By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Gilberto Ramirez destroys Sullivan in four rounds with body punches -Joseph Diaz wins vacant WBC interim lightweight title with decision over Javier Fortuna -Tim Tszyu marches on as he halts Steve Spark in three rounds and Filipino Joe Noynay stops unbeaten Liam Wilson. Seneisa Estrada and Naoko Fujioka win inn Female title fights -Unbeaten Kazak hopes Tursynbay Kulakhmet score inside the distance wins. World Title/Major Shows 7 July Sydney, Australia: Super Welter: Tim Tszyu (19-0) W TKO 3 Steve Spark (12-2). Super Feather: Joe Noynay (19-2-2) W TKO 5 Liam Wilson (9-1). Super Welter: Wade Ryan (19-9) W TKO 6 Troy O’Meley (11-2). Welter: Sam Ah See (14-0-1) W TKO 1 Czar Amonsot (35-6-3,1NC). Tszyu vs. Spark In a fight for the vacant Commonwealth title Tszyu blows away Australian welterweight champion Spark flooring him twice with body punches in the third round to force the finish. Spark came out throwing punches and taking the fight to Tszyu. Once Tszyu stated to use his longer reach he was able to force Spark back with jabs and land clubbing rights to the head. Tszyu was walking Spark down with Spark jumping in with short bursts of punches but Tszyu was landing hooks to the head and body and was the heavier puncher. Spark tried to take the fight to Tszyu in the second but a series of heavy hooks soon had him retreating and Tszyu drove him around the ropes connecting with hooks and uppercuts with a stumbling Spark in trouble. He fired back an occasional punch but his head was being snapped back by hooks and uppercuts as he took a one-sided beating and the fight could have been stopped. In the interval the contents of an ice bucket from Sparks’s corner was knocked over and ice cubes were scattered across the ring with the start of the third round being delayed by about a minute as the cubes were swept out of the ring. It was a genuine accident and not a ploy on behalf of Spark’s corner. Spark again tried to trade punches with Tszyu but was being heavily punished and a left hook to the body sent him down. Spark beat the count and tried to fight his way out of trouble but another body punch dropped him to his hands and knees and the referee immediately stopped the fight. Too easy for Tszyu as he wins the vacant Commonwealth title and retains the WBO Global belt. He announced that his preferred next opponent was Britain’s Liam Smith which would be a good fight for both men. Spark was a late substitute coming in at just one week’s notice. A much anticipated fight between Tszyu and Michael Zerafa fell through when Zerafa backed out of the contest citing concerns over COVID-19 restrictions between Zerafa’s State of Victoria and New South Wales where the fight was to be held. Spark showed courage but was way out of his depth. Noynay vs. Wilson World rated Filipino southpaw Noynay proves too good for Queenslander Wilson. Noynay put Wilson on the floor with a left in the first round but Wilson recovered and banged back to take the second. The third was close with Wilson getting through with good left hooks but a series of punches put Wilson down again in the fourth. He was still unsteady in the fifth and after a left to the head dropped him again the fight was stopped. Noynay, the WBO No 7, was too quick and punched too hard for Wilson. A huge blow for Wilson but at 25 he can rebound. Ryan vs. O’Meley Ryan makes a successful defence of the IBO International belt with stoppage of O’Meley. The first two rounds were close with Ryan just having the edge. Ryan began to take control in the third and a clash of heads opened a bad vertical gash over the right eye of O’Meley. The doctor inspected the cut at the start of the fourth round but let the fight continue. Ryan dominated the round then floored O’Meley with a left hook in the fifth. Despite bleeding heavily from the cut O’Meley fought hard in the sixth but the referee stopped the fight late in the round. Ryan had beaten O’Meley on a split decision for the Australian title in December. Ah See vs. Amonsot Former Australian champion Ah See returned to action and stopped Filipino veteran Amonsot in the first round. As they traded punches an uppercut from Ah See shook Amonsot and another put him down. He made it to his feet but was shipping heavy punishment and the referee stopped the fight. First fight for Ah See for six years. Amonsot lost to Michael Katsidis for the WBI interim lightweight title in 2007 and then went undefeated in his next 16 fights but has now lost 3 of his last 4. 9 July Los Angeles, CA, USA: Light Heavy: Gilberto Ramirez (42-0) W TKO 4 Sullivan Barrera (22-4). Light: Joseph Diaz (32-1-1) W PTS 12 Javier Fortuna (36-3-1,2ND). Light Fly: Seneisa Estrada (21-0) W PTS 10 Tenkai Tsunami (28-13-1). Light: William Zepeda (23-0) W RTD 6 Hector Tanajara (19-1). Fly: Naoko Fujioka (19-2-1) W PTS 10 Sulem Urbina Ochoa (12-2,1ND). Super Bantam: Azat Hovhannisyan (20-3) W PTS 10 Jose Santos Gonzalez (23-9-1). Feather: Bryan Chevalier (16-1-1) W PTS 10 James Wilkins (9-2). Super Feather: Lamont Roach (21-1-1) W TKO 2 Daniel Rosas (22-5-1). Heavy: Mihai Nistor (3-0) W TKO 2 Colby Madison (9-3-2). Light: Sparkinson Wilson Castillo (15-0) W TKO 2 Miguel Contreras (11-10) Ramirez vs. Barrera Ramirez crushes Barrera in four rounds with body punches. The first round saw very little action as both fighters were cautious trying to establish their jab and seeing what the other fighter had to offer. Ramirez was taking the fight to Barrera in the second getting through with jabs, connecting with a strong right hook and punching to the body. Ramirez continued to attack the body in the third and late in the round as Barrera came forward Ramirez fired a bunch of punches ending with a left hook to the body that saw Barrera lurch to one side stumble to the ropes and then go down on his hands and knees. He beat the count and although Ramirez landed another two body punches Barrera made it to the bell. After Ramirez connected with another left hook to the body in the fourth Barrera threw a couple of counters but then in a delayed effect walked away from Ramirez to the ropes and went down on one knee. He was up at six but Ramirez landed another left to the body and Barrera went down with the referee immediately stopping the fight. A very impressive display by Ramirez. He looked sharp and was putting his punches together well with the body shots the icing on the cake of a towering performance. His preferred choice for his next opponent is Dmitry Bivol the holder of the secondary WBA title. Cuban Barrera had been stopped in twelve rounds by Dmitry Bivol in a challenge for the WBA secondary title in 2018.His only other inside the distance loss. Diaz vs. Fortuna Local fighter Diaz wins the vacant interim WBC title as he outscores Fortuna. Southpaw Diaz was quicker into his stride and more accurate and outscored Fortuna over the first two rounds. Fortuna had a much better third round being the busier and the round was made even better for him when a clash of heads resulted in a cut over the left eye of Diaz which bled throughout the fight. Diaz looked on his way to pocketing the fourth round but he was deducted a point for a punch to the back of Fortuna’s head and Fortuna edged in front in the fight as he outscored Diaz in the fifth. Diaz stayed cool despite the cut and rallied to take a close sixth and the seventh with some sparkling combinations. He was throwing less than Fortuna but was finding the target more often and focusing on the body of the Dominican southpaw. They battled at close quarters in the eighth with Fortuna probably doing enough to take the round but from there Diaz took control. The body punches had weakened Fortuna and Diaz took the ninth and rocked Fortuna with a right in the tenth. Diaz was stronger and swept the last two rounds to put the decision beyond doubt. Scores 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112 for Diaz. He had lost his IBF super featherweight title when he failed to make the weight for a defence against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in February a fight that ended in a draw. Diaz looked much stronger in this fight not having to battle with his weight. He came into the fight as a replacement for Ryan Garcia who withdrew to deal with his mental health problems. Diaz is looking to fight either Garcia or WBC real title holder Devin Haney. Fortuna, a former holder of the secondary WBA super featherweight title, had scored good wins over Sharif Bogere, Jesus Cuellar and Antonio Lozada but at 32 time is running out for him to win another title. Estrada vs. Tsunami “Super Bad” Estrada is too quick and too busy for WBO Female title holder Tsunami. The Californian constantly switched guards and used good movement to slip away from Tsunami’ who kept plodding forward but without much success. Tsunami had a good seventh but then was hurt badly in the eighth and as she tired from the fast pace Estrada finished strongly. Scores 98-92 twice and 99-91 for Estrada. She adds the WBO Female light fly title to the WBA Female minimum title she already holds. Tsunami was defending her title for the fourth time. Zepeda vs. Tanajara Zepeda breaks down Tanajara’s resistance and forces a sixth round retirement. Southpaw Zepeda put Tanajara under pressure from the start. He was jabbing strongly and firing stinging straight lefts with Tanajara not on target with his counters. Tanajara stood and traded more in the second but Zepeda was catching him with hard lefts and eventually Tanajara was forced on to the defensive. The third was an all-action round as they just stood and swapped punches for three minutes. Both were landing quality shots but by the end of the round Zepeda was still banging home hooks and uppercuts shutting down Tanajara’s offence. Tanajara tried to match Zepeda in the fourth but Zepeda was relentless and his punch output impressive as he bombarded Tanajara with punches to head and body. Zepeda continued to pile of the punches in the fifth with Tanajara being overwhelmed by the blizzard of leather from Zepeda and after a one-sided sixth Tanajara’s corner pulled their man out of the fight. Win No 21 by KO/TKO for 25-year-old Zepeda. His early opposition has not been strong but as he stopped 23-2-1 Roberto Ramirez in November so his last two victims have had combined records of 42-2-1. Tanajara, 24, was facing his first real test but found he could not match the power or work rate of Zepeda. Fujioka vs. Ochoa Fujioka defies Old Father Time as she retains her WBA Female title with a majority verdict over Mexican Ochoa. It might have been expected that the 45-year-old Fujioka would start fast and fade over the late rounds but the opposite occurred. It was Ochoa who did better over the