By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Emanuel Navarrete retains WBO feather title with a points victory over Joet Gonzalez in a great scrap. -Mairis Breidis stops overrated Artur Mann in three rounds in IBF cruiserweight title defence. -Jonathan Gonzalez wins the WBO light flyweight title with split decision over Elwin Soto -Spaniard Sandor Martin springs an major upset with majority decision over Mikey Garcia -Giovani Santillan moves to 28 wins with victory over Angel Ruiz -Former title holders Anselmo Moreno and Jezreel Corrales win in Panama - Hughie Fury, Savannah Marshall and Chris Eubank win in Newcastle -Cletus Seldin and Petros Ananyan win in New York -Fedor Chudinov gets victory over Ronny Mittag on an injury World Title/Major Shows October 15 San Diego, CA, USA: Feather: Emanuel Navarrete (35-1) W PTS 12 Joet Gonzalez (24-2). Welter: Giovani Santillan (28-0) W PTS 10 Angel Ruiz (17-2). Super Feather: Henry Lebron (14-0) W PTS 8 Manuel Rojas (21-6). Super Light: Lindolfo Delgado (14-0) W PTS 8 Juan Mendez (21-5-2). Navarrete vs. Gonzalez Navarrete retains his WBO title with a unanimous decision after twelve rounds of war. Gonzalez knew he would have to face down Navarrete if he was going to win so there was no period of calm survey they just went straight to war. Gonzalez was taking the fight to Navarrete and outworked him over the first two rounds. In the third a left hook opened a cut under the right eye of Gonzalez. That also caused a swelling that was more of a problem as the fight went on. The fourth saw Gonzalez still coming forward forcing Navarrete onto the back foot connecting with a heavy right but he was walking into severe counters to head and body as Navarrete slung punches from all angles. Gonzalez just could not get forward consistently in the fifth and sixth as Navarrete used his longer reach to score with big single shots particularly some wicked left hooks to the body. Gonzalez did better in the seventh and eighth as he drove forward walking through swinging hooks from Navarrete to score with hooks and uppercuts inside but he was taking more than he was giving and the purple swelling under his right eye was looking ugly. Navarrete was looking arm weary in the ninth and tenth and fighting with his mouth wide open gasping for air as Gonzalez had forced a fast pace but Gonzalez was still having to absorb some heavy punches to get inside where he could score with his hooks. Gonzalez looked livelier in the eleventh even through his face was by now a mess and he was forcing Navarrete to work hard. They slugged it out over the last three exciting minutes with Navarette throwing over 100 punches in the round and landing the harder shots but with Gonzalez never wanting to take a step back and pumping out punches of his own. A great fight. Scores 116-112 twice and 118-110 for Navarrete who was making the second defence of the WBO title. The 26-year-old “Vaquero” does everything wrong but everything comes out right. His eccentric style and power means he is never in a dull fight . Gonzalez was his mandatory challenger so he is open to take a voluntary defence or go for a shot at the super featherweights and fights against Jamel Herring, Shakur Stevenson or Oscar Valdez but whoever he fights you can be sure it won’t be boring. Gonzalez showed bravery above and beyond in this one. Gonzalez had lost a wide unanimous decision against Shakur Stevenson for the vacant WBO feather title in October 2019 but cam e back with a victory over Miguel Marriaga in September last year. He enhanced his standing with his showing here. Santillan vs. Ruiz Californian southpaw Santillan marches on with wide unanimous verdict over useful Ruiz. It was Ruiz, also a southpaw, who put down a marker early rocking Santillan with an uppercut in the opening round. From the second the pressure and accuracy of Santillan put him in control. Ruiz was finding himself pinned to the ropes as Santillan scored inside with uppercuts and hooks. Eventually Ruiz stopped trying to match Santillan inside and boxed instead although that might partially be because he had injured his left hand. Santillan maintained the pressure to the end looking for an inside the distance win but Ruiz stayed there final bell. Scores. 100-90 twice and 99-91 for Santillan. He has not yet forced himself into the ratings but that has to come soon. Ruiz had been stopped in two rounds by Javier Flores in October 2019 but had returned with a victory over unbeaten Bobirzhan Mominov in April this year. Lebron vs. Rojas Another classy display from Puerto Rican Lebron as he returns to action for the first time in fourteen months. The young southpaw outscored the taller Rojas in every round boxing coolly and cleverly. Rojas was never a threat as Lebron cruised to victory. Scores 80-72 for Lebron on all three cards. The winner is a former Pan American Youth gold medallist and World Junior bronze medallist. Texan Rojas had dropped a decision to unbeaten Albert Bell in April but then decisioned 16-1-1 Tyler McCreary in June. Delgado vs. Mendez Delgado wins every round against Mendez. Over the early rounds Mendez was busier but Delgado was connecting with the harder punches and edging the rounds. Delgado rocked Mendez in the fourth and just got stronger from there. His jab had real power and had Mendez bleeding heavily from the nose. A right floored Mendez in the last but time ran out before Delgado could finish the job. All three judges gave it to Delgado 80-71. A PanAmerican silver medal winner and 2016 Olympian Delgado is progressing well and being matched sensibly. Experienced Mendez was coming off a couple of reasonable domestic wins. October 16 Fresno, CA, USA: Light Fly: Jonathan Gonzalez (25-3-1,1ND) PTS 12 Elwin Soto (19-2). Welter: Sandor Martin (39-2) W PTS 10 Mikey Garcia (40-2). Light: Brock Jarvis (20-0) W TKO 5 Alejandro Frias (13-5-2). Light Fly: Jesse Rodriguez (14-0) W TKO 4 Jose Burgos (18-5-1). Super Middle: Diego Pacheco (13-0) W TKO 8 Lucas de Abreu (12-1). Middle: Nikita Ababiy (11-0) W PTS 8 Sanny Duversonne (11-5-2. Gonzalez vs. Soto An outsider in the betting slippery southpaw Gonzalez boxes a clever fight to frustrate Soto’s aggression and take the split decision and Soto’s WBO title. Over the first two rounds Gonzalez was boxing on the retreat. He was using his jab to unsettle Soto and then darting in firing a quick bunch of punches and moving before Soto responded. Soto pressed harder in the third managing to cut off the ring but Gonzalez was a difficult target. It was proving a frustrating fight for Soto as he just could not pin Gonzalez down. Gonzalez was stabbing his punches through Soto’s guard and then using quick footwork and upper body movement to get away from danger. By the end of the sixth Gonzalez had built a big lead. Soto managed to force Gonzalez to stand and trade in the seventh and eighth which won him the rounds and Gonzalez was also warned for holding. Gonzalez took the ninth and also complained when Soto twisted his arm severely in a clinch. Soto got back into the fight in the tenth as he hunted Gonzalez down and scored with body punches but Gonzalez outboxed Soto in the eleventh and was already celebrating in the twelfth round as he continued to duck and dive around Soto’s punches and land quick counters. Scores 116-112 twice to Gonzalez and 116-112 for Soto. Gonzalez had been halted in seven rounds by Kosei Tanaka in a challenge for the WBC flyweight title in August 2019 but had moved down to light flyweight and scored wins over experienced Mexicans Saul Juarez and Armando Torres. Soto was making the fourth defence of the WBO title and had put together a winning sequence of 17 fights. Martin vs. Garcia Martin pulls off a great upset victory as he takes a majority decision over Garcia after a close fight. Martin just had a slight edge in a feeling-out first round. The lights went out briefly at the start of the second but once the lights returned Garcia got to work snapping out his jab and staggering Martin with a right to even the scores. Garcia continued to be in charge in the third and fourth outscoring Martin but the Spaniard was just getting started. The pace picked up in the fifth with Martin finding the target with lefts and rights and although Garcia ended the round strongly Martin had clawed a round back. The action was hectic in the sixth but the momentum seemed to have shifted to Martin and he was the one who finished strongly to even up the scores. The pace dropped in the seventh but again Martin did the better work to move into the lead. Martin was putting together some impressive combinations in the eighth but Garcia had a big ninth outscoring and rocking Martin. Garcia must have known he needed to take the tenth and they both battled hard with Martin landing a series of shots in the middle of the round and just doing enough to take the round and deserve the decision. Scores 97-93 twice for Martin and 95-95. Huge win for former undefeated European champion Martin who will now be looking to get a title shot but with Josh Taylor holding all four of the titles and having four different mandatory challengers there is not much room for a voluntary shot and the highest rating Martin had was No 7 with the WBA. First fight for twenty months for Garcia who was looking to build on his win over Jessie Vargas. This is a big blow to his hopes of another title chance. Jarvis vs. Frias Unbeaten Australian Jarvis has to overcome a rocky second round to stop Frias. After a steady first round Frias staged a furious attack in the second. Jarvis was pinned to the ropes for most of the round being raked with punches and the referee seemed on the point of jumping in to stop the fight on a couple of occasions but with guts and some holding survived. Jarvis then took over and slowly beat the fight out of Frias until the referee came in to stop the flight in the fifth. The 23-year-old Jarvis started out as a bantam but at 5’9” was always going to outgrow that division. He has 18 wins by KO/TKO and is one of the best young prospects in Australia. He wins the IBF Inter-Continental belt and is currently rated No 9 super feather by the IBF but has outgrown that weight as well. Mexican Frias was a decent 7-1-1 before losing this one Rodriguez vs. Burgos Rodriguez floors Burgos twice on the way to a fourth round stoppage. Southpaw Rodriguez dominated the action over the first three rounds and then wrapped up the win in the fourth. He rocked Burgos early and then dropped him. Burgos managed to get up but was floored by left and the referee stopped the fight. The 21-year-old Texan gets his sixth consecutive inside the distance finish. One win in his last five for Burgos. Pacheco vs. de Abreu No real test here for Pacheco but a de Abreu almost made it to the last bell. Pacheco was the one on the front foot for most of the fight. He used his longer reach to keep de Abreu on the defensive and tested his chin with some long rights shaking him in the fourth. de Abreau showed some nice moves and switched guards occasionally but took plenty of punishment in the seventh. They traded punches in the last and although Pacheco landed some hard rights to the head it was a surprise when the referee stopped the fight with just 39 seconds remaining. Pacheco, 20, is just gathering experience right now so won’t be rushed. Brazilian de Abreu had turned pro in the USA in 2016 but this was his first fight there in five years. Ababiy vs. Duversonne “White Chocolate” Ababiy outpoints Duversonne. Ababiy was jabbing well and slotting straight rights through Duversonne’s guard. He showed plenty of movement and dug to the body well. Duversonne did very little over the early rounds but from the sixth came into the fight more as Ababiy’s work rate dropped. They traded punches over the last two rounds with Duversonne doing the pressing and scoring the harder shots. Scores 80-72, 79-73 and 77-75 for twenty-year-old Ababiy who was in his first eight round fight. After going 11-0-2 at the start of his career it is now five losses in a row for Duversonne Riga, Latvia: Cruiser: Mairis Breidis (28-1) W TKO 3 Artur Mann (17-2). Breidis has an easy night as he destroys a vastly overrated Mann in three rounds. Mann made a bright start stabbing out jabs early in the round with Briedis more cautious. Slowly Breidis began to come forward exerting pressure but Mann landed two good rights late in the round. Breidis picked up the pace in the second. His jab was stronger putting Mann on the back foot and he was throwing long rights. Just before the bell Breidis threw a right over a lazy jab from Mann which clipped Mann on the chin. Mann took a couple of steps back then dropped to a knee. He was up early and the bell went just seconds after the eight count was completed. Breidis chased Mann down in the third. He harried Mann and caught up with him scoring with a series of punches that had Mann dropping to the floor. He was up at seven and gained a few more seconds of recovery time as his mouthguard was replaced. A clash of heads opened a cut on the bridge of Breidis nose but he ignored that and after a bad tempered exchange of punches to the back of the head Breidis landed a bunch of hooks and uppercuts with Mann stumbling back and down to his knees. Mann arose at five but promptly dropped straight back down and then stumbled up again and the referee just waived the fight over. First fight for Breidis since taking a majority decision over Yuniel Dorticos for the IBF title in September last year. The IBF have nominated Jai Opetaia as the mandatory challenger for Breidis. Mann’s No 6 with the IBF was down to some very funny goings on with the IBF ratings (see Observations) October 15 Panama City, Panama: Feather: Anselmo Moreno (40-6-1) W KO 1 Walberto Ramos (26-11-2). Light: Jezreel Corrales (25-4) W PTS 10 Jesus Bravo (19-5-1). Super Fly: Salvador Juarez (16-7-2) W PTS 10 Geraldo Valdez (10-1). Super Feather: Ricardo Nunez (23-3) W TKO 1 Ricardo Solano (25-3-2,1ND). Super Welter: Alfredo Mosquera (27-4-2, 2ND) W PTS 10 Abel Mina (14-1). Feather: Rafael Pedroza (12-0) W KO 7 Iwier Henriquez (11-14-1.1ND). Moreno vs. Ramos Moreno gets this one over early as he blitzes Colombian Ramos forcing a stoppage after just 86 seconds. Moreno floored Ramos twice finishing with a powerful right for the second knockdown that put Ramos down and out. The former WBA title holder at bantamweight, who has taken part in 17 title fights for various belts, has done nothing of note since losing inside the distance in consecutive fights against Shinsuke Yamanaka and Julio Ceja but still manages to be rated No 2 with the WBA. First fight in two years for 40-year-old Ramos. Corrales vs. Bravo Corrales outpoints Bravo. Apart from a count when he overreached and lost his balance in the second round this was just a good workout for Corrales against Peruvian Bravo. Corrales put Bravo down in the fourth for a genuine knockdown and won on scores of 98-90 on the three cards. After a run of three losses in four fights Corrales was out of action for 16 months before returning with a win in May. Four losses on the bounce for Bravo. Juarez vs. Valdez Mexican Juarez gets unanimous points victory over Dominican Valdez. This was war from bell to bell as they traded hard shots for the full ten rounds. It was close all the way but Juarez’s experience gave him the edge and he was a good winner. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94. Juarez gets his fourth victory in a row and lifts Valdez’s WBC Latino title. Valdez was defending the title for the second time. Nunez vs. Solano Nunez despatches Solano in 71 seconds. A huge right to the head floored Solano early. Somehow he beat the count but was trapped against the ropes being hammered by head punches when the referee stopped the fight. Nunez rarely does a distance fight with 23 of his fights ending early-unfortunately three of those 23 early endings were losses including came in a second round defeat against Gervonta Davis for the WBA featherweight belt in July 2019. Dominican Solano had a 17-1-2, 1ND run going into this one with the No Decision coming when both he and his opponent landed so many illegal punches they were both thrown out. Mosquera vs. Mina Mosquera outpoints Mina over ten tough, gruelling but entertaining rounds. Although having an edge in reach southpaw Mosquera was usually the one forcing the fight with Mina happy to trade inside but losing a point for holding in the sixth. Both fighters tired late due to the many exchanges. Scores 99-90, 97-92 and 96-93 for Mosquera. Second fight this year for Mosquera, 34, but he has seen his best days in the rear view mirror. Mina suffered his first pro loss in June on a split decision against 17-1 Mexican Damian Sosa in June. Pedroza vs. Henriquez Panamanian puncher Pedroza keeps his 100% record with win over Henrique. Pedraza was down in the second but then dominated the action before bringing the curtain down it in the seventh. Just before the bell to end the round a right to the body saw Henrique take a couple of steps forward and then collapse to his knees. He made it to his feet but was pulled out of the fight. Eleventh inside the distance ending for Pedraza who had climbed off the canvas to outpointed Venezuelan Henrique in 2018. Saint-Quentin, France: Light: Guillaume Frenois (49-2-1) W PTS 10 Giuseppe Carafa (14-5-2). Light Heavy: Daniel Blenda Dos Santos (17-1) W KO 5 Mehdi Privat (5-3). Frenois vs. Carafa Frenois gets good win over a competitive Carafa. The southpaw skills of Frenois gave him a big edge but Carafa made him work hard for the decision. Frenois was sharp with his right jabs and constantly met the advancing Carafa with straight rights but never completely subdued him. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92 for Frenois. He is boxing at lightweight after losing on points against Tevin Farmer for the IBF super feather belt in July 2019. He wins the vacant WBA Continental belt. Former Italian champion Carafa showed well. Dos Santos vs. Privat Dos Santos had some problems with the reach of the much taller Privat but he solved that problem spectacularly in the fifth with a leaping left hook to the head that sent Privat face down on the canvas and out. Second win for Dos Santos after losing on a fourth round stoppage against Joshua Buatsi in May. Privat had won his last three fights. Reggio Emilia, Italy: Super Feather: Juan Gomez (11-0) W PTS 12 Nicola Henchiri (10-2). Super Bantam: Luca Rigoldi (25-2-2) W PTS 10 Mattia De Bianchi (11-1) . Light: Domenico Valentino (10-2) W PTS 6 Maycol Escobar (9-25-2). Super Bantam: Vincenzo Picardi (5-0) W PTS 6 Shoaib Zaman (4-15-2). Gomez vs. Henchiri Visitor Gomez wins the European Union title with wide unanimous call over champion Henchiri. Gomez led from the start with his strong if at times crude attacks. He was too aggressive for light-punching Henchiri who was floored in the tenth and well beaten. Scores 119-107, 119-108 and 118-108 for Gomez. Henchiri was making the first defence of the title. Rigoldi vs. De Bianchi Former European champion Rigoldi regains the Italian title with points victory over De Bianchi. Scores 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94. Third win for Rigoldi since losing his European title to Gamal Yafai in December. Unsuccessful first defence for De Bianchi. Valentino vs. Escobar Former top level amateur and former Italian champion Valentino returns with a win as he outpoints Nicaraguan loser Escobar. Last time out in September 2020 Valentino suffered a shock second round kayo against Mohamed Khalladi. Escobar’s recent record is now 0-11-1. Picardi vs. Zaman Italian champion Picardi has no trouble getting a win over Italian-based Pakistani Zaman. The 37-year-olf Picardi is hoping his fifth victory will allow him the chance to fight for the European title. Thirteen losses in a row for Zaman. Mexico City, Mexico: Light Fly: Axel Vega (15-4-1) W pts 10 Armando Torres (26-20). At 4’ 9 ½” Vega must be one of the smallest male pro fighters so he has had to develop an attacking style to work his way inside. He did this early against the experienced Torres with lots of success but then tried boxing on the outside. That allowed Torres a foothold in the fight and he had a good seventh in a strong finish but could not claw back the lead Vega had established. Vega won on scores of 98-93, 95-93 and 96-95. Vega was defending the WBA Fedecentro belt. He has lost in shots at both the WBO and WBA light flyweight titles. Torres, 40, had found a little form in winning 4 of his last 5 fights. Los Mochis, Mexico: Welter: Santiago Dominguez (25-0) W TKO 5 Jesus Rubio (13-5-1). Super Feather: Jose Nunez (22-1) W KO 9 Osvaldo Maldonado (10-2). Mexican Dominguez makes in nineteen inside the distance victories as he forces Rubio out of the fight in the fifth. Dominguez had punished Rubio from the start and he ended things in the fifth. A bunch of vicious left hooks to the body had Rubio turning away from the action in agony and the fight was stopped. Dominguez wins the vacant WBC Latino title. Rubio’s third loss by KO/TKO. Despite his 25 wins the low quality of his opposition means Dominguez is not currently rated. Nunez vs. Maldonado Local fighter Nunez continues to cut a swath through some modest opposition as he knocks out Maldonado in the ninth. All 22 of Nunez’s wins have come by KO/TKO. Second consecutive defeat for Maldonado Kazan, Russia: Super Middle: Fedor Chudinov (25-2-1) W RTD 2 Ronny Mittag (31-5-4).Bantam: Fatima Dudieva (11-0) W PTS 8 Soledad Macedo (17-16-2). Chudinov vs. Mittag Chudinov gets unsatisfactory victory as Mittag retires after two rounds with an ankle injury. Chudinov was walking Mittag down in the first. Mittag was firing bursts of punches without much power with the slower Chudinov landing single harder shots but they exchanged furiously at the bell. Mittag continued to score with lots of shots in the second finding Chudinov an open target but Chudinov was now throwing more and Mittag was on the retreat and under plenty of pressure. The German retired at the end of the second blaming a broken rib. The two rounds were entertaining with Mittag busier but Chudinov landing the heavier punches. Chudinov is rated WBA 2/WBO 8/WBC 10 EBU 2 but a title shot is a distant dream at best. This was Mittag’s chance to regroup after losses in domestic action against Patrick Wojcicki and Denis Radovan so an unfortunate ending. Dudieva vs. Macedo “Amazonka” Dudieva continues unbeaten with a points victory over Uruguayan Macedo in a Female eight. Dudieva was just too quick, too mobile and too busy for the portly Macedo who was outboxed in every round and was just aiming to survive over the late rounds. Ghent, Belgium: Middle: Sasha Yengoyan (45-8-1) W PTS 6 David Nikolayev (9-9-1).Middle: Stephen Danyo (20-4-3) W PTS 6 Milos Janjanin (14-27). 2 Yengoyan vs. Nikolayev Yengoyan goes out with a win. In what he says will be his last pro fight Yengoyan takes a unanimous verdict over Nikolayev on a score of 58-56 from all three judges. Yengoyan was 31-1-1 at one time and won the World Boxing Federation title but never a major title. Russian Nikolayev never came close to ruining the party. Danyo vs. Janjanin Dutchman Danyo gets a points win over Bosnian Janjanin. 60-54, 59-54. 58-56. October 16 Newcastle, England: Hughie Fury (26-3) W RTD 5 Christian Hammer (16-7). Middle: Savannah Marshall (11-0) W TKO 2 Lolita Muzeya (16-1). Middle: Chris Eubank Jr (31-2) W RTD 5 Wanik Awdijan (28-2). Fury vs. Hammer Fury wins this one as Hammer retires after five rounds citing an arm injury. Fury boxed in a measured style in the first content to let Hammer rumble forward and using his longer reach to score with his jab. Hammer kept swinging hopefully in the second and third doing enough to cause a bruising under Fury’s right eye but Fury switched guards and found the target with hooks and uppercuts. They traded heavy shots in the fourth and the fight seemed to be warming up nicely. Hammer landed a right at the start of the fifth but was later deducted a point for hitting on the break. Fury then launched a big attack and put Hammer under lots of pressure. The fight ended there with Hammer retiring due an arm injury. Fury has lost big fights against Joseph Parker, Kubrat Pulev and Alexander Povetkin. He has three wins under his belt now but is not in the ratings so is going to have to start winning big fights to get anywhere near a title shot. Hammer is also a serial big fight loser having been beaten by Tyson Fury, Povetkin, Luis Ortiz and Tony Yoka and I can’t see him changing that trend. Marshall vs. Muzeya Marshall stops Muzeya in two rounds. Marshall constituted a huge step up in class for Muzeya who tried to surprise Marshall with a hurricane attack in the first. Marshall waited out the storm and then welcomed Muzeya to the elite level shaking the Zambian with an uppercut just before the bell. Muzeya bravely tried to come forward again in the second but was being rocked by powerful uppercuts. When Marshall cut loose with a ferocious attack Muzeya was overwhelmed and was in deep trouble when the referee stopped the fight. Marshall retains the WBO Female title with her ninth KO/TKO victory and she is hoping to face Clarissa Shield soon. They will both appear on the same show in December. Meanwhile Shields is giving MMA a try but will not want to pass up the chance to gain revenge against Marshall who beat her at the 2012 world championships the only loss Shield has suffered. Muzeya was just not in this class. Eubank vs. Awdijan Eubank forces Awdijan in to retirement after five rounds. Eubank eased his way into the fight in the first round then upped the pace in the second putting the retreating Awdijan under pressure. Awdijan showed some good defensive work in the third but Eubank was connecting with some hefty body punches. Eubank continued to go to the body in the fourth and Awdijan was not relishing the strength sapping shots. It was all Eubank in the fifth with Awdijan hurt again with body punches and the visitor retired at the end of the round with a rib injury. Useful outing for Eubank but he badly needs to get into some big fights and soon-and he no longer has the WBA interim title but is ranked No 1 by them. Armenian-born German Awdijan had won his last 21 fights but against a carefully selected collection of mediocrity. New York, NY, USA: Super Light: Petros Ananyan (16-2-2) W PTS 10 Daniel Gonzalez (20-3-1). Super Light: Cletus Seldin (26-1,1ND) W KO 7 William Silva (28-4). Welter: Cesar Francis (9-0) W PTS 8 Jose Roman (11-1). Super Light: Will Madera (17-1-3) W RTD 5 Jamshidbek Najmitdinov (17-2). Ananyan vs. Gonzalez Russian Ananyan pulls out a majority decision in a close fight. The contest did not really catch alight over the first three rounds with neither boxer fighting at a high pace. Ananyan was switching guards and just seemed to have a slight edge over those rounds and he needed it. Despite a cut on his forehead Gonzalez upped his pace and put Ananyan under plenty of pressure over the middle rounds and looked to have moved into the lead but not by much. Ananyan came on stronger at the end landing the heavier punches and the judges decided he had just done enough to turn the fight his way. Scores 96-94 twice for Ananyan and 95-95. Ananyan was having his first fight since getting a huge win with a points victory over unbeaten Subriel Matias in February last year. The inactivity has cost him what would have been a very high rating with the more active Matias Now the IBF No 2. No surprise Gonzalez ran Ananyan as close as his only losses before this have been against Danny O’Connor and Chris Algieri. Seldin vs. Silva Seldin “The Hebrew Hammer” scores spectacular kayo over Silva. The first three rounds were forgettable as neither fighter really did much. Seldin picked up the pace from the fourth taking the fight inside and landing heavy body punches. Silva was trying to land big shots on the incoming Seldin but it was not working. Seldin buckled Silva’s legs with a right in the sixth and in the seventh connected with two rights to the head that put Silva down and out with no count needed. A loss to Yves Ulysse in 2017 and shoulder injuries had Seldin considering retirement but an eleventh round victory over Zab Judah in 2019 won Seldin the vacant NABA title and he is rated No 13 by the WBA but a long way from any smell of a title shot. Silva’s other losses have come against Felix Verdejo, Teo Lopez and Arnold Barboza Francis vs. Roman Panamanian-born New Yorker Francis floors and outpoints Roman. This started out as a fairly even contest but gradually Francis was bossing the battle with body punches inside. Francis had a big fourth round with Roman on the floor and never really the same fighter after that. Roman was fighting without conviction and Francis powered his way to victory. Scores 78-73 twice and 79-72. Overtime for Francis as his last two wins only took him 2:40seconds in total. Puerto Rican Roman just never recovered from the fourth round knockdown. Madera vs. Najmitdinov A disappointing first showing in the USA for Uzbek Najmitdinov as he pulls out after five rounds with an arm injury. Good start from Najmitdinov as he landed power punches over the first two rounds. Madera’s speed saw him getting into the fight in the third and taking the action to Najmitdinov. He had Najmitdinov spilling blood and the doctor looked at Najmitdinov in the fourth. Madera was in charge in the fifth with Najmitdinov bleeding heavily from the nose and seemingly carrying and injury and he retired at the end of the round. An important win for Madera as he tries to rebuild his reputation after a first round stoppage loss against Felix Verdejo in July last year. Najmitdinov’s only other loss was against Viktor Postol back in 2017 and now he too has a rebuilding job. Cancun, Mexico: Super Bantam: Christopher Lopez (14-0-1) W PTS 10 Franklin Manzanilla (20-7). Super Fly: David Cuellar (20-0) W TKO 6 Moises Fuentes (25-7-1). Welter: Taras Shelestyuk (19-0) W TKO 10 Ernesto Espana (31-3-1). Super Bantam: Pedro Tut (21-1) W PTS 8 Antonio Garcia (25-8).Light Fly: Yesenia Gomez (19-5-3,1ND) W PTS 8 Itzayana Cruz (6-8). Light: Oscar Duarte (21-1-1) W TKO 5 Iran Rodriguez (8-7-4). Middle: Simon Madsen (13-0) W TKO 7 Selim Martinez (4-3). Lopez vs. Manzanilla Lopez wins the vacant WBA International title with decision over Manzanilla. It was a tough night for Lopez who triumphed despite suffering two knockdowns. Eight successive wins for Lopez. Venezuelan Manzanilla had shown his power previously by flooring Rey Vargas before losing on points to Vargas for the WBC super bantamweight title in February 2019. Cuellar vs. Fuentes Cuellar moves to a whole new level as he stops Flores in six rounds. Punches from Cuellar had a swelling showing by the right eye of Flores by the second round and only the ropes held up Flores in the third. By the sixth Flores was badly busted up and taking punishment when a right put him down flat on his back out cold and the referee immediately called for medical help. Flores was taken to hospital and underwent emergency surgery to remove a blood clot on his brain. He is said to be recovering but nit is early days. This was the first fight in just over three years for Flores. He retired after being knocked out in one round by Daigo Higa in February 2018 in a challenge for the WBC flyweight title and then being stopped in five rounds by Roman Gonzalez in September that year. The 19-year-old Cuello had knocked out Karim Arce in nine rounds in June. Shelestyuk vs. Salas Ukrainian southpaw Shelestyuk comes back with a win as he halts Ernesto Espana in nine rounds. First fight for 22 months for Shelestyuk. The inactivity has cost him his world rating but he will be out to get back in contention. Espana’s record has more padding than a NFL team. He is the son of Ernesto and nephew of Cristano who both won titles but Ernesto is not in their league. Tut vs. Garcia Tut has his first outing in 22 months as he outpoints Garcia over eight rounds. Tut took the unanimous decision for his sixteenth victory in a row, Garcia lost on points to Anselmo Moreno in May. Gomez vs. Cruz Local fighter Gomez outpointed “La Diva” Cruz in a slow Female eight. “La Nina” Gomez has lost only one of her last seventeen contests. Cruz is now 2-4 in her recent fights. Duarte vs. Rodriguez Duarte stopped Rodriguez in five for win No 16 by KO/TKO. Duarte is trained by former champion Erik Morales. Rodriguez is without a win in his last four tries. Madsen vs. Martinez Cancun-based Dane “Viking” Madsen made it seven wins in a row, six by KO/TKO with a seventh round stoppage of Martinez. Madsen 26, has done all of his pro fighting in Cancun. Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina: Super Light: Emiliano Dominguez (26-9-1) W PTS 10 Miguel Correa (10-21-2). After a disappointing 2-5-1 run any win is welcome for Dominguez as he tries to work his way back into the national rankings having lost in a shot for the title in July. He wins on scores of 99 ½ - 92 ½, 98 ½- 92 and 98 ½ -92 ½. Yet another loss on Correa’s spotty record. San Lorenzo, Argentina: Welter: Marcelo Sanchez (7-2-3) W PTS 10 Nahuel Galesi (13-8-1). Sanchez continues his improved form as he outpoints Galesi to win the vacant WBC Latino title on scores of 99-91 twice and 97-93. Sanchez came in at short notice. He has shown much improved form being 7-1-2 in his last 10 fights. Fourth points defeat in a row for Galesi. Koingsbrunn, Germany: Light Heavy: Luca Cinqueoncle (14-0) W TKO 7 Killan Weck (5-2). Light Heavy: Uensal Arik (35-2) W TKO 2 Janne Forsman (22-15). Cinqueoncle vs. Weck Cinqueoncle wins the vacant IBO Youth title when Weck’s corner throw in the towel in the seventh round. The 6’2” has eleven inside the distance victories. Weck had won his last 5 fights. Arik vs. Forsman German-born Turk Arik stops poor Finn Forsman. That makes it 29 wins by KO/TKO for Arik who has won his last 17 fights but against sub standard opposition. Eleventh consecutive loss for Forsman nine by KO/TKO. Accra, Ghana: Super Light: Robert Quaye (20-0) W TKO 1 Nathanael Nukpe (13-8-1). Feather: Holy Dorgbetor (8-0) W PTS 12 Success Tetteh (10-3). Quaye vs. Nukpe An uppercut from Quaye ends this one in the first round. He moves to 17 wins by KO/TKO and is ready for much better opposition as his record contains not a single real test. Nukpe was having his first fight since April 2019 and has lost 5 of his last 6 contests. Dorgbetor vs. Tetteh Dorgbetor wins the vacant national title as he outclasses Tetteh. Dorgbetor won every round on all three cards leading to three scores of 120-108. Good experience for Dorgbetor, 22, who had taken only 19 rounds for his seven previous wins. Tetteh was kayoed in two rounds by Nigerian Oto Joseph in an ABU title fight in April 2019. Rome, Italy: Super Welter: Marco Papasidero (9-2-4) W Mirko Di Carlantonio (11-7-1). Papasidero finally gets a win over Di Carlantonio and it gains him the vacant national title. In a close fight Di Carlantonio moved ahead by the half way point but Papasidero was stronger over the later rounds and was a good winner. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 for Papasidero. He lost in his first pro fight to Di Carlantonio and they drew in a fight for the vacant title in July. The 40-year-old Di Carlantonio was 5-0- going in. Florence, Italy: Orlando Fiordigiglio (33-3) W TKO 5 Beka Murjikneli (6-17-1) Fiordigiglio returns to the ring with a comfortable stoppage of Murjikneli. A series of body punches finished Murjikneli in the fifth. At 37 Fiordigiglio is still hoping for some big fights but may have to settle for domestic challenges. Georgian Murjikneli Is without a win in his last twelve fights. Windhoek, Namibia: Super Bantam: Filipus Nghitumbwa (10-1) W TKO 6 Innocent Mantengu (14-5-1). Super Middle: Paulinus Ndjolonimu (13-0) W TKO 2 Anthony Jarmann (17-5-1). Welter: Charles Shinima (13-0) W KO 2 Mohamed Mutalemwa (10-3-1). Super Feather: Jeremiah Nakathila (22-2) W TKO 2 Ndonana Ncube (7-3). Nghitumbwa vs. Mantengu Nghitumbwa put South African Mantengu under pressure from start. Mantengu tried to box his way out of trouble but he lacked the skill or the power to succeed. Nghitumbwa landed heavily in the fifth and then put Mantengu down and out in the sixth with a body punch. Nghitumbwa wins the vacant WBO Global belt. Former South African champion Mantengu had won the WBA Pan African title in his last fight. Ndjolonimu vs. Jarman In an all-Namibian clash Ndjolonimu gets repeat inside the distance win over Jarman. After a slow first Ndjolonimu connected with a left hook to the head in the second and Jarman went down and was unable to continue. Jarman was defending the WBO African title he won with a tenth round kayo of Jarman in April. Ndjolonimu has eleven inside the distance finishes. All five of Jarman’s losses have been by KO/TKO. Shinima vs. Mutalemwa Shinima wins the vacant WBO African title with kayo of Tanzanian Mutalemwa. Shinima floored Mutalemwa at the start of the second and then put him on the floor with a body punch with Mutalemwa unable to beat the count. Eighth consecutive inside the distance victory for Shinima. Mutalemwa was a decent 8-0-1 before this one. Nakathila vs. Ncube Nakathila wipes out Zimbabwean Ncube in two rounds. After rocking Ncube in the first Nakathila finished the job with a body punch in the second. First fight for Nakathila since losing on points against Shakur Stevenson for the interim WBO title in June. Third stoppage loss suffered by inexperienced Ncube Fight of the week (Significance): Emanuel Navarrete’s win over Joet Gonzalez was good for boxing and hopefully will lead to some big fight for Navarrete. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Emanuel Navarrete vs. Joet Gonzalez. For the second successive week a candidate for Fight of the Year. Honourable mention to the contests between Salvador Juarez and Geraldo Valdez Fighter of the week: Emanuel Navarrete Punch of the week: The left hook from Daniel Bienda Dos Santos that flattened Mehdi Privat. Upset of the week: Has to be Sandor Martin’s win over Mikey Garcia. Prospect watch: Mexican super flyweight David Cuellar is 20-0 with 13 wins by KO/TKO. Observations Rosette to: Navarrete vs. Gonzalez as another great advert for boxing and Top Rank for following up Fury vs. Wilder with Navarrete vs. Gonzalez Red Card to: The IBF for playing disgraceful games with their rating of Artur Mann. Before the fight with Mairis Breidis for the IBF title on Saturday Mann was rated No 6 by the IBF. Mann’s last fight before facing Breidis was on 20 June 2020 when he was unrated by the IBF. Four months later without fighting he jumped into their ratings at No 13 and eventually climbed to No 6 all without taking part in a single fight . So unrated to No 6 without fighting and he challenges Breidis having not fought for 16 months and surprise-surprise he collapses the first time Briedis turns the screw. Rubbish ratings lead to rubbish title fights-and these sort of “games” rob more deserving fighters of a title chance. And to the WBO. We keep getting told how important their Global title is so how come Namibian Fillipus Nghitumbwa with a 9-1 record (built against low level opposition) vs. Innocent Mantengu with a 14-5-1 record qualify to compete for this gloriously important Gold title? Is the winner now eligible to challenge Steve Fulton? Or is it just a sop to the local promoter for his outstanding loyalty to the WBO? A title only gets the amount of respect owed to those who hold and compete for the title. Box Rec has Nghitumbwa rated No 50! -Celebrate a good weekend for Spanish boxing with Sandor Martin beating Mikey Garcia and Juan Felix Gomez winning the European Union super featherweight title. Ole!-that’s all the Spanish I know amigos.
