking to block Herring’s punches but was using slick upper body movement and fast footwork so did not have to reset his hands to throw punches. Herring was again finding it difficult to land a punch. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 20-18 Round 3 Stevenson strung together some flashing combinations with most of his punches getting through. Herring finally began to find the target with his jab but was not following with any lefts unlike Stevenson who was firing with both hands and already Herring had a swelling beside his left eye. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 30-27 Round 4 Herring had been boxing on the back foot but he changed his tactics and took the fight to Stevenson. He scored well enough to make the round close but Stevenson pierced his guard with a series of shots before the bell. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 40-36 Round 5 This was the closest round so far. Herring was determined to take the fight to Stevenson. He applied plenty of pressure and Stevenson was not as accurate as before but he did get through with a couple of bursts of punches. Herring was not using his left so all Stevenson really had to do was dodge Herring’s jab and not worry about a left coming behind it. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 50-45 Round 6 Herring continued to come forward but was being picked off by single punches from Stevenson and finding Stevenson an elusive target. Stevenson was not as dominating as he had been over the first three rounds. He was using single punches and not firing combinations but he was the one doing the scoring. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 60-54 Round 7 There were too many clinches in this round with Herring trying to drag Stevenson into the trenches. In between the clinches Stevenson was back to quick-fire combinations and Herring looked to be tiring and landed a very low left hook but escaped a warning. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 70-63 Round 8 Herring looked lively in this one but was entirely ineffective. Some of the speed and sparkle had gone out of Stevenson’s work. He was still spearing Herring with jabs and putting together the occasional combination but too often was willing to fall into a clinch. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 80-72 Round 9 Stevenson was back to dominating again as he bounced a series of punches off Herring’s head and landed some cracking combinations. The round then slowed with neither fighter scoring cleanly as again there was some clinching Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 90-81 Round 10 Herring passed a doctor’s inspection of the damage around his eyes. He had swelling by the left eye and a cut over the right. Stevenson opened up with a barrage of blows and with the inspection in mind the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. Stevenson becomes a two-division title holder with his ninth inside the distance win. A unification fight with Oscar Valdez would be a great match if it could be made as would Emanuele Navarrete if he moved up and of course there are Teo Lopez, Vasyl Lomachenko, Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis at super feather. Herring was making the fourth defence of the WBO title and was coming off a win over Carl Frampton but Stevenson was just too clever and too quick for him. Holyfield vs. Stanford Holyfield stays calm through an early storm and then flattens Stanford with a perfect left hook. Stanford was looking to cause an upset here. He marched forward throwing punches with Holyfield under constant pressure. When he created some room Holyfield put together some neat combinations but Stanford was getting through with hooks from both hands. Holyfield was determined to change things and he made a fast start in the second. Sanford stood and traded with him but Holyfield suddenly produced a classic left hook the sent Stanford crashing to the canvas and he was counted out. Evan, the only one of Evander Holyfield’s eleven children to become a boxer, gets his seventh victory by KO/TKO. Stanford had won his last four contests. Zayas vs. Karpency Zayas oozes class as he destroys Karpency in four rounds. Great balance, great hand speed, clever upper body movement flashing combinations and real power Zayas showed them all. Karpency tried to work his way inside but was walking into a storm of punches partially spectacular were the left hooks to the body from Zayas and a right uppercut sent Karpency’s mouthguard flying in the third. Zayas handed out some serious punishment in the fourth and Karpency’s team pulled their man out of the fight. Zayas, who turned 19 in September, makes it eight wins by KO/TKO. Too soon to