early rounds being quicker and piercing Fujioka’s guard with left hooks and countering Fujioka when the champion came forward. From the fifth the harder punching from Fujioka put her in control and Ochoa’s work rate dropped. Fujioka had a big seventh round and then outfought Ochoa over the last three rounds to emerge a good winner. Scores 99-91 and 96-94 for Fujioka and 95-95. The 99-91 was too wide. Fujioka was making the third defence of the WBA title in her first fight for two years. She did not turn professional until she was 34 and has held titles in five weight categories and is 11-2-1 in title fights. Second loss in a row for Mexican Ochoa. Hovhannisyan vs. Gonzalez Just a keep busy fight for Hovhannisyan as he floors and decisions Gonzalez. Hovhannisyan was in control all the way. There was a down side as a swelling under his right eye hampered him from the third but it was no real problem. He floored Gonzalez with a burst of punches in the eighth but Gonzalez hung in there and made it to the final bell. Scores 99-91 twice and 100-90 for Armenian Hovhannisyan. He lost a wide points decision against Rey Vargas for the WBC super bantam title in 2018 but has kept active with six wins, five by KO/TKO and is No 2 with the WBA so another title shot is a possibility. Gonzalez’s last fight was in August 2019 and he is 1-7-1 in his last 9 outings. Chevalier vs. Wilkins Chevalier remains unbeaten as he edges out Wilkins in a good, competitive match. Nice boxing early from Chevalier as he used his longer reach to slot home jabs and right hooks to the body. He shook Wilkins with a combination in the second. Wilkins upped the pressure in the third and fourth taking the fight to the 5’11” Chevalier to make the rounds close but Chevalier just had the edge and also took the fifth. Wilkins got into the fight more looking to have made the sixth close and with Chevalier tiring took the seventh. Chevalier was deducted a point in the eighth for pushing Wilkins head down but then unloaded on Wilkins having him in deep trouble and by “winning” made it a 9-9 score for that round. Chevalier had more left and edged the ninth but was rocked by a left hook in the last. Scores 97-92, 96-93 and 95-94 for Chevalier. The 27-year-old Puerto Rican is in good form having beaten Luis Lebron, Yeison Vargas and Carlos Zambrano in his last three fights. He proposed to his girlfriend in the ring and she accepted. Wilkins had won his previous four fights. Roach vs. Rosas Roach stops an over-matched Rosas in two rounds. Roach was scoring with heavy punches in the first. The smaller Rosas had to try to come inside but he had to absorb some wicked body punches. He was sent stumbling by a left hook to the head and was under heavy fire at the bell. In the second a long right stunned Rosas and Roach drove Rosas to the ropes and as Rosas began to drop to the floor the referee stopped the fight. Roach, 25, lost to Jamal Herring in a challenge for the WBO super feather title in November 2019 but is a classy fighter and No 5 with the WBO so could fight for a title again in 2022. Fourth inside the distance loss for Rosas. Nistor vs. Madison Nistor has to get off the floor twice to win. Nistor looked much too strong for Madison in the first and had Madison against the ropes at the end of the round and connected with a body punch that saw Madison drop to one knee. He only just beat the count but as Nistor walked forward to finish it he was sent flying into the ropes by a left from Madison. He extricated himself but was wobbled and a right from Madison snapped his head back and dumped him on the floor in a corner propped up against the ring post cover. He made it to his feet and luckily the bell went. In the second Nistor had Madison trapped against the ropes and was throwing punches but a right counter from Madison again dumped him on the floor. Nistor made it to his feet and then floored Madison with a right. Madison beat the count but was in no condition to continue. Romanian Nistor scored big wins as an amateur with a stoppage of Anthony Joshua and points victories over Guido Vianello and Filip Hrgovic but on this showing will struggle as a pro. Madison had been knocked out in 44 seconds by Vianello in November 2019. Castillo vs. Contreras Castillo scores brutal win over Contreras. Southpaw Castillo used his long reach to outscore Contreras in the first. He was coming in behind his jab in the second and as Contreras leant back to avoid Castillo’s jab he put himself in the firing line for a thunderous left from Castillo that sent him toppling back to the canvas out cold and the fight was waived over. Twelfth win by KO/TKO for Dominican Castillo. 8 July Luis Guillon, Argentine: Light: Geraldo Perez (9-1) W PTS 10 Reuquen Arce (13-4-2). Light: Yamila Abellaneda (12-4-1) W PTS 10 Estefan Alaniz (5-5-1). Super Flyweight: Deborah Lopez (19-0-1) W PTS 6 Lucia Ruiz (2-5). Perez vs. Arce In a fast-paced entertaining fight Perez overcame a slow start to take a tight majority decision over Arce to win the WBA Fedebol title. Arce outpunched Perez over the first three rounds. From the fourth Perez moved and countered better throwing more and landing more with Arce the heavier puncher but not as accurate. Perez had built a lead and he held off a late surge from Arce to take the decision. Scores 96-94 twice for Perez and 95-95. Fifth win in a row for Perez. Arce was making the third defence of the Fedebol title. Aballaneda vs. Alaniz Aballaneda easily outpointed the less experienced Alaniz. Aballaneda sent Alaniz down with a right in the second and forced the fight all the way. Alaniz scored with some sharp counters but took plenty of punishment and was never really in with a chance. Scores 98-92 twice for Aballaneda and an unbelievable 95-95 from the other judge which if you take into account a 10-8 second round for Aballaneda becomes ever more inexplicable. Third defence of the Argentinian title for “Princess” Aballaneda who had won a closer unanimous decision over Alaniz in December. Lopez vs. Ruiz WBO female flyweight champion Lopez gets in some ring time as she outpoints Ruiz. Lopez was conceding height and reach but her better were too much for Ruiz. Scores 60-54 twice and 59-55. Now 17 consecutive wins for Lopez. 9 July Roosdaal, Belgium: Welter: Meriton Karaxha (29-5-3) W TKO 6 Gyorgy Mizsei (27-29-1). Albanian Karaxha extends his unbeaten run as he stops Hungarian Mizsei in five rounds. Despite his poor record Mizsei gave Karaxha a good fight before the stoppage. Karaxha is now 12-0-2 in his last 14 fights. Mizsei falls to 2-10 in his last 12 fights. Miami, FL, USA: Cruiser: Serik Musadilov (10-0) W PTS 8 Lamont Capers (10-15-5,1ND). Super Feather: Mark Bernaldez (23-4) W TKO 7 Juan Kantun (21-12-3). Joahnys Argilagos (7-0) W PTS 8 Juan Meza (4-2). Light: Josec Ruiz (23-4-3) W RTD 1 Ramon Esperanza (22-19-1). Musadilov vs. Capers Musadilov comes through with a unanimous decision but has to work hard to outpoint Capers. Southpaw Musadilov was giving away height and reach but his greater strength saw him through although he faded late. This is the first time the 5’9” Kazak has had to go past the third round for victory. Capers is now 1-4-1, 1ND in his last 7 fights. Bernaldez vs. Kantun Filipino Mark “Machete” Bernaldez moves to 17 wins by KO/TKO as he stops Kantun in the seventh round. It looked like a very early night when a short right from Bernaldez-the first punch in the fight-put Kantun down on his rump. Kantun did get up and fought on taking plenty of punishment and when a left and a right had Kantun stumbling in the seventh the fight was over. Eight losses in a row for Kantun, seven of them inside the distance. Argilagos vs. Meza Cuban Argilagos is struggling to make an impression in the pros. He had too much skill for Chilean novice Meza and won every round but a tough Meza fought hard all the way. Twice a gold medal winner at the World Championships the 24-year-old Argilagos will hopefully adjust soon. Ruiz vs. Esperanza Ruiz dismantles Esperanza. After being put down twice by body punches in the opening round Esperanza did not come out for the second. Honduran Ruiz had a 13 bout unbeaten streak snapped with two losses in 2020 but has bounced back with two wins in 2021. Seven consecutive defeats for Paraguayan Esperanza. 10 July London, England: Light Heavy: Lyndon Arthur (19-0) W TKO 9 Davide Faraci (15-1). Super Middle: Zach Parker (21-0) W KO 1 Sherzod Khusanov (22-3-1). Super Feather: Archie Sharp (20-0) W PTS 10 Diego Andrade (13-5-2). Bantam: Dennis McCann (10-0) W TKO 2 John Chuwa (20-5). Arthur vs. Faraci Arthur struggles to subdue Faraci but produces a savage finish. Faraci just took the first round as Arthur made a slow start. Arthur sent Faraci stumbling back with a left hook in the second. Faraci put his glove on the canvas to avoid going down but the referee did not count it as a knockdown and Arthur staggered Faraci again later in the round. Arthur was on the front foot in the third scoring with a couple of heavy rights to the body and forcing Faraci to hold. In the fourth a body punch had Faraci hurt and Arthur finished the round by landing heavy hooks to the head. A series of head punches had Faraci in trouble at the end of the fifth with the bell coming to his rescue. Faraci recovered and looked to have won a slow-paced sixth. Two right crosses from Arthur were the only punches of note in the seventh and Faraci outworked a tiring Arthur in the eighth. In the ninth Arthur landed a heavy right cross over a lazy jab from Faraci that sent Farce down. He made it to his feel but a fierce left uppercut and a right to the head put Faraci down again. He beat the count but when two more rights to the head staggered him the referee stopped the fight. Arthur retains the WBO Inter-Continental title but laboured until the explosive finish in the ninth. Faraci was competitive all the way but did not have the power to match Arthur. Parker vs. Khusanov An early night for Parker as he stops a fleshy looking Khusanov. Parker was jabbing well to head and body with Khusanov hiding behind a high guard. Parker switched to orthodox and connected with a solid left hook to the body and Khusanov dropped to the canvas and was counted out. Fifteenth inside the distance finish for Parker. He is No 1 with the WBO so their mandatory challenger for Saul Alvarez. Uzbek Khusanov, 41, looked all of his 41 years-and more. He was inactive in 2019 and had just one fight in 2020 and was coming off a loss. Sharp vs. Andrade Sharp takes unanimous decision but at the cost of two cuts. Sharp boxed brilliantly over the early rounds with slick movement. Constantly switching guards he jabbed and countered with accuracy with Andrade marching forward throwing punches with mote enthusiasm than