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By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Tyson Fury climbs off the deck to kayo Deontay Wilder in the eleventh round of an electrifying WBC heavyweight title fight -Robert Helenius gets a repeat win over Adam Kownacki who is disqualified after six rounds -Frank Sanchez outpoints Efe Ajagba in clash of unbeaten heavyweights - Edgar Berlanga gets off the floor to outpoint Marcelo Coceres Vladimir Hernandez outpoints Julian Williams in an upset -Robeisy Ramirez and heavyweight Jared Anderson score wins. -Dominic Boesel outpoints Robin Krasniqi to regain the IBO light heavyweight title - In Liverpool Liam Smith stops Anthony Fowler, Troy Williamson wins British super welterweight title with victory over Ted Cheeseman, Shannon Courtenay loses her WBA Female bantamweight title on the scales and Californian Jamie Mitchell outpoints Courtenay to win the vacant title -In Birmingham Jason Cunningham retains the European super bantamweight title and wins the British and Commonwealth titles with narrow victory over Brad Foster, Ekow Essuman knocks out Danny Ball for Commonwealth, British and IBF European welterweight titles and Callum Johnson struggles past Server Emurlaev on a majority decision in a WBO Global light heavyweight title defence. World Title/Major Shows October 9 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Heavy: Tyson Fury (31-0-1) W KO 11 Deontay Wilder (42-2-1). Heavy: Robert Helenius (31-3) W DISQ 6 Adam Kownacki (20-2). Heavy: Frank Sanchez (19-0) W PTS 10 Efe Ajagba (15-1). Feather: Robeisy Ramirez (8-1) W PTS 10 Orlando Gonzalez (17-1). Super Middle: Edgar Berlanga (18-0) W PTS 10 Marcelo Coceres (30-3-1). Super Welter: Vladimir Hernandez (13-4) W PTS 10 Julian Williams (27-3-1,1ND). Heavy: Jared Anderson (10-0) W TKO 2 Vladimir Tereshkin (22-1-1). Heavy: Viktor Vykhryst (8-0) W TKO 3 Mike Marshall (6-1-1). Fury vs. Wilder Fury scores crushing win with late stoppage in a dramatic heavyweight fight which saw both fighters on the floor, Fury twice and Wilder three times before Fury ended things with a thunderous right to the head in the eleventh. Round 1 Good first round for Wilder. He was coming forward jabbing almost exclusively to the body and firing some range finding rights. Fury was on the back foot and only really came alive late on the round with a long right but had been outworked. Score: 10-9 Wilder Round 2 Too much holding in this round with Fury using his additional weight to lean on Wilder. Fury was mostly on the front foot and shook Wilder with a big right and later when Wilder did land a big right Fury immediately fired back and just had the edge. Score: 10-9 Fury TIED 19-19 Round 3 Fury took the fight to Wilder. He was coming forward behind his jab and throwing rights. Wilder was on the back foot and clinching with Fury being warned for leaning on. A right from Fury rocked Wilder but Wilder responded by driving forward throwing rights. As they traded punches against the ropes a short right from Fury buckled Wilders knees and he went down. He was up quickly and after the eight count there were just fifteen seconds left in the round and although Fury connected with another right Wilder held and survived. Score: 10-8 Fury Fury 29-27 Round 4 Fury was looking to capitalise on that knockdown but too often he was willing to drop into a clinch and use his weight to push Wilder around. As Fury rumbled forward he was nailed by a right counter to the temple and stumbled forward then pitched to the canvas. He climbed up at six but went down again as Wilder landed a couple of clubbing punches. Fury was up at six and when the eight count was completed the round was over without another punch thrown. Score: 10-7 Wilder Wilder 37-36 Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 38-35 Wilder, Judge Dave Moretti 37-36 Wilder, Judge Steve Weisfeld 37-36 Wilder Round 5 A close round. Fury showed his powers of recuperation and used his jab well. Wilder was right hand happy just throwing overhand rights which Fury was able to duck under. He did land a couple of shots when he had Fury in a corner but Fury had done the cleaner work. Score: 10-9 Fury TIED 46-46 Round 6 Not a pretty round as there were too many clinches. Fury connected with a series of left/rights forcing Wilder back and twice used his 39lbs of additional weight to push Wilder down to the floor. With Wilder doing very little useful work. Score: 10-9 Fury Fury 56-55 Round 7 Another round for Fury. He was landing his jab and scoring with body punches inside. Wilder looked exhausted and he was so predictable just throwing a left jab followed by a right so that Fury was able to duck under the right. Fury trapped Wilder in a corner and landed a series of head punches which had Wilder reeling but Fury could not find the punch to end things. Score: 10-9 Fury Fury 66-64 Round 8 This round was one-sided. Fury rocked Wilder three or four times with rights and Wilder was stumbling back throughout the round occasionally throwing wild rights in the hope of connecting and almost going over when he missed. Fury was in total control. Score: 10-9 Fury Fury 76-73 Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 75-74 Fury, Judge Dave Moretti 75-74 Fury, Judge Steve Weisfeld 75-74 Fury. Round 9 The doctor checked Wilder before the start of the round. Apart from a brief flurry of punches early in the round it was all Fury. He was rolling forward scoring with his jab and rocking an exhausted Wilder with rights. Wilder hardly had the strength to throw a punch. He was bleeding from the mouth and returned to his corner a dejected figure. Score: 10-9 Fury Fury 86-82 Round 10 Fury piled on the pressure and Wilder hardly had the strength to hold his arms up. A right to the side of the head sent Wilder down. He was up at five and after the eight count Fury tried to land some clubbing shots but Wilder held on before coming to life and putting the tension back into the fight as he connected with a series of hooks and uppercuts. Score: 10-8 Fury Fury 96-90 Round 11 Fury ended it by driving Wilder across the ring scoring hooks and uppercut until a right to the head dropped Wilder heavily and the referee thankfully waived the fight over. Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 94-92 Fury, Judge Dave Moretti 95-91 Fury, Judge Steve Weisfeld 95-92 Fury. This may have only been for the WBC title but with all due respect to Oleksandr Usyk who holds the other belts is immaterial as Fury proved he is the best heavyweight on the planet. Wilder enhanced his reputation for the way he fought on through exhaustion to remain dangerous and he played his part in a fight that will live on as a classic Helenius vs. Kownacki Helenius gets a second win over Kownacki. Helenius had exposed the flaws in Kownacki when stopping him in four rounds in March 2020 and was able to do the same again here. He found the Pole an easy target for jabs and straight rights rocking Kownacki with a right in the first and effectively closing Kownacki’s left eye by the end of the round. Helenius used his longer reach to score at range and caught Kownacki with counters when he advanced. Kownacki kept trying to close the gap but in his frustration he went low with a punch in the third and was given a warning. There was more punishment for Kownacki in the fourth and he was given another warning in the fifth for a below the belt shot. Helenius looked close to ending the fight in the sixth until another low punch from Kownacki earned him disqualification. Now 37 Helenius’ career looked over when he was knocked out by Gerald Washington in July 2019 but the March 2020 victory over then unbeaten Kownacki revived his career and won him the WBA Gold title. He might have an outside chance of a fight against Trevor Bryan or Mahmoud Charr but Fury or Oleksandr Usyk would be very hard to sell. Difficult to see where Kownacki goes from here. He built his record on the basis of grinding his opposition down and it looks as though he has gone as far as he is going. Sanchez vs. Ajagba Sanchez outpoints Ajagba. The Cuban was just too accomplished a boxer for the Nigerian and exposed his limitations. Ajagba tried to take the fight to Sanchez but Sanchez constantly found gaps for his jabs and right counters. Ajagba had success when he put his punches together but never really threatened Sanchez dominance. He had no idea how to cut off the ring and was throwing too few punches. Sanchez scored a flash knockdown in the seventh but was lucky to not lose a point for hitting Ajagba when he was down. Ajagba put in a strong finish but it was not enough. The fight never really caught fire with the fans occasionally booing the lack of action as Sanchez won without taking any chances. Scores 98-91 twice and 97-92 for Sanchez. He retains the WBC Continental Americas and WBO NABO titles. He is rated No 5 with the WBO with the No 1 spot vacant. Ajagba has plenty to work on so hopefully this will result in some improvements in his skills. Ramirez vs. Gonzalez Cuban southpaw Ramirez continues to settle in as a pro and show some of the class he displayed as an outstanding amateur as he takes wide decision over fellow-southpaw Gonzalez. Both Ramirez and Gonzalez were moving up to ten rounds for the first time and they took the open round feeling each other out. The hand speed, accuracy and clever footwork gave Ramirez the edges. Gonzalez found the Cuban a hard target to pin down whereas Ramirez was snapping out right jabs and left hooks. He shook Gonzalez with a right hook in the ninth and breezed through the last. Scores 99-91 twice and 97-93 for Ramirez as he gets his eighth win in a row after a shock loss in his first pro fight. A good class amateur at 26 Gonzalez has time to rebound from this. Berlanga vs. Coceres Berlanga probably learned more about himself in this fight than in his 17 previous fights combined. Any chance of an early finish disappeared as although Berlanga was out scoring Coceres over the first three rounds he found the constantly moving Argentinian an elusive target. Coceres began to make his mark in the fight in the fourth and fifth and a couple of hooks in the sixth caused some concern for the Berlanga fans. Berlanga kept pressing and scored heavily in the seventh but although Coceres had a heavy swelling around his right eye he was never in any serious trouble. In fact the only knockdown in the fight came from a right by Coceres which floored Berlanga late in the ninth too late for Coceres to build on that and there was no more drama in the last. Scores 96-93 for Berlanga from all three judges. Berlanga wins the vacant WBO NABO belt. This fight and the points win over Demond Nicholson in April have shown Berlanga can’t knock everyone over early and that he can work for his wins as he will have to do as the quality of his opposition grows. Coceres suffered his only inside the distance loss when he was knocked out by Billy Joe Saunders in the eleventh round of a challenge for the WBO super middle title in November 2019 having given Saunders all kinds of trouble and being in front on one card. He blotted his copybook with a loss back home against Sebastian Papeschi but restored some pride here. Hernandez vs. Williams Hernandez comes from a long way back to get upset decision over former IBF/IBO/WBA title holder Williams. This one went with the script early with an aggressive Hernandez cut in the first round shaken badly in the second and cut over both eyes by the fifth. That was as good as it got for Williams. Hernandez was still strong and still marching forward with Williams’s strength and stamina failing under the pressure. Hernandez stormed through the second half of the fight with William exhausted and struggling to the final bell to avoid a stoppage loss. Scores 97-93, 96-94 for Hernandez and 96-94 for Williams. Consecutive losses to Israil Madrimov and Souleymane Cissokho had derailed Hernandez but a win over Alfredo Angulo in August last year made this a good test for Williams who was having his first fight since losing his titles to Jeison Rosales in January 2020. They say you can never forget how to ride a bicycle but perhaps pacing a fight is a skill that can fade as that was what cost Williams this fight. Anderson vs. Tereshkin Anderson blitzes an over-hyped Tereshkin. Anderson was much too quick for southpaw Tereshkin. He was slotting home jabs and getting through with rights with the static Tereshkin only scoring with an occasional left. Tereshkin landed a couple of rights in the second but then it was all Anderson. He scored heavily before forcing Tereshkin to a corner and unloading with lefts and rights. Tereshkin looked at the referee inviting him to stop the fight which he did. That’s ten wins in a total of less than 22 rounds for Anderson. Tereshkin’s record is very deceptive. He was coming off what looked like an impressive 23-0 record except that those 23 losers had only 26 wins between them. Vykhryst vs. Marshall Unbeaten Ukrainian Vykhryst much too good for Marshall and scores knockdowns in the second and third rounds before the fight is halted. Six inside the distance wins for the 29-year-old former European Amateur Championships gold medal winner. Marshall had won 3 of his last 4 fights. Liverpool, England: Super Welter: Liam Smith (30-3-1) W TKO 8 Anthony Fowler (15-2). Super Welter: Troy Williamson (17-0-1) T KO 10 Ted Cheeseman (17-3-1). Super Welter: Kieron Conway (17-2-1) W PTS 10 James Metcalf (21-2). Bantam: Jamie Mitchell (7-0-2 ) W PTS 10 Shannon Courtenay (7-2).Super Light: Luke Willis (11-0) W PTS 10 Rylan Charlton (6-2-1). Heavy: Solomon Dacres (3-0) W PTS 8 Kamil Sokolowski (10-23-2). Super Feather: Peter McGrail (1-0) W PTS 6 Ed Harrison (2-9). Welter: Robbie Davies Jr (21-3) W TKO 4 Jonny Phillips (5-8). Smith vs. Fowler Smith’s strength and experience earn him a win over Fowler. In the early rounds it was Fowler’s excellent work with his jab which saw him pick up the points. As early as the opening round Smith was cut over his left eye by a punch from Fowler who edged the second round and scored heavily in the third. From the fourth the greater strength of Smith began to tell. He put Fowler, who was also cut by then, under constant pressure slowly breaking his fellow Liverpudlian down and floored Fowler heavily with a right in the fifth. From there it was just a matter of time before Smith ended the fight. He continued to pile on the pressure in the sixth and seventh. In the eighth Smith scored with a series of punches and then dropped Fowler with a left hook. Fowler made it to his feet but was in no condition to continue and the fight was halted. Great response from Smith to his controversial loss to Magomed Kurbanov in May and he will now head off to the USA to try to work his way to another title shot. Fowler will regroup and hope to comeback stronger. Williamson vs. Cheeseman Williamson stops Cheeseman to win the British title in a stirring battle that might have been Fight of the Week but for Fury vs. Wilder. Cheeseman made a steady start blocking or ducking Williamson’s punches and coming back with sharp shots to head and body. By the third they were both willing to stand and trade hard punches with both being rocked in what had become a battle for survival. Defence was parked in the corner as they pounded on each other with quality punches in round after round. Cheeseman looked to be taking charge of the fight from the sixth. A spectacular seventh saw Cheeseman staggered by a right and almost going down only to fire back and have Williamson reeling and in deep trouble at the bell. They continued to trade punches in the eighth but in the ninth Cheeseman started to struggle. He was badly shaken by a left hook and looked exhausted as Williamson raked him with slashing hooks. Williamson launched a ferocious attack in the tenth and although Cheeseman tried to punch back a terrifying left hook saw down flat on his back with his right leg folded under him and with no count required. Great battle with the strongest surviving. Ninth inside the distance in his last ten fights for Williamson. Cheeseman was making the first defence of the British title he had won with a stoppage of James Metcalf in March. He will need a long rest after this war. Conway vs. Metcalf Conway takes majority verdict over Metcalf. Conway made full use of his much longer reach to score with jabs on the smaller Metcalf who found it hard to get inside and was reaching to do so leaving himself open to counters. Conway was using his jab to set Metcalf up for straight rights and looked comfort fable over the first three rounds. Metcalf upped his pace from the fourth putting Conway under severe pressure inside. Conway had a good fifth but Metcalf hustled and harried him through the sixth and seventh which were close rounds. Both were showing the scars of battle over the eighth and ninth with Conway cut over his right eye and Metcalf having a swelling under his left eye. Metcalf slowed in the ninth which allowed Conway room to box and Metcalf stormed through the tenth to make it close. Scores 96-94 and 96-95 for Conway and 95-95. Conway fought a split draw with Ted Cheeseman for the British title in June 2019 but lost a split decision to unbeaten Souleymane Cissokho in August. He will be looking to challenge Troy Williamson who won the British title on this show. Former Commonwealth champion Metcalf was stopped in eleven rounds by Cheeseman for the vacant British title in March. Courtenay vs. Mitchell A bad experience all round for Courtenay. She lost her WBA title when she failed to make the weight for this first title defence and then lost a majority decision to Californian Mitchell. From the start it was a case of the higher work rate and relentless pressure of Mitchell against the harder and more accurate punching from Courtenay. Mitchell’s aggression deservedly won out as Courtenay found herself pinned to the ropes with little room to work and despite a strong finish she could not do enough to offset Mitchell’s earlier work. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Mitchell and 95-95. The 5’2” Mitchell won the vacant title. Courtenay will have to regroup and perhaps a move up in weight might help. Willis vs. Charlton Willis holds off a strong finish from Charlton to take the majority decision. Willis boxed be beautifully over the early rounds using slick footwork and quick hands. Charlton found it difficult to land anything of note whilst Willis threaded jabs and quick rights through Charlton’s defence. Charlton exerted continuous pressure but mostly without any success. That changed over the closing rounds as Willis slowed and Charlton was able to drag Willis into trading punches. A tired Willis lost a point in the last round for holding but he had dominated so much of the fight that he was a deserved winner and if anything the scores looked too close at 95-94 twice for Willis and 95-95. Good test for Willis who was moving down to lightweight and going ten rounds for the first time. Second defeat in a row for Charlton who had been stopped in eight rounds by Florian Marku in February. Dacres vs. Sokolowski Dacres goes eight rounds for the first time and outscores the reliable Sokolowski. The 6’5” former elite level amateur made good use of his substantial reach advantage over the 6’1” Sokolwski but was made to work hard for his win. Referee’s score 78-74 for Dacres. A former member of Team GB he chose boxing over rugby and decided to turn pro as the berth for Tokyo was always going to go Frazer Clarke. He is a very useful addition to the crowded ranks of promising heavyweights. Sokolwski has lost six of his last seven contests but is strong and durable. McGrail vs. Harrison Plenty of interest over the first pro fight for Liverpool’s highly decorated amateur Peter McGrail. One of the most successful amateurs in the current period the 25-year-old McGrail eased his way through six rounds against a tough Ed Harrison with the referee scoring the fight 60-54 giving every round to McGrail. In the amateurs McGrail won gold medals at the European Championships and Commonwealth Games and bronze medals at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships but lost out to the experienced Thai Chatchai Butdee in Tokyo and missed out on a medal. Only one loss by KO/TKO for Harrison Davies vs. Phillips Davies, a late addition to the card, got in some useful ring time as he stopped Phillips in four rounds. Phillips had weighed just 133 ½ lbs in his fight in September and had lost his last six fights. Davies was just too accomplished and too strong for him and when a right in the fourth shook Phillips the fight was halted. A return to winning ways for the former British and European champion who had lost an upset decision against Gabriel Valenzuela in February. Birmingham, England: Super Bantam: Jason Cunningham (30-6) W PTS 12 Brad Foster (14-1-2). Welter: Ekow Essuman (16-0) W KO 6 Danny Ball (10-1-1). Super Bantam: Liam Davies (11-0) W PTS 10 Dixon Flores (17-8-3,2ND). Light Heavy: Callum Johnson (20-1) W PTS 10 Server Emurlaev (24-3). Super Feather: Nick Ball (14-0) W TKO 1Piotr Gudel (10-7-1). Cunningham vs. Foster A three title triumph for southpaw Cunningham as he overcomes a slow start to take a narrow unanimous decision over Foster to win the British and Commonwealth titles and retain the European title. Foster dominated the early rounds. He was quick and tricky come in under Cunningham’s punches and scoring with hooks inside. Cunningham was waiting too long to let his punches go and was being outboxed. Foster looked to have comfortably swept the first four rounds but then Cunningham upped his work rate became more of the aggressor and stepped up the pressure on Foster. He was also leaning forward more which was frustrating Foster attempts to duck inside land to the body. In the eighth Foster suffered a cut over his left eye which bled through the rest of the fight. He was having a good round in the eighth but landed a low punch and was deducted a point losing his advantage from earlier in the round. The ninth and tenth were close as Foster fought hard to hold on to his British and Commonwealth titles and he was very much back in the fight. Cunningham just had the edge over the eleventh and twelfth but in the end it was the one point deduction that decided the outcome. Scores 116-112, 115-114 and 114-113 for Cunningham. He was coming off a points win over Gamal Yafai that landed him the European title in May. With the decision so close Foster deserves a return and if it is as good a fight as this one it will be a treat for the fans. Essuman vs. Ball Essuman retains the British and Commonwealth titles and wins the vacant IBF European with knockout of Ball. The pace was fast in this one from the first bell. Ball was taking the fight to Essuman but the champion was scoring with jabs and switching his attacks from head to body constantly changing angles and showing some classy defensive work. Ball continued to come forward but was having to take punishment and was cut over his right eye in the second. Essuman wound up the pressure in the third with Ball spending time pinned to the ropes. A great fourth saw Ball hurt Essuman with a right only for Essuman to fire back with a right of his own. Essuman bossed the action in the fifth before stunning Ball with a right in the sixth. He then drove Ball into a corner and pounded him with punches until Ball fell to his hands and knees. Ball had nothing left. He remained on his hands and knees on the canvas with blood pouring from his mouth and he was counted out. High class display from Botswana-born Essuman and his seventh inside the distance win. He was very impressive here. Ball gave it his best but Essuman was just too good and too big a step up for him. Davies vs. Flores Davies comfortably boxes his way to victory over a too small Flores. Davies was able to score at distance and he dealt easily with the lunging attacks that Flores employed to try to get inside. A right uppercut staggered Flores in the first but he connected with some useful head punches at the end of the third. Flores had no alternative he had to march-or lunge-forward and Davies made him pay with hooks and uppercuts as he came in. Davies had Flores in trouble at the end of the seventh but never looked like ending the fight early and boxed sensibly to the final bell, Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91 for English champion Davies who is making progress but is far from ready for the top British fighters. Nicaraguan Flores is typical of the Nicaraguan visitors to the UK-limited but willing. Johnson vs. Emurlaev Johnson suffers a torrid night on the way to a majority decision over Emurlaev. Johnson was tracking Emurlaev around the perimeter of the ring and trying to nail down the constantly shifting Russian. The taller Emurlaev changed direction, changed guard and changed tactics in every round. Johnson stuck to his task and was able to score with hooks to the body from both hands but Emurlaev would switch from pawing with jabs to suddenly firing a salvo of straight shots from both hands. With the unpredictable movement of Emurlaev Johnson had difficulty cutting the ring off but he was scoring consistently whereas Emurlaev was scoring in bursts. Emurlaev had a good eighth when with Johnson cut over his right eye and bleeding from the nose Emurlaev drove forward landing a series of straight punches. Johnson rebounded in the ninth and both fighters had dominant periods in the tenth. At the end with Johnson cut, bleeding from the nose and with a swelling under his right eye and Emurlaev unmarked the visitor looked the winner but Johnson’s fierce attacks got him a win-but only just. Scores 99-92 and 96-94 for Johnson- with the first score looking way out- and 95-95. Johnson retains the WBO Global title he won in April as he chases down another world title shot but this was a much harder fight than he needed at this stage. Uzbek-born Emurlaev was out of the ring for over eight years before returning in February this year and was 2-1 since returning with the loss coming against Kazakhstan’s Olympic bronze medallist from Tokyo Kamshybek Kunkabayev. Ball vs. Gudel Ball gets this one over in quick time as he floored Pole Gudel three times with the referee stopping the fight on the third knockdown after just 56 seconds. Seventh inside the distance victory for the 25-year-old from Liverpool. Gudel has now lost 5 of his last 6 contests. October 8 Los Polvorines, Argentina: Bantam: Pablo Gomez (14-10-2) W PTS 10 Abel Silva (7-7-3). Light: Augustin Quintana (15-1-1) W PTS 8 Esteban Stodulski (9-2-3,1ND). Gomez vs. Silva Gomez collects the vacant South America title with unanimous decision over Silva. It was Silva who forced the fight early with Gomez showing good defensive work and countering with jabs and straight rights. The rounds were close but gradually Gomez took control outscoring Silva at distance and inside as he swept the late rounds. Scores 97-93 twice and 99-91 for the former Argentinian champion as he makes it 10 wins in his last 11 fights. Silva had won his last two outings. Quintana vs. Stodulski Quintana much too good for Stodulski. Quintana was on target with straight rights from the first and a desperate Stodulski loss a point in the fifth for a butt. Quintana landed a series of body shots in the seventh which had Stodulski in trouble but he made it to the final bell. Scores 80-72 ½, 79-72, 79-2 ½ for Quintana his sixth consecutive victory. Stodulski’s losses have come against good level domestic opposition Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Light Heavy: Bryan Perez (16-1) W RTD 2 Likar Ramos (30-12). Super Welter: Bryan Medina (15-2) W TKO 2 Gustavo Sandoval (15-18-1). Perez vs. Ramos Perez wins but in confusing circumstances. In this clash of southpaws Perez dropped Ramos with a perfect right uppercut in the first minute of the fight. He was up at four and managed to avoid any more trouble. Ramos was wrongly counted when he lost balance getting under a Perez shot in the second and again went down-without a count- from a right to the back of the head. At the end of the round Ramos continued to rub the back of his head and the referee called the doctor into the ring to examine Ramos. Without waiting to see what the doctor would say the referee called Perez to the centre of the ring and lifted his arm as winner with both the doctor and Ramos gazing on in amazement as the doctor had not been asked if Ramos could continue and looked as though he was going to say Ramos was fit to do so. In the confusion at one point both boxers left their corner thinking the fight was not over. I guess it goes down as a second round retirement. Perez only loss was against former WBA interim champion Felix Varela but he floored and outpointed Varela in a return in March. Colombian Ramos, 36, was too small and too overweight to pose any threat to light heavyweight Perez. Ramos competed at the 2004 Olympics as a featherweight so was vastly overweight here. Medina vs. Sandoval A farcical mismatch sees Medina dispose of Sandoval in two rounds. In the first Medina tried to blow away the much smaller and tubby Sandoval with a barrage of hooks and uppercuts but Sandoval survived. Two rights to the head floored Sandoval in the second. He made it to his feet but was finished and when he went down from another right the fight was stopped. Eleventh victory by KO/TKO for Medina but he needed a win after back-to-back losses against 18-0 Heber Rondon and 18-1 Carlos Adames. Ninth inside the distance loss for Colombian Sandoval just a crude slugger with no technique. October 9 Magdeburg, Germany: Light Heavy: Dominic Boesel (32-2) W PTS 12 Robin Krasniqi (51-7). Heavy: Peter Kadiru (12-0) W PTS 10 Boris Estenfelder (11-3-1). Cruiser: Roman Fress (14-0) W PTS 10 Luca D’Ortenzi (15-2). Heavy: Umut Camkiran (17-0) W RTD 2 Dorde Tomic (3-4). Heavy: Viktor Jurk (1-0) W TKO 1 Zoltan Csala (12-25). Cruiser: Ammar Abduljabbar (1-0) W TKO 1 Sviatoslav Svyryd (5-4). Boesel vs. Krasniqi Boesel regains the IBO title with split decision over Krasniqi in a return fight. After a quiet first round the action evolved with Boesel taking the centre of the ring behind a high guard with Krasniqi circling looking for opportunities to come forward and score inside. The pace heated up with Krasniqi taking control over the middle rounds and Boesel doing better over the seventh and eighth. Boesel upped his pace in the ninth with the tenth close. Krasniqi seemed to put the verdict beyond doubt when he had Boesel in serious trouble in the eleventh with Boesel forced to hold to survive. The last was close but Krasniqi looked to have dome enough to win although the judges saw it differently with scores of 116-112 and 115-114 for Boesel and 115-114 for Krasniqi. Revenge for Boesel but Krasniqi had cause for complaint. Kadiru vs. Estenfelder Kadiru retains the German title with points win over Estenfelder. No doubt about the winner but not one of Kadiru’s best nights. He dominated the fight but it was a pedestrian performance from Kadiru. He outboxed Estenfelder without ever looking likely to win inside the distance. Scores 100-98, 99-91 and 98-92. He is only 24 so it is early to judge his full potential . Former champion Estenfelder was having only his third fight in three years and had lost a split decision and his German title to unbeaten Roman Gorst in October 2019. Fress vs. D’Ortenzi Fress retains the WBO Inter-Continental title with very debatable win over D’Ortenzi. The visitor made a good start and put Fress down in the fourth. He looked to have built on that and to be in front until a late surge by Fress made it close but D’Ortenzi seemed to have had a good edge which made the scores of 97-92 twice and 95-94 for Fress questionable. First defence for the Kazakh-born German. D’Ortenzi, a former Italian heavyweight champion, had won his last seven fights. Camkiran vs. Tomic German-born Turk Camkiran gets another meaningless inside the distance win as poor Tomic retires after the second round. Camkiran, the EEU champion (for European fighters from countries outside of the European Union), has one decent win over 32-2 Arnold Gjergjaj but other than that his opposition has been sub standard. Under 5’10” and over 245lbs gives you some idea of Bosnian Tomic’s daintiness Jurk vs. Csala Another heavyweight giant enters the scene as Germany’s Jurk stops Hungarian Csala in the first round. The 6’7” Jurk scored four knockdowns before the fight was stopped. The 20-year-old Jurk was German champion at Under-17,Under-18 and Under-22 and won a silver medal at the European Under 22 Championships. He has also been a regular sparring partner for Anthony Joshua. Csala, 44, suffers his sixth first round loss in his last seven fights and 24 of his 26 losses have come inside the distance Abduljabbar vs. Svyryd German Olympian Abduljabbar has his first pro fights just two months after fighting in Tokyo and stops Ukrainian Svyryd in the first round. The Iraqi-born German lost to eventual silver medallist Muslim Gadzhimagomedov in the semi-finals of the 91kg competition. Second consecutive first round loss for Svyryd Accra, Ghana: Middle: Emmanuel Quaye (6-9) W TKO 3 Boateng Agyemang Prempeh (2-1). Quaye wins the vacant Ghanaian title with stoppage of Prempeh. This was a very one-sided bout. Prempeh was crude without any skills. Quaye was landing heavy rights through the first two rounds and Prempeh seemed to injure his shoulder at the end of the second. A fierce attack from Quaye in the third sent Prempeh tumbling through the ropes to the ring apron flat on his back and the referee stopped the fight. Second shot at the national title for Quaye and his sixth win in his last seven fights. The two fighters Prempeh had beaten had combined records of 0-8. Los Hornos, Argentina: Light Heavy: Braian Suarez (15-0) W TKO 1Devis Casseres (26-14). Suarez wipes out an overmatched Casseres in the opening round. A series of punches had Casseres wobbling and the referee gave him a standing count. Suarez then blasted Casseres with hooks to the body and put him down with an uppercut and the referee stopped the fight. Sixth consecutive victory by KO/TKO and thirteen in total for Argentinian champion Suarez. Colombian Casseres has won only two of his last nine fights. London, England: Super Feather: Liam Dillon (10-0-1) W PTS 10 Dennis Wahome (7-1). Dillon wins the vacant English title with majority decision over southpaw Wahome. Scores 98-94 and 96-94 for Dillon and 95-95. Both fighters were returning to action after almost two years out due to COVID-19. Fight of the week (Significance): Tyson Fury’s win over Deontay Wilder hopefully might get us closer to a unified title-but don’t hold your breath. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Has to be Fury vs. Wilder with honorary mention to Troy Williamson vs. Ted Cheeseman Fighter of the week: Fury again Punch of the week: The right from Fury that finished Wilder was awesome and Liam Smith’s left hook that put Fowler down was a classic but I go for Troy Williamsons left hook that sent Ted Cheeseman down and out cold. Upset of the week: Vladimir Hernandez was just supposed to be a warm up for the returning former IBF, IBO, WBA super middleweight title holder Julian Williams but he took the decision. Prospect watch: A bit risky but I go for British super featherweight Peter McGrail who had his first pro fight in Liverpool after a stellar amateur. Observations Rosette for making a substantial contribution to the good of boxing goes to the Fury vs. Wilder show that had quality fights right down the card and in fact the quality of fights in Liverpool and Birmingham were also good for boxing Red Card for matchmakers continuing to use Hungarian Zoltan Csala. The 44-year-old Csala has a 12-26 record with 24 of his losses by KO/TKO with eleven of those losses in the first round. -Yet another giant heavyweight on the scene with the 6’7” German Viktor Jurk having his first pro fight on Saturday (against Csala). A former German Under-21 champion he has sparred regularly with Anthony Joshua. They just keep coming and there were ten heavyweights on the Las Vegas card. - It is strange how sometimes a boxer can turn his career around. The new South American bantamweight champion Pablo Gomez was 4-9-2 in his first 15 fights and is 10-1 in his last eleven-a can of spinach perhaps. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -David Avanesyan overwhelms Liam Taylor in two rounds in a European welterweight title defence -Francesco Patera and Daniele Scardina score inside the distance wins in Milan -South African Nhlanhia Tyirha gets off the floor in the first round to outpoint Filipino Jaysever Abcede to win the vacant WBO Global light flyweight title - Nehomar Cermeno, Ray Beltran and Richard Riakporhe return to action with wins and former IBF lightweight title holder Miguel Vazquez outpoints Nicaraguan Oliver Flores World Title/Major Shows: October 1 Milan, Italy: Light: Francesco Patera (25-3) W TKO 3 Devis Boschiero (49-7-2). Super Middle: Daniele Scardina (20-0) W RTD 4 Juergen Doberstein (26-5-1). Welter: Nicholas Esposito (15-0) W PTS 10 Emanuele Cavallucci (12-5-1). Super Welter: Samuel Nmomah (16-0) W TKO 4 Craig O’Brien (12-3). Super Bantam: Vincenzo La Femina (10-0) W TKO 6 Oleksandr Yegorov (20-7-1). Welter: Reshat Mati (11-0) W PTS 8 Vladyslav Baranov (7-11-2). Patera vs. Boschiero A classy display of box/punching from Patera proves too much for veteran Boschiero who is ruled out by the doctor in the third round. Hostilities broke out early in this one as Boschiero, the smaller man, took the fight to Patera in the first driving forward pumping out punches. Patera stayed cool scoring with hurtful jabs and digging in left hooks to the body. Patera boxed beautifully in the second. He took charge firing jabs and straight rights through Boschiero’s guard adding in hooks and uppercuts to the mix with Boschiero unable to get on the front foot. By the end of the round Boschiero was bleeding from a cut by his right eye caused by a punch and was also bleeding from the nose. Patera continued to pound on Boschiero in the third and with the cut over his left eye continuing to bleed the referee asked the doctor to examine the cut and it was ruled too severe for Boschiero to continue. The 28-year-old Belgian wins the vacant WBO Inter-Continental belt. The former undefeated European champion has put together a run of impressive victories over 17-0 Lewis Ritson, 24-1-1 Marvin Petit, 20-1 Paul Hyland and unbeaten former amateur star Domenico Valentino but with his only rating being WBC 13 he has not had the credit he deserves for that run. Boschiero, 40, may be at the end of the road. The former Italian and European champion lost a split decision to Takahiro Ao in Tokyo in a challenge for the WBC super feather title in 2011but never landed the return match his performance merited. Scardina vs. Doberstein Scardina wins on a fourth round retirement after an exhausted Doberstein is unable to continue. Doberstein spent the first round visiting every corner of the ring at high speed and flicking out light Jabs with Scardina trying to cut him off and having limited success. Doberstein continued to speed around in the second with Scardina doing a better job of cutting off the ring. By the end of the round Doberstein had slowed and was holding regularly but then he scored with three uppercuts which were the biggest punches landed by any fighter so far. Doberstein slowed dramatically in the third with Scardina able to catch him with jabs and get through with long rights and body punches and a nasty punch to the back of the head. Doberstein’s punch output dropped. Doberstein went for broke in the fourth throwing punch after punch but being caught by counters. To his credit he just kept punching to the bell but was totally exhausted and retired at the end of the round. “King Toretto” Scardina, the former undefeated European Union champion, wins the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title in only his second fight in two years so he will be hoping to be more active. Kazak-born German Doberstein showed some good skills but poor conditioning. He was 7-2 going into this one with the losses being a very close decision against Robin Krasniqi and a seventh round kayo against Juergen Brahmer and this was also his second fight in two years. Esposito vs. Cavallucci Esposito retains the national with a points win over former champion Cavallucci. After a slow start that favours Cavallucci Esposito took over and despite solid resistance from the challenger Esposito emerged a good winner. Scores 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 for Esposito who was making his first defence. Only one win in his last five outings for Cavallucci. Nmomah vs. O’Brien The opening round saw two well-matched boxers testing their jab and both scored with hard rights. Most of the action was on the inside in the second with O’Brien just getting the better of the exchanges. Nmomah just edged the third but O’Brien was cut over his right eye in a clash of heads. Nmomah drove O’Brien to the ropes in the fourth and landed a series of punches but O’Brien did not seem in trouble and he was angry when his corner threw in the towel. Italian-based Nigerian Nmomah has done all of his fighting in Italy and showed some good touches. O’Brien had won 4 of his last 5 fights and complained bitterly about the stoppage. La Femina vs. Yegorov La Femina gets his fifth inside the distance victory with stoppage of seasoned Ukrainian pro Yegorov in six rounds . Yegorov was 20-1-1 at the start of his career but has fallen away with this his sixth consecutive defeat. Mati vs. Baranov Staten Island’s Mati takes a unanimous verdict over Ukrainian Baranov. Mati was able to use his height and reach to outbox a willing but limited Baranov. Scores 80-72 twice and 78-74 for “The Albanian Bear” Mati. Baranov is 1-7 in his recent activity. October 2 London, England: Welter: David Avanesyan (28-3-1) W TKO 2 Liam Taylor (23-1-1). Super Middle: Germaine Brown (10-0) W PTS 10 Jamal Le Doux (8-2) . Cruiser: Richard Riakporhe (12-0) W PTS 8 Krzys Twardowski (9-3). Cruiser: Mikael Lawal (14-0) W TKO 3 Benoit Huber (7-1). Middle: Linus Udona (17-0) W TKO 3 Xhuljo Vrenozi (17-4).Super Welter: Joe Pigford (18-0) W KO 5 Isaac Aryee (26-10). 