say how far he can go but he looks destined for the stars. Karpency, gutsy but limited, suffers his first inside the distance defeat. Isley vs. Navarro In his first fight since competing at the Olympics in Tokyo Isley annihilates Navarro in one round. Isley hurt then staggered Navarro who retreated to the ropes. Isley then connected with some savage punches to head and body until Navarro crumpled to the floor and the fight was stopped. Despite failing to medal in Tokyo Isley is a top drawer prospect having taken bronze at both the World Championships and the Pan American Games. In the amateurs he scored wins over Devin Haney, Sebastian Fundora, Israil Madrimov and the great Cuban Arlen Lopez. Navarro a lamb to the slaughter. Walsh vs. Westley Walsh shows real power as he floors Westley twice. A powerful right cross put Westley on the floor in the second and Walsh ended it in the third. He stepped inside a right from Westley and hammered home a right to the head for a second knockdown. Westley made it to his feet but his corner was waiving the towel to get the fight stopped. Walsh is the grandson of Muhammad Ali. Westley-well someone had to be in the other corner. Atlanta, GA, USA: Super Feather: Shakur Stevenson (17-0) W TKO 10 Jamel Herring (23-3).Super Welter: Evan Holyfield (8-0) W KO 2 Charles Stanford (6-4). Super Welter: Xander Zayas (11-0) W RTD 4 Dan Karpency (9-4-1). Middle: Troy Isley (3-0) W TKO 1 Nicholi Navarro (2-2). Super Middle: Nico Ali Walsh (2-0) W TKO 3 James Westley (1-1). 15 Stevenson vs. Herring Stevenson wins the WBO title with a tenth round stoppage over title holder Herring in a one-sided fight. Round 1 After some early probing jabs from both southpaws Stevenson landed a sharp straight left and then got through with jabs with Herring not quick enough to land a punch Score: 10-9 Round 2 Stevenson landed a couple of good lefts early in the round. He continually beat Herring to the punch sliding jabs through Herring’s defence. Stevenson was not looking to block Herring’s punches but was using slick upper body movement and fast footwork so did not have to reset his hands to throw punches. Herring was again finding it difficult to land a punch. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 20-18 Round 3 Stevenson strung together some flashing combinations with most of his punches getting through. Herring finally began to find the target with his jab but was not following with any lefts unlike Stevenson who was firing with both hands and already Herring had a swelling beside his left eye. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 30-27 Round 4 Herring had been boxing on the back foot but he changed his tactics and took the fight to Stevenson. He scored well enough to make the round close but Stevenson pierced his guard with a series of shots before the bell. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 40-36 Round 5 This was the closest round so far. Herring was determined to take the fight to Stevenson. He applied plenty of pressure and Stevenson was not as accurate as before but he did get through with a couple of bursts of punches. Herring was not using his left so all Stevenson really had to do was dodge Herring’s jab and not worry about a left coming behind it. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 50-45 Round 6 Herring continued to come forward but was being picked off by single punches from Stevenson and finding Stevenson an elusive target. Stevenson was not as dominating as he had been over the first three rounds. He was using single punches and not firing combinations but he was the one doing the scoring. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 60-54 Round 7 There were too many clinches in this round with Herring trying to drag Stevenson into the trenches. In between the clinches Stevenson was back to quick-fire combinations and Herring looked to be tiring and landed a very low left hook but escaped a warning. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 70-63 Round 8 Herring looked lively in this one but was entirely ineffective. Some of the speed and sparkle had gone out of Stevenson’s work. He was still spearing Herring with jabs and putting together the occasional combination but too often was willing to fall into a clinch. Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 80-72 Round 9 Stevenson was back to dominating again as he bounced a series of punches off Herring’s head and landed some cracking combinations. The round then slowed with neither fighter scoring cleanly as again there was some clinching Score: 10-9 Stevenson Stevenson 90-81 Round 10 Herring passed a doctor’s inspection of the damage around his eyes. He had swelling by the left eye and a cut over the right. Stevenson opened up with a barrage of blows and with the inspection in mind the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. Stevenson becomes a two-division title holder with his ninth inside the distance win. A unification fight with Oscar Valdez would be a great match if it could be made as would Emanuele Navarrete if he moved up and of course there are Teo Lopez, Vasyl Lomachenko, Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis at super feather. Herring was making the fourth defence of the WBO title and was coming off a win over Carl Frampton but Stevenson was just too clever and too quick for him. Holyfield vs. Stanford Holyfield stays calm through an early storm and then flattens Stanford with a perfect left hook. Stanford was looking to cause an upset here. He marched forward throwing punches with Holyfield under constant pressure. When he created some room Holyfield put together some neat combinations but Stanford was getting through with hooks from both hands. Holyfield was determined to change things and he made a fast start in the second. Sanford stood and traded with him but Holyfield suddenly produced a classic left hook the sent Stanford crashing to the canvas and he was counted out. Evan, the only one of Evander Holyfield’s eleven children to become a boxer, gets his seventh victory by KO/TKO. Stanford had won his last four contests. Zayas vs. Karpency Zayas oozes class as he destroys Karpency in four rounds. Great balance, great hand speed, clever upper body movement flashing combinations and real power Zayas showed them all. Karpency tried to work his way inside but was walking into a storm of punches partially spectacular were the left hooks to the body from Zayas and a right uppercut sent Karpency’s mouthguard flying in the third. Zayas handed out some serious punishment in the fourth and Karpency’s team pulled their man out of the fight. Zayas, who turned 19 in September, makes it eight wins by KO/TKO. Too soon to say how far he can go but he looks destined for the stars. Karpency, gutsy but limited, suffers his first inside the distance defeat. Isley vs. Navarro In his first fight since competing at the Olympics in Tokyo Isley annihilates Navarro in one round. Isley hurt then staggered Navarro who retreated to the ropes. Isley then connected with some savage punches to head and body until Navarro crumpled to the floor and the fight was stopped. Despite failing to medal in Tokyo Isley is a top drawer prospect having taken bronze at both the World Championships and the Pan American Games. In the amateurs he scored wins over Devin Haney, Sebastian Fundora, Israil Madrimov and the great Cuban Arlen Lopez. Navarro a lamb to the slaughter. Walsh vs. Westley Walsh shows real power as he floors Westley twice. A powerful right cross put Westley on the floor in the second and Walsh ended it in the third. He stepped inside a right from Westley and hammered home a right to the head for a second knockdown. Westley made it to his feet but his corner was waiving the towel to get the fight stopped. Walsh is the grandson of Muhammad Ali. Westley-well someone had to be in the other corner. October 20 Panama City, Panama: Super Fly: Keiver Fernandez (24-1-1) W KO 2 Jose Jimenez (22-14-1). Venezuelan Fernandez puts Colombian Jimenez down and out with a body punch. Jimenez complained the punch landed low and seemed to have a case but was counted out. Fernandez is No 10 with the WBA but his opposition has been very substandard. Poor Jimenez has lost 7 of his last 9 fights with all 7 losses by KO/TKO. October 22 Barranquilla, Colombia: Light Fly: Yessica Bopp (37-2) W TKO 4 Johana Zuniga (16-1). Super Fly: Dewayne Beamon (21-4-2) W PTS 9 Jose Farfan (10-2). Super Feather: Jaime Villegas (12-0) W RTD 3 Victor Alta mar (8-5-1,2ND). Bopp vs. Zuniga The incredible Bopp retains her WBA Female title with stoppage of Zuniga. Bopp just punched too hard and put Zuniga down in the second and third rounds before finishing the fight in the fourth. She drove Zuniga to the ropes and connected with a series of rights that drove Zuniga to the floor. She got up but was unsteady and the referee stopped the fight. Bopp, 37, is 27-1 in world title fights and has 17 wins by KO/TKO. She is a social psychologist and hoped to compete in the Tokyo Olympics but COVID-19 ruined that plan. Venezuelan Zuniga was taking far too steep a climb in standard of opposition as the 16 fighters she had beaten had just 4 wins between them. Beamon vs. Farfan Former WBC super flyweight title challenger Beamon continues his rebuilding project with unanimous decision over Farfan. All three judges saw it 88-83 for Beamon who wins the vacant WBA Fedecaribe belt. After being stopped in nine rounds in a