accuracy trying to drag Sharpe into a brawl. In the seventh a sweeping punch from Andrade opened a cut on the left eye lid of Sharpe and that saw Andrade attack hard and win the round. Things worsened for Sharpe in the eighth when a clash of heads opened a vertical gash over his right eye with the blood running down the side of his nose and Andrade looked to have taken the ninth. Sharpe steadied himself and outboxed Andrade over the last. Scores 97-93 twice and 99-93 for Sharpe who wins the vacant WBO Global title. Andrade won a split decision over 29-1-2 Jorge Lara in December but only edged past 5-0 jailer on a split decision last month. McCann vs. Chuwa McCann stops Chuwa in two rounds. Southpaw McCann was looking to end this early and had the fragile-looking Chuwa on the retreat and floundering under pressure in the first. In the second a left cross sent Chuwa staggering back to the ropes and McCann drove him along the ropes snapping his head around with heavy shots and the referee stopped the contest. Sixth victory by KO/TKO for the 20-year-old Traveller. Chuwa had won his last three fights. Almaty, Kazakhstan: Super Welter: Tursynbay Kulakhmet (4-0) W TKO 10 Aleksei Evchenko (19-15-2). Super Feather: Sultan Zaurbek (11-0) W PTS 10 Ronnie Clark (21-5-2). Welter: Talgat Shayken (5-0) W TKO 7Alexander Sharonov (12-6-2). Light: Isa Chaniev (15-3) W KO 3 Nurtas Azhbenov (11-1).Heavy: Ivan Dychko (10-0) W KO 1 Denis Bakhtov (39-19). Kulakhmet vs. Evchenko Local southpaw Kulakhmet floors Evchenko early but the durable Evchenko manages to stay around to give Kulakhmet some valuable ring time. Kulakhmet won every round and handed out plenty of punishment before flooring Evchenko in the tenth and then forcing the stoppage with a minute left in the fight. Kulakhmet, who won the WBC International title in his second pro fight, is being fast-tracked towards a world title fight. Only the second time Russian Evchenko has been stopped. Zaurbek vs. Clark In a clash of southpaws Zaurbek shows his class as he outboxes a gutsy Clark and wins a wide points decision on all three cards. Zaurbek was outscoring Clark at distance with his quicker and more accurate punching and was landing heavy counters when Clark tried to get inside. By the third blood was leaking from Clarks mouth and by the seventh his left eye was almost closed. Clark survived a doctor’s examination and a torrid last round to go the distance. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91 for Zaurbek. The 25-year-old Zaurbek wins the vacant WBO European title. Clark was having his first fight since scoring a good win over Zelfa Barrett in February 2018. Shayken vs. Sharonov Shayken shows why he is considered a prospect as he dominates Russian Sharonov and stops him in the seventh round. His harder punching was too much for Sharonov whose corner threw in the towel in the seventh round. The 20-year-old Shayken is a former World Youth silver medallist. First stoppage loss suffered by Sharonov. Chaniev vs. Azhbenov Back-to-back losses in 2019 have made it a rocky road for Chaniev and unbeaten Azhbenov was given a good chance of winning this one. It looked a reasonable forecast when Azhbenov floored Chaniev at the end of the first round. Chaniev survived and early in the third knocked out Azhbenov with a crunching right to the chin. Chaniev was stopped in two rounds by Richard Commey in a fight for the vacant IBF lightweight title in February 2019. Dychko vs. Bakhtov A dreadful excuse for a fight saw Dychko floor Bakhtov with a right to the head after just one minute. Bakhtov landed on the canvas on his back with his legs shaking and jerking and the referee immediately waived the farce off. Dychko lost to Anthony Joshua in the semi-final in the 2012 Olympics and won silver medals three times at the world championships. Bakhtov has lost his last five fights by KO/TKO. Melbourne, Australia: Super Middle: Victor Nagbe (4-0) W PTS 10 Sam Soliman (46-16-1,2ND). Nagbe takes unanimous verdict over Soliman to win the vacant Australasian title. Scores 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 for Nagbe. The 27-year-old Liberian-born southpaw Nagbe is a former sparring partner of Soliman and former Muay Thai star. He moved to Australia with his family when he was 10. He was getting into trouble so much that his mother kicked him out of the house and with the help of a benefactor he wound up on a Muay Thai course in Thailand. At 47 former IBF middleweight champion Soliman shows no signs yet of hanging up his gloves. Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic: Tomasz Bezvoda (10-15) W PTS 10 Middle: Victor Agateljan (9-2). Light Heavy: Jozef Jurko (7-2) W KO 5 Stanislav Eschner (14-16-1). Light Heavy: Ondrej Budera (15-21-1) W Michal Ryba (6-4). Bezvoda vs. Agateljan Unexpected result as veteran Bezvoda gets revenge against Agateljan to win the Czech title. When these two met in September for the vacant Czech title Agateljan won clearly on a unanimous decision. Bezvoda had trained hard for the return and turned the fight his way with a strong showing over the last two rounds to take the split decision. Scores 97-93 and 97-94 for Bezvoda and 96-95 for Agateljan although a draw would have been a fairer result. Bezvoda had won only one of his last eight fights. Armenian-born Agateljan’s loss was against Tej Pratap Singh strangely enough for the Australian title in Agateljan’s only fight in Australia. Jurko vs. Eschner Minor upset as the more experienced Eschner was the favourite but Slovak Jurko came out on top, He floored Eschner in the second and stopped him in the fifth. First fight for two years for Jurko who wins the UBO International title. Tenth inside the distance loss for Czech Eschner Budera vs. Ryba Third time lucky as Budera’s greater experience won this one as he secured close unanimous decision over Ryba to win the national title at the third attempt. Scores 98-93, 97-95 and 96-95 for Budera. Ryba had won 3 of his last 4 fights. Bielefeld, Germany: Cruiser: Leon Harth (20-4) W TKO 5 Rad Rashid (20-9). Middle: Sven Elbir (18-1) W RTD 4 Jose Torres (32-10). Middle: Buijar Tahiri (8-0) W TKO 3 Branislav Malinovic (11-6-2). Welter: Rico Mueller (28-3-1) W TKO 3 Kakha Avetisiani (42-58-1). Harth vs. Rashid Harth outboxes and then drops Rashid twice to win the vacant WBO European title and get a world rating from the WBO. The Armenian-born Harth losses when he steps up having been defeated by Marat Gassiev and Krzys Wlodarczyk. Rashid, 41, losses inside the distance for the fourth time. Elbir vs. Torres Elbir gets stoppage win over Torres. Elbir was working well to head and body with Torres really looking to survive. After a punishing fourth round Torres retired citing a shoulder injury. Elnir’s only defeat was a close points loss to IBF No 3(1) Patrick Wojcicki. Colombian Torres, 42, has been beaten by KO/TKO in 4 of his last 5 fights. Tahiri vs. Malinovic Tahiri overcomes shock first round knockdown to stop Malinovic. A left floored Tahiri in the opener but he recovered and then punished Malinovic over the second before flattening him with a left hook in the third. Tahiri was moving up to ten rounds for the first time but only needed the three rounds to register his seventh win by KO/TKO. Bosnia Malinovic was unbeaten in his last seven fights. Mueller vs. Avetisiani Mueller sends Avetisian down four times before the fight is halted in the third round. Mueller lost a majority decision against Argentinian Jeremias Ponce, a recent winner over Lewis Ritson, in 2019. He was originally adjudged the loser against Rafal Jackiewicz in August 2020 but his team protested the decision and after five new judges watched the video of the fight and scored Mueller the winner the decision was changed to a win for Mueller. Georgian Avetisian has won only one of his last ten fights. He has crammed 101 fights into 15 years as a pro East London, South Africa: Minimum: Bangile Nyangani (11-1-1) W PTS 12 Siyakholwa Kuse (3-1-1). Light: Lusanda Komanisi (24-6) W KO 1 Sinethemba Bam (12-1). Nyangani vs. Kuse Nyangani wins the South African title with a majority decision over champion Kuse. First fight for Nyangani since November 2019 with his extra experience just giving him the advantage. Kuse was making the first defence of the title he won in December 2019. Komanisi vs. Bam Former IBO featherweight champion Komanisi punches too hard for a rusty Bam and puts him down and out in the first round for win No 21 by KO/TKO. First fight for Bam for over three years. Glattbrug, Switzerland: Heavy: Labinot Xhoxhaj (15-0) W KO 8 Ferenc Urban (7-4). Kosovo-born Swiss Xhoxhaj gets his twelfth inside the distance victory with eighth round kayo of Hungarian Urban. Fourth consecutive defeat for Urban. Fight of the week (Significance): Gilberto Ramirez’s win over Sullivan Barrera puts him line for a title shot Fight of the week (Entertainment); A few examples but no all out wars this week. Fighter of the week: Gilberto Ramirez for his crushing win over Barrera Punch of the week: Some good ones here in the left from Sparkinson Wilson Castillo which pole-axed Miguel Contreras and an uppercut from Lyndon Arthur which almost beheaded Davide Faraci but I just give it to the crunching right to the chin by Isa Chaniev that flattened unbeaten Nurtas Azhbenov Upset of the week: None as most fights went the way forecast. Prospect watch: None I have not already spotted but a couple to keep my eyes on. Observations It was good to see crowds back at the shows. It meant Gilberto Ramirez could jump up on the ring post and raised his arms in triumph in front of a cheering horde instead of a dozen officials just about to leave for a pee. Strange scoring makes news in big fights but if the fight is not the headliner it hardly rates a tsk.tsk. In the Argentinian Female title fight between Yamila Abellaneda and Estefan Alaniz two judges had it 98-92 for Abellaneda and the third scored it a draw and in the WBO Female title fight between Naoko Fujioka and Sulem Ochoa one judge scored it 99-91 for Fujioka and one scored it 95-95. It happens every week but only becomes a concern when it is a high profile fight. The Ramirez vs. Barrera show in Los Angeles consisted of twelve fights adding up to 110 rounds-luckily they did not all go the distance or you could have had a few wives suing for desertion. Sometimes our sport disgusts me. On the show in Kazakhstan some matchmaker and presumably some local administrator though that the fight between Ivan Dychko and Dennis Bakhtov was acceptable. You had the 6’9” 30-year-old Dychko against the 5’ 11 ½” 41-year-old Bakhtov with Dychko having won his nine fights by KO/TKO and Bakhtov losing his last eight fights five of them by KO/TKO with the most recent one in September 2020 seeing Bakhtov knocked out in 40 seconds by a 2-0 novice. I felt sick when Bakhtov was floored by Dychko in sixty seconds and lay on the canvas with his body shaking and his legs twitching in the air. A duty of care-forget it.