18 Avanesyan vs. Taylor Avanesyan retains the European title with second round stoppage of Taylor. Taylor scored well with his jab and straight rights determined not to let Avanesyan dictate the fight. Avanesyan was coming forward behind a high guard looking to get close to force Taylor onto the back foot and land hooks and uppercuts. Taylor kept jabbing but Avanesyan was snapping Taylor’s head back with uppercuts and slamming hooks to the body. A right to the head saw Taylor go down on one knee. He was up swiftly and punched with Avanesyan for the remaining seconds of the round. Taylor threw everything at Avanesyan in the second but Avanesyan was relentless and constantly got passed Taylor’s guard with left uppercuts. A series of head punches had Taylor reeling and the referee stopped the fight. Fourth successful defence of the European title for the British-based Russian. He won the title with an inside the distance victory and has finished all four of his defences by KO/TKO. He is rated WBO 6/WBC 7/WBA 9/IBF 12 in a very tough division but it would be nice to think he might land a title shot next year. Taylor was 12-0, 1 TD going in and landed punches that would have won him most fights but Avanesyan just steam-hollered him. Brown vs. Le Doux Impressive performance from Brown as he takes the referee’s decision over a combative Le Doux. Brown outscored and out outworked Le Doux taking control from the outset with flashing combinations that rocked Le Doux a few times. It was the sixth before Le Doux made any real impression looking to have won that round and the seventh. Brown took over again in the eighth and finished strongly to emerge the clear winner. Referee’s score 99-92 for Brown who outpointed Dmitri Chudinov in Belarus in his last fight in October. Le Doux had been victorious in his last five fights but had been inactive for two years. Riakporhe vs. Twardowski Riakporhe gets in some much needed ring time against Pole Twardowski. Riakporhe spent the first two rounds just finding the range for his jab and landing a couple of cracking rights. Twardowski did enough to keep Riakporhe busy without really being threatening. Riakporhe’s timing was off and Twardowski’s jabs brought blood from Riakporhe’s nose but the Pole was stunned by a right late in the seventh. In the eighth Twardowski suffered a nose bleed when heads bumped together with Twardowski claiming it was a butt and blatantly trying to butt Riakporhe. He rushed Riakporhe and ran onto a heavy right that floored him but he was up quickly and Riakporhe just boxed his way to the bell. Referee’s score 79-72. This is Riakporhe’s first fight since December 2019 and the pandemic has hurt his career as he was high in the ratings with wins over Jack Massey, Tommy McCarthy and Chris Billam-Smith before the shut down. Twardowski had won his last four fights and did his job well here. Lawal vs. Huber Lawal stops Huber in three rounds. Both were firing heavy punches over the first two rounds but Huber was rocked by a right late in the second. When Lawal landed another booming right in the third the referee stopped the fight over strong protests from Huber and it did look an early halt. London-based Nigerian Lawal has eight victories by KO/TKO. Swiss Huber came in as a late substitute but certainly gave it a try. Udona vs. Vrenozi Udona forces a third round stoppage against Vrenozi. A close first round saw a punch from Udona open a cut over Vrenoz’s right eye. Udona pressed hard in the second with a competitive Vrenozi punching with him. In the third a right uppercut had Vrenozi taking a knee and Udona pounds on him until Vrenoz’s corner throw in the towel. Ninth win by KO/TKO for the Nigerian-born English champion. Italian-based Albanian Vrenozi suffers his first inside the distance loss . His good looking record is padded with sub-standard victims. Pigford vs. Aryee Pigford marches on with yet another inside the distance win as he halts Aryee in the fifth. That makes it 15 inside the distance victories in a row and 17 in total but his opponents have been low level performers. Ghanaian Aryee was having only his second fight in four years and his victims have been mainly inept. September 30 Dallas, TX, USA: Welter: Charles Hatley (30-2-1) W TKO 10 Frederick Lawson (28-3). Light Heavy: Deon Nicholson (15-1) PTS 8 Craig Baker (21-3) Hatley vs. Lawson Hatley grinds down and stops Lawson. The Dallas southpaw was taking the fight to Lawson early with the Ghanaian competitive enough to be very much in the fight. Slowly Hatley increased his work rate and by the eighth Lawson was fading out of the fight. Lawson was badly rocked in the ninth only just surviving to the bell but was shipping heavy punishment in the tenth when the fight was stopped. First fight for eleven months for 35-year-old Hatley and win No 21 by KO/TKO. He was knocked out in six rounds by Jermell Charlo in a WBC title challenge in 2017 but then had just one fight in each of years 2018, 2019 and 2020. Lawson was having his first outing for two years and suffers his third inside the distance defeat Nicholson vs. Baker Nicholson returns for the first time since being stopped by Efe Apochi in April and outboxes local hero Baker. Nicholson worked hard to get inside the much longer breach of Baker and won the fight there. Baker just could not keep Nicholson out and was rocked a couple of times as Nicholson showed superior power on his way to the unanimous verdict. Scores 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74 for Nicholson as he returns to the winning column. Third loss by KO/TKO for Baker who had been stopped in tough matches by Edwin Rodriguez and Oleksandr Gvozdyk. October 1 East London, South Africa: Light Fly: Nhlanhia Tyirha (6-1) W PTS 12 Jaysever Abcede (20-10). Light Fly: Siphamandla Baleni (18-3-2) W PTS 12 Mpumeleto Tshabalala (5-1). Tyirha vs. Abcede South African southpaw Tyirha climbs off the floor to win the vacant WBO Global title with unanimous decision over fellow southpaw Filipino Abcede. There was plenty of discussion over whether Tyirha was ready for a title fight and the questions looked valid when Tyirha was put down heavily in the first round by a thunderous straight left. He was up early and from then used his speed and skill to outbox Abcede. The Filipino walked Tyirha down throughout the fight but Tyirha showed some excellent defensive skills. He put together some rattling combinations but lacks power which meant Abcede was able to keep pressing. He scored heavily to the body when he could pin down Tyirha but too often Tyirha slipped out of danger and banged home more combinations and deservedly won on scores of 117-110 twice and 116-111 which would have been wider but for the 10-8 first round. Tyirha, 21, had won the South African title in his fourth fight and suffered his only loss when being outpointed by former IBF minimumweight title holder Nkosinathi Joyi in 2019. Abcede was having his first fight since November 2019 and was 4-1 in his previous 5 contests. Baleni vs. Tshabalala Baleni makes a successful first defence of the South African title with majority verdict over Tshabalala. The fight was dull by comparison with the WBO title fight with too much holding and mauling with Baleni having to deal with the longer reach of the taller Tshabalala but winning on scores of 116-112, 116-113 and 114-114. Baleni, 30, is a former undefeated South African minimumweight and WBO Global light flyweight title holder. Tshabalala had never been past the sixth round before. Glendale, AZ, USA: Super Light: Ray Beltran (37-9-1,1ND) W RTD 6 Edgar Ramirez (18-19-1). Beltran returns to action after 28 months away and gets a win as Ramirez retires after the sixth round. The former WBO lightweight champion was 142lbs for this one so could go up to super light or down to light as he tries to fight his way to another title shot but at 40 time is against him. Just a single victory in his previous eight fights for Ramirez. Villa Mercedes, Argentina: Welter: Luis Veron (19-3-2) W Leonardo Amitrano (17-6). Veron retains the South American title with narrow unanimous decision over home town fighter Amitrano. Despite his indifferent record Amitrano is a tough man to beat and it was the better skills of Veron that gave him the edge. His accurate jabbing and well placed combinations offset the aggression and constant switching of guard by Amitrano. Veron was bleeding heavily from the nose over the late rounds but was a good winner. Scores 96 ½-94 ½, 98-97 and 96-95 for Veron. He was 17-0-2 at one point but suffered losses to Michael McKinson, Tara Shelestyuk and Elvis Rodriguez. Amitrano, the Argentinian No 1, took IBF No 1 Jeremiah Ponce to a split decision and is a former South American champion at super light. Panama City, Panama: Light Fly: Azael Villar (17-1-3) W PTS 10 David Martinez (10-5-1). Bantam: Felix Montenegro (10-9-1) W PTS 10 Alejandro Espinoza (17-2). Super Feather: Nehomar Cermeno (27-8-1) W TKO 1 John Valencia (4-2-4,1ND). Feather: Jhonatan Arenas (19-1) W KO 5 Samuel Moreno (9-4-1). Villar vs. Martinez Villar picks-up the WBC Fecarbox belt with unanimous decision over Mexican Martinez on scores of 97-93 twice and 98-94. Villar’s only loss was an upset first round stoppage against Nicaraguan Jerson Ortiz in 2018. Martinez had scored two inside the distance victories this year. Montenegro vs. Espinoza Local fighter Montenegro continues a small run of good form as he wins on a split verdict over favoured Mexican Espinoza. The early rounds saw Espinoza using his longer reach to outbox Montenegro but Montenegro changed his tactics and dominated the second half of the fight. Scores 96-94 twice for Montenegro and 96-94 for Espinoza. Montenegro collects the vacant WBC Continental Americas title and gets his fourth win in a row something he has not previously achieved in his career. Espinoza had been 5-0 in his most recent fights. Cermeno vs. Valencia Too easy for Cermeno as he stops overmatched Valencia late in the first round. Now 42 the former holder of the secondary WBA super bantamweight title was having his first outing since April 2018. Panamanian Valencia in way over his head. Arenas vs. Moreno Panamanian Arenas comes out of retirement and knocks out fellow-countryman Moreno in the fifth round. Arenas lost his first pro fight and then scored eighteen straight wins, twelve by KO/TKO before retiring in October 2016. Moreno was having his first fight for six years. October 2 Argentina: Middle: Lucas Bastida (17-1-1) DREW 10 Juan Taborda (16-0-1). Welter: Juan Leal (14-1) W PTS 10 Christian Andino (16-2-1). Bastida vs. Taborda Bastida holds on to his South American title and Taborda to his WBO Latino one as they fought to a split draw. Taborda settled quickest and working inside against the taller Bastida and he built a good lead. It was only over the second half of the fight that the 6’1” Bastida managed to work efficiently at distance and also scored with some scorching left hooks to the body. They both put in a huge effort in the last knowing the fight was close but they had to share the points as the judges scored it 97-93 for Taborda 96-94 for Bastida and 95-95. Both were making their first defence with Bastida Argentinian No 1 and Taborda No 2. Leal vs. Andino Leal is still Argentinian champion due to a majority decision over No 2 Andin0. Leal attacked hard at the first relying on his better hand speed with Andino getting into the fight in the second with his left jab and right crosses. That’s how the fight developed with the champion coming forward and Andino boxing and countering. The rounds were close with Andino’s clever boxing taking him in front and by the end of the seventh he had a good lead. Leal staged a storming finish sweeping the closing rounds to take the decision. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Leal and 95-95 which gives Leal his ninth consecutive victory. Second unsuccessful shot at a national title for Andino. Santa Rosa, Argentina: Bantam: Angel Aquino (8-4-1) W PTS 10 Luciano Baldor (16-23. Somewhat of an upset as Argentinian No 5 Aquino outpoints No 1 Baldor to lift the vacant national title. Scores 98-91, 97-92 and 98 ½ -95 for Aquino who was 2-4 going into this one against Baldor who had won his last ten fights. Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic: Heavy: Tomas Salek (16-3) W PTS 10 Michal Reissinger (2-1). Super Middle: Robert Racz (25-2) W TKO 1 Ondrej Budera (15-22-1). Fly: Fabiana Bytyqi (18-0-1) W PTS 6 Farah El Bousairi (3-1). Salek vs. Reissinger Salek wins the Czech title at the second attempt as he takes unanimous decision over Reissinger. The fight was close early with former martial arts competitor Reissinger just edging in front over the first two rounds but Salek was stronger and took charge of the fight after that and earned the unanimous decision. Scores 100-90, 99-92 and 98-92 for Salek. He had lost to Pavel Sour in a fight for the title in 2019 and was coming off a third round stoppage loss to Kash Ali in May. Reissinger had won his two previous fights in the first round. Racz vs. Budera Former undefeated champion Racz regains the Czech title with first round stoppage of Budera. Racz floored Budera twice with Budera’s corner throwing the towel in the ring after just 2:50 of the opening round. The 26-year-old Racz has scored 21 victories by KO/TKO. Budera had won the Czech light heavy title in July. Bytyqi vs. El Bousairi WBC Atomweight champion Bytyqi returns to action but struggles to get past inexperienced El Bousairi on a split verdict. First fight for eight months for Bytyqi who was out with a fractured elbow. Spanish-based Moroccan El Bousairi was having only her second fight in over three years and came in as a late replacement. Munich, Germany : Light Heavy: Serge Michel (12-2) W TKO 3 Stephane Tchamba (3-8-1). Predictable outcome as “Sniper” Michel stops Tchamba in three. Michel was scoring with heavy uppercuts in the first and floored Tchamba in the second. Tchamba only just survived the round but was dropped again in the third and the towel came in from Tchamba’s corner. First fight for Michel since losing on a tenth round stoppage against Ricards Bolotniks in the final of the MTK tournament in December. Seven losses and a draw is Tchamba’s recent form. Tokyo Japan: Super Fly: Ryoji Fukunaga (15-4) W PTS 12 Hayate Kaji (15-1 Fukunaga holds on to the OPBF, Japanese and WBO Asia Pacific belts with very controversial majority decision victory over the younger unbeaten Kaji. The challenger seemed to edge the first round but Fukunaga scored with some blistering body punches in the second. Kaji rebounded to take the third hurting Fukunaga with left hooks. The fourth was close with Fukunaga just doing enough to take it but again Kaji landed heavily in the fifth with Fukunaga forced to hold to survive. After the fifth the scores were 48-47 twice for Fukunaga and 48-47 for Kaji which seemed very generous to Fukunaga. The champion outscored Kaji in the sixth but took heavy punishment in the eighth and ninth with a stoppage looking possible and also seemed to outscore Fukunaga in the tenth. Kaji had never been passed the eighth round before and Fukunaga did enough to take the last two rounds. Scores 115-113 twice and 114-114 whereas Kaji looked to have been the clear winner. Southpaw Fukunaga, 35, was a modest 10-3 until he hit a good run scoring wins over opposition such as Froilan Saludar and Kenta Nakazawa but he was lucky here. Monterrey, Mexico: Super Light: Miguel Vazquez (44-10) W PTS 10 Oliver Flores (30-4-2). Heavy: Brandon Moore (10-0) W KO 1 Jesus Nerio (15-10-1). Super Light: Jimmer Espinosa (11-0) W TKO 5 Jorge Melendez (14-8-2). Super Bantam: Neslan Machado (18-0) W PTS 8 Alan Salazar (11-9-1). Super Bantam: Christian Uruzquieta (20-4-2,1ND) W PTS 8 Juan Ocura (13-16-2,1ND). Vazquez vs. Flores Former IBF lightweight champion Vazquez scores a unanimous decision over Nicaraguan Flores. It was southpaw Flores who went out in front over the first three rounds. Vazquez began to roil from the third a round in which Flores was cut on his left eyebrow in a clash of heads. Vazquez gradually took over and with his better skills and higher work rate did enough to get the decision although the fight was harder for Vazquez than the scores of 99-91, 98-92 indicate and a better reflection was the third score of. 96-94. After losing a very controversial decision to Lewis Ritson in England in October Vazquez picked up his second win this year back in Mexico. Former WBA super feather title challenger Flores was having his first outing for two years. Moore vs. Nerio Floridian heavyweight Moore at 6’6” much too big for and punches too hard for 5’11” Nerio. Moore retains the WBC USNBC belt with first round kayo delivered by a left hook. Sixth inside the distance finish for Moore and seventh loss by KO/TKO for Mexican Nerio. Espinosa vs. Melendez Mexico City’s Espinosa remains unbeaten after stoppage of Melendez. Espinosa floored Melendez with a right uppercut in the fifth and although Melendez arose he was being heavily punished and the fight was halted. Tenth quick win for the promising 23-year-old. Melendez had won 4 of his last 5 fights. Machado vs. Salazar Miami-based Cuban hope Machado keeps his 100% record but has to work hard to take the verdict over Salazar on scores of 78-73, 77-74 and 78-76. Then 25-year-old Machado impressed with three wins in the UK but had only one fight in 2019 and one in 2020. Salazar falls to 3-5 in his last 8 contests. Uruzquieta vs. Ocura Uruzquieta outpoints Ocura on a unanimous decision over eight but no scores given. Uruzquieta lost a point and Ocura two due to infringements of the rules. Uruzquieta is 6-1-1in his last 8 fights and was a popular visitor to Canada where he went 2-2-1 in his 5 fights. Both fighters have a ND on their records but for very different reasons. Uruzquieta’s was due to a cut but Ocura tested positive for a banned substance after scoring a career best win by beating Alexander Miskirtchian in Belgium so the fight was ruled a No Decision and he has now won only of his last ten fights. Koscierzyna, Poland: Middle: Adrian Szczypior (8-0) W PTS 10 Vladyslav Gela (11-4). Szczypior wins the vacant Polish International title on a split decision over Ukrainian Gela. Szczypior’s right jabs helped him get off to a good start and he was more accurate than Gela who often relied on crude rushing attacks. Gela did better over the late rounds but was denied what looked a clear knockdown as Szczypior was the winner on scores of 97-93 and 94-96 and 96-94 for Gela. Bang Phun, Thailand: Light: Apichet Petchmanee (11-0) W KO 2 Phutthiphong Rakoon (8-5). Super Fly: Adrian Lerasan (10-4) W KO 5 Suradech (6-5). Apichet vs. Rakoon No problems here for Apichet who beats fellow-Thai Rakoon in the second round. A body punch sent Rakoon down in the second and although he made it to his feet he was still doubled up in agony and was counted out. Not even any useful ring time for Apichet. Lerasan vs. Suradech Filipino Lerasan wins the WBC Asia Continental belt with kayo of Thai Suradech (Masuk Tor Buamas) in the fifth round. Lerasan scored a knockdown in the third and put Suradech down and out in the fifth. Lerasan won the WBA Asian belt in Thailand in his last fight in March 2020. Five losses on the bounce for Surachet. Fight of the week (Significance): None of major significance Fight of the week (Entertainment): Ryoji Fukunaga vs. Hayate was a clash of styles that provided plenty of action Fighter of the week: David Avanesyan for his crushing win over Liam Taylor in his fourth defence of the European welterweight title with honourable mention to South African Nhlanhia Tyirha for getting off the floor to win the WBO Global light flyweight title in only his seventh fight. Punch of the week: Any one of the left uppercuts from David Avanesyan which broke Liam Taylor apart Upset of the week: No biggies Prospect watch: Super Middleweight Germaine Brown looked good in beating Jamal Le Doux to go to 9-0 Red Card: In future I will use this to highlight any person or thing that in my opinion has harmed boxing over the past week Rosette: For the good things that have happened in the fights for that week Observations -Different trainers-different reactions. Irish super welterweight Craig O’Brien was incensed when his corner threw in the towel in his fight with Samuel Nmomah. When 44-year-old Rafal Jackiewicz, once an IBF welterweight title challenger but now fighting at 170lbs, told his trainer he was retiring after the fourth round of his fight with unbeaten Kewin Gruchala his trainer ranted and raved at him, slammed the water bottle on the canvas then climbed out of the ring shouting insults at Jackiewicz all the way to either the dressing rooms or even the venue exit. -There was some question of whether the Nhlanhia Tyirha vs. Jaysever Abcede WBO Global title fight would take place. Boxing South Africa was less than pleased at the match and understandably. There were two South Africans in the WBO top ten-Sivenathi Nontshinga at No 6 and Hekkie Budler at No 8 with neither Tyirha or Abcede in the ratings at all. Additionally the national champion Siphamandla Baleni was overlooked so it was like a slap in the face to Boxing SA-and incidentally to the other fighters rated in the top 15. What’s the point of having ratings if you are just going to ignore them when it comes to fighting for your vacant high prestige title (well as viewed as high prestige by the WBO anyway). - It was all set to be the return of boxing to Maracaibo. An outdoors show in honour of WBA super featherweight champion Roger Gutierrez. Nine fights including two WBA regional title fights and a huge crowd-then it bloody well rained on their parade. Luckily it is being rescheduled as Venezuelan boxing is at a very low ebb and it needs shows like this. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Oleksandr Usyk wins the IBF/WBA/WBO and IBO titles with points win over Anthony Joshua -Lawrence Okolie knocks out Dilan Prasovic in three rounds in WBO cruiser title defence -Masamichi Yabuki wins the WBC light flyweight title with upset stoppage of unbeaten champion Kenshiro Teraji -Callum Smith scores scary kayo over Lenin Castillo in the second round -Arslanbek Makhmudov and Christian Mbilli score quick wins in Quebec World Title/Major Shows September 22 Kyoto, Japan: Light Fly: Masamichi Yabuki (13-3) W TKO 10 Kenshiro Teraji (18-1). Unfancied Yabuki spoils the home coming party for WBC title holder Teraji as he stops him in the tenth. Assured start from Teraji in the first with plenty of movement and plenty of probing jabs but he was off target and short with his jab. Yabuki landed a couple of punches late to steal the round. Teraji was still throwing lots of jabs in the second and but again although he was throwing less it was Yabuki who was connecting and he was out jabbing Teraji in the third. Teraji could have worn just one glove as he hardly used his right at all. Yabuki had a good fourth knocking Teraji back on his heels with a right and connecting with good counters. After four rounds two judges had Yabuki up 40-36 and the other had it 38-38. The rounds had been close but Teraji’s jab was too often just an ineffectual prod. The fifth saw Yabuki score repeatedly with rights to the head knocking Teraji off balance. Teraji upped his pace in the sixth. He was moving in behind his jab and bringing his right into play and looked on the point of taking the fight over. Teraji kept up the fast pace in the seventh but was only throwing jabs and it was Yakubu who was connecting with the more impressive single shots. The eighth was a good round for Yabuki. Teraji was following him around the ring jabbing but time and again was caught with rights from Yabuki one of which sent Teraji staggering and after the eighth Yabuki was ahead 79-74, 78-74 and 77-75. In an exciting ninth Teraji came forward throwing punches but suddenly Yabuki fired a series of shots that had Teraji reeling and a punch opened a bad cut over the left eye of the champ. Yabuki then had Teraji under severe pressure. Teraji forgot his boxing and now went toe-to-toe slugging with Yabuki. He looked to have Yabuki rocking only for Yabuki to fire back with two huge rights that shook Teraji at the bell. Teraji went for broke at the start of the tenth forcing Yabuki to the ropes and letting fly with hooks and uppercuts from both hands. He landed a couple of sweeping hooks to the body and snapped Yabuki’s head back with a right. Yabuki shoved Teraji to the canvas but Teraji got up and was assaulting an exhausted looking Yabuki with body punches but also leaving himself open and Yabuki connected with some blazing head punches that had Teraji reeling across the ring to the ropes and Yabuki kept pounding on a Teraji who was ready to drop when the referee stopped the fight. Teraji had tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of August and this fight was put back seventeen days but Teraji did not have a negative result until 3 September so he could not have been in top condition for this fight. September 25 London, England: Heavy: Oleksandr Usyk (19-0) W PTS 12 Anthony Joshua (24-2). Cruiser: Lawrence Okolie (17-0) W KO 3 Dilan Prasovic (15-1). Light Heavy: Callum Smith (28-1) W KO 2 Lenin Castillo (21-4-1). Welter: Florian Marku (9-0-1) W PTS 10 Maxim Prodan (19-1-1). Middle: Christopher Ousley (13-0, 1ND) W PTS 10 Khasan Baysangurov (21-2). Usyk vs. Joshua Usyk collects four title belts as he matches Joshua and then finishes the fight strongly sweeping the late round to emerge a clear and deserved winner. Round 1 Usyk was quicker and more mobile. He landed first getting through with a straight left. Joshua connected with a right later but another left and a shot to the body were enough to give Usyk the round. He was constantly circling Joshua and changing direction with Joshua looking slow by comparison. Score: 10-9 Usyk Round 2 Joshua kept popping Usyk with jabs . Not all were landing but he was using the jab to keep Usyk at distance. Usyk could not get past the jab and Joshua took the round with his work with his jab. Score: 10-9 Joshua Tied 19-19 Round 3 A much better round for Usyk. He was able to dart past Joshua’s jab and connected with a good combination to the head. Late in the round a big left from Usyk visibly shook Joshua and Usyk fired more punches trying to capitalise on that but Joshua recovered. Score: 10-9 Usyk Usyk 29-28 Round 4 Usyk’s quick footwork and hand speed were allowing him to connect with right jabs over the top of Joshua’s left and he was also able to get through with his punches and get out before Joshua could counter. Score: 10-9 Usyk Usyk 39-37 Official Scores: Judge Viktor Fesechko 39-37 Usyk, Judge Howard Foster 38-38 TIED, Judge Steve Weisfeld 39-37 Usyk. Round 5 The pace speeded up in this round mainly because Joshua was more positive and Usyk had to move more. Joshua again kept popping Usyk with his jab and landed a couple of rights with Usyk connected with a left late. Score:10-9 Joshua Usyk 48-47 Round 6 The pace was very fast for heavyweights. Joshua was stabbing out his jab and putting Usyk under more pressure. Neither scored with any big punches but Usyk was being caught with the jab and was set back by a straight right and not managing to get on the front foot. Score: 10-9 Joshua TIED 57-57 Round 7 A good round for Usyk. He was getting through with his jab and straight rights. Joshua was throwing single punches whereas Usyk was starting to fire combinations and a left to the head sent Joshua staggering back across the ring. Score: 10-9 Usyk Usyk 67-66 Round 8 Joshua used his right a lot more in this round and found the target but was reaching with the punch which lost some of its force. Usyk sparked to life late in the round but then Joshua scored with two thumping body punches. Score: 10-9 Joshua TIED 76-76 Official Scores: Judge Viktor Fesechko 77-76 Usyk, Judge Howard Foster 77-75 Joshua, Judge Steve Weisfeld 76-76 TIED. Round 9 Usyk was just too fast for Joshua in this round. He was sliding his jab over the top of Joshua’s and coming in with straight lefts. Joshua just could not find the target and Usyk scored with a heavy left at the bell Score: 10-9 Usyk Usyk 86-85 Round 10 Usyk was confident enough to stand inside and slip Joshua’s lead and slot home fast rights and lefts. He was again putting his punches into small bursts with Joshua just firing one shot at a time looking static and slow there was swelling around his right eye. Score: 10-9 Usyk Usyk 96-94 Round 11 Joshua tried to raise his game but could not match the movement or hand speed of Usyk. The challenger was getting past Joshua’s jab and driving Joshua back with a series of punches and then moving out of range before Joshua could counter. Score: 10-9 Usyk Usyk 106-103 Round 12 A one-sided last round saw Usyk outthrow and outland Joshua and he finished the fight with a whole series of punches that had Joshua reeling against the ropes a well beaten fighter. Score:10-9 Usyk Usyk 116-112 Official Scores: Judge Viktor Fesechko 117-112 Usyk, Judge Howard Foster 115-113 Usyk, Judge Steve Weisfeld 116-112 Usyk. A brilliant display of box/fighting from Usyk. He was too quick and too clever for a pedestrian Joshua who with his cautious, no risk approach seemed to think he was fighting the Andy Ruiz from their second fight again instead of one of the most accomplished big men in the sport. Usyk has said he will give Joshua a return-in Ukraine! Whether that will be made or not should become evident soon. The position with the heavyweights is wide open right now. Obviously it would be good to think that Usyk vs. Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder would follow as it would unify the heavyweight titles but it’s early to say how any negotiations for that might go. The WBA ratings have Trevor Bryan as secondary title holder and Mahmoud Charr as “Champion in Recess” and Daniel Dubois as No 1. I wouldn’t watch Usyk against Bryan or Mahmoud if you paid me and it might be a bit early for Dubois who is yet to face a real test since his loss to Joe Joyce. The No 1 spot in both the IBF and WBO ratings is vacant so Usyk has at this time no mandatory fights. Usyk was totally the wrong kind of opponent for Joshua and it was strange as there was a constrained way about how he fought as if he believed he could outbox Usyk. There was little “fire” in his performance. He will return but will have to change his whole game plan if he is to have a chance of beating Usyk in a return fight. Okolie vs. Prasovic Okolie destroys Prasovic in a totally predictable ending. Okolie was finding Prasovic with jabs in the first and then dropped him late in the second. A right which looked to land at the back of Prasovic’s head had him staggering and another right floored him. Prasovic made it to his feet and although Okolie landed a couple more head shots Prasovic survived the remaining seconds. In the third a body punch sent Prasovic down in agony and he was counted out. First defence of the WBO title for Okolie and he got the job done in probably the easiest defence he will have. Prasovic’s No 1 rating with the WBO was ridiculous and even his No 27 rating by Box Rec flatters him. Smith vs. Castillo If there was any question over whether Smith would be able to retain his power punching at light heavyweight this fight answered that question. Smith was on target in the first jabbing strongly and scoring with his trade mark left hooks to the body. Castillo showed a useful jab but Smith was curving rights around Castillo’s guard to the head. In the second as they traded punches a thunderous right from Smith sent Castillo down heavily on his back. His legs twitched uncontrollably and he was quickly given medical attention before leaving the ring on a stretcher and taken to hospital with the information later being that he had recovered and was not in danger. Smith will be looking to get at least another couple of fights at light heavy and then seek a title chance. First inside the distance loss for Castillo who had taken Dmitry Bivol the distance in a challenge for the secondary WBA title and also Marcus Browne. Marku vs. Prodan An Albanian vs. a Ukrainian does not seem very logical for a big show in London but that’s what we had here. Albanian Marku, who has fought almost exclusively in the UK, boxed cleverly over the early rounds with quick hands, plenty of movement and switch-hitting. Prodan came into the contention more over the second half of the fight rocking Marku who let his punch output drop as he tired. Despite that his early work earned him a deserved split decision on scores of 97-93 and 96-94 with the third card somehow reading 99-91 for Prodan ! Marku wins the IBF International title. Prodan was making the second defence of the IBF belt. Ousley vs. Baysangurov Big win and something of an upset as Ousley just gets by former WBA title challenger Baysangurov on a majority decision. Scores 97-94 twice and 95-95 for Chicago’s Ousley. Bulgarian Baysangurov was stopped in eleven rounds by Rob Brant for the secondary WBA belt in February 2019 but had come back with four wins over modest opponents. September 23 Quebec City, Canada: Heavy: Arslanbek Makhmudov (13-0) W RTD 1 Erkan Teper (21-4). Super Middle: Christian Mbilli (19-0) W TKO 3 Ronny Landaeta (18-4). Makhmudov vs. Teper Makhmudov crushes Teper who dips out after three knockdowns in the opening round. Teper found gaps for a straight right and a couple of jabs before Makhmudov connected with a series of hefty rights that put Teper down on his hands and knees. Teper beat the count but was put down twice more and retired at the end of the round. Now thirteen fights and thirteen wins by KO/TKO for the 6’5” 260lbs Russian and his fourth one round finish in a row. He certainly has power but is a bit crude. I was going to say he has very little head movement and whilst that is true with regard to that movement as a defence he constantly shakes head from side to side in what seems to be an involuntary twitch. In the World Series of Boxing he scored wins over Mihai Nistor, Jose Larduet and Guido Vianello. Teper, rated No 58 by Box Rec, and in his first fight since February 2020, looked all of his 39 years and proved no test for Makhmudov who has done all that has been asked of him but is yet to meet a threatening opponent. Mbilli vs. Landaeta Mbilli marches on with third round victory over Landaeta. Mbilli quickly put Landaeta under pressure in the first with stabbing jabs, hooks to the body inside and some fast rights to the head. Landaeta tried to trade with Mbilli but lacked the power to do so. Landaeta was down in the second but complained he had been punched on the back of the head. He made it to his feet but was shaken later by two uppercuts. In the third Mbilli connected with two rights to the head that had Landaeta reeling and he was pinned to the ropes under fire when the referee stopped the fight. Mbilli wins the vacant WBC Continental Americas title. The 26-year-old “Solide” Mbilli has won 18 of his fights by KO/TKO and is ready for rated opposition. To his credit despite the punishment Mbilli was dishing out Landaeta never stopped trying to trade with Mbilli and this is his first inside the distance defeat. Dominican Republic: Feather: Fency Fortunato (12-1) W TKO 7 Cristian Avila (16-5-1) W. Super Welter: Ismael Villarreal (10-0) W KO 2 Thomas Mendez (24-13). Fortunato vs. Avila Fortunato snaps the winning run of Venezuelan Avila with a seventh round kayo. In an incident filled- bad tempered fight Fortunato boxed on the back foot for the first two rounds and then set to work. He almost decapitated Avila with an uppercut in the third, was warned for a low punch in the fourth and deducted a point in the fifth for another below the belt shot. They then taunted each other through the fifth before Fortunato floored Avila at the end of the sixth and again in the seventh and the fight was stopped. Tenth inside the distance victory for Fortunato as he rebounds from loss to Alberto Melian in March. Avila had won his last twelve bouts but his opposition had been dire with only eight wins between them. Villarreal vs. Mendez Bronx-born Villarreal, 24, gets his sixth KO/TKO victory as he knocks out Mendez in two rounds. Villarreal scored with a couple of heavy rights at the end of the first. He continued to hammer Mendez with punches in the second. Mendez had to hold twice to avoid going down but a blistering series of head and body punches saw him drop to the canvas and he was counted out. Second win in seven weeks for Villarreal but fourth consecutive stoppage loss for Dominican Mendez. September 24 Broken Arrow, OK, USA: Bantam: Saul Sanchez (17-1) W TKO 1 Jarico O’Quinn (14-1-1). Middle: Timur Kerefov (12-0) W PTS 10 Devaun Lee (10-8-1). Feather: Luis Nunez (12-0) W PTS 10 Jayvon Garnett (10-1). Super Feather: Otar Eranosyan (10-0) W PTS 8 Alejandro Guerrero (12-2). Middle: Hugo Centeno Jr (28-3-1,1ND) W TKO 2 Kenneth Council (11-5-1). Sanchez vs. O’Quinn In something of an upset Sanchez destroys O’Quinn inside a round. A left hook put O’Quinn on the canvas just one minute into the fight. Quinn managed to get to his feet and tried to hold but was quickly down again from a right to the head. Quinn got up but was trapped on the ropes and twice almost slid to the canvas until the referee came in and pulled Sanchez off stopping the fight. Tenth inside the distance win for Californian Sanchez. Detroit’s O’Quinn was having his first fight since January 2020 but never got a chance to shake off any dust. Kerefov vs. Lee Russian Kerefov puts in ten rounds of work in outpointing Lee. Kerefov had a big edge in skills finding gaps for his jabs and changing angles to get through Lee’s defence. Although Lee was competitive the quicker, slicker Kerefov was never any serious pressure and boxed his way to winning every round. Scores 100-90 on the judge’s cards. Kerefov was a good level amateur but the claim of a 298-12 record is an example of a PR man feeding information and hoping no one will get off their bum and check despite that bit of PR licence he looks good and is worth watching. Sixth loss in a row for Lee. Nunez vs. Garnet Nunez outpoints Garnett over ten slow paced rounds. Nunez will have been looking to impress in his first fight outside of his native Dominican Republic but it was hard work against a largely negative Garnett. Nunez had the better skills and a lot of height and reach over Garnett and there was never enough coming back from Garnett to raise the tempo of the fight and Nunez had to settle for a comfortable win. Scores 100-90 for the winner on all cards. Nunez’s record is not as padded as some Dominican’s so it will be interesting to see how he goes against a more energetic opponent. Eranosyan vs. Guerrero Georgian Eranosyan continues his busy schedule with wide unanimous decision over Texan Guerrero. The early rounds were competitive with Guerrero taking the fight to Eranosyan but the Georgian was that bit more accurate and had the edge. Over the second half of the fight Eranosyan dominated the action and fitted in some showboating but Guerrero stuck to his game plan and attacked to the end. Scores 78-74 twice and 79-73 for Eranosyan who was scoring his ninth win in the last twelve months. Guerrero had won his first twelve fights but dropped a majority verdict against 19-2-1 Abraham Montoya in February. Centeno vs. Council Centeno returns to the ring for the first time fighting a split draw with Juan Macias Maciel in December 2016 and blows away an overmatched Council. Centeno towered over the 5’8” Council and wrapped this fight up in the second round dropping Council and then after the eight count continuing to bombard him with punches until the fight was halted. After going 24-0 Centeno lost big fights against Maciej Sulecki, Jermall Charlo and Willie Monroe so he is facing a long haul back to the top. Fourth defeat by KO/TKO for Council. Hurlingham, Argentina: Super Middle: Ramon Lovera (15-1-1) W DISQ 1 Rolando Mansilla (16-9-1). Feather: Sebastian Pedroza (13-0-1) W TKO 3 Jose Garcia (7-10). Lovera vs. Mansilla This fight was over in 54 seconds. A butt from Mansilla in the first round rendered Lovera unable to continue and Mansilla was disqualified. Lovera retains the Argentinian title in his first defence. First round endings seem to haunt Mansilla as he lost to Kevin Lele Sadjo in one round in Germany when he fractured his leg. Pedraza vs. Garcia In a battle of southpaws Pedraza retained the South American title with stoppage of Garcia. After winning the first two rounds Pedraza scored three knockdowns in the third to end the fight. Now eleven consecutive victories for 24-year-old Pedraza. Garcia had won 3 of his last 4 outings. Charlottenberg, Germany: Super Welter: Jama Saidi (20-2) W PTS 12 Howard Cospolite (19-9-3). Super Welter: Haro Matevosyan (14-0,1ND) W RTD 8 Zino Meuli (14-1). Light Heavy: Armenak Hovhannisyan (13-1-1) W PTS Timo Laine (29-17)Super Feather: Beke Bas (14-0) W Marina Sakharov (5-12-2). Saidi vs. Cospolite Typically classic boxing light punching display from Saidi as he outpoints Frenchman Cospolite to win the vacant European Union title. Saidi’s footwork and hand speed were just too much for Cospolite. To win he had to put Saidi under pressures but too often he stood off and allowed Saidi to pick his spots. When Cospolite did come forward that same Saidi footwork and some sharp upper body work kept Saidi out of danger as he boxed his way to a comfortable victory. Scores 120-108 twice and 119-109. Saidi will be looking for a shot at the European title now. His losses have come on points against Vincent Feigenbutz and Jack Culcay. Matevosyan vs. Meuli Matevosyan grinds down and stops Meuli in eight. Southpaw Matevosyan was giving away a little in height and reach but he kept Meuli under pressure being quicker getting his punches off first scoring well with hooks to the body. Meuli hardly took a step forward being short with his jabs and not having the power to get Matevosyan’s respect. A series of punches dropped Meuli to one knee just before the bell to end the third Meuli arose but was cut over his left eye and had to survive a doctor’s examination. Matevosyan upped the pressure and in the eighth was raking Meuli with punches. There was confusion as Meuli twice bobbed at the knee as if about to go down but then stood up. The referee gave him a standing count then Meuli tried one last attack without success and retired at the end of the round. Armenian-born Matevosyan was defending the IBF Inter-Continental belt. Swiss Meuli was having only his second contest in the last three years and was never really in this fight. Hovhannisyan vs. Laine Hovhannisyan takes the twelve round decision over Laine in fight for the