challenge to Juan Francisco Estrada Beamon then suffered two more losses but has won five straight this year. Farfan’s record as normal for a Venezuelan’s does not stand scrutiny with the combined records of his ten victims being 7-19. Villegas vs. Altamar Villegas wins the vacant Colombian title as Altamar retires at the end of the second round in their fight. Ten wins by KO/TKO for the 26-year-old southpaw. Altamar has scored just one win in his previous seven contests. Mexico City, Mexico: Super Fly: Ganigan Lopez (37-11) W DISQ 5 Jose Soto (15-1). Ganigan gets win as Soto is disqualified for a butt in the fifth round. With Lopez a southpaw and Soto orthodox head clashes always seemed possible. Soto made a good start using his longer reach and rocking Lopez with a couple of uppercuts. They clashed heads in the fourth with Lopez cut over his left eye. He survived a doctor’s inspection and then connected with a series of body punches and finished the round strongly. In the fifth when their heads banged together Lopez was bleeding heavily and the fight was stopped with it being ruled that this time it was not an accident and Soto was disqualified for a butt. Lopez wins the vacant WBA Fedecentro. He needed a win-any kind of win- after losing consecutive fights to Armando Torres and Muhammad Waseem in 2019. First fight outside Colombia for Soto. Mandaue City, Philippines: Light Fly: Christian Araneta (20-2) W KO 1 Arnold Garde (10-10-3). Super Feather: Tomjune Mangubat (14-2-1) W KO 7 Allan Villanueva (11-1). Araneta vs. Garde This one was a farce as Garde is counted from a punch that did not seem to make any contact with him. Garde was aggressive enough for about two minutes then Araneta backed him into a corner and threw a southpaw straight left. From the replay’s it clearly went over Garde’s head hardly even brushing his hair but Garde dropped to the canvas and seemed genuinely hurt but was counted out. No credit for anyone in this highly dubious ending. Mangubat vs. Villanueva Mangubat breaks down and stops a competitive Villanueva in an entertaining scrap. Both scored heavily but Mangubat had the heavier punch and was just that bit quicker. They traded fierce body punches in the fifth but with Mangubat losing a point for a low punch. In the sixth Villanueva was starting to wilt. He tried to take the fight to Mangubat in the seventh but Mangubat stunned him with two uppercuts and then pinned him against the ropes and hammered home body punches until Villanueva slumped to the floor and was counted out. Fourth win in a row for Mangubat. First inside the distance defeat for Villanueva. Windhoek, Namibia: Feather: Nathanael Kakololo (12-3-1) W TKO 4 Johannes Ninkoti (3-6-4). Kakololo destroys former foe Ninkoti in four rounds. Kakololo had Ninkoti rocking at the end of the first and again in the third. In the fourth Kakololo floored Ninkoti with a right hook. Ninkoti was up early but was floored again and the fight was stopped. Kakololo had scored a narrow verdict over Ninkoti in November. Two of Kakololo’s losses have come when he was over matched in fights this year in the Ukraine and then Russia. Ninkoti is 0-3 in his last 3 fights. Ontario, CA, USA: Super Light: Miguel Madueno (26-0) W TKO 5 Jose Rodriguez (25-15-1). Super Bantam: Katsuma Aklitsugi (7-1) W PTS 8 Eros Correa (10-1). Madueno vs. Rodriguez Madueno registers another win as he proves too strong for Rodriguez. In a contest fought mainly on the inside Madueno controlled the first three rounds with Rodriguez having a measure of success in the fourth. A focused body attack from Madueno in the fifth proved too much for Rodriguez and he went down. He made it to his feet but after the count Madueno continued to land heavily and the referee stopped the fight. “Explosivo” Madueno has scored 24 wins by KO/TKO but only a couple of his victims would pass as credible tests. Fifth inside the distance loss for Rodriguez. Aklitsugi vs. Correa Akitsugi moves up to eight rounds for the first time and gets a majority decision over Correa. There was never much of a gap between these two. Akitsugi constantly took the fight to Correa who boxed cleverly on the back foot and the verdict could have gone either way but Akitsugi’s aggression won out. Scores 78-74 twice for Akitsugi and 76-76. Japanese southpaw Akitsugi has done all of his fighting in USA whereas Californian Correa had done most of his fighting in Mexico. October 23 Buenos Aires, Argentina: Super Feather: Karen Carbajal (18-0) W TKO 10 Cintia Castillo (10-9). Local fighter Carbajal retained a title and won a title with this late stoppage of Castillo. Carbajal had won the vacant national title with a points victory over Castillo in 2017 and was defending the title for the first