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By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Chris Colbert retains the interim WBA super featherweight title with wide unanimous decision over Tugstsogt Nyambayar -Former WBO super featherweight champion stops Valentine Hosokawa as he continues his campaigns at lightweight -Middleweight Etinosa Oliha and light heavyweight Adriano Sperandio retain their Italian titles with wins. -Former WBC Female WBC lightweight champion Delfine Persoon moves down to super featherweight looking for another title shot and Argentinian light flyweight Evelyn Nazerena Bermudez stops Tamara Demarco in IBF Female title defence World Title/Major Shows 2 July Calvi, France: Super Middle: Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (38-5) W PTS 8 Gabor Gorbics (26-20-1). Middle: Bruno Surace (19-0-2) W PTS 6 Nodar Robakidze (16-37-6). N’Jikam vs. Gorbics In his first fight for nineteen months N’Jikam outpoints a willing but limited Gorbics. The former holder of the secondary WBA middleweight title N’Jikam took a couple of rounds to get into his stride but then looked sharp as he worked well with his jab and weakened Gorbics with some meaty body punches. Unusually this super middleweight fight was scored just by the referee who saw N’Jikam the winner 80-73. N’Jikam, 37, suffered consecutive losses to Callum Smith and Fedor Chudinov in 2019 so has a rebuilding job on his hands and there is talk of a fight with unbeaten Christian Mbilli. Hungarian Gorbics is 0-1-8 in his last 9 fights. Surace vs. Robakidze French champion Surace was given six rounds of useful work by a tougher than expected Georgian Robakidze. Surace moved to 16 wins in a row as the referee scored the fight 58-56 for him. Robakidze is now 0-1-32 in contests outside of Georgia Asti, Italy: Middle: Etinosa Oliha (15-0) W PTS 10 Francesco Lezzi (14-18-2). Light Heavy: Adriano Sperandio (14-1) W PTS 10 Stefano Abatangelo (23-8-1). Oliha vs. Lezzi Hometown fighter Oliha retains the Italian middleweight title with comfortable victory over Lezzi. Oliha was forcing the fight from the first bell and apart from a couple of good rights from Lezzi in the third that stopped the champion in his tracks Oliha controlled the fight. He had Lezzi on the back foot and rocked him in the seventh and had him on the verge of going down with a right in the eighth. Despite that Lezzi made it the bell but was a clear loser on scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92. Second defence of the title by unbeaten Oliha. Lezzi is now 0-4 in Italian title fights but blamed his poor showing here on an arm injury. Sperandio vs. Abatangelo In another Italian championship bout Sperandio made a successful defence of the light heavyweight belt with a very close unanimous decision over former champion Abatangelo. The challenger could consider himself unlucky. He put Sperandio under pressure from the start. Sperandio had a longer reach and better skills but Abatangelo forced the champion to spend most of the fight inside. Sperandio created some space over the middle rounds and impressed with his greater accuracy when countering the oncoming Abatangelo. Sperandio tired late and with a strong finish Abatangelo looked to have done enough to merit at least a draw but came up short on the cards with the judges scoring it for Sperandio 97-93, 96-94and 96-95. Sperandio was making the first defence of the title. Abatangelo, 39, is 2-4 in Italian title fights. Sheffield, England: Cruiser: Jack Massey (19-1) W KO 4 Engin Karakaplan (14-9-3). Heavy: Ian Martell (11-0) W KO 1 Erik Nazaryan (28-24-4). Massey vs. Karakaplan Massey wins the vacant IBF European title with victory over Karakaplan. A right hook to the body ended the fight in the fourth round with Karakaplan unable to beat the count. Second win for Massey since losing a close decision against Richard Riakporhe for the vacant British title in December 2019. Turkish-born Frenchman falls to 0-3-2 in his last 5 outings. Martell vs. Nazaryan Martell gets his fifth win by KO/TKO as he puts Nazaryan down with a right to the body to end this one after 2:45 of the opening round. Nazaryan usually goes the distance as he has only been stopped five times in his 24 losses. Louisville, KY, USA: Super Light: Carlos Dixon (12-1) W KO 1 Moises Flores (25-4-1). Dixon blows away a sliding Flores. It took Dixon just one good right followed by a left hook to the body to put Flores down and out after just 47 seconds to register his ninth win by KO/TKO. Dixon was conceding 7lbs to Flores. Once the holder of the IBO and interim WBA super bantamweight titles Flores weighed 140lbs for this fight which tells you all you need to know about how hard Flores trained. 3 July Eernengem, Belgium: Super Feather: Delfine Persoon (45-3) W PTS 10 Elena Gradinar (10-2). Super Welter: Nabil Messouadi (5-0) W KO 6 Milos Janjanin (14-25). Super Welter: Stephen Danyo (19-4-3) W PTS 10 Christian Arvelo Segura (12-6). 3 Persoon vs. Gradinar After losing her WBC lightweight title in unification fights against Katie Taylor Belgian Persoon moved down to super featherweight and outpointed Russian Gradinar. The Flemish boxer used her long reach and superior skills with Gradinar spending most of the time going backwards at speed. Scores of 100-89 twice and 99-89. Now 36 Persoon had hoped to qualify for the Olympics but the pandemic ruined those hopes. Her aim now is a shot at the WBC and IBO super featherweight titles held by Terri Harper and then to get a slot in the WBSS tournament. Gradinar had only the most basic technique and was never really in with a chance. Messouadi vs. Janjanin British-based Belgian Messouadi knocks out Janjanin late in the sixth to win the vacant Belgian title. All of the wins scored by the 22-year-old Messaoudi have come by KO/TKO. Bosnian Janjanin came in as a late substitute. Danyo vs. Segura Dutchman Danyo collects the vacant IBO Continental title with unanimous decision against Italian-based Dominican Segura. The strong but limited Segura was giving away too much in height and reach and never really troubled Danyo Scores 99-89 twice and 97-91. The four losses suffered by 32-year-old Danyo have been against quality opposition including Custio Clayton and Felix Cash. In his last fight in February Segura was stopped in ten rounds by unbeaten Damiano Falcinelli for the Italian title. Oulu, Finland: Light Heavy: Aku Kanninen (8-0-1) W PTS 10 Timo Laine (28-16,1NC). Hometown fighter Kanninen just too young and too strong for veteran Laine and takes the unanimous verdict. Laine was a slight favourite but from the first round Kanninen was quicker and more accurate and handed out steady punishment to Laine. If Laine had any hope that Kanninen might fade late as he was up at ten rounds for the first time but Kanninen stayed strong and although he never came close to a stoppage he dominated the action and lifted the vacant Finnish title. Scores 100-90, 100-91 and 98-92 for 21-year-old Kanninen. At 37 former champion Laine is now making his money filling the role of travelling loser as a test for overseas talent. Saint Denis, France: Super Welter: Milan Prat (11-1) W TKO 3 Fouad El Massoudi (17-14-1) Outstanding prospect Prat blows away seasoned pro Massoudi in two rounds to win the vacant French title. The Saint Denise fighter dazzled in the first as he landed with ferocious combinations. Massoudi chose to try to stand and punch with Prat but was shaken late in the round. In the second shots from Prat sent Massoudi down twice and when he was floored again in the third the towel came in from Massoudi’s corner. Eighth inside the distance win for the 21-year-old Prat The loss on Prat’s record was a disqualification for a punch to the back of his opponent head. This is only the second time Massoudi has been beaten inside the distance and he went twelve rounds with WBC No 2 Sergio Garcia in a challenge for the European super welterweight title in December 2019. Tokyo, Japan: Light: Masayuki Ito (27-3-1) W TKO 8 Valentine Hosokawa (25-9-3). Former WBO super featherweight champion Ito impresses as he is sharp from the start and outclasses Hosokawa. Now up at lightweight Ito was finding the target with straight rights from the start. The smaller Hosokawa just could not get past Ito’s jab and as Ito began to put his punches together and connect with left hooks and body punches only Hosokawa’s durability kept him in the fight. In the sixth Hosokawa was staggered by a straight right and when a following left hook had him reeling the referee came in and saved Hosokawa. Ito made his initial move to lightweight after losing his WBO title to Jamal Herring in May 2019 but suffered an upset loss to unbeaten novice Hironori Mishiro. He had questions to answer so there was a lot of interest in how he would look in this fight under a new trainer and he looked good. At 40 and almost 5” smaller Hosokawa had nothing but his grit going for him but his winning of the Japanese super lightweight title in 2017 in his seventeenth year as a pro was a popular victory. Mandaue City, Philippines: Feather: Pete Apolinar (15-1) W TKO 12 Jess Rhey Waminal (14-4-1). Super Mark Vicelles (14-0-1) W KO 10 Jerven Mama (12-1-1). Apolinar vs. Waminal Apolinar wins the vacant OPBF Silver title with stoppage of Waminal. Although Waminal was more mobile and busier it was Apolinar who was landing the harder punches and he was getting through with some hefty body shots. Waminal was given some recovery time after a low punch from Apolinar in the ninth but took a savage beating over the tenth and eleventh and a wicked left hook to the body in the twelfth sent him down writhing in agony and he was counted out at the 2:00 mark of the last round. Tenth consecutive victory for “Thunder” Apolinar and his ninth win by KO/TKO. First inside the distance loss for Waminal. Vicelles vs. Mama In another late ending Vicelles wins on a last round kayo. In an entertaining, competitive fight southpaw Vicelles was scoring well with his right jab and straight lefts with the smaller Mama coming forward pressing the action. Vicelles had built a lead but in the ninth after Mama was warned twice for low punches a clash of heads opened a bad cut over the left eye of Vicelles. In the tenth Mama was driving Vicelles around the ring but went low again and the referee deducted two points. Vicelles then connected with a straight left to the head and Mama went down and was counted out with just one second remaining in the ten round fight. Vicelles extends his winning