vacant WBA Continental title. Hovhannisyan was too strong for the taller and more mobile Laine and continually found the target with his jabs and thudding body punches. A left from Hovhannisyan saw Laine drop to one knee in the third and he was also cut over his left eye. Hovhannisyan was driving forward throughout the fight with Laine tiring from the fourth and resorting to only fighting in bursts. Hovhannisyan varied the pace of the fight and worked well to the body to slow Laine. Despite tiring Laine kept darting forward with an occasional fierce attacks to edge a couple of rounds and came though some sticky patches to make it to the final bell. Scores 119-109, 117-112 and 116-112 for Hovhannisyan . His only loss was on points against Serge Michel in 2018 and he is now9-0-1 since then. Laine has taken the role of road loser against some very useful opposition. Bas vs. Sakharov Bas gets unanimous decision. Sakharov was taller with a longer reach but very little power. The 5’2” Bas just walked through Sakharov’s punches scoring with shots from both hands outworking and outscoring her although Sakharov refused to cave in and made Bas work hard. All three cards read 60-54 for Bas. Tijuana, Mexico: Super Light: Jesus Angulo (15-0) W PTS 10 Diego Santiago (18-2). Middle: Francisco Veron (5-0) W PTS 8 Augustin Rodriguez (11-13-3) Angulo vs. Santiago In his first ten round fight teenager Angulo maintains his 100% start to his pro career with unanimous points win over his toughest opponent to date in Santiago. Veron vs. Rodriguez Argentinian hope Veron has his first pro fight outside of his native land and outpoints Mexican Rodriguez. The 22-year-old had taken less than seven rounds to score his four wins in Argentina so he doubled his pro ring time in this bout. He took a break from his pro career to compete in Tokyo but did not medal. Eighth loss on the trot for Rodriguez. Michoacan de Ocampo, Mexico: Middle: Carlos Molina (38-12-2) W PTS 10 Juan Raygosa (17-18-3). Molina makes it nine+ wins in his last ten fights as he outpoints Raygosa. If you can fight in front of your own fans and are also the promoter your chances of winning are doubled but Molina was too good for Raygosa. He was coming off a loss to Sam Eggington in England in May in a fight that must have a chance of being voted the Fight of the Year in the UK. Three losses in a row for Raygosa. Oborniki, Poland: Super Middle: Robert Parzeczewski (27-2) W TKO 5 Sahan Aybay (10-1). Parzeczewski demolishes Aybay in five rounds. Parzeczewski floored Aybay with a left hook to the body in the third and then put him down three times in the fifth and the fight was stopped with one second remaining in the round. Parzeczewski wins the vacant Polish International title with his seventeenth win by KO/TKO. German southpaw Aybay had won his last seven fights inside the distance. Hartford, CT, USA: Super Welter: Greg Vendetti (23-4-1) W PTS 10 Jimmy Williams (18-6-2,1ND). Middle: Chordale Booker (17-0) W PTS 8 Silverio Ortiz (37-28). Vendetti vs. Williams Vendetti’s experience against better opposition stands him in good stead as he takes a split verdict over Williams in another example of the madness that is the scoring of fights. Two judges had Vendetti winning 99-91 and 97-93 and the third had it for Williams 96-94. Three different sides of the ring three different fights it seems. First fight for Vendetti since losing on points against Erislandy Lara for the secondary WBA super welterweight title in August last year. He wins the WBC USNBC belt. Williams had decisioned Yuri Foreman in June. Booker vs. Ortiz Local southpaw Booker wins wide unanimous decision over Mexican veteran Ortiz on scores of 80-73 on the cards. Ortiz was twice deducted a point for infractions of the rules. A former US National champion Booker just failed to make it through the final US Olympic Trials for Rio. The 39-year-old Ortiz is 1-9 in his last 10 fights but shows no sign of putting the gloves away. Miami, FL, USA: Cruiser: Siarhei Novikau (7-0,1ND) W TKO 2 Kevin Brown (2-16). Light: Romero Duno (24-2) W RTD 2 Jonathan Perez (38-28,1ND). Super Welter: Elias Espadas (22-4,1ND) W PTS 8 Marcus Willis (20-9-2). Novikau vs. Falliga In a farcical bout the 6’5” Belarusian Novikau was several classes above the crude swinging Brown and in the first connected with hard shots from both hands staggering Brown a few times and hurting him with hooks to the body. Brown was so inept it was pitiful and a series of punches saw him go down twice in the second round and finally the referee stopped the fight. Novikau, a former European Championships bronze medallist who lost to Joshua Buatsi in the European Qualifier for the 2016 Olympics, is much too good to be fighting the likes of Brown who has lost 13 of his fights by KO/TKO and should not have a licence. Duno vs. Perez Disappointing ending to this one. Duno outscored Perez over the first round and was connecting with power shots in the second. Perez complained of an injury to his left arm and did not come out for the third round. Just a single loss in his last 16 fights for Filipino Duno which was a one round stoppage against Ryan Garcia. Colombian Garcia has won only one of his last eleven fights, Espadas vs. Willis Espadas outpoints Willis. Espadas had the longer reach and more power. Willis scored with some sharp counters but Espadas was dangerous with long rights and he shook Willis up in the fourth and fifth with left hooks to the body and head. The paced slowed over the sixth and seventh and Espadas chose to dance his way through the last and took the decision. The 30-year-old Mexican is 13-1, 1ND in his last 15 fights with the loss coming against Yamaguchi Falcao. The recent form of Floridian Willis is four losses in his last six fights. Dedham, MA, USA: Light: Rayjay Bermudez (14-0) W TKO 2 Philip Adyaka (7-16). Bermudez gets his eleventh inside the distance victory as he stops Adyaka in the second round. Bermudez dominated the action in the first and then stunned Adyaka with a right in the second. After that Bermudez unloaded a bunch of punches until the referee came in to save Adyaka. Seventh consecutive inside the distance victory for the 23-year-old from Albany. Ugandan-born Adyaka has lost eight in a row. Mexico City: Mexico: Fly: Cristian Gonzalez (14-1) W TKO 2 Kenny Cano (14-4). Gonzalez scores second round win over Venezuelan Cano in a WBC Silver Fecarbox title fight. Gonzalez softened up Cano with body punches in the first and then landed a rib-bender in the second that sent Cano down in agony and he was counted out. Eighth win in a row for the 22-year-old Mexican. Local sources have his record as 16-1 with six inside the distance victories. Third consecutive inside the distance defeat for Cano. Tolu, Mexico: Light Heavy: Arturo Leyva (10-0) W PTS 12 Deivis Casseres (26-13). Leyva wins the vacant UBO title with close unanimous decision over Casseres. Scores 115-113 twice and 116-112 for Colombian-born Leyva, a former Colombian champion who is now based in Miami. Colombian Casseres makes his money as a travelling loser who goes back home when he needs a win. Merida, Mexico: Super Bantam: David Picasso (18-0-1) W PTS 10 Alfredo Mejia (15-4-3). Feather: Rafael Espinoza (17-0) W KO 1 Aramis Solis (14-13). Fly: Miguel Herrera (22-3-5) W PTS 8 Maximino Flores (26-5-2,2ND).Super Bantam: Cristian Olivo (18-0-1) W PTS 8 Jonathan Aguilar (20-11). Picasso vs. Mejia Mexico City’s Picasso, 21, outclasses Mejia outworking and outscoring him all the way. Scores 99-90 twice and 100-89 for Picasso who extends his winning run to 14 fights. “Rambo King” Mejia suffered tough losses in 2019 against Alex Santiago and Miguel Marriaga. Espinoza vs. Solis Espinoza continues to show real power but this was quick even for him as he put Solis down and out after just twelve seconds. Fourteenth inside the distance win for Espinoza and ninth in his last ten fights. Aramis recent record is a disaster area with eight losses in a row by KO/TKO and a No Decision when he was unable to continue after just 22 seconds due to a punch to the back of the head. Herrera vs. Flores Important win for Yucatan’s Herrera as he outpoints Flores. Herrera outboxed Flores at distance with Flores getting the better of the exchanges inside. The speed and accuracy of Herrera gave him the edge and he took the unanimous verdict on scores of 78-73, 77-74 and 76-75. Herrera is now on an eleven bout winning streak. Flores had drawn with Dewayne Beamon and beaten Carlo Penalosa in a 3-0-1 series before this fight. Olivo vs. Aguilar WBC Youth champion Olivo, 22, moved up in class to tackle more experienced Aguilar and came away with the unanimous decision with the judges scoring 80-72 twice and 80-71. Olivo registers his thirteenth win in a row and looks ready to move up to ten rounds. Angular is 4-4 in his last eight contests. September 25 Maschwitz, Argentina: Super Bantam: Edith Matthysse (16-11-1) W Laura Griffa (18-5). In her first fight since losing a split decision to Ewa Brodnicka for the WBO Female super feather belt in October 2019 Matthysse, 41, keeps up the family tradition as she takes a unanimous verdict over Griffa. Matthysse was able to box at distance and outscore Griffa over the first half of the fight. Griffa came into the fight more in the second half being able to get past Matthysse’s jab to work to the body. Her second half improvement did enough to make the fight close but Matthysse took a deserved decision. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 for Matthysse who retains the Argentinian title. A former holder of the WBA and WBC Female belts at bantamweight she is the sister of Lukas and Walter Matthysse. Griffa, a former South American and Argentinian title holder, had lost on points to Matthysse in 2017. Concordia, Argentina: Light Fly: Leandro Blanc (5-0) W TEC DEC 11 Junior Zarate (14-4). Feather: Marcela Acuna (50-7-2) W PTS 6 Natalie Alderete (3-4). Blanc vs. Zarate Home town fighter Blanc wins the battle for three belts as he takes a very disputed technical verdict over Zarate. Being smaller and giving away some reach Blanc pressed the action hard from the start but Zarate’s speed and accuracy saw him picking up the points. Blanc finally got into the fight over the middle rounds but a punch from Zarate in the seventh opened a cut over Blanc’s right eye. Blanc shook Zarate with a couple of rights in the ninth and Zarate was cut in a clash of heads in the tenth. Zarate just seemed to hold the lead going into the eleventh and last round when in a clash of heads Blanc suffered a bad cut over his left eye and the fight was stopped with the decision being decided on the scorecards with two judges giving it to Blanc 105-104 and the third to Blanc 107-102. Southpaw Blanc retains the South American title and wins the Argentinian and WBA Fedelatin title. Second loss in a row for Zarate. Both were top level amateurs with Zarate twice scoring wins over Blanc who competed at the 2016 Olympics and Zarate at the World Championships and the PanAmerican Games. Acuna vs. Alderete “The Tigress” hunts again as Acuna returned to action for the first time in over two years with a unanimous decision over novice Alderete. Acuna was in charge all the way winning on scores of 59-55, 59 ½ -57 and 59 ½ -56. Now 44 Acuna is a former WBA, WBC and WBO belt holder at super bantam and Argentinian champion at super bantam and feather with a 15-2-1 record in title fights. Four losses on the trot for Alderete. Dancy, France: Super Welter: Milan Prat (12-1) W TKO 6 Mathias Lourenco (8-4-3). French prospect Prat makes a successful first defence of his national title with sixth round stoppage of Lourenco and collects his ninth win by KO/TKO. First inside the distance loss for Lourenco. Cergy-Pontoise, France: Light Heavy: Nadjib Mohammedi (43-8) W TKO 4 Artem Karasev (14-39-3). Former light heavyweight title challenger Mohammedi continues to ease his way back to business as he halts Russian Karasev in four rounds for his second win in two months. Eighth defeat by KO/TKO for seasoned loser Karasev. Hamburg, Germany: Light: Artem Harutyunyan (11-0) W KO 5 Samuel Molina (16-1,1ND). Welter: Freddy Kiwitt (19-3) W PTS 8 Johan Perez (26-9-2). Avni Yildirim (23-4) W PTS 8 Dominik Ameri (14-22). Harutyunyan vs. Molina Harutyunyan wins the vacant WBC International title with dramatic kayo of Molina. Harutyunyan built an early lead but Molina made him work hard. Things looked bad for the young Spaniard in the fifth as he was cut over his right eye and under pressure. Although not rated as a big puncher Molina landed a hard left hook counter that staggered Harutyunyan. Molina piled on the punches driving Harutyunyan around the ring . He landed with hooks to head and body but suddenly Harutyunyan uncorked a left hook to the chin that put Molina down heavily and he was counted out. Seventh inside the distance victory for Olympic bronze medallist Harutyunyan. The celebrations from his team after the knockout showed how much of a scare Molina’s left hook gave them. Molina, 22, showed plenty of promise. The No Decision is on his record as he was suspended after a positive test for a banned substance in December 2019. He had scored three wins since returning Kiwitt vs. Perez Liberian-born German Kiwitt makes it 7 wins in his last 8 fights with points victory over former interim WBA super light title holder Perez. Yildirim vs. Ameri In his second fight in a month Yildirim continues his middleweight campaign with a unanimous decision over Argentinian Ameri. No risk taking here as Ameri has won only one of his last seven outings. Zinnowitz, Germany: Welter: Sebastian Formella (23-2) W TKO 2 Gabor Kovacs (7-15). Super Light: Volkan Gokcek (8-0) W KO 2 Szilveszter Ajtai (13-20-1) Formella vs. Kovacs Formella returns to the ring with a fourth round stoppage of very late stand-in Kovacs. First fight for Formella since losing to Connor Benn on points in November. He had been inactive due to suffering two herniated discs in his back. Hungarian Kovacs replaced fellow countryman Ferenc Hafner who had tested positive for COVD-19. Kovacs not so much in the groove as in a rut with fourteen losses in a row. Gokcek vs. Ajtai Turkish prospect Gokcek knocks out Hungarian Ajtai in the second round. A former Turkish champion and European Under-22 bronze medallist Gokcek gets his sixth early win. Poor Ajtai, who started out as a light flyweight, has lost his last nine fights by KO/TKO. Madrid, Spain: Fly: Angel Moreno (21-4-3) DREW 12 Juan Hinostroza (10-9-2). Middle Sergio Martinez (54-3-2) W PTS 10 Brian Rose (32-7-1). Moreno vs. Hinostroza The vacant European title remains vacant as Moreno and Hinostroza battle to an exciting draw. “Golden Boy” Moreno made the better start driving forward with constant attacks targeting the body. Hinostroza weathered the storm and slowly fought his way into contention and his cause was helped by a flash knockdown in the sixth when Moreno’s gloves touched the canvas. They continued to trade punches fiercely with all of the rounds being close. Moreno was boxing with skill on the back foot wary of the Peruvian-born Hinostroza’s power and with the fight obviously close they both put in a huge effort over the closing rounds to try to swing the decision their way but it ended as a very creditable draw in another excellent EBU title match. Scores 115-113 Moreno, 114-113 Hinostroza and 114-114 which was a fair representative of the fight. Moreno has lost to Charlie Edwards for the WBC title and to Thomas Masson and Jay Harris in previous European title fights. Hinostroza had won the European title in March 2019 but did not defend it. Martinez vs. Rose Martinez continues his comeback with win over Rose but has a scare on the way. Martinez boxed sensibly on the back foot in the first and seemed confident-too confident. In the second a huge right from Rose suddenly had Martinez in desperate trouble and he had to use all of experience and a lot of holding to come through the crisis. In the third a clash of heads saw Rose cut on his left eyebrow which was a drawback through the whole fight. Martinez boxed more cautiously after that second round scare and in his first fight for nine months it was clear he was rusty as his distance judgement was out at times. As he settled into the fight Martinez was picking up rounds being busier and finding his range and he paced the fight well finishing the stronger to take the decision. Scores 97-94 twice and 96-94 with the second score perhaps the most accurate. Now 46 Martinez is determined to fight his way back to a title shot. Rose gave Martinez a wake-up call and felt he had done enough to win but when you are fighting in the other guys territory and he is the promoter you need to that bit more for victory. Kempton Park, South Africa: Super Welter: Shervantaigh Koopman (8-0) W KO 7 Simon Dlada (6-2). Super Middle: Cowin Ray (7-0) W TKO 9 Frank Rodrigues (7-4). Koopman vs. Dlada Koopman wins the South African title with dominant display against title holder Dlada. Koopmans controlled the action all the way with Dlada unable to find a way to make any impression in the fight. Koopman ended it in the seventh as he floored Dlada heavily with two rights and Dlada was counted out. Sixth KO/TKO victory for Koopman. Dlada had been knocked out inside a round by Roarke Knapp in a non-title fight in December. Ray vs. Rodrigues Ray wins the vacant South African title with stoppage of Rodrigues. Ray was just too quick and too clever for Rodrigues. He dropped him in the third and handed out steady punishment. He was pounding on Rodrigues in the ninth when the towel came flying in to save Rodrigues further punishment. It was Ray’s first fight scheduled for more than six rounds and he managed the leap with comfort and gets his fifth inside the distance win. Former national light heavyweight title challenger Rodrigues was outclassed. Pico Rivera, CA, USA: Super Fly: Adelaida Ruiz (10-0-1 ) W TKO 9 Nancy Franco de Alba (19-15-2). 21A Californian Ruiz picks up the WBC Silver Female title with late stoppage of de Alba. Fifth victory by KO/TKO for Ruiz who saw her challenge for the WBC interim title against Sonia Osorio in March end on a technical draw in the second round. Mexican de Alba suffers loss No 3 by KO/TKO. Fight of the week (Significance): Oleksandr Usyk’s win over Anthony Joshua causes a seismic shift in the heavyweight scene Fight of the week (Entertainment): Usyk and Joshua Fighter of the week: Oleksandr Usyk Punch of the week: The left hook from Artem Harutyunyan that knocked out Samuel Molina was perfection in timing and accuracy. Upset of the week: Masamichi Yabuki stopping unbeaten WBC light flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji was a shock result Prospect watch: French super welterweight Milan Pratt is one of their big hopes for the nurture Observations -The WBA may be dealing with their ridiculous interim titles but they need to do something about their ratings. Looking at the heavyweight picture after Usyk’s win you have to ask how Daniel Dubois can be their No 1 and Joe Joyce who beat him in November is not even in their top 15!! -The WBO are in the same boat. How they came to put Dilan Prasovic at No 1 is something only they know-or perhaps even they were surprised to find him there as they don’t seem to pay much attention to their own ratings. Prasovic climbed from No 12 to No 3 for beating Juan Basualdo (11-3-1), Rad Rashid (17-6) and Jackson Dos Santos (22-13). A promoters dream a No 1 who has never faced anybody remotely near the ratings in fact the only fighter in the WBO top 15 Prasovic has beaten is Edin Puhalo who “earned” his top 10 rating by beating 44-year-old Kai Kurzawa who had lost 2 of his previous 3 fights. Rubbish in rubbish stays in and some fans and streaming company pay good money for a farce of a title fight. -It seems we get more strange scoring every week. This week Florian Marku took a split decision over Maxim Prodan with one judge scoring it 96-94 for Marku and another 99-91 for Prodan and in a mirror case one judge had Greg Vendetti beating Jimmy Williams 99-91 and another judge scoring 96-94 for Williams. -It may not get voted the Round of the Year but the ninth round of the fight between Kenshiro Teraji and Masamichi Yabuki was three minutes of total war-it might lose out to the tenth round which had both fighters in deep trouble a couple of times before Masamichi ended it. It lets fans in Japan see what they have been missing due to the pandemic. It was good to see young Chordale Booker winning at the weekend. He is one of the young men who owe a lot to boxing. He was given probation after being charged with gun and drugs offences and has stayed out of trouble ever since. His mother wanted to understand what attracted Chordale to boxing so she took the logical step of getting Chordale to train her up and then went and had one amateur fight so he can’t say my mother does not understand me. Well done Mum. By Eric Armit:
Highlights: -Puerto Rican hope Danielito Zorrilla crushes Pablo Cano in two rounds and Nahir Albright, Miguel Madueno and Yunieski Gonzalez all score inside the distance wins in Hollywood Florida -Super Welterweight Serhii Bohachuk and Super Middleweight Ali Akhmedov win in Montebello - Jessie Hart returns with a points win over Mike Guy. -In Female action Hyun Mi Choi retains her WBA super featherweight title, Juliana Basualdo scores upset win over 36-1 Yessica Bopp, Elhem Mekhaled knocks out Pasa Malagic in a European title fight and Delphine Mancini wins the French title September 14 Hollywood, FL, USA: Super Light: Danielito Zorrilla (16-0) W KO 2 Pablo Cano (33-8-1, 1 ND). Super Light: Nahir Albright (14-1) W RTD 6 Michael Dutchover (15-2). Super Light: Miguel Madueno (25-0) W TKO 10 Sonny Fredrickson (21-5).Cruiser: Yunieski Gonzalez (21-3) W KO 2 Tommy Karpency (30-7-1). Zorrilla vs. Cano Big win for Puerto Rican Zorrilla as he beats Cano in two rounds. Cano was the aggressor in the first taking the fight to Zorrilla and firing shots to the body. Early in the second Zorrilla scored with a heavy right to the head and another that landed on the side of Cano’s neck. Cano threw a left hook but then in a delayed action response from those rights backed to a corner and went down on one knee. He got up but promptly dropped down again and was counted out. Zorrilla, 27, an outstanding amateur, retained the WBO NABO title with his twelfth win by KO/TKO. Former interim WBA title holder Cano had won his last three fights including a first round stoppage of Jorge Linares. Albright vs. Dutchover Albright demolishes Dutchover in six one-sided rounds. Albright scored knockdowns in each of the first three rounds. Dutchover was cut over his left eye in the fourth and dropped again in the sixth and after a doctor’s inspection was pulled out of the fight at the end of the round. Since losing his first pro fight Albright has put together a 14-bout winning streak including seven early finishes. Disaster for Texan Dutchover as he suffers his second loss by KO/TKO and he was taken transported to the hospital for checks. Madueno vs. Fredrickson Madueno continues his winning streak with late stoppage of Fredrickson after a stirring scrap. Madueno outscored Fredrickson over the first four rounds connecting with hard shots from both hand. Fredrickson had been competitive and began to roll from the fifth hurting Madueno with a body shot to take the round. With Madueno losing a point in the sixth for pushing Fredrickson’ s head down Fredrickson was eating into Madueno’s lead. He took the seventh and eighth but a stronger Madueno came back to shake Fredrickson in the ninth and landed a series of heavy punches which brought the referee’s intervention in the tenth. The 22-year-old Mexican has won 23 of his 25 fights by KO/TKO against very modest opposition so Fredrickson was a step up for him even though it was Fredrickson’s fourth loss in a row. Gonzalez vs. Karpency Cuban Gonzalez destroys Karpency with body punches. Gonzalez was rumbling forward through the first digging in body punches and hooks to the head. Karpency was forced to stand and trade until in the second and vicious left to the body dropped Karpency to his hands and knees. He literal crawled along the ring from one corner to another but once getting there was unable to get up and was counted out. Gonzalez, 36, has lost big fights against Jean Pascal, Vyacheslav Shabranskyy and Olek Gvozdyk but after three years out has come back with three quick wins. Former WBC light heavyweight title challenger Karpency is entertaining but loses inside the distance when he steps up. September 15 Aguascalientes, Mexico: Super Feather: Karla Ramos (7-9) W PTS 10 Liliana Palmera (29-14-3). Local boxer Ramos wins the vacant WBA Fedelatin Female title with comprehensive verdict over Colombian Palmera. It was a close, competitive fight over the first three rounds but then the younger Ramos took charge of the action as the older Palmera tired and Ramos emerged a clear winner. Scores 100-91, 99-91 and 98-92 for Ramos. September 16 Montebello, CA, USA: Super Welter: Serhii Bohachuk (20-1) W RTD 6 Raphael Igbokwe (16-3). Super Middle: Ali Akhmedov (17-1) W RTD 3 David Zegarra (34-5). Bohachuk vs. Igbokwe Bohachuk wins in his usual style as he uses unrelenting pressure to bulldoze Igbokwe to defeat. A confident Igbokwe stood and exchanged shots with Bohachuk in the first but things changed in the second as Bohachuk began to target the body. As Bohachuk piled on the liver shots Igbokwe started to fade. It was then one-way traffic until with Igbokwe being overwhelmed his in team in consultation with the doctor retired him at the end of the sixth round. Second quick win for the Ukrainian since his stoppage loss against Brandon Adams in March. All twenty of his wins have come by KO/TKO. Houston southpaw Igbokwe’s previous losses had both been split decisions. Akhmedov vs. Zegarra Akhmedov bloodies and beats Zegarra over four rounds. Things started badly for Zegarra as a punch brought blood pouring from his nose in the first-and then things got worse. He just could not keep the bigger and stronger Kazak out and as he tried to use footwork to stay out of trouble he found Akhmedov doing a good job of cutting off his escape routes. Akhmedov shook Zegarra with a left hook in the second and pounded him throughout the third and with Zegarra taking a beating and still bleeding heavily from his nose injury he retired in his corner. Akhmedov was returning to action for the first time since his upset stoppage loss against Carlos Gongora for the vacant IBO title in December. Peruvian Zegarra went 30-0 against low grade opposition but is 4-6 since he started to play with the big boys. September 17 Posadas, Argentina: Super Welter: Alejandro Silva (17-0-1) W KO 4 Maico Sommariva (9-4). Bantam: Juliana Basualdo (5-2) W PTS 6Yessica Bopp (36-2). Silva vs. Sommariva Silva retains the Argentinian title in his fourth defence as he scores two knockdowns on his way to victory over Sommariva. Silva was on target with punches upstairs and down but it was the body punches that brought him victory. He put Sommariva down in the second with a left to the ribs and finished him in the fourth with a right to the body that had Sommariva writhing in agony. Fourteen wins in a row for Silva and he now has twelve victories by KO/TKO. Sommariva is 2-4 in his last 6 fights. Basualdo vs. Bopp Southpaw Basualdo scores split decision over Bopp in a huge upset. Basualdo was just too big for the 5’0” Bopp who is WBA Super title holder at 108lbs. Basualdo was able to use her longer reach and strength to force Bopp to fight on the back foot for much of the time. There were plenty of fiery exchanges but Basualdo bossed most of them and was a clear winner. Scores 59 ½ -56 and 59-57 ½ for Basualdo and a dissenting 59-55 for Bopp. Fourth consecutive victory for Basualdo. Bopp. 37, had not fought since June 2019 so may have taken this fight just to get in some ring time but she was 107 ½ in her title defence in June and 115 ½ for this one. Monterrey, Mexico: Bantam: Rashib Martinez (17-2) W PTS 10 Ivan Meneses (19-21-2). Local prospect Martinez takes wide unanimous decision over grizzled veteran Meneses. Martinez dominated the fight with powerful jabs and thunderous straight rights. By the fifth Meneses was cut over his left eye and had a cut above his hair line on the left side of his face which bled heavily. Martinez continued to connect with savage rights but Meneses took the punishment and fought back hard. In the last round Meneses finally crumpled. Martinez had him against the ropes and was snapping his head around with rights and lefts when the referee stepped in. That happened just as the bell rung and for a few seconds it was not clear if it was a stoppage or not. It turned out that the referee had jumped in because of the bell so it went to the cards with Martinez winning on scores of100-90 on all three cards. Just one loss in his last 17 fights for Martinez now. Some hard fights are catching up on Meneses who is 0-7-1 in his last 8 contests. London, England: Light: Connor Marsden (5-1). W TKO 6 Ben Jones (22-8-1,1ND). Marsden wins the vacant BBB of C Southern Area title with stoppage of experienced Jones. Both men had some rust to shed but it did not show as this was a war from the outset with both connecting with hard punches in every round. Marsden was effective with his jab and long rights and Jones was always dangerous with right crosses. After four hard rounds Marsden took charge in the fifth and had Jones pinned to the ropes and taking serious punishment in the sixth when the referee stepped in to halt the fight. In his first fight for eighteen months Marsden racked up his second inside the distance win. Jones was having his first fight since February 2018. Norwich, England: Welter: Liam Goddard (8-0) W RTD 4 Justin Menzie (5-5-1). Goddard delights his home fans with victory over Menzie in a battle of southpaws. Goddard controlled the fight from the start and after a one-sided fourth round Menzie retired. Goddard collects the vacant BBB of C Southern Area title. Four of Menzie’s eleven fights have been ten round contests that went the distance. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Light: Samuel Teah (18-4-1) W TKO 1 Larry Fryers (11-5). Super Middle: Jessie Hart (27-3) W PTS 8 Mike Guy (12-7-1). Teah vs. Fryers Teak wipes out Fryers in just 44 seconds. Teah floored Fryer with a right to the head and although Fryers made it to his feet the follow up attack from Teah had him in trouble and the fight was stopped. That makes it eight wins by KO/TKO for the 34-year-old Liberian-born “Tsunami” as he sets out to rebuild after a third round kayo loss against Brandon Lee in March. Four defeats is a row for Irish southpaw Fryers. Hart vs. Guy In his first outing for 21 months Hart returns to his home city with a win but in a poor contest. Hart was seven inches taller than Guy which allowed him to control most of the action. He was connecting with jabs and catching Guy with uppercuts when Guy tried to move inside. When he did get inside Guy was holding rather than punching. Hart’s output dropped over the sixth and seventh but he came back to take the last. Scores 79-73 twice and 80-72 for Hart. It has been a bit of a switchback period for Hart. He lost to Gilberto Ramirez for the WBO super middle title then beat Sullivan Barrera but in his last fight in January 2020 was floored and decisioned by Joe Smith Jr. He was 169 ½ lbs for this fight so could be looking for another title chance at super middle. Third tough fight and third loss in a row for Guy. Ciudad Acuna, Mexico: Super Light: Breyon Gorham (10-0) W TKO 1 Omar Reyes (7-12). Houston’s Gorham floored Reyes three times for a first round ending. For the 20-year-old, who had done most of his fighting in Mexico. this is his sixth first round victory but the opposition has been abysmal with Reyes now suffering his fifth loss in a row. September 18 Ingeniero Maschwitz, Argentina: Sebastian Aguirre (18-3) W KO 1 Sergio Rosalez (13-3). Aguirre blows away Rosalez in two minutes. Aguirre was hunting down Rosalez and shook him badly with a left to the head which knocked Rosalez into a corner. Aguirre then bombarded Rosalez with punches until Rosalez slid to the floor. He staggered to his feet at seven but the referee could see he was stunned and counted him out. First fight since March 2019 for Aguirre and his tenth win by KO/TKO. Second defeat in row for Rosalez after an unbeaten streak of 13 fights. Santa Fe, Argentina: Super Bantam: Diego Ruiz (23-3) W TKO 7 Juan Jurado (15-4-3). Ruiz breaks down and halts Jurado in seven rounds. Ruiz had a 6” height advantage and was a natural super bantam fighting a former Argentinian flyweight champion. Ruiz made good use of his longer reach and greater strength to take charge of the fight. He was banging home hard jabs and putting Jurado on the back foot. Jurado was spending more and more time pinned against the ropes with Ruiz showering him with a plenitude of punches including strength sapping body shots. Jurado replied with short bursts of punches but was soaking up too much punishment. He came out of his corner when the bell sounded to start the seventh but his corner immediately threw in the towel before the action started. Second win in fifteen days for Ruiz. His only loss in his last 13 fights was a stoppage against Michael Conlan in 2019. Fourth defeat in his last four fights for Jurado. Feyzin, France: Super Feather: Elhem Mekhaled (15-0) W KO 1 Pasa Malagic (15-8). If you blinked you might have missed this one. European champion Mekhaled landed a heavy right to the head and a left hook as Malagic was on her way down. Malagic struggled to her feet but was counted out. All over in 30 seconds. Home town fighter Mekhaled was making the first defence of the European title and in her first fight for 21 months certainly showed no rust. Bosnian Malagic’s third inside the distance loss. Vigneux, France: Bantam: Delphine Mancini (4-0) W PTS 8 Melanie Mercier (2-12-1). Fighting in front of her own fans Mancini wins the vacant French Female title with a unanimous decision over Mercier. All three judges gave Mercier all eight rounds scoring it 80-72. Mancini only turned pro in April but apart from her brief professional record she was an eight-time French amateur champion and a double European Championships medallist. Mercier is certainly a trier having already lost in three shots at the French light flyweight title and two at flyweight. Hamburg, Germany: Heavy: Albon Pervizaj (16-1) W KO 1 Habib Vugiterna (6-2). Local fighter Pervizaj knocks out inexperienced Vugiterna in the first round to win the vacant German International title. A body shot had Vugiterna hurt then Pervizaj measured him with a jab and put him flat on his back with booming right. Seventh first round finish for former German Youth, Under-21 and Senior champion Pervizaj but his opposition including the fighter who outpointed him, have all been sub-standard performers. Vugiterna just a four and six round novice. Trieste, Italy: Super Feather: Hassan Nourdine (13-5) W PTS 10 Michele Broili (13-2-2). Nourdine floors and decisions Broili to left the vacant Italian title. After a couple of cautious rounds the fight started in earnest from the third. Nourdine took charge after flooring Broili with a right in the fourth. The bell went before Nourdine could build on that and Broili took the fight to Nourdine trying to claw back the points with Nourdine boxing cleverly. Broili had a good ninth but Nourdine finished strong and was a good winner. Some disagreement between the judges as two saw Nourdine the winner b98-91 and the third had it 96-95 for Broili. Moroccan-born Nourdine had come down a couple of divisions have failed in a shot at the super lightweight title in 2019. Broili was 7-0-1 going in but losing is not the end of his troubles. During the fight it was noticed that Broili had some tattoo’s which it is said were “praising Nazism” so the Italian Federation and other bodies are investigating but it seems silly that none of the supervisors or officials saw these in all of the pre-fight activities. Siena, Italy: Feather: Davide Tassi (12-0) W PTS 10 Davide Tiberi (7-1). Tassi gets off the floor to win the vacant national title. A left from Tiberi dropped Tassi in the first but he failed to finish the job and paid for it. Taller southpaw Tassi used his better skills and plenty of clever movement to win the rounds. Tiberi was never able to repeat that early success and Tassi was a good winner. Scores 97-92 twice and 98-91 for Tassi. He is champion for the second time having won the title in October but relinquished it to look for other fights which did not happen. Tiberi was moving up to ten rounds for the first time. Punta Hermosa, Peru: Welter: Jonathan Maicelo (27-3) W TKO 4 Jeffrey Quintero (11-13). Feather: Carlos Zambrano (27-2) W PTS 6 Luis Colmanares (8-7). Maicelo vs. Quintero Maicelo comes out of retirement with a win. The former WBA interim title challenger at lightweight outscored Venezuelan southpaw Quintero over the first three rounds and then finished him with a body punch in the fourth. First fight for the 38-year-old Maicelo since December 2017. Maicelo is going to be looking for some overseas assignments at welterweight. Seventh consecutive loss by KO/TKO for Quintero. Zambrano vs. Colmanares Zambrano eases his way back into the winning column with unanimous decision over Colmanares. No scores given but Zambrano a wide winner. In his last two fights the former WBA interim featherweight champion Zambrano, 37, lost his title on a first round kayo against Claudio Marrero and last March was knocked out by Bryan Chevalier. The 5’3” Colmanares was too small to trouble Zambrano. He had recorded six first round wins in a row before being knocked out by Starling Martinez in his last fight in February 2020. Tolyatti, Russia: Light: Aik Shakhnazaryan (25-4-1) DRAW 10 Avak Uzlyan (5-0-1). Shakhnazaryan retains the Russian title with draw against Uzlyan. The challenger was short of experience and came in as a short notice substitute but was worthy of the draw in a close contest. First defence for Shakhnazaryan. Uzlyan had never travelled past six rounds before so did well here. Dubai, UAE: Heavy: Martin Bakole (17-1) W TKO 1 Haruna Osumanu (11-3). 21 Whoever made this “match” should be ashamed of their self. Bakole blasted out a hapless Osumanu late in the first round. That gives the Scots-based Congolese his fifth consecutive win since a tenth round stoppage loss against Mike Hunter in 2018. Victories over Mariusz Wach, Kevin Johnson and Sergey Kuzmin have seen him rated No 15 by both the WBA and IBF and he should not be wasting his time on rubbish like this. The 41-year-old Ghanaian Osumanu is 6’0” to Ilunga’s 6’ 6” and yet weighed the same as Makabu and was obese. Seoul, South Korea: Super Feather: Hyun MI Choi (19-0-1 W TKO 9 Simone Aparecida da Silva (17-17). Choi retains the WBA Female title as she floors and halts da Silva in the ninth round. Choi was in charge for most of the fight and gradually beat down da Silva. A left hook to the body put da Silva down min the ninth and although she beat the count and tried to fight back Choi pounced and sent her down again with another left hook and the fight was stopped. Sixth defence of the WBA title for Choi. The experienced da Silva, 38, is a former Brazilian and South American champion but Choi was too strong for her. Sheffield, England: Fly: Tommy Frank (14-2) W PTS 12 Matt Windle (6-4-1). Heavy: Kash Ali (20-1) W RTD 7 Roman Gorst (7-2) . Frank vs. Windle Frank gets a much needed win and the vacant British title with decision over Windle. After a scrappy first round Frank floored Windle with a right in the second. Windle survived the crisis but had to take more punishment over the succeeding rounds and was staggered by a left hook in the sixth. Windle got into the fight more over the second half and had a good tenth but Frank was back on top over the last two rounds and Windle did well to last the distance. Scores 118-109, 117-110 and 117-111 for Frank. First step on the road to recovery for the former Commonwealth champion after back-to-back losses to Mexican Rosendo Guarneros. Windle was coming off an upset twelve round victory over Neil McCubbin in June. Ali vs. Gorst Heavy punching Ali retains the IBF European title with retirement victory over German Gorst. Ali had a five inch height edge and was 17lbs heavier and too strong for the visitor. Ali won the early rounds rocking Gorst with hard rights. Gorst had a slight edge in the fifth but Ali again landed some crunching rights in the sixth and seventh and Gorst’s corner pulled their man out with a suspected fractured jaw. Fifth inside the distance win in succession for Ali with his only loss being a disqualification against David Price. Gorst had lost on points against German prospect Peter Kadiru over ten rounds in October. Bakersfield, CA, USA: LIGHT: Jose Valenzuela (10-0) W PTS 10 Deiner Berrio (22-4-1). Valenzuela too busy, too aggressive and too accurate for Colombian Berrio. He dominated until late when Berrio landed some useful body punches but by then Valenzuela had an unassailable lead. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92 for Valenzuela. The 22-year-old Mexican had won his last five fights by KO/TKO but got some useful rounds of work here. At one time Berrio was 20-0-1 but better opposituion has led to a worse record. Fight of the week (Significance): Nothing hugely significant but Danielito Zorrilla showed in his crushing of Pablo Cano that he could be a threat at super lightweight Fight of the week (Entertainment): Miguel Madueno vs. Sonny Fredrickson provided plenty of action. Fighter of the week: Danielito Zorrilla for his impressive win against Pablo Cano Punch of the week: The body punch from Alejandro Silva the almost cut Maico Sommariva gets the vote with either of the two rights from Zorrilla that started Cano’s crumble are worth an honorary mention Upset of the week: Juliana Basualdo with her 4-2 record was not supposed to beat 36-1 Yessica Bopp Prospect watch: Super lightweight Nahir Albright 15-1 looked good in stopping highly touted Michael Dutchover. Observations One of the quietest weeks I can remember. Even as the restrictions were slowly relaxed there were bigger fights on the schedule than this week’s offering. Liliana Palmera, 39, a former WBA super bantamweight title holder who lost to Karla Ramos at the weekend has done a “reverse Pacquiao” . She started out as a super lightweight and worked her way down to compete as low as super bantam. She should start a slimming club. Nice to see the heavyweight fight between Albon Pervizaj and Habib Vugiterna in Hamburg was a charity event to raise funds to subsidise children whose parents could no longer raise the fees for the local boxing clubs due to the pandemic. A 6’6” 28 year-old Martin Bakole vs. an obese 41-year-old 6’0” is a disgrace to boxing. The worst thing is that it is not rare and that there are actually people responsible for administering the sport who are quite happy to approve these matches. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Oscar Valdez comes from a long way behind to successfully defend the WBC super featherweight title with controversial points victory over Robinson Conceicao -Junto Nakatani stops Angel Acosta in four rounds in WBO flyweight title defence - Mathieu Bauderlique beats Igor Mikhalkin on a seventh round retirement to win the vacant European light heavyweight title -Olympic medallists Tony Yoka and Souleymane Cissokho score inside the distance victories as heavyweight Yoka stops Peter Milas in seven and super welterweight Cissokho forces Ismail Iliev to a fourth round retirement -Kevin Lejarraga wins the vacant European super welterweight title with technical verdict over Dylan Charrat and Spain’s Mary Romero retains the EBU Female super bantamweight title on retirement against England’s Amy Timlin -Sam Eggington outpoints Frenchman Bilel Jkitou in a WBC Silver middle weight title defence -Heavyweight Filip Hrgovic returns to action with a stoppage of Marko Radonjic in Austria and John Ryder halts Joszef Jurko on the same card -Zaur Abdullaev outpoints Dejan Zlaticanin at lightweight and Evgeny Tischenko decisions Dmitry Kudryashov at cruiserweight on massive show in Ekaterinburg featuring nine ten round fights relating to seven different titles - Aidos Yerbossynuly knocks out Lennox Allen in ten round to win WBA super middleweight eliminator World Title/Major Shows September 10 Tucson, AZ, USA: Super Feather: Oscar Valdez (30-0) W PTS 12 Robson Conceicao (16-1). Fly: Junto Nakatani (22-0) W TKO 4 Angel Acosta (22-3). Super Feather: Luis Lopez (23-2) W PTS 10 Gabriel Flores Jr (20-1) . Super Feather: Juan Tellez (16-1) W TKO 7 Eduardo Garza (15-5-1). Super Light: Omar Aguilar (22-0) W KO 2 Carlos Portillo (22-4). Welter: Lindolfo Delgado (13-0) W TKO 2 Miguel Zamudio (45-17-1). Super Welter: Xander Zayas (10-0) W PTS 6 Jose Sanchez (11-2-1) Valdez vs. Conceicao Valdez has to come from behind to retain his WBC title. Conceicao the bigger man made a confident start. He made good use of his longer reach to score at distance and Valdez had difficulty landing anything of consequence. Conceicao dominated the second again getting through with jabs and landing with some strong body punches. Valdez’s face was already marking up. Valdez connected with a big right at the start of the third but again the more effective work was being done by Conceicao and he shook Valdez with a big uppercut in the fourth. Jarring jabs from Conceicao had Valdez head jerking back and he landed a powerful left hook. Conceicao’s confidence was high enough for him to make fun of a wide miss by Valdez. With his title slipping away Valdez finally found his rhythm in the sixth he was getting inside and working to the body and he also outscored Conceicao in the seventh. Conceicao showed signs of tiring and Valdez was on top in the eighth. Conceicao rallied in the ninth but lost a point for a punch to the back of Valdez’s head which cost him a round he looked to have won. Both were hurt by shots in the tenth with Valdez now bleeding from a gash on his left cheekbone but he just edged the round. The eleventh was a close round but Valdez just came out on top in the exchanges and Valdez took the last as Conceicao held and fiddled as if he only needed to get to the bell to be the winner handing the round to Valdez who retained his title. Scores 115-112 twice and 117-110, for Valdez with the latter score not doing justice to Conceiaco’s early dominance and many feeling Conceicao should have been the winner. Valdez was making the first defence of the WBC title in a sub-par performance as he had trouble dealing with the longer reach of the 5” taller Conceicao. He will now be looking to face either WBO title holder Jamel Herring or Shakur Stevenson who clash on 23 October. Brazilian Conceicao performed above most expectations but having only once gone past eight rounds he faded late in this fight. Nakatani vs. Acosta Nakatani bloodies and beats Acosta in four rounds. The tall southpaw was quick and accurate with his jabs in the first and landed some powerful lefts. Acosta managed to get past the jab a couple of times but his problem was already evident. Uppercuts from Nakatani had Acosta bleeding heavily from the nose early in the second. Nakatani continued to find the target with lefts and the fight was halted as a doctor inspected the damage to Acosta’s face. The fight was allowed to continue but Acosta was bleeding heavily. Acosta put in a big effort in the third and landed some heavy punches but so did Nakatani. Again the fight was stopped so that a doctor could check the damage to Acosta. Both the doctor and the referee visited Acosta’s corner at the end of the round and Acosta pleaded to be given one more round. He came out for the fourth but after just 32 seconds with Acosta’s face a mask of blood the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight. Nakatani was making the first defence of the WBO title that he won with an eighth round kayo of Giemel Magramo in November. Also Nakatani’s first fight in the USA. There is a dearth of talent at flyweight so Nakatani’s aim may be to go for a unification fight and then move up to super fly. He has won 17 of his fights by KO/TKO. Acosta was just too small to pose any problems for Nakatani. Lopez vs. Flores Although with their individual records a win for Lopez was a possibility that he should score a shut-out on two cards was a suprise. The pattern was established in the opener with Lopez storming forward into the much taller Flores throwing punches forcing Flores on to the back foot and he shook Flores with a big right late in the round. Flores had landed some good shots of his own in the first but Lopez just kept coming. Lopez hustled Flores out of his stride in the second and was throwing more and landing more. A body shot in the third had Flores backing off and although Flores landed plenty in the fourth Lopez just walked through his punches and was connecting with hooks and uppercuts. He was throwing his shots from strange angles but connecting. The incessant pressure from Lopez continued over the middle rounds and Flores was taking plenty of punishment with his face swelling. Lopez scored heavily in the seventh and eighth and through a one-sided ninth. With his son showing a huge bump under his left eye it was natural that Flores’ father wanted to pull him out at the end of the ninth but Flores insisted on continuing with the result that he suffered more unnecessary pain. His father tried to stop the fight late in the tenth but the referee did not see him signal so the round continued to the bell. Scores 100-90 twice and 98-92 for Lopez. The 28-year-old Mexican had lost a decision to Ruben Villa in May 2019 but bounced back with five victories including a split verdict over Andy Vences. Flores had beaten some good level opposition but Lopez proved just too strong on the night. At 21 Flores has plenty of time to do his own bit of rebounding. Tellez vs. Garza After six rounds of like for like exchanges Lopez proved the stronger and stayed the course better under the strength-sapping heat before ending the fight with a left to the body in the seventh. Tellez’s ten inside the distance victories includes a sixth round kayo of prospect Carlos Balderas. Third consecutive loss for Garza. Aguilar vs. Portillo Unbeaten Mexican Aguilar demolishes Portillo in two rounds. Aguilar sent Portillo down in the opening round but Portillo got and made it to the bell. Aguilar then put Portillo down twice in the second and the Paraguayan was counted out. Twenty-first victory by KO/TKO for 22-year-old Aguilar and eleventh in a row including a first round stoppage of Dane Jordan. First fight for 22 months and third loss by KO/TKO for Portillo. Delgado vs. Zamudio Delgado overwhelms Zamudio in two rounds. Zamudio did well to get through a torrid first round but was floored in the second and the fight was over. Mexican Delgado, an Olympian and Pan American Games silver medal winner, has twelve wins by KO/TKO. Fifteen of Zamudio’s defeats have come by KO/TKO. Zayas vs. Sanchez Zayas gets six rounds of useful work against Sanchez. Zayas had Sanchez shaken early but Sanchez fought his way through the crisis and competed hard for the rest of the contest. Scores 60-54 from the judges for Zayas. Sanchez was 9-0-1 in his last 10 bouts. Klagnefurt, Austria: Heavy: Filip Hrgovic (13-0) W RSF 4 Marko Radonjic (22-1). Super Light: Dalton Smith (10-0) W PTS 10 Brian Pelaez (10-6). Super Middle: John Ryder (30-5) W TKO 5 Jozef Jurko (8-3). Super Middle: Abass Baraou (10-1) W KO 1 Jay Spencer (11-3). Hrgovic vs. Radonjic Hrgovic obliterates a hapless Radonjic in three rounds. Hrgovic used his longer reach to score and followed his jab with straight rights to the head. Radonjic was boxing southpaw and trying to catch Hrgovic with left counters but was too slow and crude. Hrgovic was tracking the retreating Radonjic in the second. As Radonjic lunged forward a right to the top of his head put him down. He was up at nine but on shaky legs. He was floored again by a right. He beat the count but another head punch sent him down for the third time. A fourth knockdown came from a body punch and a fifth saw him dumped into the ropes and down. He saw out the round but was down again in the third and when he came out for the fourth the referee immediately stopped the fight. Hrgovic retains the IBF International title with his eleventh victory by KO/TKO. He is No 4 with the IBF but as he has never faced anyone remotely near the rating he can’t fill the vacant No 1 spot. Montenegrin Radonjic had won all 22 of his fights by KO/TKO. A “miracle fighter”-it is a miracle his management managed to find 22 opponents that he could beat inside the distance. He tried hard but seemed to have no punch resistance. Smith vs. Pelaez Smith much too classy for Pelaez. He was able to outbox Pelaez all the way with Pelaez having occasional success but not enough to win a session. Pelaez tried switching guards a few times but it made no difference. Smith handed out severe punishment in every round. Pelaez was cut over both eyes but never looked to be in trouble. Scores 99-91 for Smith on the three cards. Surprising lack of power from Smith who had won his last seven fights by KO/TKO. Spaniard Pelaez had won his last two fights. Ryder vs. Jurko Ryder stops Jurko in five rounds. Weighing 173 ¼ lbs for this one Ryder was testing the waters at light heavyweight. He scored heavily over the first two rounds then dialled things up bit by bit drawing blood from Jurko’s nose until the referee stepped in to save Jurko in the fifth. Although the WBA’s No 3 super middle Ryder has his eyes on the WBA light heavyweight title held by Dimitry Bivol. Jurko had won his last three contests Baraou vs. Spencer Baraou demolishes a reluctant Spencer in the first round. Baraou was connecting with stiff shots to head and body with little coming back from Spencer. Baraou landed a fierce body punch and a right to the head and Spencer went down. He was up before the eight count was completed and the referee made the decision to stop the fight. First outing for Baraou since losing a split verdict to Jack Culcay in August last year. Paris, France: Light Heavy: Mathieu Bauderlique (21-1) W RTD 7 Igor Mikhalkin (24-3). Heavy: Tony Yoka (11-0) W TKO 7 Petar Milas (15-1). Super Welter: Souleymane Cissokho (14-0) W TKO 5 Ismail Iliev (13-3-1). Heavy: Vladyslav Sirenko (18-0 W TKO 1 Aleksandr Ustinov (36-5-1). Super Light: Volkan Gokcek (7-0,1ND) W TKO 4 Kaoussou Cisse (5-1). Bauderlique vs. Mikhalkin Bauderlique wins the vacant European title as Mikhalkin retires at the end of the seventh round with a suspected fractured jaw. After a cautious start from both southpaws Bauderlique began to take control. He was quicker with his jab and finding Mikhalkin with long lefts. Mikhalkin tried to put some pressure on over the second and third but again Bauderlique was jabbing strongly and was dangerous with his left crosses. Mikhalkin had a good fourth he was getting through with lefts to the head and body and moving constantly instead of standing and punching with the stronger Bauderlique. Mikhalkin was lively at the start of the sixth but the power and accuracy of Bauderlique’s punches was having their affect and Mikhalkin was slowing and had a swelling under his right eye. Bauderlique continued to find the target in the seventh and at the end of the round Mikhalkin retired. Twelfth win by KO/TKO for Bauderlique who will be hoping to get a shot at a version of the light heavyweight title next year. Mikhalkin was stopped in seven rounds by Sergey Kovalev in a challenge for the WBO title in 2018. Yoka vs. Milas After an indifferent performance Yoka whacks out Milas in the seventh. Yoka began by prodding out his jab and tracking Milas around the ring. Milas was switching guards and darting in to throw hooks with neither fighter landing anything of note. Milas was orbiting the ring but Yoka managed to find the range with a couple of jabs in the second and ended the round with a burst of body punches. Yoka continued to track down the speeding Milas in the third and connected with some strong punches to head and body. Milas threw a lot more punches in the fourth and fifth and Yoka was just not cutting the ring off or throwing enough punches in a very pedestrian performance. Milas continued to trot around the ring but looked to be slowing in the sixth. Even then Yoka was hardly throwing more than one punch at a time. Milas was dancing confidently in the seventh until a blazing left hook from Yoka sent him staggering back to the ropes and a clubbing right to the head sent him down on his hands and knees. He got up but was chased across the ring and although no heavy punch was evident he slumped to a sitting position in a corner. He made it to his feet but the referee waived the fight off. Ninth victory by KO/TKO for Yoka who showed real power at the finish. He still seems too mechanical and does not show a lot of head movement but it is time for a test against a rated fighter to justify his top ten ranking by the IBF and WBC. Yoka dedicated his win to the recently deceased French film star Jean-Paul Belmondo. Cissokho vs. Iliev Cissokho beats Iliev who retires after the fourth round. There was plenty of movement and jabbing from Cissokho as he spent the first round boxing on the back foot. Cissokho brought his right hand into play in the second landing some belting body shots and he also found the range with stinging jabs. Iliev tried to put on some pressure but Cissokho just shimmied away from his attacks. He comfortably outboxed Iliev in the third and rocked him with some heavy rights late in the round. A right in the fourth sent Iliev tumbling back and he put both gloves on the canvas to stop himself going down and with that knockdown and blood coming from a cut over his left eye Iliev’s team pulled him out of the fight. Senegalese-born Cissokho, a bronze medallist in Rio, had struggled in getting a split decision over Kieron Conway in May but was back to his best form here. Russian Iliev pursued in vain but kept trying. His other two losses have come against Patrick Day and Magomed Kurbanov. Sirenko vs. Ustinov Sirenko blast out Ustinov inside a round. Sirenko tracked Ustinov around the ring with Ustinov just prodding out jabs. With Ustinov having his back against the ropes Sirenko stepped in and landed a booming overhand right that sent Ustinov pitching into the ropes. With Ustinov propped up by the middle rope Sirenko landed another right that sent Ustinov face down on the canvas with the referee waiving the fight off after 2:08 of the first round. Fifteenth win by KO/TKO for the 26-year-old Ukrainian who was defending the WBC Asian Boxing Council title. At 44 it really is time Ustinov retired. Gokcek vs. Cisse Turkish hope Gokcek halts Cisse in four rounds. It was the harder punching of Gokcek that won him this one. Cisse was competitive but a succession of left hooks to the body in the fourth put him down and although he beat the count and fought back more body shots proved too much for him and the fight was stopped. Fifth inside the distance victory for Gokcek who was a bronze medallist at the European Under-22 championships. Frenchman Cisse fought well but could not cope with Gokcek’s power. Coventry, England: Middle: Sam Eggington (31-7) W PTS 12 Bilel Jkitou (15-1). Welter: Kaisee Benjamin (13-1-1) W KO 3 Jarkko Putkonen (17-8-2). Middle: River Wilson Bent (10-0) W PTS 10 Gabor Gorbics (26-21-2).Light Heavy: Shakan Pitters (16-1) W PTS 8 Farouk Daku (21-19-1). Cruiser: Isaac Chamberlain (13-1) W RTD 1 Ben Thomas (2-7-3). Eggington vs. Jkitou This was the type of fight that begs the statement “it is a pity there had to be a loser”. Eggington and Jkitou engaged in twelve rounds of street warfare. Eggington has good boxing skills but somehow always ends up in a no quarter battle. They both had their jab working at the start of the first but then stood and exchanged hooks and uppercuts. Just moments into the second round they went toe-to-toe swapping punches and it stayed like that for the full three minutes. In the third. Eggington was landing more but Jkitou was not rattled. Eggington tried to box in the fourth but quickly went back to trading punches and for the last two minutes of the round they stood with their heads touching firing hooks and uppercuts with both scoring heavily and both rocked. Jkitou was coming forward throughout the fight behind a high guard. Eggington was able to find gaps for his jabs and body punches but once Jkitou got in range it was bombs away and both were throwing accurate, quality shots. Eggington looked to be a couple of rounds in front going into the second half of the fight but he is more prone to facial damage and looked the worse for wear. The seventh was another brutal round as they fired missiles at each other. Eggington had the edge as he was working throught the round but Jkitou was firing bursts of punches and then going back behind his guard. Jkitou’s output dropped a little over the eighth and ninth but he was back in Eggington’s face as they fought hard all the way to the final bell of a tremendous scrap full of power and precision. Scores 117-111 and 117-112 for Eggington and 116-112 for Jkitou. “The Savage” retains the WBC Silver title but you have to wonder when the constant warfare will catch up with him. Whilst the first two scores might be a tad unkind to Jkitou’s performance it is difficult to understand the score for Jkitou. Eggington had been cut over his right eye and his face was badly marked but he was a good winner. You could argue that there are no losers in a fight this good as Eggington was a huge step up in quality of opposition for Jkitou and on this performance he should be able to climb from his current EU No 12 rating with a bit more activity. Benjamin vs. Putkonen Superior skills and faster hands saw Benjamin bossing this fight from the off. He was scoring with precise jabs and easily avoiding the rushing attacks from Putkonen. The Finn had to soak up tremendous punishment in the second as Benjamin dug in left nooks to the body and heavy head punches. Putkonen was staggered a couple of times but bravely kept trying to fire back. Benjamin ended it in the third with a right to the body that sent Putkonen down and he was counted out. BBB of C Midlands Area champion Benjamin is now 8-0-1 in his last 9 fights with four inside the schedule victories. Four stoppage suffered by Putkonen. Bent vs. Gorbics Bent has no problems winning every round against the much smaller Gorbics. Bent jabbed well and scored with straight rights but as Gorbics was in survival mode for most of the fight. Gorbics launches the occasional wild attack but other than that it was Bent hunting Gorbics down but finding the Hungarian a difficult man to hurt so the fight went the distance. The referee had Bent winning 100-90 marking the first time Bent has gone the full ten rounds so a useful exercise. Gorbics is without a win in his last 11 fights with figures of 0-9-2 Pitters vs. Daku Pitters floors and outpoints Daku. With Pitters being 6’6” and Daku 8 inches smaller this was never going to be a difficult fight for Pitters. He was able to spear Daku with jabs and connect with long rights. When Daku rushed forward Pitters had such as long stride that he was able to move out of range and he found Daku and easy target for hooks when Daku made his rushes. Pitters raised his pace over the second half of the fight and put together some impressive combinations. He came near to ending it in the seventh. A right staggered Daku badly and a volley of punches dropped him. Daku only just beat the count but survived and made it to the final bell. The referee scored it 80-71. Former British champion Pitters will be hoping for another chance at the title he lost to Craig Richards in December. Ugandan-born Dutchman Daku drops to 1-10 in his last 11 fights. Chamberlain vs. Thomas Chamberlain wipes out Thomas in the first. Thomas was circling the ring never being farther than a stride from the ropes. Chamberlain took his time to set Thomas up and then pounced with a stunning right and a big left hook that sent Thomas down heavily. He only just made it to his feet and was on very shaky legs but the bell had gone. He made back to his corner but his team pulled him out of the fight. A real power show from Chamberlain in his seventh quick win. His lone loss was on points to current WBO cruiser champion Lawrence Okolie in 2018. Six consecutive losses for Thomas. London, England: Feather: Louie Lynn (10-0) W TEC DEC 9 Amin Jahanzeb (8-1). Light: Mark Chamberlain (9-0) W RTD 4 Benjamin Lamptey (11-5-1). Lynn vs. Jahanzeb In a contest shortened due to a cut Lynn gets a close split decision over Jahanzeb. Lynn took the fight to Jahanzeb in the first but clever counter punching gave Jahanzeb the edge. Lynn pressed his attacks hard to edge the second and third but Jahanzeb swung the fight back his way with some sharp boxing and he shook Lynn with a left hook in the fifth. Lynn outscored Jahanzeb in the sixth only for Jahanzeb to impress with some effective hooks in the seventh and eighth. With the fight slipping away Lynn hit back strongly in the ninth shaking Jahanzeb with a right but a clash of heads opened a gash over Lynn’s right eye and the fight was stopped at the end of the round. Lynn took the technical decision on scores of 87-84 and 86-85 for Lynn and 86-85 for Jahanzeb but the decision could have gone either way. Lynn, a former English and Great Britain champion in the amateurs, wins the WBC International Silver title. Jahanzeb was going past six rounds for the first time. Chamberlain vs. Lamptey Portsmouth prospect Chamberlain decks Lamptey in the second and fourth rounds and Lamptey does not come out for the fifth. Sixth inside the distance victory for the former English Youth and Senior champion. His other five KO/TKO wins were all first round finishes. First fight in Britain for former Ghanaian champion Lamptey. Delray Beach, FL, USA: Light Heavy: Robin Sirwan Safar (13-0) W PTS 8 Denis Grachev (20-14-1). Light: Antonio Williams (15-0-1) W PTS 8 Harry Gigliotti (8-3). Safar vs. Grachev Tall Swede Safar takes unanimous verdict over Russian oldie Grachev which breaks Safar’s six-fight run of inside the distance victories. Scores 80-72, 78-73 and 78-74 for the 6’3” Swede. Grachev, 39, has won only one of his last eight fights. Williams vs. Gigliotti Williams very lucky to get a split verdict over Gigliotti. In a close fight it was a sixth round knocked down scored by Williams with a body punch in the fourth round that just gave him the edge in the scoring at 77-74 and 76-75 for Williams and 76-75 for Gigliotti. Sixth win on the trot for the 24-year-old Texan. Gigliotti had won 7 of his last eight contests. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Bantam: Christian Carto (18-1) W KO 1 Yeison Vargas (17-8). Carto shakes the dust from a long period of inactivity with first round blow out of Vargas. Carto dropped Vargas early in the first and then ended the fight with a left hook to the body later in the round. First fight for Carto, 25, since losing to Victor Ruiz in February 2019 and twelfth win by KO/TKO. Eighth defeat in his last nine contests for Colombian Vargas. Gomez Palacio, Mexico: Super Bantam: Yulihan Luna (22-3-1) W TKO 4 Karla Valenzuela (3-23-3). Luna please her home fans with fourth round stoppage of Valenzuela to register her fourth win by KO/TKO and her sixth consecutive victory. Valenzuela came in at very short notice when Luna’s defence of her WBC bantamweight title fell through. Valenzuela is a depressing 0-9-1 in her last ten outings. Houghton-le-Spring, England: Super Fly: Craig Derbyshire (8-28-3) W PTS 10 Joe Maphosa (10-0). A minor upset as Derbyshire outscores previously unbeaten Maphosa. Derbyshire put Maphosa down in the first and then sheer aggression gave Derbyshire the advantage over the longer reach and better skills of Maphosa who was docked a point in the seventh for holding as he tried to cope with the fierce attacks of Derbyshire. A split decision 97-92 and 96-93 for Derbyshire and 95-93 for Maphosa. September 11 Barcelona, Spain: Super Welter: Kevin Lejarraga (33-2) W TEC DEC 10 Dylan Charrat (20-1-1). Super Bantam: Mary Romero (7-2) W RTD 8 Timlin (4-1-1). Super Feather: Moussa Gholam (17-0) W TKO 8 Mauro Perouene (12-4-1). Feather: Kiko Martinez (42-10-2) W PTS 8 Jayro Duran (14-10). Super Feather: Cristobal Lorente (13-0-1) W PTS 8 Anuar Salas (21-11-1). Lejarraga vs. Charrat Lejarraga becomes a European champion again as he takes a technical decision over Frenchman Charrat. From the start Charrat used speed, movement and quick hands to frustrate the stronger but slower Lejarraga. He was darting in to score and Lejarraga was finding him a difficult target. The fight changed over the middle rounds as pressure from Lejarraga and some hefty body punches began to take the spring out Charrat’s steps and he was standing and trading punches more. By the end of the eighth it was clear the fight had swung Lejarraga’s way. In the ninth when their heads banged together Lejarraga suffered a gash on his cheekbone and the injury was ruled too severe for the fight to continue and it was decided on the cards with Lejarraga the winner by a majority verdict on scores of 96-94 twice and 95-95. The 29-year-old “Revolver “ is a former European welterweight champion but lost the title to David Avanesyan and was stopped in one round in a return contest. Charrat was having his first fight for twenty months so should work to get some fights under his belt and come looking for a return. Romero vs. Timlin Romero is still European champion after England’s Timlin retired at the end of the eighth round of their fight for the Female title. Timlin was fighting with a handicap from the first round when what looked like an accidental elbow opened a cut over her left eye. Although that affected Timlin Romero was the better fighter on the night. She scored well to the body and was more accurate with her punches. The cut worsened and at the end of the eighth round in agreement with the doctor Timlin’s team pulled her out of the fight. Sixth consecutive win for Romero who will now look to go for a world title. Timlin had fought a draw for the vacant Commonwealth title in October and at 21 she has time to take on board the lessons from those two title fights and rebound. Gholam vs. Perouene Second quick win this year for Moroccan Gholam. He started slowly then gradually wound up the pressure with Perouene forced to take heavy punishment. His team could have pulled Perouene out earlier but finally threw in the towel in the eighth round. After eighteen months of inactivity Gholan is looking to move up to some stiffer challenges. First inside the schedule defeat for Argentinian Perouene. Martinez vs. Duran Just a keep busy fight for Martinez. He was his usual aggressive self outscoring Honduran Duran and decked him in the fifth one the way to a comfortable victory. Scores 79-72 twice and 80-71. Martinez is hoping to get a return fight with Zelfa Barrett who scored a very controversial victory over Martinez in February. Fifth loss on the trot for Spanish-based Duran. Lorente vs. Salas Fighting in his home city Spanish champion Lorente takes a unanimous verdict over Salas. Lorente dropped Salas in the first and fourth rounds and won the decision on scores of 80-70, 80-71 and 79-72 for his twelfth consecutive victory. Poor Colombian Salas is now 1-8-1 in his recent activity. Ekaterinburg, Russia: Light: Zaur Abdullaev (14-1) W PTS 12 Dejan Zlaticanin (24- ). Cruiser: Evgeny Tischenko (9-1) W PTS 10 Dmitry Kudryashov (24-5). Super Feather: Ruslan Kamilov (11-0-1) W PTS 10 Stanislav Kalitskiy (11-2). Super Bantam: Mukhammad Shekhov (10-0-1) W PTS 10 Asror Vokhidov (9-1). Super Feather: Mark Urvanov (20-2-1) W PTS 10 Otto Joseph (17-1). Super Feather: Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov (18-0) W RTD 4 Cristian Palma (31-11-2). Bantam: Jessica Gonzalez (8-5-2,3ND) W PTS 10 Tatyana Zrazhevskaya (11-1). Super Middle: Artysh Lopsan (7-1-1) W TKO 7 Oleg Misiura (7-1). Super Feather: Dmitrii Khasiev (12-2-2) W TKO 2 Rofhiwa Maemu (19-13-3). Abdullaev vs. Zlaticanin Russian Abdullaev wins the vacant WBC Silver title with comfortable points victory over former champion WBC title holder Zlaticanin. Abdullaev made a cautious start letting Zlaticanin bring the fight to him and utilising a high guard to block Zlaticanin's punches. From the third Abdullaev used his 5” height advantage and longer reach to control the fight. He was connecting with precise jabs and hurtful straight rights and Zlaticanin faded out of the fight over the closing rounds with Abdullaev strong to the finish. Scores 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111 for Abdullaev who is fighting his way back into contention having lost on a fourth round retirement against Devin Haney for the interim WBC title in September 2019. Zlaticanin, 39, just did not have the reach, speed or power to really compete. Tishchenko vs. Kudryashov Tischenko floors Kudryashov in the first and outboxes him in every round. Tall southpaw Tischenko had been getting through the jabs and straight lefts in the opener and with twenty seconds remaining in the round he fired a left hook that dropped Kudryashov on his posterior. Kudryashov was up quickly and Tischenko did not really put him under any pressure. Tischenko was able to take charge of the fight with Kudryashov rolling forward but too slow to cut off the ring and rarely getting past Tischenko’s jab. Kudryashov was cut over his right eye early and Tischenko stayed at a steady pace content to box his way to victory and taking no chances. Kudryashov resorted to wild swipes with his right which Tischenko easily blocked or dodged and made Kudryashov pay for his rash approach with some hard uppercuts as he eased his way to a win. Scores 100-89 twice and 99-91 for Tischenko. He picks up the vacant WBC International title. He had lost a wide unanimous decision against Thabiso Mchunu in a fight for the WBC Silver title in March and largely dropped out of the ratings so has work to do if he is to get a title chance. Third loss in his last four fights for Kudryashov who seems to have found his ceiling. Kamilov vs. Kalitskiy WBO No 8 Kamilov makes successful defence of the WBO Inter-Continental belt with a decision over Kazakhstan’s Kalitskiy. A poor fight but Kalitskiy a clear winner though no scores posted. Second defence for the 33-year-old Russian who has extensive amateur experience behind him. Shekhov vs. Vokhidov Uzbek-born southpaw Shekhov holds on to the WBO European belt as he outpoints Tajik southpaw Vokhidov. Shekhov was making his first defence and is No 11 with the WBO. Vokhidov was No 15. Urvanov vs. Joseph WBO Gold champion Urvanov decisions Nigerian Joseph in a non-title fight- again no scores to hand. The 25-year-old Russian has won some reasonable level bouts but his No 2 with the WBA is ridiculous. Big disappointment for unbeaten Joseph. Yaqubov vs. Palma Highly rated Yaqubov handed out punishment to overmatched Palma and the Chilean retired after the fourth round. The Tajik southpaw was making the fifth defence of the WBC International title. He is No 1 with the WBO and No 3 with the WBC although both ratings seem a bit too generous. Palma was unbeaten in his last 12 fights but against some very mediocre opponents. Gonzalez vs. Zrazhevskaya Quite an upset here as Mexican Gonzalez scores split decision over favourite Zrazhevskaya. Scores 98-93 and 96-94 for Gonzalez and 96-94 for Zrazhevskaya. Gonzalez wins the interim WBC Female title. She had not fought since October 2018 when she was beaten on points by Chandelle Cameron. She was 0-4-1 in title contests and had not won a fight since 2014.Kazak-born Zrazhevskaya, a former WBC Silver female title holder, was making her initial defence of the interim title. Lopsan vs. Misiura Lopsan gets his second good win in a row as he stops Misiura in seven rounds. Misiura was a slight favourite here but Lopsan had an edge in reach and power. Misiura was cut and fading badly at the end of the sixth. In the seventh Lopsan forced Misiura to the ropes and landed a series of crunching left hooks the put Misiura down. He made it to his feet but the fight was halted. The 6’3” Russian wins the vacant WBO Oriental title. In his last fight in March he stopped unbeaten Indian hope Vijender Singh in five rounds. This is his fourth win in a row. Russian champion Misiura had won 6 of his 7 fights inside the distance. Khasiev vs. Maemu In another WBO Oriental title fight Russian southpaw Khasiev stopped South African Maemu in two rounds for his fourth consecutive stoppage victory. The title had been vacant. Maemu is now 0-5 in visits to Russia. Krasnoyarsk, Russia: Welter: Alexander Besputin (15-0,1ND) W KO 5 Mauricio Pintor (24-4-1). Middle: Albert Khamkhoev (6-0) W PTS 10 John Bopape (9-8). Super Welter: Edgard Moskvichev (14-1-2) W PTS 8 Damian Bonelli (24-10). Besputin vs. Pintor Besputin proves too strong and too talented for Pintor. Besputin was too quick for Pintor. He was landing with solid lefts from the start and had Pintor under heavy fire in the third and fourth. Besputin ended the fight impressively. Two solid lefts put Pintor down spread-eagled on the canvas. Besputin was celebrating victory but somehow Pintor beat the count. Besputin bombarded him with punches but then Pintor fought back until a thumping left to the head put him down again and this time he was counted out. Second win for Besputin since returning from a ban arising from a positive test for a banned substance after beating Radzhab Butaev for the vacant secondary WBA welterweight title in November 2019. Pintor, the nephew of the great Lupe Pintor, suffers his first inside the distance defeat. Khamkhoev vs. Bopape Russian southpaw Khamkhoev outpoints Bopape but has to climb off the floor for victory. Khamkhoev boxed his way to a lead but was floored in the ninth which allowed Bopape to make it close but Khamkhoev’s early work saw him get the decision. Moskvichev vs. Bonelli Moldovan-born Russian Moskvichev took a unanimous decision over Argentinian oldie Bonelli. Eleven wins in a row for southpaw Moskvichev. Bonelli, 43, has won only one of his last ten outings. Hollywood, FL, USA: Super Feather: Jono Carroll (19-2-1) W PTS 10 Andy Vences (23-3-1). Southpaw Carroll continues his rebuilding project with a majority decision over Vences in a great scrap. Carroll established an early lead being busier and more accurate with Vences struggling to get into the fight. From the fourth Vences began to find the range and was scoring well to the body over the middle rounds as they were both winging punches with abandon. Carroll was cut and after surviving a doctor’s inspection he put in a, huge effort in the ninth and then matched Vences in the last. Scores 97-93 twice for Carroll and 95-95. Both fighters needed a win as Carroll had lost to Maxi Hughes in August last year and Vences had lost two of his last three outings. Leicester, England: Super Welter: Kyle Haywood (9-1) W PTS 10 Alex Fearon (9-3). Local fighter Haywood wins the vacant BBB of C Midlands Area title with very narrow verdict over Fearon. After a closely contested ten round the referee saw Haywood the winner 96-95. Success at the second attempt for Haywood who lost a decision for this same title in his last fight in March 2019. No third time lucky for Fearon who has challenged unsuccessfully for both the super light and welter Area titles. Heubach, Germany: Light Heavy: Kasim Gashi (15-2) W PTS 8 Michael Obin (5-10). Gashi extends his current winning run to five with a very close majority decision over Obin. Scores 77-75 twice for Gashi and 76-76. Ugandan-born Swede Obin looked worth a draw at least but this was a Gashi promotion. September 12 Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan: Super Middle: Aidos Yerbossynuly (16-0) W KO 10 Lennox Allen (22-2-1). Super Middle: Bek Nurmaganbet (5-0) W TKO 1 Bruno Sandoval (21-4-1). Super Bantam: Yevgeniy Pavlov (5-0) W TKO 4 Isaac Sackey (25-2-1). Yerbossynuly vs. Allen Yerbossynuly wins a WBA eliminator with kayo of Allen. Yerbossynuly was quicker and busier than Allen working well with fast, accurate jabs and then getting the better of the exchanges inside. Allen was cut over his left eye in the fourth and was already tiring by the fifth. Allen rallied briefly in the seventh but lost a point for a low punch in the eighth. Yerbossynuly forced Allen into a corner in the tenth and bombarded him with punches until Allen dropped to his hands and knees and was counted out. As WBA No 1 the tall Kazakh is nominally the official challenger to Saul Alvarez but don’t hold your breath over that coming off soon-or at all. Allen’s last fight was a points loss to David Morell for the interim WBA secondary title in August 2020. Nurmaganbet vs. Sandoval Nurmaganbet floors Sandoval twice in the first for a quick victory. Southpaw Nurmaganbet was hunting down Sandoval from the start and caught him against the ropes and put him down with a series of punches including one that landed when Sandoval had a knee on the canvas. The Mexican beat the count but Nurmaganbet drove him along the ropes before putting him down for a second time-and landing a punch when Sandoval was technically down again. Sandoval managed to get to his feet but was unsteady and the fight was stopped. The 23-year-old Nurmaganbet wins the vacant WBA International title. He is a former World Youth silver medallist. Sandoval has lost inside the distance in all four of his foreign trips. Pavlov vs. Sackey Pavlov ended this clash of southpaws in the fourth . He connected with a left to the side of the head in the third that sent Sackey stumbling across the ring and down. Sackey was up quickly. He was very shaky but was saved by the bell. A left from Pavlov in the fourth had Sackey’s legs shaking and Sackey took refuge in a corner until a series of head punches from Pavlov had the referee jumping in to stop the fight. Pavlov also picks up a WBA International title. Ghanaian Sackey fought as a flyweight in his last fight in March and was much too small to match Pavlov. Fight of the week (Significance): Oscar Valdez win mover Robinson Conceicao is a WBC title defence opens the way for a unification match against the winner of WBO title holder Jamel Herring and Shakur Stevenson Fight of the week (Entertainment): Sam Eggington vs. Bilel Jkitou was a war story that will be retold many times Fighter of the week: Junto Nakatani for an impressive first showing in his first fight in the USA Punch of the week: Either the right or the left hook from Isaac Chamberlain that put Ben Thomas down qualify this week with honourable mention to the single right from Vladyslav Sirenko that demolished Alexandr Ustinov Upset of the week: Mexican Jessica Gonzalez out of the ring for almost three years and without a win since 2014 was not supposed to lift the WBC bantamweight title against Tatyana Zrazhevskaya but she did. Prospect watch: None I have not already named. Loser of the Week: Dzambas 16 losses row Observations -If you want to become a ringside reporter there is now a new test you have to pass and that is to have the capacity of your bladder tested. The show in Ekaterinburg had 92 rounds of boxing scheduled on the same night and in Krasnoyarsk there were eleven bouts but the Tucson show had a paltry 74 rounds listed. In addition to a black plastic bag to protect them from the rain reporters will now have to add a milk bottle for emergencies. -Ekaterinburg is an illustration of how boxing has changed and spread. Who would have thought there would be professional shows in Ekaterinburg, the site of the murder of the Russian royal family, Vietnam and Afghanistan. It would have Lenin and Ho Chi Minh spinning in their graves. -When you have spent years covering male boxing it can be difficult to adjust to the different standards to be applied to Female boxing. The lack of depth in Female boxing makes Mary Romero (6-2) vs. Amy Timlin (4-0-1) perfectly acceptable for a European title fight and Jessica Gonzalez (7-5-2) vs. Tatyana Zrazhevskaya (11-0) for an interim WBC title. The only thing that would change that is a sudden explosion of Female professional boxing but that may never happen so you work with what you have Interim titles! Invented by Jose Sulaiman and still in the WBC list of goodies. Who would have thought that the World’s Worst Boxing Association would be the good guys-give them up Mauricio they add nothing to boxing except sanctioning fees -Must have been something off a reunion weekend in Paris three of France’s medallists from Rio- Tony Yoka (gold),Mathieu Bauderlique (bronze) and Souleymane Cissokho ( bronze) all fought on the same card-and all won inside the distance. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Kazuto Ioka retains the WBO super fly title with points win over Francisco Rodriguez -A clash of heads sees the return fight between Mauricio Lara and Josh Warrington end in a NO Decision after just two rounds -Maxi Hughes wins the IBO lightweight title as he outclasses champion Jovanni Straffon over twelve rounds -Katie Taylor successfully defends her IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO female lightweight titles as she outpoints Jennifer Han -Connor Benn marches on with a points victory over Adrian Granados - Tanzanian Hassan Mwakinyo stops former super light title holder Julius Indongo in four rounds World Title/Major Shows September 1 Tokyo, Japan: Super Fly: Kazuto Ioka (27-2) W PTS 12 Francisco Rodriguez (34-5-1). Ioka retains the WBO title with a unanimous decision over Rodriguez. The challenger made a good start finding a home for some hefty rights to the head. Ioka was using a long term strategy attacking the Mexican’s body to slow the quicker man and pave the way to a strong finish. Both had their moments and the rounds were close with the scores after four rounds at 39-37 for Ioka, 39-37 for Rodriguez and 38-38 and the three judges had not all agreed on the score for a single round. Rodriguez landed the better punches in the fifth but Ioka took over from the sixth. He was countering heavily and Rodriguez seemed to lose some of his steam as Ioka pocketed the next three rounds to move in front on all three cards with two judges having him 77-75 in front and one 78-74. Rodriguez rallied briefly in the ninth rocking Ioka with some hard rights but the earlier body attacks by Ioka paid there dividend and if Rodriguez did try to raise his game Ioka was able to hold and smother his attacks. Ioka swept the last three rounds on all three cards and came out on top with the judges turning in identical cards of 116-112 . Ioka, 32, was making the third defence of the title. His two losses were both on split decisions against Amnat Ruenroeng and Donnie Nietes. Rodriguez, 29, is a former undefeated IBF and WBO minimumweight champion and had a 15-bout winning streak before this fight. September 4 Leeds, England: Feather: Mauricio Lara (23-2-1) TEC DRAW 2 Josh Warrington (30-1-1). Light: Maxi Hughes (24-5-2) W PTS 12 Jovanni Straffon (24-4-1). Welter: Connor Benn (19-0) W PTS 10 Adrian Granados (21-9-3,1ND). Light: Katie Taylor (19-0) W PTS 10 Jennifer Han (18-5-1,3ND). Super Bantam: Hopey Price (6-0) W TKO 2 Zahid Hussain (16-2). Super Bantam: Jack Bateson (14-0) W PTS 6 Felix Garcia (7-3-1). Bantam: Ebanie Bridges (7-1) W PTS 8 Mailys Gangloff (5-3). Lara vs. Warrington A clash of heads in the second round sees Lara suffer a cut that the doctor rules too serious for the fight to continue. Warrington was coming forward behind a high guard and stabbing out fast jabs. When Lara came forward throwing punches unlike in the first fight instead of standing and trading Warrington was backing off out of range. Both landed good rights and Warrington took Lara to the ropes and fired a salvo of punches at Lara at the end of the round. Their heads clashed in the second and Lara backed off. The referee stopped the fight and gave Warrington a warning. There was swelling around Lara’s left eye and a small cut but the fight continued. Blood began to leak from that cut on Lara’s left eyelid and he attacked fiercely to the bell. In the interval the doctor examined the cut and decided it was too serious for the fight to continue. A frustrating NO Decision ending for both fighters and it is confirmed there will be a third meeting. Hughes vs. Straffon Hughes boxes his way to victory in this clash of southpaws. Hughes was boxing cleverly on the back foot. He was threading jabs though the guard of Straffon and then banging straight lefts which Straffon was too slow to block. Straffon’s footwork was terrible and he couldn’t close Hughes down. He landed a brace of good shots in the second but Hughes fired back with more and better. Saffron was walking in in a straight line with very little head movement and he paid for that in the third when Hughes connected with a thumping straight left. Hughes came close to victory in the fifth when a clubbing left unhinged Straffon’s legs. He was in deep trouble and Hughes drove him around the ring. Straffon was staggering and stumbling and there for the taking but Hughes was over anxious to finish it and was wild with his punches. The referee looked poised to step in but Straffon somehow managed to push out a punch at a vital moment and lasted to the bell. Hughes had Straffon reeling again in the seventh and eighth but somehow Straffon stayed up. Those rounds had taken a lot out of both boxers and the pace slowed with Hughes standing and trading more but with his better skills always giving him the edge. Straffon never stopped rolling forward but he was too predictable and not quick enough to put Hughes under pressure and Hughes won by a mile. Scores 120-107 twice and 119-109. Good to see an experienced battler such as Hughes get a big win. He has only lost to the very best of the domestic opposition and scored recent good victories over Jono Carroll, unbeaten Viktor Kotochigov and Paul Hyland Jr. He wins the IBO title and the talk is now of a fight with Devin Haney which would be a just reward for a battler such as Hughes.Mexican Straffon had won the IBO title with a first round blast out of James Tennyson in May. That fight showed his strengths as a puncher this showed his weaknesses as a boxer. Benn vs. Granados Benn wins a wide unanimous verdict. Benn was forced to chase a quick moving Granados who was circling the ring and pushing out jabs. Benn had trouble pinning Granados down and was often off target but was throwing more and landing more than Granados. As the fight developed Granados chose to strand and exchange punches more but Benn was getting the better of the exchanges sending Granados on the retreat again. Benn kept up the pressure in every round scoring well with hooks to the body. Granados had a good sixth when he took the fight inside and the seventh was close but Benn was the one doing the scoring in the eighth and ninth. The tenth saw Granados fighting hard for two minutes and then taunting Benn to the bell. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and 97-93 for Benn. A frustrating night for Benn who had to chase the fight but he was a clear winner against a fighter with good credentials. Fifth defence of the WBA Continental title for Benn who is rated WBC 11/WBA 12/IBF 13. Granados has been in with Adrien Broner, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and Robert Easter with Garcia the only one to stop him but he was coming off a disappointing draw with 11-1 Jose Luis Sanchez in May. Taylor vs. Han Taylor scores a knockdown on the way to winning every round against challenger Han. Taylor was tracking a retreating Han in the first. Taylor was scoring well to the body with Han quick but looking to lack power. Taylor continued to hunt Han down over the second and third and was getting through with strong jabs and uppercuts. Han shows a useful jab but was being outlanded. Han chose to stand and trade in the fourth and it was a messy round with both fighters landing punches to the back of the head. Han was the one coming forward over the sixth and seventh but Taylor was landing the harder and cleaner punches. Han was down in the eighth from a series of punches from Taylor but Han strenuously argued that it had been from a push and it did not look to have been from a punch. Taylor put together a strong finish over the ninth and tenth but Han fought hard to the bell. All three judges had Taylor winning 100-89. Taylor retains the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO titles. Texan Han had won her last eight fights but was having her first outing since February 2020. Price vs. Hussain Price wins his first pro title as he floors Hussain twice and stops him in the second round. A right from Price dropped Hussain just before the bell in the first. Hussain was badly hurt and only just staggered to his feet. By then the bell had gone which saved Hussain. Both fighters were cut when their heads clashed in the second. Price then attacked strongly and floored Hussain and although he made it to his feet the fight was stopped. The 21-year-old Leeds southpaw collects the vacant IBO International title and continues to shine. Hussain never in with a chance. Bateson vs. Garcia Bateson was much too quick for Garcia and staggered him with a right hook on the first. He began to put his punches together well in the second but as he was backing away a right to the chest knocked him off balance and down. He was up immediately and the bell had rung. Bateson switched guards often, found plenty of gaps for his jabs and landed straight shots and hooks to the body. Garcia pressed hard but Bateson was too slippery and Garcia was often left swishing air. Referee’s score 58-56 for Bateson. In the amateurs Bateson won a bronze medal at the European Championships and was a successful member of the British Lions team in the WSB. Third loss in a row for Spanish-based Nicaraguan Garcia. Bridges vs. Gangloff Australian Bridges just squeezes past French champion Gangloff on the referee’s card who saw it 77-76 for Bridges. The only loss on the record of Bridges is a decision in a challenge to Shannon Courtenay for the WBA Female bantam title in April. Gangloff was 3-1 in her last 4 fights and looked unlucky to lose here. September 3 Budapest, Hungary: Super Welter: Balazs Bacskai (15-0) W PTS 10 Guido Pitto (27-9-2). Middle: Peter Kramer (11-3-3) DREW 10 Gabor Gorbics (26-20-2). Super Welter: Laszlo Toth (30-5-2) W PTS 8 Francesco Lezzi (14-19-2). Bacskai vs. Pitto Bacskai continues victorious with a unanimous decision over experienced Pitto. No scores given but Bacskai dominated every round in this WBO Inter-Continental belt defence. Bacskai is now 33. It is a pity that the 8-time Hungarian champion and European gold medallist left it so late to turn pro. Spanish-based Argentinian Pitto hit his peak when he outpointed Jack Culcay back in 2013. Kramer vs. Gorbics These two are very well matched with the result that as in their first fight in June this fight also ended up as a draw so the national title remains vacant with a third fight to follow. Toth vs. Lezzi Like others before him Toth found Italian Lezzi a difficult, awkward opponent and had to settle for a narrow points victory. Toth was 19-0-1 at the start of his career but has lost fights on the road since then. Two wins in his last seven fights for Lezzi Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania: Super Welter: Hassan Mwakinyo (20-2) W TKO 4 Julius Indongo (23-4). Super Bantam: Bongani Mahlangu (23-8) W TKO 12 Tony Rashid (12-2-2). Mwakinyo vs. Indongo Mwakinyo’s power proves too much for Indongo. In the first Indongo’s hand speed and movement saw him scoring easily but one left from Mwakinyo rocked Indongo. Indongo again controlled the action in the second until a left caused Indongo to touch the canvas with both gloves. The referee was too slow to move in and Mwakinyo landed more punches on the rising Indongo and almost sent him through the ropes. Indongo outboxed Mwakinyo in the third but was wrongly given a count in the fourth when he slipped avoiding Mwakinyo’s punches. Indongo stupidly then tried to swap punches with Mwakinyo and was badly shaken by a right and Mwakinyo cut loose with an array of punches and with Indongo reeling the referee stopped the fight. Mwakinyo retains the ABU title with his tenth win in a row and thirteenth victory by KO/TKO with Indongo his biggest scalp so far. Now 38 Indongo looked fragile but the former holder of the IBF,WBO and IBO super light titles had only previously lost to Terrence Crawford, Regis Prograis and unbeaten Daniyar Yeleussinov Mahlangu vs. Rashid South African Mahlangu comes through with a very late stoppage of local fighter Rashid to win the ABU title. As Rashid was giving away 4” in height and a lot in reach for eleven rounds Rashid pursued and Mahlangu ran. Mahlangu showed plenty of skill but was under relentless pressure. He rocked Rashid a couple of times early but then Rashid had no trouble walking through Mahlangu’s punches. Mahlangu was cut over his left eye in the tenth and it looked as though the home fighter’s pressure would get him the win. He continued to come forward in the twelfth but an uppercut from Mahlangu stunned Rashid and a series of punches floored him. He beat the count but was trapped in a corner and taking heavy punishment and the referee stopped the fight. As he is 42 and had not fought since December 2019 it was amazing that Mahlangu stood the pace as he been constantly on the run and it looked a lost cause for him until he connected with that uppercut. “AK 47” Rashid was 8-0-2 in his last 10 fights. Belle Ville, Argentina: Light: Juan Carrasco (11-1) W PTS 10 Gerardo Perez (9-2). Super Bantam: Diego Ruiz (22-3) W TKO 1 Miguel Salazar (8-12-2). Carrasco vs. Perez Carrasco puts in a solid workman-like performance as he outboxes and outpunches Perez in an IBF Latina title defence. Carrasco constantly found the target with strong rights but Perez showed a good chin. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92 for Carrasco who is trained by former WBO featherweight title holder Julio Pablo Chacon. Perez had won his last 5 fights. Ruiz vs. Salazar “Prophet” Ruiz returns to action with a first round destruction of Salazar. Three knockdowns in the first round brought the stoppage. This is the first fight for Ruiz since a ninth round stoppage defeat against Michael Conlan in August 2019. Poor Salazar has won only one of his last eleven fights. Hermosillo, Mexico: Light Fly: Daniel Valladares (25-3-1) W PTS 10 Jose Javier Torres (15-2). Valladares comes out on top in an entertaining scrap with Torres. Valladares applied constant pressure with Torres trying to box at distance and connecting with some choice uppercuts when Valladares made it inside. Valladares was just edging the exchanges but Torres kept it close. Torres lost a point in the ninth for hitting on the break and Valladares was helped by that in a close fight. Scores 97-94, 96-94 and 95-94 for Valladares who wins the vacant NABF title. Torres sees his four-bout winning streak ended. Bialystok, Poland: Super Middle: Przemyslaw Gorgon (14-7-1) W PTS 10 Karol Welter (8-1). This was a close fight all the way and difficult to score but even that hardly explains the judge's cards. Two had Gorgon winning 96-94 which looked about right but the other gave it 99-91 for Welter. Gorgon wins the vacant Polish title. A rematch is on the cards. Nolda, India: Super Welter: Sagar Narwat (13-1-1) W PTS 8 Rahul Kumar (7-5-1). Narwat gets his fourth consecutive victory and collects his first pro title as he wins unanimous decision over Kumar on scores of 80-72, 79-74 and 78-73 to lift the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council title. Kumar falls to 2-4 in his last six contests. September 4 Hurlingham, Argentina: Welter: Christian Andino (16-1-1) DREW 10 Yoel Peralta (8-2). Light Fly: Ayelen Granadino (6-1-3) DREW 10 Jazmin Villarino (4-1-2). Andino vs. Peralta Andino looks fortunate to get a draw out of this fight. Although Andino seemed to build an early lead he was floored by a right to the head in the fourth. Peralta dominated from there and was unlucky to have what looked like a genuine knockdown in the last rules a slip. Scores varying greatly at 96-93 Andino, 98-91 for Peralta and 94-94. The WBC Latino title remains vacant. Granadino vs. Villarino Another title fight and another draw. Granadino had a slight advantage in reach and made use of it to box cleverly on the outside. Villarino pressed hard but Granadino jabbed accurately and scored with strong body punches and despite a late effort from Villarino Granadino looked to have won clearly. Scores 95-95 twice and 97-93 for Granadino who retains her national title. Inngeniero Maschwitz, Argentina: Super Light: Nicolas Demario (15-4-3) DREW 10 Emiliano Dominguez (25-9-1). A great little contests ends in a draw. It was the rugged aggression of Dominguez against the accurate jabbing and fast combination punching from Demario. It was close all the way and the draw looked the right call. No scores available and no title at stake but a good fight does not need one. Oncativo, Argentina: Super Welter: Rodrigo Coria (10-3) W PTS 10 Adrian Sasso (16-3). Something of an upset as in a clash of local southpaws Coria outpoints Sasso. Scores 95 ½-94 and 96 ½ -95 for Coria and 95-94 for Sasso. Coria collects the South American title with his fifth win in a row. Champion Sasso was rated No 1 in the Argentinian ratings so a double blow for him. Ostrava, Czech Republic: Declan Geraghty (19-5) W RTD 5 Richard Walter (9-20-1). Geraghty has his first fight for two years as he beats Walter in five rounds. Geraghty was to have fought South African David Rajulli for the vacant UBO title but just before the fight was due to start Rajulli reportedly did not like the gloves that were to be used and refused to fight. Czech Walter was to have fought a four round bout on the card but instead stepped up to face Geraghty. The fight ended in the fifth round with Walter’s team retiring their man after a one-sided contest. Dublin southpaw Geraghty lost his WBO European belt and his world rating when he was stopped by Archie Sharp in September 2019. Walter suffers his fourteenth loss by KO/TKO but saved the show. Luebeck, Germany: Light Heavy: Shefat Isufi (32-4-2) W PTS 10 Tomas Adamek (29-20-2). Isufi floors and outpoints ageing Czech Adamek. Isufi pressed the fight from the start. Adamek went onto the back foot and stayed there for the full ten rounds. Isufi was scoring with clubbing shots to head and body but the pace was slow. A clash of heads in the fifth saw Adamek cut over his right eye but he was allowed to continue after a doctor’s inspection. Adamek was down late in the tenth but made it to the final bell. No scores available but Isufi won every round. Fifth low level win for Isufi who lost on points to Billy Joe Saunders for the vacant WBO super middle title in May 2019. Adamek, 41, was having his first fight since December 2019. Accra, Ghana: Super Feather: Alfred Lamptey (9-0) W TKO 10 Iddi Kayumba (13-4-2). Super Fly: John Chuwa (21-5) W TKO 7Aliu Bamidele Lasisi (14-1-1 Lamptey vs. Kayumba Ghana’s teenage prospect Lamptey adds another belt to his collection with win over Tanzanian southpaw Kayumba. Lamptey floored Kayumba with a left hook in the second and dominated the fight. In the tenth he blasted Kayumba with a torrent of punches driving him across the ring to the ropes and with Kayumba’s head being snapped about by hooks and uppercuts the referee came in to save Kayumba. The 19-year-old Lamptey gets his seventh victory by KO/TKO and collects the vacant WBO Youth and WBC Youth Silver titles to go with the West African and UBO African titles he already holds-all meaningless and although Lamptey has impressive talent he is yet to face a real test. Fourth inside the distance defeat for Kayumba. Chuwa vs. Lasisi Tanzanian Chuwa springs an upset as he stops unbeaten Lasisi in seven rounds. Win No 11 by KO?TKO for Chuwa. In his last fight in July in London he was stopped in two rounds by unbeaten Dennis McCann so it looked a sure win for Lasisi who had drawn with world rated Norberto Jimenez in his last fight in March 2020 Sora, Italy: Heavy: Ivan D’Adamo (8-1-1) W PTS 10 Paolo Iannucci (4-6). D’Adamo retains the Italian title with a unanimous verdict over Iannucci. The champion was bigger, heavier and slower. The challenger made the better start and built a lead. D’Adamo picked up rounds over the middle sessions and then just did enough to earn the decision over the late rounds but it was close. Scores 97-93, 97-94 and 96-94 for the champion. The 41-year-old D’Adamo gets his sixth consecutive win in his first title defence. The scores were a bit harsh on Iannucci who is 1-6 in his last 7 outings. Urdaneta City, Super Feather: Charly Suarez (8-0) W KO 4 Lorence Rosas (9-6-2). Suarez brushes aside Rosas. He dropped Rosas in the first and then had him in pain in the second-but from a low punch. Rosas was given some recovery time. Suarez scored well in the third and then used another body punch to put Rosas down for the count in the fourth. The 33-year-old “King’s Warrior” gets his sixth quick win. An Olympian he won a bag full of medals but did not turn pro until he was 31. Fifth loss in a row for Rosas. Birmingham, England: Light: Tion Gibbs (8-0) W PTS 10 Jack O’Keeffe (10-1). In a battle for Birmingham bragging rights Gibbs wins the BBB of C Central Area title with hair’s breadth victory over O’Keeffe. The defining moment came early when Gibbs floored O’Keeffe in the first. O’Keefe fought back strongly and looked worth a share of the decision but that knockdown cost him the fight with the referee scoring it 96-95 for Gibbs. First fight since June 2019 for Gibbs. O’Keeffe was defending the Area title for the second time. September 5 Minneapolis, MN, USA: Super Welter: Jesus Ramos (17-0) W PTS 10 Brian Mendoza (19-2). Middle: Mark Hernandez (15-4-2) W PTS 10 Jose Resendiz (12-1). Light: Sparkinson Castillo (16-0) W PTS 10 Juan Burgos (34-6-2). Heavy: Iago Kiladze (27-5-1) W TKO 2 Matt McKinney (8-4-2). Super Middle: Kyrone Davis (16-2-1) W PTS 8 Martez McGregor (8-5). Ramos vs. Mendoza Dominant victory for southpaw Ramos. He was outlanding Mendoza who started well but then faded with Ramos having him in trouble in the eighth and easing his way to the unanimous decision on scores of 98-92 on all three cards. The 20-year-old from Arizona had beaten 24-2 Jesus Bojorquez and former Olympian 22-4 Javier Molina. After going 18-0 Mendoza has now lost two of his last three fights. Hernandez vs. Resendiz Hernandez takes decision over previously unbeaten Resendiz. Hernandez scored a flash knockdown in the first and outlanded Resendiz over the first six rounds. Resendiz finished strongly but Hernandez’s early work earned him the decision. Scores 96-93 twice and 97-92 for Hernandez. A much needed win as he was 1-3-1 going in. Mexican Resendiz at 22 can rebound from this loss. Castillo vs. Burgos Castillo gets decision over seasoned pro Burgos. Plenty of action as Burgos stormed forward and Castillo showed plenty of movement accurate jabbing and fast hands. Burgos kept up the pressure and Castillo stood and traded more over the late rounds to seal the win. Castillo took the verdict with the judges cards reading 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 for Dominican Castillo who shows promise. At 33 Burgos has seen better days drawing with Roman Martinez for the WBO super featherweight title in 20132 Kiladze vs. McKinney Georgian Kiladze punches too hard for overmatched McKinney, Kiladze dropped McKinney twice in the second round and the fight was halted. Kiladze badly needed to win a fight as he had lost three and drawn one of his four fights before being inactive since December 2019. McKinney, 40, had won his last three fights by KO/TKO but against very mediocre opposition in Mexico. Davis vs. McGregor Davis scores unanimous decision over McGregor. This was a close, competitive fight more so than the scores show. Davis won on his higher work rate but was helped by McGregor being deducted two points for the use of an elbow in the sixth and another point for hitting on the break in the seventh. The judge’s cards read 75-74 twice and 77-72 for Davis. Davis fought a split draw with Anthony Dirrell over twelve rounds in February. Now four consecutive losses for McGregor. Fight of the week (Significance): Kazuto Ioka’s win over Francisco Rodriguez could lead to a unification match with IBF title holder Jerwin Ancajas. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Plenty of good quality but nothing that had me jumping up and down in excitement Fighter of the week: Maxi Hughes-so good to see such an admired craftsman getting his rich reward. Honourable mention to Katie Taylor who again showed her dominance over the lightweights. Punch of the week: The uppercut from South African veteran Bongani Mahlangu that snatched a last gasp victory when a loss looked inevitable. Upset of the week: Tanzanian John Chuwa was 4-4 in his last 8 fights and had fought at everything from 107 to 121lbs in those fights. He was a rank outsider against unbeaten Aliu Bamidele Lasisi but came away with a stoppage win. Prospect watch: Ghana’s super featherweight Alfred Lamptey 9-0 with 7 wins by KO/TKO is the top prospect there. Observations Last week I reported that young Mexican female fighter Jeanette Zacarias Zapata had been stretchered out of the ring after being stopped in the fourth round of her fight in Montreal on 28 August. I had no update at that time but Jeanette did not recover and died on 2 September. Obviously the family of the eighteen-year-old Jeanette are devastated by her loss. The ripples from that tragedy have also affected deeply Yvon Michel and his team who promoted the fight and Marie Pier Houle who was Jeanette’s opponents that night. There was mention of Jeanette having been knocked out in six rounds on 4 May 2021 but she was suspended for sixty days after that loss and in fact had not fought for 106 days. There will be a full investigation and any findings will be shared with the whole sport to see if in any way the tragedy was avoidable but the tragic fact is that in a sport as dangerous as ours tragedy is inevitable and it is the duty of everyone involved in the sport to do all they can to minimise the risk. RIP Jeanette. Debate about scoring and criticising the current method is a weekly pastime. As long as you have humans involved that debate will rattle on. In this week’s fights in Argentina we had one judge scoring a fight 96-93 and another scoring the same fight 91-98 and in Poland we had two judges scoring fight 96-94 and the third 91-99. It makes no sense but very little does when human beings are involved. You can’t cure it because judging in boxing is pure perception with no science involved and tinkering will not help. All any Board or Commission or Sanctioning body can do is ensure that any officials employed are trained, experienced and monitored and avoid any knee-jerk reaction to controversy from armchair experts. Waiting for the result of a close fight must be stressful for any boxer so spare a bi of sympathy for Argentinian Female light flyweight champion Ayelen Granadino. So far Ayelen has had ten fights. She won her first two by unanimous decision. Seven of her other fights have produced three majority wins, two majority draws , one split decision win and one split draw and in the eighth which she lost two of the judges had her down 96-94 so just one round away from another majority draw. If she wasn’t wearing gloves when waiting for the referee to raise a hand her fingernails would be non-existent by now. A foul is a foul whether committed by a male boxer or a female boxer. In the Katie Taylor vs. Jennifer Han fight both boxers repeatedly landed punches to the back of the head. We have already seen the effect these can have in the cases of Prichard Colon and Magomed Abdusalamov neither of whom will fully recover. The old saying –if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem- applies to every organisation that fails to take action to stamp out these fouls By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Daniel Dubois knocks out Joe Cusumano in his US debut - Armando Serrano retains the WBC, WBO and IBO Female titles at featherweight and Montana Love scores upset victory over former IBF super light title holder Ivan Baranchyk. -Sam Maxwell gets controversial win over Akeem Ennis Brown to collect the British and Commonwealth super lightweight titles, Anthony Yarde wipes out Alex Theran in one round, Anthony Cacace outpoints Leon Woodstock to retain the British super feather title and Ijaz Ahmed finish all even in a fight for the vacant British super flyweight title. -Cesar Juarez outpoints rated Dennis Contreras -Mexican veteran Dante Jardon scores kayo victory over unbeaten Anthony Tomlinson World Title/Major Shows 28 August Birmingham, England: Super Light: Sam Maxwell (16-0) W PTS 12 Akeem Ennis Brown (14-1). Super Feather: Anthony Cacace (19-1) W PTS 12 Leon Woodstock (12-3). Super Fly: Ijaz Ahmed (8-2-1) DREW 12 Quaise Khademi (8-1-1). Light Heavy: Anthony Yarde (21-2) W KO 1 Alex Theran (23-6). Middle: Nathan Healey (13-0) W KO 5 Konstantin Alexandrov (10-49-4). Liam Davies (10-0) W TKO 2 Raymond Commey (19-12-1). Maxwell vs. Ennis Brown Maxwell wins the British and Commonwealth titles with controversial victory over champion Ennis Brown. This was a poor fight with few highlights. Ennis Brown has an awkward style but an effective one. The onus was on Maxwell to solve that puzzle and the judges felt he did. Ennis Brown was utilising lots of eccentric movement, scoring with punches from some unorthodox angles and holding when Maxwell worked his way inside. That made it difficult for Maxwell to settle into the fight. Heads clashed often and Ennis Brown suffered a cut over his right eye in the fourth. Another clash in the ninth saw Maxwell cut over his left eye. Most rounds were close and the disjointed action made them difficult to score but Ennis Brown looked to have just done enough to retain his titles but not in the eyes of the judges who scored it 116-113 twice and 115-114 all for Maxwell. The former elite level amateur has said he is willing to give Ennis Brown a return. Cacace vs. Woodstock Cacace proves too good for challenger Woodstock and eases his way to victory in the first defence of his British title. The Belfast southpaw was in the ring for the first time since November 2019 but was sharp from the start. He outscored Woodstock in the first and then upped his pace from there. He rocked Woodstock with an uppercut in the third and floored him with a left hook in the fourth. Woodstock came through that crisis and attacked hard but the clever and cagey Cacace showed excellent defensive skills and countered accurately with Woodstock doing just enough to edge a couple of rounds but being under heavy fire late in the fight and doing well to last the distance. Scores 117-110 twice and 117-111 for Cacace. The only loss on Cacace’s record was put there by Martin Ward in a fight for the British and Commonwealth titles in 2017. Woodstock was having his first fight since losing to Zelfa Barrett for the Commonwealth title in June 2019. He fought with determination and bravery here but Cacace was just too good for him. Ahmed vs. Khademi Ahmed and Khademi serve up a tremendous scrap for the vacant British title with the result a split draw and a return would be welcome. The first round was fought at a suicidal pace as they both fired punches for the whole three minutes with both being shaken. The pace did not drop one iota in the second Ahmed was marching forward and was more accurate but Khademi was firing fast bunches of punches. They both boxed a bit more in the third with Khademi just having the edge as they traded hooks, uppercuts and straight shots. They were both throwing quality punches with lots of body shots and you felt one had to fade from the pace. Ahmed had good rounds in the sixth and seventh. The eighth was a messy round as tiredness began to show and Khademi boxed cleverly on the back foot in the ninth and tenth but suffered a bad cut over his right eye. Ahmed pressed hard over the last two rounds with Khademi boxing and trying to avoid any further damage to the cut. They continued to trade punches fiercely to the final bell in what has to be a candidate for British Fight of the Year. Scores 115-113 Ahmed, 115-114 Khademi and 114-114. Ahmed had taken a majority verdict over Khademi in February which shows just how well-matched these two are. Yarde vs. Theran Yarde brushes aside Colombian southpaw Theran inside a round. Yarde shadowed the retreating Theran scoring with long rights to the body and thumping punches to the head. Yarde connected with a left to the body and Theran went down. He beat the count but a left to the ribs saw Theran fall to the canvas on his hands and knees and he was counted out. First fight for Yarde since losing a split decision to Lyndon Arthur in December. Sixth loss by KO/TKO for Theran. Healey vs. Alexandrov Healy proves too big and too strong for Alexandrov. Healy used his longer reach to score from distance and pounded Alexandrov with straight rights and lefts to the body. Alexandrov was really focused on survival from the start only looking threatening with an occasional overhand right. Healey stepped up the pressure round by round before finishing the fight in the fifth. He landed tow heavy rights and then a left to the body and Alexandrov dropped to his knees and was counted out. Fifth victory by KO/TKO for Healy. Alexandrov falls to 0-9-1 in his recent bouts with this the only inside the distance loss in that run. Davies vs. Commey Davies stops Ghanaian Commey in an embarrassing mismatch. Davies was a whole head taller than the diminutive Commey. He was able to tee-off on Commey at distance and fed the gutsy Commey a diet of hooks and uppercuts as Commey came forward. Commey just could not get past the jab of Davies and took heavy punishment. In the second a right to the head from Davies had Commey’s legs doing a little dance and Davies moved in and floored Commey heavily with a right and the fight was stopped. Fifth inside the distance win for the English champion. Commey suffers only his third inside the distance defeat. 29 August Cleveland, OH, USA: Heavy: Daniel Dubois (17-1) W KO 1 Joe Cusumano (19-4). Feather: Armando Serrano (41-1-1) W PTS 10 Yamileth Mercado (18-3). Welter: Montana Love (16-0-1) W RTD 7 Ivan Baranchyk (20-3). Super Welter: Charles Conwell (16-0) W TKO 3 Juan Rubio (19-0). Dubois vs. Cusumano Dubois crushes Cusumano inside a round. Cusumano landed flush with a right early but Dubois shrugged it off and used his jab to put Cusumano on the back foot. Dubois landed a series of rights to the head and Cusumano went down. He was up at nine and tried to punch with Dubois but was dropped again by rights. He beat the count but fell down again under more clubbing rights and the fight was stopped. It was obvious that Dubois was out to make a statement in his first fight in the USA and he got the job done handing Cusumano his first stoppage loss but there are tougher tests ahead. Serrano vs. Mercado Serrano successfully defends her WBC/WBO and IBO Female titles with unanimous decision over Mexican Mercado. Serrano made good use of her right jab and constantly attacked Mercado’s body and pocketed the first three rounds. Mercado was more competitive in the fourth but Serrano controlled the fifth with her jabs and by the sixth Mercado’s left eye was being affected by a swelling. The pace dropped in the seventh and Mercado had some success in the eighth as she moved inside to nullify Serrano’s jab. Serrano scored well in the ninth and with Mercado bleeding from a swollen cheek Serrano went looking for an inside the distance finish in the tenth but Mercado made it to the bell. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Serrano. The 32-year-old Puerto Rican has won her last 27 contests and has to be one of the great female fighters. Mercado came into the fight as WBC super bantam title holder and had won her last six fights. Love vs. Baranchyk Local fighter bats Baranchyk a win that moves him to a whole new level. Love boxed and countered as Baranchyk followed his typical tactics of storming attacks. They both landed good punches in the first. Love was finding the oncoming Belorussian an easy target and rocked Baranchyk in the second. Baranchyk attacked strongly in the third and had Love under fire against the ropes but just before the bell a short left unhinged Baranchyk’s legs. Baranchyk continued to barrel forward with Love connecting with corrosive counters. Love landed heavily in the seventh and just before the bell as Baranchyk came forward again a short left put him on the floor. He made it to his feet but was unsteady. The referee signalled for the fight to continue but the bell went and Baranchyk did not come out for the eighth. Big win for local fighter Love. He suffered a number of family tragedies and served a short spell in prison for theft and drugs offences but that is now behind him. This was a huge step up in the quality of his opposition. Former IBF super light title holder Baranchyk was coming off a fifth round kayo loss to Jose Zepeda in October. A fight that saw nine knockdowns and Baranchyk being stretchered from the ring. He was not seriously injured but that brutal battle may have contributed to this loss. Conwell vs. Rubio Former Olympian Conwell has been flying below the radar so far but his clinical destruction of Rubio might get him noticed more. Conwell put Rubio on the canvas in the second and was unloading on Rubio in the third when the referee stopped the fight. Conwell, 23, was US Youth champion in 2015 beating Edgar Berlanga in the final and also won a gold medal at the National Golden Gloves. He won his way through the US Trials and the America’s Qualifier but failed to medal at the Rio Games. Mexican Rubio’s record heavily padded with very modest opposition. 26 August Humble, TX, USA: Super Feather: Eridson Garcia (14-0) W PTS 10 Armando Fraysto (9-2-1). Middle: Winfrid Harris (19-1-1) DREW 8 Vaughan Alexander (15-6-1). Light: Luis Acosta (12-0) W TKO 1 Christian Guido (4-22-2). Garcia vs. Fraysto Garcia wins the vacant NABF title with unanimous decision over Californian Fraysto. Scores 98-91, 97-92 and 96-93 for Garcia as the Dominican keeps his 100% record going. Both fighters were moving up to ten rounds for the first time. Fraysto was unbeaten in his last four. Alexander vs. Harris Alexander snaps his losing run with a well deserved split draw against 6’2” Detroit prospect Harris. Scores 78-74 for Alexander, 77-75 for Harris and 76-76. Alexander, the brother of Devon Alexander, was stopped in two rounds by Zach Parker in March. Harris is 2-0-1 as he gets back on track after losing a split decision to Dorrell Van Horn . Acosta vs. Guido Acosta gets his eleventh win by KO/TKO as he stops Guido in the first round. Ten of his victories have come in the opening round and so far he has fought less than eighteen rounds to get to his twelve wins. But his thirteen victims have amassed only eighteen wins between them. Italian-born Argentinian-base Guido is 1-11 in his last 12 fights. 