time. She also collected the vacant South American Female title with only her second inside the distance ending. Poor Castillo was challenging for the Argentinian title for the fifth time. Cutral Co, Argentina: Fly: Ayelen Grandino (7-1-3) DREW 10 Debora Gomez (7-6-2). No cautious opening for these two as they were trading frantically from the start and somehow maintained that pace over the full ten rounds. Defence was forgotten as they just traded punch after punch. Grandino was that little bit stronger and Gomez often found herself pinned against the ropes but just kept pumping out punches. There was no science involved but on the very few occasions when there was a small break in the toe-to-toe slugging Grandino picked her punches better and that gave her a slight edge. She seemed to have done enough to win but had to settle for a draw. Scores 96-94 Grandino, 97-93 Gomez and 95-95. Grandino retains her national title and the South American title remains vacant. Gomez lost a split decision to Micaela Lujan for the IBF Female super fly title in January. Brisbane, Australia: Bantam: Shannon O’Connell (22-6-1) W PTS 10 Tayiah Robertson (3-1). Super Welter: Luke Woods (7-4) W PTS 10 Ethen Law (5-1). O’Connell vs. Robertson O’Connell retains the Commonwealth title with a split points victory over Robertson. This one was wall-to-wall war. Despite her lack of experience Robertson was more than willing to stand and trade and took the fight to O’Connell. The difference was the more accurate and harder punching from O’Connell but she had to fight hard all the way but was a clear winner. Scores 99-92 and 97-94 for O’Connell and a dissenting 96-94 for Robertson. The 38-year-old from Queensland was making the first defence of the Commonwealth title. Robertson had won the Australian title in June and on this showing will win more titles. Woods vs. Law Woods wins the vacant national title with victory over Law. That looked a very unlikely outcome when Law connected with a vicious left hook in the second that sent Woods down heavily. Woods only just made it to the bell but then soundly outboxed Law to win on scores of 97-92 twice and 98-91. Tasmanian Woods was a top level amateur but had under performed as a pro. Law failed to make the weight so could not have won the title. Cernay, France: Welter: Nurali Erdogan (12-0) W PTS 10 Romain Nemery (9-11-3). Fighting in his home town Erdogan wins the vacant French title as he outboxes former champion Nemery. Erdogan had Nemery in trouble with a left hook to the body in the second and almost floored him with a left to the head in the eighth. He was carried away by that success and threw a bundle of punches trying to put Nemery away. Unfortunately he punches himself out and was so exhausted that he was to one in trouble at the end of the round. He boxed his way through the last two rounds and won on scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 97-93. These two had met over eight rounds in February with Erdogan winning a close fight on the referee’s score of 77-75. Manila, Philippines: Fly: Giemel Magramo (25-2) W PTS 12 Jayr Raquinel (12-2-1). Light Fly: Arvin Magramo (13-1-1) W TKO 2 Jerry Francisco (9-2). Feather: Juan Miguel Elorde (29-2) W PTS 6 Aroet Romasasa (11-10). Super Fly: Jonathan Taconing (29-4-1) W PTS 6 Albert Alcoy (15-29-6). Magramo vs. Raquinel Magramo picks up the vacant OPBF title with a points win over fellow-Filipino Raquinel. Scores 119-109, 118-110 115-113. First fight for Magramo since his eighth round kayo loss to Junto Nakatani for the vacant WBO title in November. Raquinel, a former holder of the OPBF belt, lost the title when he could not defend it due to the pandemic and this was his first fight for 23 months. Magramo vs. Francisco Magramo makes it a family double as he blows away Francisco in two rounds. A vicious combination of head punches floored Francisco in the second. He made it to his feet but then soaked up a savage beating before the fight was stopped. Magramo wins the WBO Oriental title with his ninth TKO/KO victory. Arvin is the younger brother of Giemel. Francisco lacked the power to compete. Elorde vs. Romasasa Elorde gets in six rounds of work with unanimous decision over Romasasa. Elorde had been inactive since losing on a fourth round stoppage against Emanuel Navarrete in a challenge for the WBO super bantam title in September 2019. Poor Romasasa has lost his last ten fights. Taconing vs. Alcoy There was a lot of rust being shed on this night. Taconing’s last ring appearance was in July 2019 when he was halted in four rounds by Kenshiro Teraji in a WBC light flyweight title fight. He eased his way through six rounds here to take the decision. Alcoy was having his first fight since January 2019. Zakopane, Poland: Middle: Fiodor Czerkaszyn (19-0) W PTS 10 Gonzalo Coria (18-5). Cruiser: Mateusz Masternak (46-5) W TKO 4 Armend Xhoxhaj (12-2). Super Middle: Kamil Bednarek (10-0) W KO 1 Uriel Gonzalez (18-9-1). 