run to eleven fights. Mama had won his last seven. Urdaneta, Philippines: Super Feather: Charly Suarez (7-0) W PTS 10 Eduardo Mancito (18-12-2). Former top amateur Suarez floored and outpointed an over-matched Mancito. Suarez put Mancito down in the second and then outboxed him the rest of the way. Suarez might have been able to finish it early but a slippery canvas made it difficult for both fighters Scores 100-89, 99-90 and 98-92. Suarez won three gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games and represented the Philippines at the 2007, 2009 and 2011 World Championships and the 2016 Olympics but at 32 has left things late to make an impression as a professional. Mancito did his job giving Suarez ten rounds of ring time. Carson. CA, USA: Super Feather: Chris Colbert (16-0) W PTS 12 Tugstsogt Nyambayar (12-2). Light: Michel Rivera (21-0) W TKO 8 Jon Fernandez (21-2). Colbert vs. Nyambayar In a clash for the interim WBA title Colbert puts on a boxing class he has too much skill and speed for Mongolian Tugstsogt. Colbert used quick hands and his longer reach to pierce Nyambayar’s guard in the first. With Colbert’s jab constantly in his face Nyambayar just could not get his punches off and when he did come forward Colbert was able to dance away. Late in the second Colbert switched to southpaw and dropped his left hand to his thigh confident he was too quick for Nyambayar to take advantage of the opening that created. Nyambayar scored early in the third as he trapped Colbert against the ropes. Colbert was never in trouble and he came back with his stabbing jabs and some hooks and uppercuts only for Nyambayar to fire a burst of punches to make it his round. Colbert’s persistent jabbing in the fourth was keeping Nyambayar on the back foot and forcing him into the counter puncher role but he was not quick enough to be effective. Colbert just could not find his range in the fifth and Nyambayar was able to do some useful work with his own jab but not enough to off-set quick burst of punches from Colbert. In the sixth Colbert’s jab was working well and he put together some flashing combinations doubling his jab and landing overhand rights with Nyambayar too slow to counter. Colbert changed tactics in the seventh and not for the better. Instead of coming forward behind his jab he was walking in behind a high guard. Without Colbert’s jab to worry about Nyambayar was stepping forward and connect with punches through and around Colbert’s static guard. Colbert came to life late and just landed enough to edge the round but had made it harder than it needed to be. Colbert went back to jabbing, moving and throwing clusters of punches and landed a leaping left hook to take the eighth and he jabbed and danced his way through the ninth ending the round with an Ali shuffle. Nyambayar was just too slow to apply the necessary pressure and if Colbert was against the ropes it was because he chose to put himself there. Colbert produced some flashy stuff in the tenth as he raked Nyambayar with combinations and then danced around the ring with a frustrated Nyambayar a step behind all the way unable to land a punch until Colbert decided to just stand in front of Nyambayar with a high guard and let Nyambayar throw shots which he easily blocked. Colbert floated through the last two rounds with Nyambayar unable to get even one clear shot home until the last ten seconds of the twelfth when they finally traded a few punches. Scores 118-110 twice and 117-111 for Colbert who remains WBA interim champion. The 24-year-old from Brooklyn has great boxing skills and was too much for the slow and methodical Nyambayar and the fight was too one-sided to be entertaining. He would probably be able to handle Roger Gutierrez the holder of the secondary WBA title and perhaps Jamal Herring but Gervonta Davis, Oscar Valdez and Shakur Stevenson would probably beat him right now. Nyambayar is strong but limited and has probably reached his ceiling. Rivera vs. Fernandez Rivera gets off the canvas to floor and stop Spaniard Fernandez. Rivera’s better skills saw him build a lead over the early rounds but Fernandez always looked dangerous. In the sixth Fernandez connected with right that sent Rivera down. He beat the count and survived to the bell. Rivera steadied the ship in the seventh and then brought down the curtain in the eighth. A strong jab opened up Fernandez’s defence and a powerful right put Fernandez on the floor. He struggled trying to get to his feet but was in a bad way and the referee stopped the fight. Now 14 wins by KO/TKO for Dominican Rivera and a useful result after victories over Fidel Maldonado and Ladarius Miller. Fernandez was outpointed by O’Shaquie Foster in Oklahoma in 2018. Masvingo, Zimbabwe: Middle: Charles Manyuchi (25-4-1) W PTS 12 Muhamad Sebyala (19-14-1). Zimbabwean Manyuchi retains the WBFederation belt with unanimous verdict over experienced Ugandan Sebyala. Scores 117-109 twice and 116-110 for former WBC International champion Manyuchi. Of Sebyala’s 14 losses 12 have come on trips outside Uganda. 4 July Rosario, Argentina: Light Fly: Evelyn Nazerena Bermudez (14-0-1) W TKO 9 Tamara Demarco (9-4). In an all-Argentinian clash Bermudez retained the IBF Female title with stoppage of Demarco. Bermudez was 4” taller than the challenger flooring her in the second and then forcing the stoppage in the ninth. Third defence for Bermudez. Demarco drops to 22-4 in her last 6 fights Fight of the week (Significance): Chris Colbert’s win over Nyambayar keeps alive the possibility of more top quality fights at super featherweight Fight of the week (Entertainment): In a low key week Pete Apolinar vs. Jess Rhey Waminal provide twelve good action rounds. Well actually 11 rounds and 2:59 seconds. Fighter of the week: Chris Colbert. Brilliant display of boxing skills Punch of the week: The body punch from Apolinario that had Waminal rolling in agony was a great finisher Upset of the week: None Prospect watch: France’s Milan Prat a super welterweight who is 11-1. He is of one of six children from Yugoslavian and Algerian immigrant parents. He has style and can punch Observations This was surely one of the quietest weekends since boxing restarted with Colbert vs. Nyambayar the only “big” show and that was for an interim title with a low key undercard. The ease with which Delfine Persoon handle novice Elena Gradinar highlights one of the problems for female boxing. There are some star performers such as Clarissa Shields and Katie Taylor but too many poor fighters. What is missing is that all important middle strata of experienced fighters not quite star quality but who can both stretch the top liners and provide useful tests for the up and coming boxers. Female boxing needs some new names from the Tokyo Olympics to keep interest high and encourage more women to turn professional so that there is no dip when the current stars retire. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Gervonta Davis halts Mario Barrios in the eleventh round to win the secondary WBA super lightweight title -Vasyl Lomachenko returns to action and stops Masayoshi Nakatani in nine rounds -Julio Cesar Martinez defends his WBC flyweight title with stoppage of Joel Cordova and on the same show in Guadalajara Daniel Matellon decisions Jose Argumedo in defence of the interim WBA light flyweight title -Erickson Lubin stops former IBF and WBA super welterweight title holder Jeison Rosario -David Morell beats Mario Cazares in the first round in defence of the secondary WBA super middleweight title -Ricardo Sandoval scores an upset KO win over Jay Harris in IBF flyweight eliminator World Title/Major Shows 26 June Atlanta, GA, USA: Super Light: Gervonta Davis (25-0) W TKO 11 Mario Barrios (26-1). Super Welter: Erickson Lubin (24-1) W TKO 6 Jeison Rosario (20-3-1). Super Light: Batyr Akhmedov (9-1) W RTD 8 Algenis Mendez (25-7-3,1ND). Super Welter: Carlos Adames (20-1) W TKO 3 Alexis Salazar (23-4). Super Feather: Leduan Barthelemy (17-1-1) W PTS 10 Viktor Slavinskyi (12-1-1).Super Light: Andres Gutierrez (38-2-2) DREW 8 Angel Hernandez (17-16-3). 17 Davis vs. Barrios Davis wins the secondary WBA version of the super lightweight title as he scores late stoppage of Barrios. Round 1 The tactics for the fight were largely dictated by the 5” height and reach advantages for Barrios. Not much action in a cautious first round. Barrios was boxing at distance firing jabs with Davis looking for openings but with Barrios taking the round with the jabs he landed. Score: 10-9 Barrios Round 2 Another round for Barrios. He was scoring with his jab and connected with straight rights with Davis waiting for an opening that did not come and hardly throwing a punch. Score: 10-9 Barrios Barrios 20-18 Round 3 Davis did better in this round coming forward and throwing some punches. Barrios stuck to his jab and straight rights and worked solidly throughout the round to outscore Davis. Score: 10-9 Barrios Barrios 30-27 Round 4 Barrios stuck to his game plan just jabbing and launching straight rights. He was not over-committing himself and Davis was still playing the waiting but was unable to find any gaps. Score: 10-9 Barrios Barrios 40-36 Round 5 Davis changed the fight with the simple tactic of sticking his right jabs way out not to score but blocking Barrios from launching his own left jab. His jab had been his main weapon and now Barrios was forced onto the back foot and Davis was able to get inside and score to the body Score: 10-9 Davis Barrios 49-46 Round 6 Davis continued to take the fight to Barrios. He was getting inside and landing with rights and lefts. Barrios seemed almost mesmerised by the right of Davis. Instead of trying to punch holes in Davis’s defence he was jabbing at the extended right of Davis negating his jab by his own actions. Without his jab he was throwing rights but that meant committing himself and left gaps for Davis to score. Score: 10-9 Davis Barrios 58-56 Round 7 Barrios made an aggressive start to the round letting fly with punches from both hands. That storm blew itself out and Davis again had Barrios on the back foot. He was getting through with jabs and straight lefts with Barrios unable to keep him out. Score: 10-9 Davis Barrios 67-66 Round 8 Barrios was boxing well at the start of the eighth until a sharp overhand right from Davis put him down. He was up quickly but after the count a left hook from Davis sent him down again. Davis hounded Barrios trying to finish the fight and although Davis connected with more rights and lefts Barrios boxed his way to the bell but it was a disastrous round for Barrios who was also cut under his left eye. Score: 10-7 Davis Davis 76-74 Round 9 Davis failed to capitalise on his success in the ninth. Barrios was using his jab again and