27 August Sheffield, England: Welter: Dante Jardon (34-7) W KO 9 Anthony Tomlinson (13-1). Super Middle: Mark Jeffers (13-0) W PTS 8 Michal Ryba (6-5). Heavy: David Allen (19-5-2) W TKO 2 Andrea Pesce (7-14-3). Jardon vs. Tomlinson Jardon gets late win as he scores a ninth round kayo of Tomlinson. There was a huge gap in experience here but Tomlinson was never out of his depth. He worked well with his jab and constantly took the fight to Jardon. The Mexican was looking to counter and was always dangerous with rights but Tomlinson was willing to trade shots and they both landed heavily. A frantic fifth round saw Jardon landing right after right and possibly breaking Tomlinson’s nose only for Tomlinson to fire right back and rock Jardon. The pace remained high and both were landing big shots but by the eighth Jardon looked to be in control. Jardon landed two heavy left hooks in the ninth and then staggered Tomlinson with two rights to the head. Tomlinson banged back but was doing so by instinct only and a right to the head put him down and he was counted out. Unfortunately a Tomlinson fan climbed onto the ring apron and threw a punch at Jardon. By choosing to stand and fight with Jardon Tomlinson played his part in a vibrant contest but mixing it with a guy who had 24 inside the distance wins did not make sense. Jardon will be hoping to use this win as a springboard to more fights and Tomlinson can come again Jeffers vs. Ryba Jeffers outpoints late choice Ryba. Jeffers won every round and floored Ryba to take the decision on the referee’s card 80-71. No tests yet for the 23-year-old but he is making steady progress. Czech Ryba has yet to lose inside the distance. Allen vs. Pesce Allen returns with a win. In his first fight for eighteen months Allen floors and stops an obese Pesce in the second round. In his first fight for eighteen months the “White Rhino” found the elephantine body of Pesce impossible to miss and scored two knockdowns. In the second it was a series of head punches that finally did for Pesce as he dropped to his knees and the fight was stopped. Allen is giving it another try. There are good fights for him out there but he found his ceiling in the loss against David Price. The 36-year-old Italian Pesce is 5’9” tall and weighed 261lbs so plenty of target there for Allen. Plant City, FL, USA: Feather: Cesar Juarez (27-10) W PTS 10 Dennis Contreras (24-10-1). Heavy: Stephan Shaw (15-0,1ND) W KO 1 Nick Davis (6-3). Juarez vs. Contreras Juarez ends the small run of impressive victories for Contreras with a close unanimous decision in a battle of phone booth brawling. Contreras survived a torrid second round and fought well enough to edge the third and fourth but was shaken again in the fifth. Contreras had his best round in the sixth and the seventh was close but Contreras scored heavily in the eighth. Juarez then turned the fight his way with a strong finish over the last two rounds. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 for Juarez. Contreras had put together a run of four good wins scoring victories over unbeaten Fernando Garcia, stopping 20-2-1 Belmar Preciado, 20-0 Carlos Flores and 23-1-3 Hairon Socarras to get a No 8 rating from the WBA. Juarez had suffered three losses in a row against Angelo Leo, Carlos Castro and Jordan Gill so will be hoping to get a rating out of this win. Shaw vs. Davis Shaw obliterates Davis in the first round. Shaw drove Davis to the ropes and then dumped him on the canvas with a left hook and Dais was counted out after just 102 seconds. The 28-year-old from St Louis makes it eleven KO/TKO wins. He has a No Decision where he won a fight in New York but tested positive for a banned substance. He is a former US National and US Police Athletic League gold medal winner and National Golden Gloves bronze medallist. Davis improved over a performance in February when he was knocked out in twenty seconds. Juarez, Mexico: Super Feather: ,Miguel Roman (63-14) W TKO 4 Sergio Puente (28-11). In a typical Roman fight “Micky” attacked from the start and Puente found himself pinned with his back against the ropes under the hurricane-like attacks from Roman. Puente was eventually broken down by the relentless pressure and was floored in the third. He went down again in the fourth under a barrage of hooks and uppercuts again and the fight was halted. Local hero Roman seemed on his way to 100 fights but this is his first fight since being stopped in nine rounds by O’Shaquie Foster in November and only his second fight in almost two years. Eighth loss in a row for “Dandy” Puente. San Pedro, Argentina: Middle: Gerardo Vergara (14-0) W TKO 9 Emiliano Pucheta (14-5). Vergara wins the Argentinian title with ninth round stoppage of champion Pucheta. Vergara dropped Pucheta with a right in the second and had him staggering under fire in the fifth. It was not all one way and although Pucheta was in trouble again in the eighth Vergara’s face was a bloody mess due to a nose injury. A series of head shots in the ninth saw the referee step in and stop the bout. First fight for eighteen months and ninth victory by KO/TKO for Vergara. Pucheta was making the first defence of the national title. Mexico City, Mexico: Jose Sanmartin (32-5-1) W PTS 10 David Carmona (22-9-5). Colombian Sanmartin scores two knockdowns on the way to victory over Carmona on a unanimous verdict. Carmona boxed well and took the first two rounds. The fight changed in the third when a strong right put Carmona down. Sanmartin won the fourth and then floored Carmona in the fifth with another powerful right. From there Sanmartin handed out steady punishment with Carmona getting busted up and never being in the fight. Scores 98-90, 97-91 and 97-92 for “El General” Sanmartin who wins the vacant WBA Fedecentro title. He has won 12 of his last 13 fights with the loss being a twelfth round stoppage against Emanuel Navarrete. In title shots at Carmona lost on points to Naoya Inoue for the WBO belt and Khalid Yafai on a stoppage for the WBA belt. Cuernavaca, Mexico: Super Light: Steve Claggett (30-7-2) W WKO 4 Emanuel Lopez (30-14-1). Despite not making the weight and having to forfeit 20% of his purse Canadian Claggett looks sharp as he knocks out Lopez in four. Claggett outscored Lopez in the first and shook him badly with a right in the second. Claggett continued to boss the close-quarters action in the third and ended it in the fourth. He rocked Lopez with a couple of uppercuts and then put him down with a lightning right to the body left the head combination with the referee immediately stopping the contest. Twentieth inside the distance win for Claggett who had lost a split decision to Mathieu Germain in May. Lopez, a former WBA interim title holder at super featherweight, suffers his fourth inside the distance loss in a row. 28 August Mragowo, Poland: Cruiser: Mateusz Masternak (45-5) W KO 3 Felipe Nsue (4-2). Super Middle: Kamil Bednarek (9-0) W PTS 8 Javier Maciel (33-14). Super Welter: Przemyslaw Zysk (17-0) W TKO 5 David Bency (14-24-1,1ND). Masternak vs. Nsue Easy task for Masternak in his fiftieth fight as he disposes of overmatched Nsue in three rounds. Nsue connected with a couple of good punches at the start of the opener but Masternak landed two good rights and first the ropes and then the bell saved Nsue. Masternak staggered Nsue a couple of times in the second and then ended the fight in the third. A straight left followed by a right to the chin put Nsue down and out. Masternak will just stay busy hoping for a title shot. Nsue from Equatorial Guinea but based in Spain was way out of his league. Bednarek vs. Maciel Bednarek comes through a useful learning fight against experience Argentinian Maciel and take the unanimous decision. Bednarek made good use of his southpaw jab and controlled the action over the early rounds. In the fifth a right hook from Maciel shook Bednarek but the Pole recovered well and upped his pace and floored Maciel with a left hook in the seventh. Maciel survived and had Bednarek in trouble briefly in the last with a solid left to the body but Bednarek saw out the round. Scores 78-73 twice and 79-72 for Bednarek who is shaping up well. Maciel, who challenged for the WBO title in ten years ago, is in a losing rut with eight defeats in a row suffered in six different countries. Przemyslaw vs. Bency Przemyslaw logs another victory as he floors and stops Bency. Bency constituted no threat and Przemyslaw had him on the floor late in the third. Bency beat the count but after more punishment in the fourth the fight was stopped at the start of the fifth with Bency claiming an injury. Sixth inside the distance victory for Przemyslaw and fourteen consecutive losses for Spanish-based Nicaraguan Bency. Brandsen, Argentina: Light: Claudio Daneff (12-2-1) W PTS 10 Juan de Leon (13-4). Southpaw Daneff wins the Argentinian title as he takes unanimous decision over champion de Leon. Daneff used his longer reach to score on the outside and floored de Leon with a right in the second. At the end of the third de Leon landed a punch to the back of Daneff’s head after the bell and was deducted a point for that as the fourth round started. Daneff continued to outscore de Leon who survived a torrid ninth to go the distance. Scores 98-90 twice and 98 ½-90 for Daneff who has won nine of his last ten fights. De Leon had won his last nine fights and was making the first defence of the title. Ingeniero Maschwirz, Argentina: Welter: Jonathan Jose Eniz (26-15-1,1ND) W TKO 2 Hernan Comenzana (7-3). Eniz floors and halts Comenzana in two rounds. After dominating the first round Eniz floored Comenzana twice in the second to bring the stoppage. Eleventh inside the distance victory for southpaw Eniz and a needed one after he had lost 4 of his last 5 fights. Second inside the distance defeat for Comenzana. Vienna, Austria: Light Heavy: Mansur Elsaev (14-0) W TKO 6 Yosko Stoychev (13-1). Elsaev retains the WBC Asian title with stoppage of previously unbeaten Stoychev. The fight began badly for Elsaev as he was floored by a right in the first round but he survived that torrid start. He slowly beat the resistance out of Stoychev and then landed a barrage of punches in the sixth which saw Stoychev slump to the floor with the fight being halted. Russian-born Elsaev makes it twelve wins by KO/TKO. Bulgarian Stoychev was in his first ten round fight. Montreal, Canada: Light Fly: Kim Clavel (14-0) W PTS 10 Maria Vargas (15-4-1). Super Welter: Mikael Zewski (35-2) W PTS 8 Dilan Loza (15-5-1). Clavel vs. Vargas Local boxer Clavel wins the vacant WBC Silver Female title as she takes unanimous decision by a wide margin on the three cards. Vargas was competitive over the first three rounds but then faded out of the fight under strong pressure from Clavel who won on scores of 99-91 twice and 98-92. Clavel will now be looking to challenge the WBC title holder Yesinia Gomez. Mexican Vargas, a former challenger for the WBC Atom title, was unbeaten in her last eight fights. Zewski vs. Loza In his first fight since a stoppage loss against Egidijus Kavaliauskas in September and his first fight at super welter Zewski was given a real test by Loza. In a scarp largely fought inside Zewski won well enough but Loza found plenty of gaps in the Canadian defence and Zewski had to come through a rocky eighth to get the verdict. Scores 78-73, 78-74 and 77-74. A winning start for Zewski in his new division but there are tougher hurdles ahead. Loza falls to 0-3-1 in his four recent contests. Loir-et-Cher, France: Light Fly: Joana Suarez (6-1-1) W PTS 10 Marie Connan (4-2). In a twice-delayed fight Spanish southpaw Suarez scores two knockdowns on the way to victory over London-based French champion Connan. The first round went to Connan but a left from Juarez floored Connan in the second. Connan went down again but it was ruled a slip. Connan made the third close but another left from Juarez put her down in the fourth. Once again Connan fought her way back into contention but Juarez boxed well and Connan was unable to claw back the effect of those two knockdowns. Scores 96-93 and 95-93 for Juarez and 94-94. Connan works as a language teacher in England. Hermosillo, Mexico: Super Light: Pedro Campa (33-1-1) W TKO 6 Abimael Cruz (5-1). Campa grinds down and stops Cruz in six rounds. The fight started badly for Campa as a punch and a clash of heads almost closed his right eye in the first round. Campa fought back strongly handing out plenty of punishment to southpaw Cruz in the second but Cruz kept marching forward pumping out the punches in a close third. By the fourth Campa’s body punches and more accurate work had Cruz fading and taking punishment. In the fifth Campa kept bombarding Cruz with hooks, uppercuts and straight punches until the bell. In the sixth with his right eye nearly closed and with a gash on his cheekbone and being belted with punches the referee stepped in to save Cruz. Twenty-two inside the distance wins for Campa but he is not being asked to step up and they are taking no chances after he was stopped by 11-8-1 Carlos Jimenez in 2017. Cruz just a 4 and 6 round prelim fighter who showed plenty of guts but was out of his depth. Panama, City, Panama: Super Fly: Orlando Penalba (11-0-1) W PTS 8 Gilberto Pedroza (18-7-2). Feather: Jaime Munoz (11-1-1) W TKO 5 Tony Gomez (13-8-2). Super Bantam: Leonardo Carrillo (14-0-1) W TKO 5 Nixon Ankuash (7-1-1). Penalba vs. Pedroza Penalba wins the vacant Panamanian title with split decision over Pedraza. In a fight of two halves in which heads kept banging together Pedraza swept the early rounds but the less experienced Penalba surprising paced the fight better and took the decision with a strong finish. Scores 78-74 and 77-75 for Penalba and 77-75 for Pedraza. Munoz vs. Gomez “Lethal Kid” Munoz lifted the vacant national title with a fifth round stoppage of Panamanian-based Venezuelan Gomez. The 27-year-old Munoz has seven quick wins. Carrillo vs. Ankuash Carrillo halts inexperienced Ecuadorian Ankuash in five rounds. The Panama-based Colombian collects the vacant WBA Fedelatin title with his fifth win in a row and seventh by KO/TKO. First fight outside of Ecuador for Ankuash. Zhukovka, Russia: Light Heavy: Yusup Kediev (8-0-1) W Gasan Gasanov (17-9-1). Super Welter: Aslanbek Kozaev (33-3-1) W Viktor Plotnikov (33-12, 1ND). Gasanov vs. Kediev Gasanov knocks out previously unbeaten Kediev in the first round. Gasanov floored Kediev early in the round and then put him down and out cold with a right. Kediev required medical assistance and was taken from the ring on a stretcher but no update on his condition. Southpaw Gasanov was defending the Russian title. Something of an upset as Gasanov had lost two of his last three fights by KO/TKO. Fribourg, Switzerland: Welter: Oshin Derieuw (14-0) W PTS 10 Olivia Belkacem (10-2). In a fight rescheduled from June Belgian Derieuw wins the vacant European Female title with a close verdict over Belkacem. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 for Derieuw, 34, a former WBFoundation champion. French-born Swiss Belkacem’s other defeat came 2011 when she lost in fights for the vacant IBA and WBFederation titles. She was then inactive for eight years. 29 August Brussels, Belgium: Light Heavy: Malik Zinad (18-0) W TKO 3 Almir Skrijelj (13-3).Super Welter: Anass Messaoudi (11-0) W PTS 8 Pablo Mendoza (10-9). Zinad vs. Skrijelj Zinad wins the vacant WBC Mediterranean belt with victory over Skrijelj. Zinad scored two knockdowns on the way to a third round stoppage. The Libyan-born Zinad is based in Malta. After losing his first two fights Montenegrin Skrijelj had won thirteen in a row but his victims had “amassed” just nine wins between them Messaoudi vs. Mendoza Promising Belgian Messaoudi rolls on. The former Elite level amateur outpointed Mendoza on scores of 79-72 twice and 78-73. Spanish-based Nicaraguan Mendoza had won only one of his last eight fights. Fight of the week (Significance): In a very quiet week Daniel Dubois quick win may open the American market for him. Fight of the week (Entertainment) Ijaz Ahmed and Quaise Khademi fought a furious pace in their twelve round draw. Fighter of the week: Armanda Serrano. The Puerto Rican retained her three titles and extended her winning streak to 27 contests. Punch of the week: The right from Gasan Gasanov that flattened unbeaten Yusup Kediev was fearsome. Upset of the week: Montana Love was an outsider against Ivan Baranchyk but did the business Prospect watch: Super Welter Charles Conwell (16-0) is worth following Observations This must have been one of the quietest weeks this year without a mega show in sight and the only major show in the USA was headlined by a Puerto Rican Female fighter and a British heavyweight. Mexican Dante Jardon illustrated the benefit of experience in his kayo of Anthony Tomlinson. Jardon’s recent form had not been impressive but never bet against a puncher-particularly a Mexican one. Heavyweight hope Stephen Shaw (15-0,1ND) won a super heavyweight gold medal at the 2013 US National Championships-but so did Cam Awesome! In 2013 they had a championship for fighters wearing headguards and one for those not wearing headguards- an experiment not repeated. Never ever forget how dangerous our sport is. At the weekend both Russian Yusup Kediev and Mexican female boxer Jeanette Zacarias were stretched out of the ring and taken to hospital. No update on their condition just prayers for their safety. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Yordenis Ugas takes unanimous verdict over Manny Pacquiao in WBA welterweight title defence -Robert Guerrero outpoints Victor Ortiz in clash of former title holders -Carlos Castro and Mark Magsayo score dramatic inside the distance victories -Melvin Lopez, Andrey Mangushev and Romero Duno score wins in Miami and Avni Yildirim, Jose Larduet and Zhan Kossobutskiy get inside the distance victories in Germany World Title/Major Shows 19 August Bella Vista, Panama: Super Feather: Jaime Arboleda (17-2) W TKO 4 Jonathan Barros (43-78-1). Light: Humberto Galindo (14-1-1) TKO 1Darvin Galeano (10-1). Arboleda vs. Barros Arboleda stops Barros in four rounds. Arboleda was the bigger, younger and stronger man here and dominated the first three rounds. In the fourth Arboleda landed a right to the head and Barros stopped boxing and dropped his hands to protests that the punch had landed to the back of his head. Arboleda drove Barros to the ropes and kept him pinned there whilst he poured on the punches. Barros was taking punishment but bobbing and weaving but not punching back and the referee steeped in and stopped the fight. An enraged Barros pushed the referee a couple of times and stormed around the ring protesting but the fight was over. Panamanian Arboleda, 26, collects the vacant WBA Fedebol title in his first fight since losing to Chris Colbert for the interim WBA title in December. Barros, 37, a former holder of the WBA Secondary title, lost to Lee Selby in a challenge for the IBF feather title in 2017 but was coming off a win over Jorge Barrios in a domestic clash of former champions in February. Galindo vs. Galeano Californian Galindo made it an early night as he dropped Colombian Galeano twice for a first round stoppage. The 21-year-old Galindo wins the vacant WBC Fecarbox belt with his eleventh inside the distance finish. Galeano kisses his unbeaten tag goodbye. 20 August Mexico City, Mexico: Light: Alberto Ruiz (11-3) W KO 5 Jair Valtierra (15-1). Something of an upset as Ruiz kayos previously unbeaten Valtierra. Ruiz was forging forward from the start putting Valtierra under pressure and scoring well to the body. Valtierra traded punches with Ruiz trying to get control of the fight but after four rounds Ruiz was 40-36 ahead on the three cards. Valtierra launched a big attack in the fifth forcing Ruiz to the ropes but Ruiz unleashed a left hook that put Valtierra flat on his back and he was counted out. Ruiz had been knocked out in one round by unbeaten Ruben Aguilar in September but this victory gives him the WBC Latino belt. Crushing blow for Valtierra, 19, who had knocked out former interim WBA super feather title holder Emanuel Lopez in May. Dar-Es-Salaam: Tanzania: Super Middle: Twaha Kasim (18-8-1) W PTS 10 Abdallah Paziwapazi (29-11-1, ND). Super Middle: Selemani Kidunda (6-0) W TKO 7 Geoffrey Kamata (9-8). Kassim vs. Paziwapazi Kassim overcomes a disastrous first round to decision Paziwapazi. In that opening session Paziwapazi landed a brutal straight right that dumped Kassim on the canvas on his back. He struggled to get to his feet and was still in a daze as Paziwapazi forced him to the ropes and unloaded with punch after punch until the bell saved Kassim. From there Kassim was in charge. He was rolling forward landing rights to the head and left hooks to the body and although Paziwapazi fought back in occasional bursts Kassim bossed the action and won the wide unanimous decision on scores of 98-91 from the three judges. Kassim is now 2-0-1 in three fights with Paziwapazi who was knocked out in two rounds by Rocky Fielding in 2019. No title at stake but Kassim won a new car. Kidunda vs. Kamata Kidunda retains the Tanzanian title with stoppage of Kamata. Kidunda had no trouble outboxing the limited Kamata and ground him down before finishing it in the seventh. A right to the head had Kamata reeling and Kidunda poured on the punches until Kamata slid to the canvas. He made it to his feet but the referee stopped the fight. First defence of the national title for Kidunda and his sixth inside the distance win in six fights. Kamata had won 4 of his last 5 fights but was well beaten here. Dubai, UAE: Light: Apichet Petchmanee (10-0) W PTS 10 Phumiritdet Chonlathondamrongkun (7-1). Super Middle: Welter: Faizan Anwar (8-0) W PTS 8 Ricky Sismundo (35-16-3). Super Feather: Hasibullah Ahmadi (13-0) W PTS 10 Rauf Aghaev (31-11). 5 Petchmanee vs. Chonlathondamrongkun Petchmanee makes a successful first defence of the WBC Asian Boxing Council belt with unanimous verdict over fellow Thai Phumiritdet (Chonlathondamrongkun). Petchmanee made a fast start against a taller but hesitant Phumiritdet connecting with deft jabs and some hard body shots. Phumiritdet was a bit more competitive over the late sessions but never enough to win a round as Petchmanee was connecting with hooks and uppercuts bringing blood from Phumiritdet mouth and all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Petchmanee. First fight outside Thailand for the former Muay Thai exponent Petchmanee. It is not surprising Phumiritdet was undefeated as the seven fighters he has defeated had only ten wins in total but at 19 he has time to improve. Anwar vs. Sismundo India’s Anwar gets decision over Sismundo but looks a lucky lad to do so. Sismundo was giving away height and reach against Anwar. The Filipino was storming his way forward and after initially trying to box Anwar found himself dragged into a brawl. Sismundo floored Anwar with the first punch thrown in the fourth but the right hook landed as Anwar was going back so lost some of its power. Sismundo tried desperately to finish the fight but too desperately. He was winging wild punches and Anwar survived. With Sismundo’s head down rushing attacks it was not too surprising that Anwar was cut under his left eye in the sixth. Sismundo continued to lunge forward throwing punches most of which were off target or blocked. Although Anwar was not throwing enough to counter the volume from Sismundo somehow the judges gave him a unanimous decision. No scores announced. Anwar was moving up to eight rounds for the first time. Sismundo suffers his fifth consecutive defeat. Ahmadi vs. Aghaev Ahmadi made a strong start knocking Aghaev’s mouthguard flying with an olverhand right in the second and almost sending him out of the ring through the ropes but Aghaev used his experience to stay in the fight and made the young Afghan work hard for his win. Scores 98-91, 98-94 and 97-93 for the 21-year-old “Kalashnikov”. Azeri Aghayev, 38, had lost his last three fights by KO/TKO. El Cajon, CA, USA: Super Light: Kali Reis (18-7-1) W PTS 10 Diana Prazak (14-4). Bridgerweight: Elvis Garcia (12-0) W RTD 3 Joel Shojgreen (10-3). Reis is still the WBA Female champion but her majority decision win over Prazak was far from popular. The smaller Prazak knew she had to take the fight to Reiss and she did so. At distance Reis was able to box but Prazak was getting past Reis’ jab and scoring inside. Reis had good spells but it was the aggressive attacks of Prazak that impressed the fans most but not the judges and the decision for Reis was badly received. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Reis and 95-95. US-based Australian Prazak, 42, a former WBC super featherweight champion, was inactive from November 2014 until returning with a win in March this year. She deserves another shot. Garcia vs. Shojgreen Mexican Garcia gets a win over Brooklyn’s Shojgreen. Garcia won the first two rounds before flooring Shojgreen three times in the third with Shojgreen not coming out for the fourth. Ninth inside the distance victory for Garcia. After almost six years out Shojgreen had returned in March with two wins. Miami, FL, USA: Super Bantam: Melvin Lopez (26-1) W KO 5 Daniel Lozano (15-12-1). Heavy: Andrey Mangushev (5-0) W TKO 3 Ismayl Sillah (27-7). Light: Romero Duno (23-2) W RTD 1 Ramon Esperanza (22-20-1). Heavy: Istvan Bernath (6-0) W PTS 6 Tom Hawkins (4-7). Lopez vs. Lozano Lopez floors Lozano three times on the way to a fifth round stoppage. Lopez dropped Lozano in the first round but was then deducted two points for hitting Lozano when he was on the floor. Lopez continued to batter a smaller, sliding Lozano until the fifth. Lopez put Lozano down twice with a left to the body brining the second knockdown and Lozano being counted out. Seventeenth inside the distance wins for Nicaraguan Lopez the WBA No 4. Once a reasonable test Lozano has fallen to 0-8-1 in his last 9 fights. Mangushev vs. Sillah The 6’7” Mangushev was able to use his height, reach and a 62lbs weight advantage to control this one. Sillah just could not get close enough often enough to threaten Mangushev. In the third Mangushev landed a straight right that staggered Sillah and then forced him back to the ropes with more rights. With Sillah under fire the referee stopped the fight. The 23-year-old Russian wins the vacant NABA title with his fourth victory by KO/TKO. Ukrainian Sallah, 36, went 17-0 at the start of his career but has faded since then. Duno vs. Esperanza Unfortunate ending to this one as after taking punishment from Filipino Duno Esperanza retired at the end of the first round with an ankle injury. Duno is rebuilding after a first round kayo loss against Ryan Garcia in November 2019. Esperanza came in as a late substitute. Bernath vs. Hawkins Former top level amateur Bernath remains unbeaten after a points victory over Texan Hawkins. Hungarian Bernath used Hawkins as a punch bag for six rounds but the heavier Hawkins managed to stay on his feet to the end. The 6’4” 32-year-old Bernath was Hungarian champion four times but had no luck against British fighters losing to Tyson Fury in both the World Junior Championships and finals of the European Youth Championships and being beaten by Joe Joyce in the European Qualifier for the 2016 Olympics. Seventh consecutive loss for Hawkins. 21 August Los Hornos, Argentina: Super Feather: Ayrton Gimenez 11-0,1ND) W TKO 7 Nicolas Herrera (7-3-2). Gimenez stops Herrera in seven rounds in defence of the WBA Fedebol title. Gimenez was fighting on the back foot letting Herrera lunge forward and catching him with long left hooks and uppercuts. Herrera just kept walking onto the punches being rocked time and again. He was cut over his left eye in a clash of heads and with Gimenez pouring on the punches in the seventh the referee came in to save Herrera. The 22-year-old Gimenez gets only his second inside the distance win. The No Decision came when a riot erupted in his fight with Franco Sotelo in 2019 and the fight was suspended in the fifth round. Herrera game but out of his depth. Hamburg, Germany: Heavy: Zhan Kossobutskiy (16-0) W KO 2 Joey Dawejko (21-9-4). Heavy: Jose Larduet (6-0,1ND) W KO 4 Santander Silgado (30-9). Middle: Avni Yildirim (22-4) W KO 1 Slavisa Simeunovic (37-52). Kossobutskiy vs. Dawejko Kossobutskiy beats Dawejko in two rounds. The 6’3” Kossobutskiy failed to make use of his physical advantages. He jabbed weakly but was able to score with body punches as Dawejko chose to lean against the ropes behind a high guard and lunge forward occasionally with a punch. In a messy second round Dawejko twice complained about punches to the back of his head but was ignored. It was target practice for a while as Dawejko just stood against the ropes covering up. When he moved off the ropes Kossobutskiy came forward and landed a body punch and Dawejko turned away bent double with Kossobutskiy following still punching with one punch seeming to land behind Dawejko’s left ear. Dawejko fell into the ropes and then went face down on the canvas. He staggered up leaning against the ropes protesting about being hit to the back of the head but the referee just counted him out. Fourteenth inside the distance win for Kossobutskiy who retains the WBA International title but he has plenty of flaws to be ironed out. Second inside the distance loss for Dawejko. Larduet vs. Silgado As with Kossobutskiy, 6’4 ½” Cuban Larduet had huge physical advantages over modest Colombian Silgado. Larduet was in charge over the first three rounds and ended it with a left hook in the fourth. The 31-year-old former star of the Cuban amateur ranks gets his fifth win by KO/TKO. The No Decision came when Larduet injured his knee in a fight and was unable to continue. Larduet wins the vacant WBC Latino title. Fifth inside the distance loss in his last seven fights for Silgado with all the losses by KO/TKO and all inside four rounds. Yildirim vs. Simeunovic Yildirim gets his first win for three years as he floors perennial loser Simeunovic three times with Simeunovic being counted out at the third knockdown. Losses in fights against Anthony Dirrell, Saul Alvarez and Jack Cullen have left Yildirim with a lot of work to do if he is going to get back into the big fights. Bosnia Simeunovic has lost by KO/TKO thirty-nine times. Gdansk, Poland: Super Feather: Radomir Obrusniak (4-0) W PTS 10 Piotr Oudel (10-6-1). Southpaw Obrusniak collects the vacant Polish title with unanimous verdict over Oudel. The fight was very balanced over the first three rounds but Obrusniak took the lead from there and floored Oudel in the seventh. Oudel kept in the fight and scored heavily in the eight with Obrusniak going down on one knee under the pressure. Obrusniak beat the count and went on to take the ninth and tenth and the decision. Scores were all over the place at 99-90, 96-92 and 95-94 for Obrusniak. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Welter: Yordenis Ugas (27-4) W PTS 12 Manny Pacquiao (62-8-2). Feather: Mark Magsayo (23-0) W KO 10 Julio Ceja (32-5-1). Feather: Carlos Castro (27-0) W KO 10 Oscar Escandon (26-6). Welter: Robert Guerrero (37-6-1) W PTS 10 Victor Ortiz (32-7-3). Light Frank Martin (14-0) W PTS 10 Ryan Kielczewski (30-6). Light: Jose Valenzuela (9-0) W TKO 4 Donte Strayhorn (12-4). Ugas vs. Pacquiao Ugas takes unanimous decision over Pacquiao to retain the WBA title as he finishes strongly after a close, tactical fight. Round 1 Pacquiao set the pace in the first round taking the fight to Ugas and putting the Cuban on the back foot. Pacquiao was scoring with body punches and uppercuts with Ugas countering and defending cleverly. Pacquiao was pushed to the floor by Ugas so no count. Score: 10-9 Pacquiao Round 2 Ugas brought his jab into play. He was finding the target and Pacquiao was having trouble getting past the jab. Ugas was scoring to the body and landing clever counters but was warned for holding late in the round and twice for low blows. Score: 10-9 Ugas TIED 19-19 Round 3 After an initial attacking burst from Pacquiao the pace slowed slightly. Pacquiao was still taking the fight to Ugas punching in bursts. Ugas was defending well and countering accurately but Pacquiao ended the round strongly. Pacquiao was showing a swelling by his right eye. A close round. Score: 10-9 Pacquiao Pacquiao 29-28 Round 4 Pacquiao lead the action again and Ugas was given another warning for a low blow. Both had their good moments with Pacquiao fighting in bursts and Ugas countering to the body and doubling up on his jabs. Ugas touched the canvas with a knee but it was ruled a slip and Ugas just did enough to take the round Score: 10-9 Ugas TIED 38-38 Official Scores: Judge Dave Moretti 38-38, Judge Steve Weisfeld 38-38, Judge Patricia Morse Jarman 39-37 Pacquiao Round 5 Pacquiao moved up a gear. He was throwing lots of punches with Ugas throwing less but being more accurate. Pacquiao continued to fire in bursts and despite good work from Ugas Pacquiao stayed busier and just took the round. Score: 10-9 Pacquiao Pacquiao 48-47 Round 6 The pace slowed in this one which suited Ugas. He was blocking most of Pacquiao’s punches and connecting with rights to the body as they traded punches and Pacquiao was again frustrated by good defensive work from Ugas. Score: 10-9 Ugas TIED 57-57 Round 7 Ugas boxed his way through the round. He was landing jabs and scoring to the body. Pacquiao’s output dropped and he was having trouble getting through the guard of the Cuban who was setting the pace of the fight. Score: 10-9 Ugas Ugas 67-66 Round 8 A good round for Ugas. He was blocking many of Pacquiao’s punches and countering with accurate rights to heads and body. Pacquiao continued to try to press his attacks but Ugas has a solid defence and looked to be taking over the fight. Score: 10-9 Ugas Ugas 77-75 Official Scores: Judge Dave Moretti 77-75 Ugas, Judge Steve Weisfeld 77-75 Ugas, Judge Patricia Morse Jarman 77-75 Ugas Round 9 Ugas was warned for pushing Pacquiao over. Pacquiao did a little better here in a quiet round. He was still having trouble with rights from Ugas but the Cuban was not throwing enough punches and the busier Pacquiao took the round on effort alone. Score: 10-9 Pacquiao Ugas 86-85 Round 10 Ugas just edged this one. After being caught with a left early he was backing Pacquiao up with his jabs and scored with a couple of hard rights at the close of the round. Score: 10-9 Ugas Ugas 96-94 Round 11 Ugas controlled the action. Pacquiao was still piling forward but having trouble finding a way past the guard of Ugas. The Cuban was continually getting through with his rights and fighting with confidence even slipping in one or two shimmies. Score: 10-9 Ugas Ugas 106-103 Round 12 Ugas put in an impressive last round. Once again Pacquiao had no defence against the rights from Ugas and was cut over his left eye. Pacquiao rallied late but it was not enough. Score: 10-9 Ugas Ugas 116-112 Official Scores: Judge Dave Moretti 116-112 Ugas, Judge Steve Weisfeld 116-112 Ugas, Judge Patricia Morse Jarman 115-113 Ugas It remains to be seen whether at 42 Pacquiao’s glorious career is at an end a career spread over 26 years that has seen him win world titles in six divisions. I hope he now retires as he has nothing to prove. He has given us some cherished memories and has always been a credit to the sport and to the Philippines. Ugas took this fight at only eleven days notice after an eye problem caused Errol Spence to withdraw. He showed the sort of skills that are the trademark of those who have come through the Cuban amateur ranks. Unifications fight with Spence or Terrence Crawford would be big paydays and a return match with Shawn Porter who beat him on a split decision in March 2019 would be interesting whereas a defence against WBA No 1 Eimantas Stanionis would be a very hard sell and a huge comedown from this famous victory. Magsayo vs. Ceja One bright spot in the evening for Pacquiao was the victory for his protégé Magsayo in a war with Mexican Ceja which saw both fighters on the floor. Magsayo got the perfect start flooring Ceja with a neat left hook in the first round. Ceja made it to his feet and was fighting back hard at the end of the round. Ceja took the fight to Magsayo in the second with a focused body attack but Magsayo boxed cleverly. Ceja continued to attack the body in the third and fourth with Magsayo seeming to slow. Ceja looked to have taken control in the fifth dropping Magsayo with a left hook. Magsayo made it to his feet and the bell went before Ceja could capitalise on that success. Ceja continued to come forward attacking with Magsayo boxing and countering. Magsayo needed to do something to get back into the fight and he produced the perfect response in the tenth. He came forward throwing punches and forced Ceja to the ropes then landed a devastating right that had Ceja virtually out on his feet and he added another as Ceja pitched forward landing face down on the canvas with the referee stopping the fight without bothering with a count. Ceja needed medical attention and was taken to the hospital as a safety measure where he was diagnosed with a fractured cheekbone but no brain injury. Magsayo, 26, makes it 17 wins by KO/TKO. He is rated WBO 3/IBF 5(4)/WBC 5 and is heading for a title shot late this year or early next. Ceja, a former WBC interim super bantam title holder, was having his first fight since fighting a split draw with unbeaten Brandon Figueroa in November 2019 when Ceja failed to make the weight. Castro vs. Escandon Castro takes another step towards a title fight as he halts Escandon in the last round. Escandon is naturally aggressive but he had no choice but to drive forward punching in this fight as he was six inches smaller than Castro and had to take chances to get to where he could do some damage. That he could do some damage was evident late in the first when a left hook sent Castro tumbling into the ropes. The ropes held him up so it should have resulted in a count but that was overlooked and Castro was unsteady as he walked back to his corner. Castro started to make use of his reach edge and was scoring heavily as Escandon continued to fight his way inside. Castro rocked Escandon with a right in the fourth and hammered away at Escandon when he had him pinned to the ropes in the sixth. Escandon just kept coming and there were plenty of frantic exchanges. It looked as though Castro had scored a knockdown in the seventh but after viewing a video at the end of the round it was rightly ruled a slip. Escandon had a good eighth but the punishment was taking its toll. A fierce attack by Castro in the tenth blasted Escandon to the canvas. He started to rise but then dropped to a knee and the fight was stopped. Mexican-born Castro was defending the WBC Continental Americas title for the third time. He is in the top five with the WBC, WBO and IBF. Colombian Escandon is a former interim WBC featherweight title holder and in his last fight in December 2019 knocked out 23-0 Jhack Tepora in ninety seconds. Guerrero vs. Ortiz Guerrero comes out on top in a scrap between two veteran southpaws. This was mainly a close-quarters battle which started at a rattling pace and then settled down to a gruelling contest. Heads banged together regularly with Guerrero rocked but not cut in a clash in the opener. Guerrero was particularly ineffective with uppercuts in the second. When heads banged together again in the third Ortiz suffered a cut over his right eye as they continued to fight inside exchanging body shots. More damage in the fifth as a swelling grew under Guerrero’s left eye. There really was not much between them in any round with Guerrero’s aggression giving him a slight edge as they fought hard over the closing rounds with all three judges seeing Guerrero the winner at 96-94. At 38 Guerrero is probably looking for one more title shot but it might be a hard sell. Former WBC welter title holder Ortiz was having his first fight since February 2018 so will probably continue his career. Martin vs. Kielczewski Impressive display by the “Ghost” from Indianapolis as Martin takes every round against more experienced Kielczewski who constituted a step-up in opposition for Martin. There was some early success for Martin as his accurate jabbing started a swelling over Kielczewski’s right eye in the first round. Martin’s hand speed and movement saw him edging the early rounds and from the halfway mark he was constantly popping Kielczewski with jabs and outworking Kielczewski in each round. Martin applied strong pressure over the last two rounds looking to get his fourth inside the distance win in a row but Kielczewski has never lost inside the distance and he preserved that record here. All three judges score it 100-90 for Martin. In the amateurs Martin beat Vergil Ortiz in the final of the 2016 National Golden Gloves and won a silver medal at the National Championships later that year. “The Polish Prince” Kielczewski was 22-0 at the start of his career but tougher opposition has put a dent in those figures. Valenzuela vs. Strayhorn Valenzuela gets another inside the distance win as he halts Strayhorn in the fourth. Valenzuela was credited with a knockdown in the first when a long right sent Strayhorn back off balance and he put his glove on the canvas. Over the second and third Valenzuela stood right in front of Strayhorn as they swopped heavy punches. He was connecting with hooks to the body and uppercuts and sent Strayhorn’s mouthguard flying but also had to show a good chin as Strayhorn landed flush with some right crosses. By the fourth Valenzuela had beaten the fight out of Strayhorn and when he unleashed a barrage of punches that had Strayhorn stumbling the fight was stopped. Fifth consecutive inside the distance victory for Valenzuela. At this time his claim to fame is dropping Teo Lopez with a body punch when they sparred a while back. First stoppage loss for Strayhorn his previously losses came in the form of two majority decision and one spilt. Fight of the week (Significance): In beating Manny Pacquiao Yordenis Ugas may have opened the door to some big paydays and ended the great career of Pac Man. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Mark Magsayo vs. Julio Ceja staged a fierce battle with both on the floor and Magsayo scoring a dramatic kayo. Fighter of the week: Yordenis Ugas Punch of the week: The dreadful right from Mark Magsayo that rendered Julio Ceja unconscious whilst still on his feet was fearsome. Upset of the week: After coming in at only eleven days notice Yordenis Ugas was a rank outsider Prospect watch: Lightweight Jose Valenzuela 9-0 (6) looked good at the weekend Observations -The Ugas vs. Pacquiao saw some great scraps apart from the battles between Magsayo and Ceja and Castro vs. Escandon the fights between Guerrero and Ortiz and Martin and Kielczewski provide plenty of entertainment so a good show all the way down the list. - It seems to me that Thai newcomer Phumiritdet Chonlathondamrongkun might just have the longest name in boxing. I gave it to Google translate to come up with an alternative and one of the suggestions was “Dictatorship GPP pearl sailboat” so I will go with Phumiritdet as Thais tend to stick with their first name no matter how often they change sponsors, gyms etc. -Will there ever be another fighter like Manny Pacquiao. He turned pro as a light flyweight-in fact just 1lb over the minimumweight division. In a twenty-six year + career he has fought across twelve weight divisions and won ten titles, six of them in different divisions. I doubt if we will see that bettered. By Eric Armit