12 Czerkaszyn vs. Santoyo Czerkaszyn outclasses Coria and takes the decision without ever getting into top gear. After a measured start Czerkaszyn turned up the heat from the third rocking Coria with hooks from both hands. From the fourth southpaw Coria was just looking to survive. Czerkaszyn put on plenty of pressure and switched guards a few times but Coria made it to the final bell. Scores 100-90 for Czerkaszyn on all three cards. The 25-year-old Ukrainian-born Pole has faced a reasonable level of opponent but needs to move up now. Coria was knocked out in two rounds last October by Kazak Zhanibek Alimkhanuly for the vacant WBO Global title but had scored wins in a couple of domestic outings since then. Masternak vs. Xhoxhaj Masternak finishes Xhoxhaj in four rounds. From the opening Masternak used his longer reach to land strong jabs and had Xhoxhaj in trouble at the end of the round. Masternak continued to dominate the action in the second. Xhoxhaj connected with a heavy right in the third but that only stung Masternak into action. In the fourth Masternak put Xhoxhaj down with a series of shots to head and body. Xhoxhaj made it to his feet but the towel was thrown in by his team. Routine outing for the 34-year-old Pole, the WBO No 7, who gets his fifth consecutive victory. Kosovon Xhoxhaj had won his last seven fights. Bednarek vs. Gonzalez If you blinked you might have missed this one as a left hook to the liver from Bednarek left Gonzalez face down on the canvas in pain after just 52 seconds. Sixth fast finish for the Polish southpaw and seventh loss in his last nine fights for Gonzalez. Ansan, South Korea: Minimum: Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen (5-0) W PTS 10 Etsuko Tada (20-4-3) Fly: Olimjon Nazarov (26-5) W PTS 12 Michael Mendoza (11-2-2). Minimum: Arar Andales (13-2) W TKO 7 Minh Phat Sam (7-4). Nguyen vs. Tada A bit of history here as Nguyen becomes the first Vietnamese boxer to win a professional title as she takes a very thin unanimous verdict against WBO title holder Tada. Over the early rounds the stronger Tada looked to have moved into the lead with Nguyen’s face showing the effects of Tada’s effective southpaw lefts. The younger Nguyen put in a strong finish but looked fortunate to get the decision. Scores 96-94 thrice for Nguyen who had a low key birthday celebration of her twenty-fifth birthday on Wednesday. Tada, 40, won the WBA Female minimum title back in 2009 and went on to win minimum titles of the IBF and the WBO and this was her eighteenth title fight. Nazarov vs. Mendoza Nazarov retains the WBO Orient title with a close unanimous decision over Mendoza. Not much to get excited about in this one as both boxers were far too cautious. Nazarov was the aggressor most of the time but was largely ineffective. Mendoza was the better boxer and with a bit more effort could have lifted the title but just let it slip away from him. Scores 115-113 on the three cards for Uzbek Nazarov. Thirteen consecutive victories for 36-year-old Nazarov who is WBO No 3. Filipino Mendoza had won his last six fights but blew his chance here. Andales vs. Sam Filipino Andales won this one all the way. He was just too quick and skilful for the limited Sam. Andales found plenty of gaps in Sam’s defence and by the third Sam’s face was already showing the effects of Andales accuracy. Sam kept trying to take the fight to Andales but was taking plenty of punishment and by the seventh his face was so bruised and swollen that the fight was stopped. Andales ,22, lost a technical decision against Knockout CP-Freshmart for the WBA minimum title in August 2019 but won a title of sorts by knocking out Rey Caitom for the vacant WBFoundation title in March last year. Vietnam’s Sam had scored wins in his last four fights. Tampa, FL, USA: Welter: Harold Calderon (26-0) W DISQ 6 Luis Florez (25-22,2ND). Super Bantam: Otabek Kholmatov (4-0) W KO 2 Juan Medina (12-9).Super Light: Clarence Booth (21-4) W TKO 7 Alejandro Munera (6-4-4). Heavy: Istvan Bernath (8-0) W TKO 1 Guillermo Del Rio (3-4-1). Calderon vs. Florez Honduran southpaw Calderon gets another win but this one a bit unconventional. Calderon’s heavy power had him looking at another inside the distance win after he floored Florez twice in the fifth. The fight ended in the sixth but not by KO/TKO but on disqualification after Florez bit Calderon on his chest and was thrown out. Despite his 26 wins Calderon is missing from the ratings so needs to take on some riskier opposition. Only one win in