getting home some rights and even threw an uppercut as a change from his jab/straight right tactics. Davis hardly threw a punch and gave the round away. Score: 10-9 Barrios Davis 85-84 Round 10 An entertaining round. Davis was marching forward getting through with head punches with Barrios on the back foot letting fly with accurate counters. Davis was landing the heavier punches but a fired up Barrios signalled for Davis to bring it on. Score: 10-9 Davis Davis 95-93 Round 11 Davis was chasing Barrios down in the eleventh and connecting with heavy lefts and rights. There was a small break to sort out loose tape on the left glove of Barrios and then Davis landed a left to the body and Barrios dropped to his hands and knees. He was up at seven but when Davis started to unload on Barrios again the referee stopped the fight. Davis already holds the WBA super featherweight title and the secondary WBA lightweight title but effectively only holds one genuine title as Teo Lopez is champion at lightweight and Josh Taylor holds all four titles at super lightweight. This just makes an (even bigger) mockery of the WBA titles. Now 24 inside the distance wins in total for Davis including 16 in a row and he has won all nine of his title fights by KO/TKO. Fights with Teo Lopez or Devin Haney at lightweight or Josh Taylor at super lightweight would legitimise the secondary titles he holds in those two divisions and would be huge events. Barrios was making the second defence of the secondary WBA title and at 26 there is plenty of time for him to work his way to another title fight. Lubin vs. Rosario Lubin opens the way to a world title shot with stoppage of Rosario. Lubin outboxed Rosario over the first two rounds and then started to break down Rosario from the third landing heavily and rocking Rosario throughout the round. In the fourth Rosario repaid Lubin for those stunning shots in the third by taking control of the action. That was the high point for Rosario as Lubin started to target Rosario’s body. He showed his superior skills in the fifth and then sent Rosario down with a body punch early in the sixth. Rosario made it to his feet but was put down by a series of punches ending with a body shot with Lubin flirting with disqualification as the last punch seemed to land after Rosario was on one knee. The body punch had Rosario squirming in pain and the referee waived the fight off. Southpaw Lubin was knocked out in one round by Jermell Charlo when he challenged for the super welter title in 2017 but has fought his way back to No 1 in the WBC rankings and will be hoping to get a chance to fight the winner of the unification fight between Charlo and Brian Castano. Former IBF and WBA champion Rosario was knocked out by Charlo in September, also by a body punch, and has a hard road ahead to climb into contention again. Akhmedov vs. Mendez Akhmedov grinds down Mendez who retires at the end of the eighth round with an injury to his right hand. From the outset the Uzbek southpaw was trundling forward putting Mendez under steady pressure. Akhmedov was cut over his left eye in the second round but it was never a factor. Akhmedov continued to crowd Mendez over the third and fourth with Mendez too busy defending to contribute much in the way of offence. Mendez sparked briefly in the fifth connecting with some good body punches but even then Akhmedov was getting the better of the exchanges. Akhmedov was closing down space on Mendez and landing with lefts to the body in the sixth and seventh. Mendez was fading fast. It was one-way traffic in the eighth and Mendez retired at the end of the round quoting the hand injury for his decision. Akhmedov lost a controversial decision to Mario Barrios in a fight for the vacant secondary WBA title in September 2019 and will be hoping to a shot at new title holder Gervonta Davis. Former IBF super featherweight champion Mendez had fought two draws and lost to unbeaten newcomer Richardson Hitchins in his last three fights. Adames vs. Salazar Adames gets his second win of the year as he halts Salazar in three rounds. After a couple of messy sessions with very little real action and with both fighters being wrestled to the floor Adames ended the fight in the third. A big left sent Salazar into the ropes. It looked as though he was held up by the ropes but the referee did not apply a count. There was no doubt about count being applied when another left from Adames dropped Salazar. He made it to his feet but was wobbly and the referee stopped the contest. Adames lost a close decision to Patrick Teixeira for the WBA title November 2019. Mexican Salazar had won his last 15 fights. Slavinskyi vs. Barthelemy Slavinskyi remains unbeaten with a split decision over fellow-southpaw Barthelemy. A contrast in styles led to a wide contrast between the scores in this one. Slavinskyi forced the fight chasing down the elusive Cuban who caught the Ukrainian with some good counters. Slavinskyi just could not pin down the crafty Barthelemy who seemed to have built a useful lead until he started to showboat in the seventh. Slavinskyi upped the pressure in the seventh and finished strongly but did not seem to have done enough to take the decision. Then came the scores of 99-90 and 97-92 for Slavinskyi and 97-92 for Barthelemy. A bit more aggression might have helped Barthelemy but I can’t see him or Slavinskyi getting very far. Gutierrez vs. Hernandez This was supposed to be a no-threat run out for Gutierrez who was badly in need of ring time having not fought for two years. In the end he had to settle for a draw but looked unlucky to do so. After a couple of even rounds he looked to have outscored Hernandez over the next four rounds. Hernandez fought hard in some fierce action over the seventh and eighth to make it close. Scores 77-75 Gutierrez, 77-75 Hernandez and 76-76. Gutierrez lost on a majority decision to Cristian Mijares and to Abner Mares on a technical decision in a fight for the secondary WBA featherweight title in 2017. Now he has to fight his way back into the ratings. Good result for Hernandez who was 2-4 going into this fight. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Light: Vasyl Lomachenko (15-2) W TKO 9 Masayoshi Nakatani (19-2). Middle: Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (10-0) W RTD 8 Rob Brant (26-3). Welter: Giovani Santillan (27-0) W PTS 8 Cecil McCalla (23-5). Heavy: Guido Vianello (8-0-1) W RTD 2 Marlon Williams (6-2) 18 Lomachenko vs. Nakatani Lomachenko proves much too good for the strong but limited Nakatani and forces a stoppage in the ninth round. Having learned his lesson from his fight with Teo Lopez this time Lomachenko made a quick start. He was darting past the longer reach of Nakatani in the first and connecting with lefts. A clash of head saw Lomachenko cut high on his forehead in an awkward place that allowed the blood to run down into his eye. The second was a closer round with Lomachenko landing with his jab getting past the guard of Nakatani to score with short lefts inside. Nakatani landed a few jabs but was finding Lomachenko a difficult target. Nakatani landed a good right at the start of the fourth but Lomachenko was stepping inside the Japanese fighters guard with punches to the body. Lomachenko was dancing around a static Nakatani in the fifth diving in to land punches and then getting out again with Nakatani throwing lots but landing little. Seconds before the bell Lomachenko launched an attack landing four head punches and the retreating Nakatani went down. The referee gave Nakatani a count with Nakatani protesting that he had just been off balance. Lomachenko really cut loose in the sixth pinning Nakatani against the ropes and unloading with punch after punch until Nakatani managed to escape. Lomachenko had Nakatani foundering a couple of times in the seventh as he changed angles and connected with punches as Nakatani tried to reset himself. The Japanese fighter was relying heavily on using his jab as a range finder for straight rights but with Lomachenko bobbing and weaving Nakatani could not find the target. Lomachenko scored with powerful straight lefts in the eighth with much of the fire having gone out of Nakatani’s work. In the ninth Lomachenko bombarded Nakatani with punches and suddenly Nakatani was in trouble. He was reeling and off balance and when he dropped under another barrage of punches the referee came in and stopped the fight. In his first fight since losing to Teo Lopez in October Lomachenko looked sharp and had too much class for Nakatani. Lomachenko’s accuracy was impressive as in every round he had between a 40% and 50% plus ratio of punches thrown/landed. Lopez has his postponed fight with George Kambosos to deal with and it would probably be a good idea for Lomachenko to have another fight with a return against Lopez at the end of the year. Nakatani had impressed when he climbed off the floor twice to stop Felix Verdejo in December but Lomachenko was at a different level entirely. Alimkhanuly vs. Brant In only his tenth contest Kazakh southpaw Alimkhanuly gets win over Brant to improve his chances of a world title fight. Brant boxed well enough to be competitive in the opening round but it was all downhill from there. In the second southpaw Alimkhanuly hurt Brant with a left and used that punch to control the action in the third. Alimkhanuly boxed coolly and methodically picking his spots and raking Brant with punches to head and body. Brant just could not get into the fight and his punch output dropped. He gave it a big try in the fifth but again it was Alimkhanuly landing with hard, accurate punches. Brant took a knee at the start of the sixth and his corner were threatening to pull him out unless he improved. Brant showed some improvement in the seventh but Alimkhanuly scored with an array of punches in the eighth and at the end of the round Brant was pulled out of the fight by his corner. Alimkhanuly, a former Olympian and World Championships gold medallist, is No 2 with the WBO but with Jaime Munguia at No 1 and Demetrius Andrade looking for bigger fights he might have a long wait for his title chance. Brant can be unpredictable. He put in a career best performance in winning the secondary WBA title with a victory over Ryota Murata but was dreadful in being stopped in two rounds by Murata in the return fight. Santillan vs. McCalla In his first fight for a year Santillan adds another victory as he outpoints McCalla. Scores 80-72, 78-74 and 79-73 for the southpaw from San Diego. McCalla worked hard and was busier but the accuracy and better quality work won the fight for Santillan. He just scraped past former champion Antonio DeMarco in his June 2020 fight. After going 1-4 in some tough fights McCalla had rebounded with two wins. Vianello