Highlights: - John Riel Casimero retains the WBO bantamweight title with split decision over Guillermo Rigondeaux in a fight to forget -Virgil Ortiz records an important and impressive win as he floors Egidijus Kavaliauskas five times -Joshua Franco stages a strong finish to outpoint Andrew Moloney and retain the secondary WBA super flyweight title but twin brother Jason Moloney outpoints Michael Greer at bantamweight and Arnold Barboza goes to 26-0 with decision over Antonio Moran -Roger Gutierrez retains the secondary WBA super featherweight title with points victory over former champion Rene Alvarado -Bantam eliminator between Gary Antonio Russell and Emmanuel Rodriguez ends after just sixteen seconds as Rodriguez is cut in a clash of heads in the first round resulting in a No Decision. -Joshua Buatsi knocks out Ricards Bolotniks in eleven rounds to move close to a shot at a version of the light heavyweight title -Karim Guerfi wins the European featherweight title with victory over champion Andoni Gago World Title/Major Shows 14 August Frisco, EX, USA: Welter: Vergil Ortiz (18-0) W KO 8 Egidijus Kavaliauskas (22-2-1). Super Feather: Roger Gutierrez (26-3-1) W PTS 12 Rene Alvarado (32-10). Super Light: Alex Martin (17-3) W PTS 10 Josec Ruiz (23-5-3). Light Fly: Felix Alvarado (37-2) W TKO 1 Israel Vazquez (10-5-2). Super Light: George Rincon (12-0) W PTS 8 Nikolai Buzolin (8-4-1). Super Welter: Alex Rincon (9-0) W PTS 8 Sanny Duversonne (11-4-2). Ortiz vs. Kavaliauskas Staggered early Ortiz goes on to floor Kavaliauskas five times. Both used plenty of jabs in the opening round with Ortiz just that bit sharper and Kavaliauskas looking to counter with rights. They both scored with sharp rights in the second with Ortiz bringing his left hook to the body into play. As they traded punches a right from Kavaliauskas suddenly had Ortiz staggered and hurt. He held on desperately with Kavaliauskas throwing punches in a frenzy trying to put Ortiz away. Ortiz looked to be in deep trouble holding desperately and he went down but it was rightly ruled a slip. When he got up Ortiz turned things around with sweeping hooks driving Kavaliauskas back and now it was Kavaliauskas under fire at the bell to end a dramatic round. Kavaliauskas took the fight to Ortiz in the third getting through with jabs and rights. Ortiz weathered the storm and then just before the bell he landed a straight right followed by a left hook that dropped Kavaliauskas. The Lithuanian was up at five and when the eight count was completed the bell went before Ortiz could do any more damage. Ortiz took the fourth and fifth with some strong jabbing on the back foot. Kavaliauskas attacked fiercely in the sixth getting through with some powerful rights but Ortiz went onto the front foot in the seventh scoring with quick jabs and landing two hefty rights just before the bell as Kavaliauskas showed signs of tiring. It was all Ortiz in the eighth. Kavaliauskas was trying to stay inside but he was driven back and dropped to one knee after a stiff jab to the body from Ortiz. Kavaliauskas was up at eight but looked a beaten fighter and a left hook from Ortiz saw Kavaliauskas drop to one knee and bounce up again. After the count Ortiz put Kavaliauskas down twice more and the fight was stopped. Impressive performance by Ortiz against a very tough opponent. Ortiz retains the WBO International title and is their No 1 so a mandatory challenger to Terence Crawford. The only fight the Lithuanian had lost was a ninth round stoppage against Crawford for the WBO title in December 2019. Gutierrez vs. Alvarado Venezuelan Gutierrez holds on to the secondary WBA title with unanimous decision over former champion Alvarado. This was the third meeting of the two Latin Americans and familiarity led to caution as neither wanted to commit himself too much too soon. Gutierrez came to life in the fourth scoring well with counters and he also took the fifth with the same tactics. Alvarado found his fighting spirit in the sixth connecting with a good left hook and some overhand rights and they traded heavy punches in the seventh. Gutierrez swung the fight back his way in the eighth catching Alvarado with series of rights and landed a heavy right in the ninth. A cut and tiring Gutierrez then faded allowing Alvarado to close the points gap but then after opening a bad cut on Alvarado’s left eyebrow Gutierrez just did enough to win the last round. Scores 116-112 twice and 115-113 for Gutierrez. He had been knocked out in seven rounds by Alvarado in 2017 but gained revenge when a fight-saving last round knockdown saw him win on scores of 113-112 to lift the secondary WBA from Alvarado in January. It took eleven years for Alvarado to win a title then he lost it in his first defence. He will be looking to work his way back to another title shot but hopefully he won’t have to wait eleven years. Martin vs. Ruiz Southpaw Martin boxes his way to winning every round against Ruiz. Ruiz hunted in vain for the quick and elusive Martin. Ruiz never stopped coming forward but Martin fed him a diet of right jabs and straight lefts and used clever footwork to stay off the ropes and out of trouble. When Martin chose to trade his quicker hand speed and upper body movement gave him the edge and he was getting his punches off and blocking or slipping those from Ruiz and the 100-90 scores from the three judges showed his dominance. Three losses in a row in 2017 and a blank 2018 set Martin’s career back but he is on track again with four victories on the trot. Honduran Ruiz had a 16-bout unbeaten streak ended by a loss to Gabriel Flores last year but had scored two wins over reasonable level opposituion this year. Alvarado vs. Vazquez Alvarado gives another punch-power demonstration as he demolishes Vazquez in the first round. A sustained body attack had Vazquez wincing in pain. He tried to fight back but a left hook to the body sent him back to the ropes and a right to the head sent him down. He made it to his feet but after the eight count the referee saved him from further punishment by stopping the fight. Some consolation for the Alvarado twins after Rene lost to Gutierrez. Felix, the IBF light flyweight champion has scored 32 of his 37 wins by KO/TKO. He is on a 19 fight winning run with 17 of those wins coming inside the distance. Fifth loss in his last six fights for Puerto Rican Vazquez. Rincon vs. Buzolin On a good night for the Rincon brothers elder brother George had trouble in making his fight with awkward Russian Buzolin entertaining but Rincon was busier and worked well with his jab to score at distance on the brawling Buzolin. Scores 80-72 on the cards for Rincon. The Texan southpaw is a former National Golden Gloves champion. Buzolin was having his first fight in almost two years. Rincon vs. Duversonne Brother Alex also recorded a win but one of the judges actually found a round to give to Floridian Duversonne. This was a more entertaining contest with plenty of fiery exchanges as Duversonne took the fight inside to counter the reach advantage of the 6’2” Rincon but had limited success. Scores 80-72 twice and 79-73 for Rincon. As with George Alex is a southpaw and a former top level amateur. Fourth defeat in a row for Duversonne Tulsa, OK, USA: Super Fly: Joshua Franco (18-1-2,1ND) W PTS 12 Andrew Moloney (21-2). Super Light: Arnold Barboza (26-0) W PTS 10 Antonio Moran (26-4-1). Bantam: Jason Moloney (22-2) W PTS 10 Joshua Greer (22-3-2). Super Feather: Andres Cortes (15-0) W KO 1 Genisis Servania (34-3). Super Feather: Abraham Nova (19-0) W PTS 8 Richard Pumicpic (22-12-2). Super Feather: Albert Bell (19-0) W PTS 8 Julio Cortez (15-3). Super Feather: Carlos Balderas (10-1) W TKO 2 Fidel Cervantes (9-2-1). Heavy: Trey Lippe Morrison (18-0) W PTS 6 Don Haynesworth (16-7-1). Super Middle: Nico Ali Walsh (1-0) W TKO 1 Jordan Weeks (4-2). Franco vs. Moloney The pace in this fight was fast from the start. In the first Franco was advancing behind a high guard spearing Moloney with jabs and putting together some flashy combinations with Moloney countering but it was Franco’s round. Moloney was rocked by a right at the start of the second but then took over. He boxed cleverly on the back foot raking the oncoming Franco with counters and outworking Franco inside. Franco did a bit better in the third landing some clubbing rights but once again it was Moloney’s round. He was controlling the fight with his jab and getting off his punches and moving before Franco could counter. Despite constant pressure from Franco Moloney boxed coolly to pocket the fourth. Franco got back into the fight in the fifth. He upped his tempo and Moloney seemed to slow as Franco worked to the body and forced Moloney to stand and trade more. The sixth was close and a better round for Moloney. He scored well at distance and was given a warning as held on the inside to smother Franco’s attacks. After six rounds I had Moloney in front 58-56. Franco was on top in the seventh and then Moloney looked to have made it a big round for him. He threw a right and Franco went down. Franco protested that he had slipped but the referee gave Franco a count and Franco dominated the rest of the round. In the interval the referee asked for a reply of the knockdown and it was clear that Franco had slipped so what might have been a 10-8 round for Moloney turned into a 10-9 for Franco. That was a turning point in the fight as Franco got stronger and Moloney slowed. Franco was landing punches that Moloney would have slipped earlier and Franco upped the pressure in round after round. Moloney was able to find gaps for his jab but the combinations he had been throwing earlier were absent. Moloney did enough to make the eighth a close round and put in a big effort in the eleventh but Franco won both rounds sweeping the last six rounds to take the decision. Franco retains the secondary WBA title and goes 2-0, 1ND ahead in his three-bout series with Moloney. Former WBA interim champion Moloney will be back fighting for a title in 2022. Barboza vs. Moran Barboza outclasses Moran in defence of his WBO International belt. Barboza controlled this one from the start. He boxed with real skill opening up Moran with jabs and then landing strongly to head and body. A punch in the second saw Moran nursing a heavy nose bleed and it was subsequently confirmed his nose was broken. Barboza rocked Moran in the third and fifth rounds. Despite the nose injury Moran fought back hard but the speed, accuracy and power of Barboza was joist too much for him. Moran was in trouble in the ninth as Barboza landed a huge right but he survived and held out against strong attacks from Barboza in the last. Scores 99-91 twice and 100-90 for Barboza. He is rated WBO 3/WBC 5 so in the queue for a shot at Josh Taylor. Mexican Moran had drawn with unbeaten Yomar Alamo and won his last two fights but Barboza was at a different level. Moloney vs. Greer Jason Moloney made sure one of the Moloney twins came away with a win as he outboxed Greer. As with Andrew Jason was content fighting on the back foot countering Greer’s attacks and scoring with hurtful body shots. Greer looked to have taken the first two rounds and the third was close but Moloney had a big fourth as he dazed Greer with a right and then had Greer pinned to the ropes and was unloading punches for the last minute of the round. Greer was showing a swelling by his right eye. Moloney built on that success in the fifth and by the sixth Greer’s right eye began to close due to the swelling. Moloney took over outscoring Greer and despite an attempt by Greer to claw his way into the fight over the closing rounds Moloney was a clear winner. Scores 98-92 twice and 96-94 for Moloney. This is Moloney’s first fight since being knocked out in seven rounds by Naoya Inoue in October. He is still in the ratings so will be hoping to work his way into another title shot-but not against Inoue. Cortes vs. Servania Unbeaten Las Vegas fighter Cortes gets a big win as he stops Servania. The more experienced Servania was confident in the first taking the fight to Cortes and landing some crisp shots. Cortes was relying heavily on his jab but with less than ten seconds to go in the round Cortes landed a solid right to the head that saw Servania half turn away and Cortes dropped him with a fearsome left hook. Servania was lying on his side half way out under the ropes and after starting the count the referee wisely waived the fight over. No names on Cortes’ record and he had won three of his last four fights on points making this a surprise ending. Filipino Servania had gone the full twelve rounds when losing to Oscar Valdez in a challenge for the WBO feather title in 2017 and had rebuilt solidly since then Nova vs. Pumicpic Nova gets back into action with unanimous decision over Filipino Pumicpic. It looked as though Nova might make it an early night as he staggered Pumicpic in the first round. Pumicpic has never lost inside the distance and he showed his resilience here by staying on his feet and then giving the 5-inch taller Nova some useful ring time. Scores 79-73 twice and 78-74 for Nova. First fight for Nova since June last year due to both the pandemic and a torn Achilles. Pumicpic has done most of his fighting in Japan recently and in an early bout there he scored a win over current WBO No 5 Joe Noynay. Bell vs. Cortez Bell just too big and too good for Ecuadorian Cortez. Bell used his 7-inch height advantage and 8-inch longer reach to control the fight. There was already swelling around Cortez ‘s right eye in the second round and as Bell constantly raked Cortez with punches Cortez left eye also showed damage. Bell tried to finish the fight over the sixth and seventh but Cortez has a good chin and Bell settled for boxing his way through the eighth to earn scores of 80-72 from the three judges. The 28-year-old from Toledo already has wins over Andy Vences and Frank De Alba and is coming along strongly under the radar. Not surprisingly Cortez never managed to get even a toe-hold in the fight. Balderas vs. Cervantes Balderas impresses as he stops Cervantes in his return to the ring. Cervantes made a busy start in the first throwing plenty of punches as he drove forward. Balderas was scoring with stiff jabs, short rights and left hooks to the body. As Cervantes went to throw a right Balderas beat him to it was a brutal left hook that sent Cervantes down on his back. He made it to his feet and was exchanging punches until another left hook turned his legs to rubber. He was staggering and stumbling but the bell went before Balderas could finish the job. To his credit Cervantes took the fight to Balderas again in the second until Balderas unleashed a series of head punches that staggered Cervantes and the referee made a good stoppage. Balderas was a member if the USA team for the 2016 Olympics and showed real promise in winning his first nine fights. He then suffered a shock kayo defeat against Juan Tellez in December 2019. He is re-launching his career under the Top Rank banner and he showed real power in this fight. Cervantes was brave but outclassed. Lippe vs. Haynesworth Lippe scores a points win over Haynesworth. Although both fighters are 6’3” Haynesworth was 59lbs heavier than the 229lbs Lippe. The pace was slow with Lippe showing what skill there was. Haynesworth used his weight advantage to force Lippe back at times but was clumsy with his punches. Haynesworth suffered a gash on his forehead in the third round and shook Lippe at the end of the fourth but other than that Lippe was the one doing the scoring and he was a clear winner with all three judges scoring for him at 60-54. Lippe is the son of the late former heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison but is unlikely to reach the heights his father did. Haynesworth, 38, just too fat and too slow. Walsh vs. Weeks Walsh, 21, the grandson of Muhammad Ali floors and stops Weeks in just 109 seconds . Walsh will be under the limelight whenever he fights so plenty of pressure but he got the job done here. Carson, CA, USA: Bantam: John Riel Casimero(31-4) W PTS 12 Guillermo Rigondeaux (20-2). Bantam: Gary Antonio Russell (18-0,1ND) ND 1 Emmanuel Rodriguez (19-2,1ND). Bantam: Rau’shee Warren (19-3,1ND) W KO 2 Damien Vazquez (16-3-1). Super Light: Brandun Lee (23-0) W KO 1 Ezequiel Fernandez (28-5-1,1ND). Bantam: Jonas Sultan (17-5) W TKO 7 Sharone Carter (12-5). Bantam: Juan Carlos Payano (23-5) W RTD 5 Ray Tabugon (22-13-1). Alan Castano (14-1) W TKO 3 Christian Aguirre (8-8). Casimero vs. Rigondeaux Casimero retains the WBO bantam title with split decision over Rigondeaux. This was a terrible fight with very little in the way of highlights and which set a new CompuBox record for the least punches landed in a fight. From the first it was evident that if there was going to be a fight Casimero was going to have to make it. In his too familiar style Rigondeaux spent twelve rounds trying to avoid trading punches with Casimero and Casimero was not quick enough to close Rigondeaux down. Casimero’s irritation showed early as he was warned twice in the opening round. The crowd was already booing over the lack of action by the third round as Casimero pursued Rigondeaux in vain. Rigondeaux was able to spear Casimero with right jabs and skip away before Casimero could counter. Casimero managed to score on the occasions when he caught up with Rigondeaux but the CompuBox statistics showed that neither fighter managed to land fifty punches over the twelve rounds. Casimero threw more and showed what aggression there was and that was enough to get him the decision. Scores 117-111 and 116-112 for Casimero and 115-113 for Rigondeaux. Casimero will now be looking to face either Nonito Donaire or Naoya Inoue. Rigondeaux felt he won this one and in response to the criticism of his tactics not unreasonable said that is the way he fights and he can’t change. So much talent and so little entertainment value. Rigondeaux did not just lose this fight but also made it harder to sell him in other big match. Russell vs. Rodriguez Disappointing end to what looked to be a very good fight on paper as a cut caused by a clash of heads sees the fight end after just 16 seconds. The clash sent a dazed Rodriguez to the floor and the cut was too bad for him to continue. This fight was for the WBA interim title which remains vacant. Warren vs. Vazquez Unusual show of power from Warren as he floors and stops Vazquez. Warren came close to ending it in the first as he sent Vazquez down twice. Vazquez made it to the bell but a powerful straight left in the second sent Vazquez staggering back and he dropped to his haunches with a glove on the canvas to stop himself going down but the referee immediately stopped the uneven contest. Only the fifth win by KO/TKO for former IBO and WBA bantam champion Warren. Vazquez had lost on a tenth round stoppage against Brandon Figueroa for the secondary WBA super bantam title last September. Lee vs. Fernandez Lee annihilates Argentinian Fernandez. Lee blasted Fernandez to the floor three times in the 100 seconds the fight lasted. The tall 22-year-old Californian has put together some impressive looking statistics with twenty-one wins by KO/TKO including a current run of fourteen in a row and has eight first round finishes. There are a couple of creditable opponents in his list of victims and this is the first time Fernandez has been stopped but Lee needs to step up before we can really judge his worth. Sultan vs. Carter Filipino Sultan overcomes some tough resistance from Carter before stopping him in the seventh round. Sultan was the one coming forward with Carter holding his left low and shooting sharp jabs and they both landed with strong punches. As Sultan increased the pressure and was connecting with left left hooks to the body Carter started to fade and was deducted a point for holding in the fourth. Sultan continued to break Carter down over the fifth and sixth and in the seventh under an array of punches from Sultan Carter slumped to a sitting position against the ropes and he was counted out. Sultan’s biggest achievement to date is a points win over John Riel Casimero in 2017, the last time Casimero lost a fight, but Sultan lost a wide unanimous verdict to Jerwin Ancajas for the IBF super fly title in 2018. First inside the distance loss for Carter who dropped a decision against Rau’shee Warren in February. Payano vs. Tabugon In his second fight in five weeks Payano stops Filipino Tabugon in five rounds. Payano was finding the target with southpaw lefts from the first bell. Tabugon was lunging forward with his attacks and when he went down it was ruled a slip but just seconds before the bell a left from Payano put him down for a legitimate knockdown. The fighters had been warned to watch their heads in the first and as their heads banged together in the second Payano was cut over his right eye. Payano handed out punishment to Tabugon over the third and fourth. In the fifth it was one-way traffic with Tabugon being driven around the ring as Payano connected with hooks and uppercuts and when Tabugon returned to his corner they promptly retired their man. Consecutive losses to Luis Nery, Daniel Roman and Gary Antonio Russell put question marks over 37-year-old Payano’s future but he looked in good form here. Tabugon falls to 2-6 in his last 8 fights. Castano vs. Aguirre Castano stops Aguirre in three rounds. Castano just punched too hard for Aguirre. He scored with scorching body shots in the first and second rounds and had Aguirre hurt in the third when the referee hated the fight. First fight since February 2019 for Castano who is the younger brother of WBO super welter champion Brian Castano. He gets win No 9 by KO/TKO. Five consecutive inside the distance defeats for Aguirre. Brentwood, England: Light Heavy: Joshua Buatsi (15-0) W TKO 11Ricards Bolotniks (18-6-1). Welter: Michael McKinson (21-0) W PTS 10 Przemyslaw Runowski (19-2). Bantam: Ukashir Farooq (16-1) W PTS 10 Luis Castillo (28-3). Feather: Ray Ford (9-0-1) W TKO 3 Reece Bellotti (14-5). Super Feather: Joe Cordina (13-0) W KO 1 Joshua Hernandez (10-4). Super Feather: Zelfa Barrett (25-1) W RTD 4 Viorel Simion (22-7). Feather: Hopey Price (5-0) W PTS 6 Claudio Grande (5-1). Buatsi vs. Bolotniks Buatsi floors brave Bolotniks twice and stops him in the eleventh round. Buatsi quickly took control in the first. He was finding gaps in Bolotniks guard for his jab and landing rights. Bolotniks was not looking to engage but he showed he could be a danger landing a heavy right to the head. There was real power behind Buatsi’s jab in the second and he had Bolotniks backing up although again Bolotniks got through with a sneaky right. Buatsi was putting his punches together well in the third and although Bolotniks was more adventurous than in the opening rounds it was Buatsi doing the scoring particularly with his potent jab. Buatsi really let his punches flow in the fourth with Bolotniks under heavy fire and being rocked by a right but doing some clowning on his way back to his corner to show he was not hurt. Buatsi kept up the pressure in the fifth and then floored Bolotniks with a sizzling left hook. After the count Buatsi drove Bolotniks around the ring bombarding him with punches. He then seemed to back off and Bolotniks scored with a good uppercut before the bell. Surviving the sixth seemed to put more heart into Bolotniks and he came forward throughout the seventh and eighth with the snap gone from Buatsi’s jab and Buatsi was deducted a point for a low punch in the ninth. Buatsi handed out some savage punishment to head and body in the tenth with a brave Bolotniks taking it and trying to fire back when he could. A huge right hand from Buatsi floored Bolotniks heavily in the eleventh and the fight was stopped. Buatsi is No 2 with the WBA and the second highest ranked fighter with the IBF so a title shot next year has to be on the agenda. Latvian Bolotniks came to prominence by beating Steven Ward, Hosea Burton and Serge Michel in the MTK tournament and put up a resolute fight here but Buatsi was just too good for him. McKinson vs. Runowski McKinson easily outpoints Pole Runowski in a WBO Gold title defence. McKinson has an unusual and awkward style but is very quick with his hands and his wide stride helps him step back from his opponents attacks. Runowski never came near to working out how to fight McKinson. A straight left from McKinson almost put Runowski down at the end of the fourth round. For the remaining rounds McKinson’s right jabs and straight lefts kept Runowski on the back foot and when he did attack he was often swinging wildly. Luckily for Runowski McKinson is not much of a puncher-only two wins by KO/TKO- so apart from that time at the end of the fourth he was never in any serious trouble. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92 for McKinson. The Gold title has given McKinson a No. 4 rating with the WBO. Runowski won his first 17 fights against very modest opposition and when he stepped up against in April 2019 against Josh Kelly he lost every round and was counted three times. Farooq vs. Castillo Another brilliant display of boxing skills from Farooq as he out classes Mexican Castillo. Over the early rounds Farooq was just too quick for the mechanical Castillo. Farooq was slotting jabs through Castillo’s guard and moving inside to score with hooks. Castillo was just too slow to block Farooq’s jabs and too slow to land counters. From the fourth Farooq chose to stand and trade with Castillo which allowed Castillo some success but Farooq was scoring with crunching rights to the head which Castillo took well. To his credit Castillo marched forward relentlessly and Farooq had to fight hard for three minutes in every round and in the end Farooq seemed to be the tired one. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91 for Farooq. He wins the vacant WBC International title and hopefully he will get the chance to gain revenge for the split decision loss to Lee McGregor on November 2019. Castillo was raw and strong and never took a backward step. Ford vs. Bellotti Ford stops Bellotti in three rounds. Bellotti was storming forward blazing away with punches from both hands. He forced Ford onto the back foot but despite the pressure Ford stayed cool and fired back. When the storm subsided in the third Ford was the one bombarding Bellotti with punches and as Bellotti floundered under the barrage the fight was stopped. Southpaw Ford from Newark New Jersey wins the vacant WBA Continental title. He was US National Golden Gloves champion in 2018 and was having his first fight in the UK. Former Commonwealth champion Bellotti made a good start to his career but is now 2-5 in his last 7 fights. Cordina vs. Hernandez Cordina blasts out Hernandez in less than one minute. Cordina scored with a sharp right early in the first round. He followed that with a couple more rights to the head and as Hernandez tried to move inside Cordina connected with a savage straight right that put Hernandez down heavily. He struggled to rise but was counted out. All over in 53 seconds. Eighth inside the distance win for Cordina who looked very sharp. Second loss by KO/TKO for Hernandez Barrett vs. Simion Barrett much too slick and quick for timeworn Romanian Simion. Barrett sent Simion down in the first with a series of body punches but Simion got up and fought on. It was target practice at times as Barrett danced around Simion jarring him with jabs and flashing combinations. Simon was just following Barrett around the ring and launching wild attacks that Barrett skipped away from. Barrett really began to string together some classy combinations in the third and although Simion showed some fire in the fourth he was taking a beating and wisely retired. Just a keep busy fight for Barrett with talk of a return with Spanish veteran Kiko Martinez over whom Barrett took a controversial decision in February. Now 39 Simion competed at the Olympic Games in Athens 17 years ago. Price vs. Grande Southpaw prospect Hope is made to work hard against unbeaten Italian Grande. Price had a much longer reach and used his southpaw jab and straight lefts to pile up the points. Grande kept taking the fight to Price who had to use his skills to avoid the Italian’s attack. Price put the verdict beyond doubt as he floored Grande with a perfectly timed left counter. Perfectly timed in its delivery and also as it was the last punch of the fight. Grande made it to his feet. The referee scored the fight 58-55 for the 21-year-old from Leeds who in 2018 won a silver medal at the Youth World Boxing Championships and gold at the European Youth Championships and the Youth Olympics . 13 August Dubai, UAE: Super Middle: Anthony Sims Jr (21-1) W TKO 9 Hernan Perez (8-4). Cruiser: Mike Perez (25-3-1) W TKO 3 Tony Salam (14-3). Super Welter: Austin Trout (34-5-1) W PTS 10 Alejandro Davila (22-3-2). Super Feather: Ramiro Cesena (14-0-1) W PTS 8 Bekman Soylybayev (12-1). Super Fly: Fernando Martinez (13-0) W TKO 4 Gonzalo Garcia (18-22-2). Sims vs. Perez Sims gets back in the ring for the first time since losing his unbeaten record against Romero Angulo in January 2020. Sims staggered Perez in the second and third and then floored Perez with a left in the fourth. Perez was down again in the fifth and was bleeding heavily from the nose. Sims continued to pound on Perez until the ninth when he put Perez down for the third time and the fight was stopped. Sims gets his nineteenth inside the distance victory and wins the vacant WBA Inter-Continental title. South American champion Perez had won his last three fights. Perez vs. Salam Cuban southpaw Perez re-launches his career with a third round stoppage of Tony Salam in a fight for the vacant WBA Inter-Continental belt. Perez was just too big and strong for Salam whom is really just a beefed up light heavyweight. Perez pounded Salam over the first two rounds and then trapped Salam in a corner and sent him down and out with a clubbing right to the head in the third. A first round loss to Alexander Povetkin and a points defeat to Mairis Breidis for the WBC cruiser title derailed Perez. He had started his recovery with two wins in 2018 but this fight is first in almost three years. Nigerian southpaw Salam was coming off three inside the distance victories. Trout vs. Davila Seasoned pro Trout keeps his faint hope of a title shot alive as he decisions Davila. It was Davila who made the better start taking control from the centre of the ring against a static Trout. From the fourth Trout began to put his skill and experience to use. He was finding the target with jabs and long rights and constantly switching guards to bemuse Davila and boxed his way to a comfortable victory. The scores from the three German judges differed ridiculously at 100-92, 97-94 and 96-95.After losses to both Jermall and Jermell Charlo and Jarrett Hurd Trout, 35,has scored three wins and fought a draw with Terrell Gausha. He is No 6 with the IBF. Mexican Davila went 19-0-2 at the start of his career but with losses to Mikael Zewski and Serhii Bohachuk and now Trout he is having a tough time. Cesena vs. Soylybayev Young Mexican Cesena extends his winning run to thirteen as he gets a close majority decision over Kazak Soylybayev. Scores 78-76, 77-76 and 76-76. Good win for 22-year-old from Baja California but this was Soylybayev’s first fight almost four years. Martinez vs. Garcia Argentinian Martinez adds another win as he stops Mexican Garcia in four rounds. WBC Silver super fly champion Martinez used a focused body attack to break down Garcia and the referee stopped the one-sided beating in the fourth. A 2016 Olympian Martinez gets his eight inside the distance victory. Garcia has won only 2 of his last 10 fights. Kissimmee, FL, USA: Super Light: Yomar Alamo (20-0-1) W PTS 10 Adrian Yung (28-7-2). Super Feather: Otar Eranosyan (9-0) W TKO 4 Juan Pena (32-4). Welter: Mekhrubon Sanginov (12-0-1) W KO 4 Jesus Beltran (17-5-2). Super Bantam: Jorge De Jesus Romero (21-0-1) W PTS 8 Jesus Martinez (30-14-1). Alamo vs. Yung Alamo retains the WBO Latino title with comprehensive victory over Yung. Alamo had been taken the distance in his last five fights but he looked as though he might be on his way an early finish when he floored Yung in the first. Yung managed to get up and stay up and tried to put Alamo under pressure. Alamo boxed skilfully and countered well with his accurate shots almost closing Yung’s left eye by the middle rounds. Yung just could not catch the elusive Alamo and tired from his efforts but Alamo did not have the power to end the fight early. Scores 100-89, 99-90 and 98-91 for Alamo. After a disappointing draw against Antonio Moran Alamo has registered wins against acceptable level opposition in Kendo Castaneda and Jesus Beltran. Mexican Yung (Young)was stopped in five rounds by Luke Campbell in 2019. Eranosyan vs. Pena Georgian Eranosyan made it six wins so far in 2021 with a stoppage of former victim Pena. Eranosyan put Pena down twice in the third before the fight was stopped in the fourth. Eranosyan had knocked out Pen in four rounds in January. Sanginov vs. Beltran Tajik Sanginov not really tested by Beltran and stops the tall Mexican in four rounds for his ninth inside the distance finish. Sanginov turned pro in 2016 after failing to win his way through the World Qualifier for the Rio Games. Beltran had put up a good performance when being outpointed by Alamo in March. Romero vs. Martinez The last time Cuban Romero fought in Kissimmee he felt he was given a bad deal when his fight with Daniel Lozano ended as a majority draw. He had made a slow start in the Lozano fight and was determined that would not happen this time and went out and dominate every round on his way to a unanimous verdict over Martinez. Despite his impressive looking statistics Romero, 27, has yet to move up to ten rounds or meet a real test. Martinez, 40, had won three easy fights back home in Colombia Marbella, Spain: Feather: Karim Guerfi (30-5,1ND) W PTS 12 Andoni Gago (24-4-4). Super Middle: Ronny Landaeta W PTS 6 Nizar Trimech (8-2). Frenchman Guerfi wins the European title with a split decision over champion Gago. The fight started badly for the champion as he was cut over his left eye in the first round. From there Gago applied his usual aggressive approach but Guerfi was moving cleverly and connecting with hard, accurate counters. Gago continued to force the fight all of the way but Guerfi managed to score at distance and with enough counters to deserve the split verdict. Scores 116-112 and 115-113 for Guerfi and 115-113 for Gago. Guerfi rebounds well from a first round loss to Lee McGregor in March which cost him his European bantamweight title. Gago was making the second defence of the title Landaeta vs. Trimech Experienced former European Union champion Landaeta outpointed Frenchman Trimech. After a lively start Body punches slowed Trimech but the visitor was always competitive. Landaeta took the decision but a draw would have been no more than Trimech deserved. Scores 58-56 twice and 58-57 all for Landaeta. Trimech fought for the French Roosters in the WSB where he beat Filipino Olympian Eumir Marcial a bronze medallist in Tokyo. Moscow, Russia: Heavy: Vitaly Kudukhov (5-0) W PTS 8Guillermo Jones (41-4-2,1ND). Kudukhov hustles and bustles his way to victory over Jones. The 18-year-younger Kudukhov bulled his way inside from the start roughing Jones up and using his head literally. Jones managed to work on the outside in the second and also tried turning southpaw but Kudukhov was doing most of the scoring. Jones did enough to edge the seventh but was a clear loser. Kudukhov, 31, had his first three pro fights on the same night winning a heavyweight competition in June last year and then scored a very modest win in November. Former WBA cruiser title holder Jones, 49, was having his first fight since November 2017. 14 August Corona, CA, USA: Super Light: Ruben Torres (16-0) W TKO 5 Richard Zamora (19-5). Torres gets another inside the distance victory as he halts Zamora in five rounds. The hard-punching Torres was landing heavily from the start and wore Zamora down before finishing him with a body punch in the fifth. The tall 23-year-old from Santa Monica makes it 13 wins by KO/TKO and 6 in his last 7 fights. Mexican Zamora just could not figure out a way to combat the longer reach of Torres and suffers his second loss in a row by KO/TKO. Orlando, FL, USA: Bantam: Ramon Cardenas (20-1) W TKO 3 Marvin Solano (24-7). Texan Cardenas stops a sliding Marvin Solano in three rounds. Whilst Cardenas moves to nine wins in a row Nicaraguan Solano drops further with his fifth loss in his last eight fights. Atlanta, GA, USA: Light: Noel Echevarria (19-7) W PTS 12 Rodrigo Guerrero (26-13-2). Puerto Rican-born southpaw Echevarria wins the vacant UBO title with unanimous decision over veteran Guerrero. The fight was close with two points deductions for low blows costing a majority draw. Scores 114-112 twice and 116-111 for Echevarria. Now eight wins and a No Decision in his last nine fights for Echevarria. Former IBF super fly title holder Guerrero just failed to break a six bout losing streak. Worcester, MA, Heavy: Cassius Chaney (21-0) W PTS 10 Shawndell Winters (13-5) Unbeaten Chaney goes ten rounds for the first time in outpointing Winters. Scores 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 for Chaney. At 34 the 6’6” 260lbs Chaney will have to move up to better opposition soon. Winters, 40, was giving away around 50lbs. He was stopped in four rounds by Alen Babic last August Portland, ME, USA: Light Heavy: Charles Foster (20-0) W KO 2 Jaime Barboza (21-18). Southpaw Foster returns to action after two years out and knocks out Costa Rican Barboza in two rounds. Foster had scored wins in a series of fights against credible opposition before the pandemic curtailed his activity. After a run of nine losses Barboza, 43, had returned home to get two low level wins. Savonlinna, Finland : Super Middle: Sanna Turunen (7-4-1) W PTS 10 Elene Sikmashvili (9-10). Welter: Oskari Metz (15-0) W PTS 8 Emanuele Cavallucci (12-4-1). Turunen vs. Sikmashvili Local fighter Turunen wins the vacant IBF female title with unanimous decisioin over Sikmashvili. An entertaining, competitive fight saw Turunen have early difficulties with the longer reach of Sikmashvili but by the third she was getting past the jab. She scored well in the fourth and fifth and took the sixth. Sikmashvili then got back into the fight but Turunen was stronger and boxed her way to a well deserved victory. Scores 98-92, 97-94 and 97-96 for Turunen. All four of Turunen’s loses have come in title fights for a variety of bodies so nice to finally have a belt at the age of forty-six. Georgian Sikmashvili has lost in shots at both WBC and IBO titles. Metz vs. Cavallucci Finn Metz remains undefeated but only just. Italian southpaw Cavallucci proved a clever boxer with plenty of movement. He was constantly changing angles and Metz did well to stay balanced and focused. Metz exerted heavy pressure over the sixth and seventh with Cavallucci strong in the eighth making it very close and Metz just edged it on a split decision. Scores 78-75 and 78-76 for Metz and 78-75 for Cavallucci. Good learning fight for Metz and former Italian champion Cavallucci will feel he was worth at least a draw. Fight of the week (Significance): Virgil Ortiz win over Egidijus Kavaliauskas with fights against Terence Crawford or Errol Spence possibilities in 2022 Fight of the week (Entertainment); Plenty of action in Ortiz vs. Kavaliauskas Fighter of the week: Virgil Ortiz for his blast out of Kavaliauskas Punch of the week: The left hook from Joshua Buatsi that put Ricards Bolotniks down in the sixth was spectacular Upset of the week: Andres Cortes first round stoppage of Genisis Servania was a re3al shock Prospect watch: Early days but Leeds super bantamweight 5-0 Ivan “Hopey” Price was outstanding in International Youth tournaments Observations Once again Guillermo Rigondeaux loses and faces criticism for his jab and run, run style. I have some sympathy for him He said that this is how he fights and he can’t change. He had 386 fights as an amateur and lost only 12. For almost 400 fights entertainment was not even in his dictionary and the only requirement was that he win for Cuba-boringly or not. Changing a style that deeply engraved in his psyche is never going to be easy and he will be 41 next month so he is never going to change. It was interesting that in the Franco vs. Moloney fight after giving Franco a count in the seventh round the referee at the end of the round asked to see the replay of the incident and saw that Franco had slipped and no punch was landed so a 10-8 for Moloney ended up as a 10-9 for Franco so I guess the judges would have had to adjust their score cards even if they had already marked the round 10-8. Messy but a good call. |
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