his last fifteen fights for Florez-and this is the guy who stopped Miguel Berchelt in 29 seconds in 2014 Kholmatov vs. Medina This was supposed to mark Kholmatov’s first ten round fight but he ended it in two rounds. The Uzbek sent Medina down in the first and down and out in the second. The 23-year-old former Elie level amateur has taken less than nine rounds to wins his four fights. Dominican Medina sliding rapidly with six losses in his last seven fights. Booth vs. Munera Floridian Booth continues his winning sequence with last round stoppage of Munera. After a fierce battle Booth came out the winner when the fight was stopped with 23 seconds remaining in the final round. Sixth win in a row for Booth including five inside the distance finishes. His four losses have come against quality opposition. Second consecutive loss for Colombian Munera. Bernath vs. Del Rio Hungarian Bernath stays busy and gets another quick finish. The 6’4” Hungarian halted Mexican Del Rio in two rounds. This one had an element of farce with Bernath 8” taller than Del Rio. Eighth win all in 2021 for Bernath. He was Hungarian champion four times and twice won silver at the European Union championships but has left it late in turning pro at 32. Fight of the week (Significance): Shakur Stevenson’s win over Jamel Herring opens up lots of possible matches. Stevenson vs. Herring Fight of the week (Entertainment): Argentinian Female flyweights Ayelen Grandino and Debora Gomez staged a ten round war. Fighter of the week: Oscar Rivas as he gives Colombia a title holder becoming the inaugural holder of the WBC bridgerweight belt. Honourable mention to Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen who becomes the first Vietnamese boxer to win a major sanctioning body professional title. Punch of the week: Evan Holyfield’s left hook that put Charles Stanford down and out cold is one his father would have been proud of. Upset of the week : With her 4-0 record Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen was an outsider against the more experienced 20-3-3 Etsuko Tada. Prospect watch: Middleweight Troy Isley 3-0 is certainly one to follow. Observations Rosette: Yesica Yolanda Bopp for her amazing record. Now 37 she is a two division champion being currently the WBA Super light flyweight champion and having previously held the WBO light flyweight and flyweight titles. She is 27-0 in various world title fights including being WBA Regular/ Secondary title holder from 2008 to 2019. Not so much a Rosette as a field full of flowers. Red Card: How can anyone think a fight between 6’4” Istvan Bernath and 5’8” Guillermo Del Rio is something to put on a fight card. Farcical. -Suddenly I feel even older than I did last week. I could live with Evander Holyfield’s son being a boxer-but Muhammad Ali’s grandson! It was enough to make me wheel my bath chair away from the computer. - Time moves on. Back in 2014 Colombian Luis Florez was 16-1 and had crushed unbeaten Miguel Berchelt 21-0 (18 wins by KO/TKO) in just 99 seconds now he is 1-13, 1ND in his last 15 fights - The Philippines is the place where boxing is often a family business . On Saturday in Manila brothers Giemel and Arvin Magramo scored wins. Their father Melvin Magramo is a former Philippines and OPBF champion, their uncles Renato, Ronnie and Alvin were pros and it all started with grandfather Ric. They fought in Saturday at the Elorde Sports Complex which is yet another great family name in Philippines boxing and you also have the Penalosa clan-all great boxing dynasties A new addition to the Report (hopefully-if I find the time) Let Me Tell You About: Blair Richardson Nova Scotia’s Ryan Rozicki fighting for the WBC bridgerweight title brought to mind one of the first fighters from the Canadian Maritime Provinces to catch my eye: Blair Richardson also hailed from Nova Scotia born in Sydney on 29 January 1941. He turned pro at the age of 15 without any amateur experience. He won 28 of his first 30 fights 25 of them by KO/TKO, 16 of them in a row. He lost to Gomeo Brennan for the Commonwealth middleweight title in 1965 but won the title with a points victory over Brennan in 1966. He scored wins over Burke Emery, Wilf Greaves, Del Flanagan and Joe DeNucci. He finished his career with a draw against Isaac Logart in 1966 with a 45-5-2 record and 36 wins by KO/TKO. His power was his strength and his weakness as he continually suffered hand injuries which is partly why he retired at 25. He earned bachelor and master of science degrees in speech and taught speech at university. He died following surgery for a brain tumour on 6 March 1971 at the age of 30 when his wife was expecting their first child. |
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