vs. Williams Vianello stops an overmatched Williams in two rounds-well one round and one second of the second round to be honest. Vianello put Williams down early in the first and then again just before the bell. The referee decided to give Williams a chance to recover but then changed his mind and halted the fight in the second round immediately after the bell went. The 6’6” Italian prospect Vianello needed a win after a disappointing draw with Kingsley Ibeh in his last fight. Williams just there to play victim. Guadalajara, Mexico: Fly: Julio Cesar Martinez 9(18-1,1ND) W TKO 6 Joel Cordova (13-5-2). Light Fly: Daniel Matellon (12-0-2) W PTS 12 Jose Argumedo (24-5-1). Super Light: Gabriel Valenzuela (24-2-1) W TKO 7 Juan Ocura (13-15-2,1ND). Super Middle: Diego Pacheco (12-0) W TKO 6 Jesus Palomares (7-1-1). Martinez vs. Cordova After a slow start Martinez had too much power for a brave Cordova and forced a stoppage in the sixth. Cordova surprised Martinez with a fierce attack in the first. He was scoring heavily with hooks from both hands and although rocked by a left hook he kept up the pressure throughout the round with Martinez switching guards and looking unsettled. Cordova continued to force the fight in the second and third landing some meaty body punches and was outscoring Martinez. The champion started to find the target late in the round. Cordova continued to take the fight to Martinez in the fourth but was having to eat some hurtful counters and looked to be tiring in the fifth as Martinez took over. He was catching Cordova with heavy single punches and knocked Cordova back on his heels a couple of times. Martinez ended it in the sixth. Boxing from a southpaw stance he landed two left hooks that dumped Cordova on the floor propped against the ropes. He made it to his feet and Martinez drove him along the ropes with Cordova floundering and only just staying up. The referee had seen enough and stepped in just as Cordova began to fire back but it was a good stoppage. Third defence of the WBC title for Martinez who is now looking to unify the flyweight titles. Cordova, a former sparring partner of Martinez, showed plenty of fire but found the power of Martinez too much. Matellon vs. Argumedo Matellon needs a strong finish to hold on to his interim WBA title after a storming start from challenger Argumedo. Argumedo came out firing and immediately putting the title holder on the back foot. Argumedo was marching forward throwing punches from distance until he was inside and was then pinning Matellon to the ropes and scoring with hooks to the body. A clash of heads in the third opened a vertical gash over the left eye of Argumedo but he just kept putting pressure on the Cuban. Matellon was fighting a dumb fight letting himself get trapped on the ropes with no room to use his better footwork and faster hands. Argumedo continued to haunt and harass Matellon with Matellon too often falling into the mistake of trying to match Argumedo punch-for-punch. After six rounds it was looking as though Matellon was going to lose his title. The dynamics of the fight changed in the seventh as Argumedo showed signs of tiring from the frantic pace he had set and Matellon began to use his feet. He was staying off the ropes and landing bunches of punches on the advancing Argumedo. The challenger kept coming but there was no snap in his punches and his output dropped. Matellon outscored Argumedo in every round from the eighth through to the last bell and just did enough to emerge the winner. Scores 115-113 twice and 117-111 all for Matellon with the first two the better reflection of the fight. The 33-year-old Cuban was making the first defence of the interim title. Hopefully he won’t find the interim title a blind alley as many others have. Former IBF minimumweight title holder Argumedo, 32, showed guts and determination but just could not hold on to his early lead. Valenzuela vs. Ocura Valenzuela extends his unbeaten run to 22 bouts as he floors Ocura in the third and hands out punishment until the fight is stopped in the seventh. In February Valenzuela won a majority decision against Robbie Davies Jr in London. Only one win in his last ten fights for Ocura. Pacheco vs. Palomares Outstanding prospect Pacheco marches on with sixth round stoppage of prelim fighter Palomares. Ninth inside the distance win for the 20-year-old 6’4” Pacheco. Palomares was moving up to eight rounds for the first time but was outclassed. Chihuahua, Mexico: Super Bantam: Yamileth Mercado (18-2) W PTS 10 Angelica Rascon (10-1,1ND). Bantam: Argi Cortes (19-2-2) W KO 2 Daniel Argueta (13-4). Mercado vs. Rascon Mercado holds on to the WBC Female title with points win over Texan Rascon. Over the first four rounds a confident Rascon took the fight to Mercado and built a useful lead looking to have won the first four rounds. Mercado was cut on her right cheek in a clash of heads in the fifth and over her right eye in the sixth and was also deducted a point for holding in the sixth as Mercado clawed back some rounds. The deduction was levelled out with Mercado losing a point in the ninth also for holding. The fight seemed very close but the judges saw a different fight and scored it 98-90, 97-91 and 96-92 for Mercado with Rascon looking to have earned at least a draw. Mercado was making the second defence of the WBC title. Rascon will challenge for a title again. Cortes vs. Argueto Cortes registers another win. Argueto did all of the pressing in the first but Cortes boxed comfortably on the back foot scoring with accurate counters. Argueto continued to march forward in the second until a wicked left to the body sent him to the canvas writhing in agony and he was counted out. Cortes is 17-0-2 in his last 19 fights including a draw with WBC title challenger Joel Cordova. 27 June Minneapolis, MN, USA: Super Middle: David Morell (5-0) W KO 1Mario Cazares (12-1). Cruiser: Brandon Glanton (14-0) W PTS 10 Efetobor Apochi (11-1). Super Welter: Nat Gallimore (22-5-1.) W PTS 10 Leon Lawson (14-1). Super Middle: Alantez Fox (28-2-1,1ND) W TKO 7 Manny Woods (17-12-1). Morell vs. Cazares Morell wins the vacant WBA secondary title with first round stoppage of Cazares. There was more wrestling than boxing at the start of this fight with Cazares warned for a low punch and Morell landing a couple of time on the back of Cazares’ head. Morell suddenly landed two straight lefts to the head and Cazares went down heavily spread-eagled on the canvas and the fight was immediately stopped. Cuban southpaw Morell had been interim champion but this win “elevates” him to full secondary champion. Cazares had won a technical decision over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in September. Glanton vs. Apochi v Mild upset as Glanton floors and wins split decision over unbeaten Nigeria Apochi. Scores 95-94 twice for Glanton and 96-93 for Apochi so the knockdown in the sixth round cost Apochi the fight. Gallimore vs. Lawson Gallimore gets a much needed victory as he takes majority verdict over Lawson. Gallimore was giving away 6” in height to the 6’5” Lawson but won on scores of 97-93 and 96-95 with the third card reading 95-95. Gallimore had scored wins over Justin DeLoach and Jeison Rosario but was 1-4 in his last 5 fights. Fox vs. Woods Fox stops Woods in seven rounds as he rebuilds after a loss to Liam Williams in a WBO eliminator in December 2019 which cost him a shot at Demetrius Andrade. Woods had lost 5 of his last 6 fights by KO/TKO. 25 June Bolton, England: Fly: Ricardo Sandoval (19-1) W KO 8 Jay Harris (18-2). Bantam: Paul Butler (33-2) W PTS 10 Willibald Garcia (12-5-1,1ND). Light Heavy: Hosea Burton (26-2) W KO 6 Liam Conroy (18-7-1) Light Gary Cully (13-0) W RTD 3 Viorel Simion (22-6). Feather: Brett Fidoe (15-65-5) W TKO 3 Tyrone McCullagh (14-2). Harris vs. Sandoval Body punches from Sandoval finish Harris after an exciting clash in this IBF eliminator. Harris boxed well in the first firing strong jabs and rights to the head putting Sandoval on the back foot but Sandoval was scoring with some scorching left hooks to the body. Both had some success in brutal exchanges in the second in an open punch-for-punch scrap. Sandoval upped his output in the third and fourth out jabbing Harris and crashing home rights to the head and left hooks to the body and putting Harris under pressure. Harris fired back in the fifth but again Sandoval was getting the better of the exchanges. Harris took the sixth with some excellent work with his jab and right crosses and staggered Sandoval with a right in the seventh. Sandoval then banged back to shake Harris and then had Harris pinned to the ropes and under heavy pressure at the end of an exciting round. They were fighting on equal terms in the eighth when Sandoval dug in a left hook to the ribs and Harris dropped to one knee. He beat the count but another body punch sent him down in agony and he was counted out. Huge win for 22-year-old Californian Sandoval-his fifteenth in a row. He was No 2 with the WBO so a fight with title holder Junto Nakatani could happen later this year. A set-back for Harris who was No 3 with the WBC and must have been hoping for a victory here which would have helped him in his quest for a return match with Julio Cesar Martinez who outpointed him in a WBC title defence in February last year. Butler vs. Garcia Butler has to fight hard to get split decision over unheralded Garcia. Butler made a great start flooring Garcia with a left hook in the first. Butler tried hard to end it then but Garcia made it to the bell. From there the Mexican gave Butler a torrid time. He was storming forward with crude attacks forcing Butler to the ropes and flailing away with punches. When Butler managed to stay off the ropes he was scoring with sharp punches from both hands but too often the fierce attacks of Garcia were forcing Butler to retreat and Garcia was targeting the body with hooks. It was an entertaining mix of styles between the classic boxing of Butler and the swarming quantity not quality from Garcia. Butler landed plenty of left hooks but was unable to shake Garcia again. Butler had built a lead with his greater accuracy but Garcia attacked desperately over the ninth and tenth to put the result in doubt. Scores 97-92 and 96-94 for Butler and 95-94 for Garcia so that early knockdown was the deciding factor. Rated WBO 3/IBF 4(3)/WBC 11Butler wins the vacant WBO International title but on this showing he would have no chance against the bantamweight title holders in Naoya Inoue, John Riel Casimero and Nonito Donaire. An improving Garcia was 12-1-1 going into this fight. He had beaten former title challenger Dewayne Beamon and lost on a majority verdict against 21-2-5 Alejandro Santiago. He looked worth a daw here. Burton vs. Conroy Burton knocks out Conroy with a one punch finish in the sixth. In the first Burton made good use of his longer reach to spear Conroy with jabs and scored well with straight rights. Conroy was trying to bob and weave his way inside but Burton used good footwork to escape. Conroy did better in the second and third walking through Burton’s punches getting inside scoring with left hooks to head and body and roughing Burton up. Burton managed to stay in the centre of the ring for much of the fourth and fifth spearing Conroy with jabs and connecting with hooks. The fight ended suddenly in the sixth. Conroy was marching forward when Burton landed a right and then a left to the top of Conroy’s head and Conroy went down on his back and was counted out. First fight for Burton since losing to Ricards Bolotniks in September in the MTK Global Gold Contract tournament. Conroy’s last fight was also in the MTK Tournament in September when he was stopped by Serge Michel. Cully vs. Simion Cully stops veteran Simion in three rounds. Cully was 9” taller than Simion and 14 years younger and dominated this fight from start to finish. He was lashing the Romanian with hooks to the body from both hands and straight southpaw lefts. Simion tried to get close and connected with a couple of rights but Cully was able to easily push Simion out and bombard him with punches. Cully easily handled the few attacks Simion did launch and it was really just target practice for the Irishman and Simion sensible retired after the third round. Being the WBO European champion, a title he won by beating someone with a 12-1 record who had lost his last fight, has seen Cully at No 14 in their rankings but he has yet to face a real test. The 39-year-old Simion is 1-5 in his last 6 fights but has mixed in good company losing to Scott Quigg, Shakur Stevenson and Denys Berinchyk. Fidoe vs. McCullagh Major upset as little journeyman Fidoe stops McCullagh in the third round. The 4” taller McCullagh made good use of his longer reach to outbox Fidoe over the first two rounds. Early in the third Fidoe landed a hard right and suddenly McCullagh was in trouble. Fidoe chased McCullagh around the ring before flooring him with a right to the head. McCullagh made it to his feet but at the end of the eight count he was still unsteady and the fight was stopped. Fidoe has only been beaten inside the distance twice. This is his second win in a row and if he starts winning the jobs will probably dry up. McCullagh had been world rated after winning the WBO European title but was outpointed by Ryan Walsh in his last fight in February 2020. Saint-Nazaire, France: Cruiser: Olivier Vautrain (18-3-1) W PTS 10 Eddy Lacrosse (12-7-2). Heavy: Nicolas Wamba (7-0) W PTS 10 David Spilmont (10-7). Vautrain vs. Lacrosse Vautrain successfully retains the French title with very close unanimous decision over Lacrosse. The 6’2” southpaw Vautrain never really made full use of his longer reach. He looked good when he did use his jab and when he put together burst of punches but Lacrosse was able to get inside and hounded Vautrain the whole fight. Vautrain did not have the punch to deter Lacrosse but just did enough to win. Scores 97-92,96-93 and 96-95 for the hometown fighter with former champion Lacrosse fighting well. Wamba vs. Spilmont In a messy, mauling fight Wamba wins the vacant French title with a close unanimous decision over Spilmont. This was a slow match without much class on show. Wamba was just a bit more accurate than lumbering southpaw Spilmont. Scores 96-93,96-94, 95-94 for Wamba. He is a former MMA exponent who was a world champion at full contact and kickboxing. He had stopped Spilmont in six rounds when they fought in February last year. Civitavecchia, Italy: Light: Emilio Marsili (40-0-1) W PTS 10 Stephane Jamoye (33-9-1). Marsili outclasses a disappointing Jamoye. The hometown southpaw dominated the fight from first to last. He found Jamoye an easy target for his right jabs and constantly scored with left hooks and uppercuts. Marsili looked to have scored a knockdown with a left hook in the sixth but the referee did not count it and Marsili eased his way to victory winning every round. Scores 100-90 for Marsili from the judges. Marsili, 44 (45 in August), a former undefeated European and IBO lightweight champion, wins the vacant IBO Mediterranean title. He was to have challenged Dejan Zlaticanin for the WBC title in 2016 but had to pull out with injury and may never now land a title shot. Former world title challenger Jamoye was never in contention. Krasnaya Polyana, Russia: Light: Aik Shakhnazaryan (25-4) W PTS 10 Vage Sarukhanyan (20-3-2,1ND). Cruiser: Ruslan Fayfer (27-3) W TKO 1 Fabio Maldonado (26-5). Light: Vladimir Sarukhanyan (15-0) W PTS 8 Vyacheslav Gusev (25-7). Shakhnazaryan vs. Sarukhanyan Shakhnazaryan wins the vacant Russian title with majority verdict over Sarukhanyan. Sarukhanyan was having his first fight for eighteen months but lead early. However the aggressive Shakhnazaryan turned things around and finished strongly winning a controversial decision. Scores 97-95 and 96-94 for Shakhnazaryan and 95-95. Both fighters are Armenian-born Russians. Fayfer vs. Maldonado Fayfer annihilates Maldonado in the first. Fayer opened fast driving Maldonado to the ropes and dropped him with a volley of punches. Maldonado beat the count but went down again under a shower of punches. When he got up he was reeling under more punches and the referee stepped in to save him. Fayfer was 23-0 until he lost to Andrew Tabiti in the WBSS and was 2-2 going into this fight. Fifth loss on the trot for Brazilian Maldonado. Sarukhanyan vs. Gusev Sarukhanyan, another Armenian-born Russian, outboxed a competitive Gusev over eight rounds. Gusev used his experience to present some problems to the younger Sarukhanyan over the first six rounds but faded late and Sarukhanyan wrapped-up the unanimous decision. Hurlingham, Argentina: Light: Agustin Quintana (14-1-1) W TKO 7 Claudio Daneff (11-2-1). Cruiser: Yamil Peralta (10-0) W PTS 8 Marcos Karalitzky (7-5-2). Quintana vs. Daneff Quintana wins the WBC Latino Silver title with stoppage of champion Daneff. It was an entertaining match but the power and precision of Quintana wore Daneff down. A right from Quintana drove Daneff into a corner in the seventh and he was given a standing count. When the action resumed Daneff was stumbling and holding and when he was hurt by another right the referee stopped the fight. Tenth win by KO/TKO and seventh consecutive victory for Quintana. Daneff, the Argentinian No 1, was making the first defence of the Latino title. Peralta vs. Karalitzky Argentinian and South American champion Peralta repeated a previous victor over Karalitzky winning on scores of 80-73 ½”, 79-73, 78-74. Two-time Olympian and a bronze medallist at both the World Championships and the Pan American Games Sheffield, England: Light: Hammed Ghazi (17-0) W TKO 3 Liam Shinkwin (9-2-1) Ghazi continues to progress. After an even first round Ghazi took over. He landed heavily on Shinkwin in the second and was handing out more punishment in the third when the referee stopped the contest. The 25-year-old Afghan-born Ghazi will probably go for the English title next. Shinkwin had won his last three fights with his only loss in a Prizefighter Tournament. 26 June Oncativo, Argentina: Heavy: Leandro Robutti (8-4) W PTS 10 Kevin Espindola (6-2). Robutti uses his edges in height and weight to take a majority decision over Espindola and wins the vacant Argentinian title. Neither fighter has much in the way of technique but they supplied an entertainment brawl. Despite the majority decision Robutti was a clear winner. Scores 97-94 and 97 ½ -95 for Robutti and 95-95. Robutti is now 2-1 in their three meetings. Brisbane, Australia: Cruiser: Mark Flanagan (25-8) W TKO 5 Ben Kelleher (14-3-2). Flanagan batters a game Kelleher to defeat to win the vacant Australian title. Former champion Flanagan broke Keller down with stiff jabs and body shots. By the fifth Kelleher had nothing left and he was put down by a clubbing right. He managed to pull himself upright but was in no condition to continue. A much needed win for Flanagan who had suffered consecutive losses against Arsen Goulamirian, David Light and Jai Opetaia. Kelleher, also a former Australian champion, had been stopped by Jai Opetaia in October. Ekaterinburg, Russia: Super Feather: Mark Urvanov (19-2-1) W PTS 8 Rofhiwa Maemu (19-12-3). Local fighter Urvanov needs some generous judging to get a majority decision over South African Maemu. The visitor came forward aggressively from the start landing heavily to the head and unsettled Urvanov. Over the second half of the fight Urvanov clawed back with a strong finish but did not look to have done enough to merit the win. Urvanov is the holder of the WBO global title and their No 8. This showing illustrates how ratings are skewed by sanctioning fees rather than by the quality of a fighter's victories. Maemu is 0-5 in visits to Russia and has won only one of his last seven fights. Soweto, South Africa: Super Light: Xolisani Ndongeni (28-2) W TKO 3 Peter Pambeni (16-5-3). 14 Ndongeni returns to form and saves himself some money as he stops Zimbabwean Pambeni in the third round. Ndongeni quickly solved the problem of the switch-hitting Pambeni and overwhelmed him in the third. Ndongeni wins the vacant WBA Pan African title. A sixth round kayo loss to Prince Dlomo in October raised some questions over Ndongeni’s future but he answered them here. He had said he would pay Pambeni R 1000 ($70) if he lasted more than three rounds so did not have to pay out. In his last fight in November 2019 Pambeni was stopped in eight rounds by Jeremia Nakathila in a fight for the WBO Global title. Madrid, Spain: Minimum: Joana Pastrana (18-3) W PTS 10 Anne Sophie Da Costa (28-8). Champion Pastrana retained her European female title with a flawless display against French challenger Da Costa. Pastrana looked close to stopping Da Costa a couple of times but Da Costa took the punishment and was still there at the final bell. Scores 100-90 from all three judges for Pastrana. Fight of the week (Significance): Both the wins for Gervonta Davis and Vasyl Lomachenko keep some potentially big fights in play Fight of the week (Entertainment): Paul Butler and Willibald Garcia provide ten rounds of intense action. Honourable mention to Yamileth Mercado vs. Angelica Rascon which was a war. Fighter of the week: Gervonta Davis. His win over Barrios might have only been for the secondary WBA title but the way he came from behind after working out his tactics to overcome the height and reach of Barrios and then finished the fight with two knockdowns showed real class. Punch of the week: The left to the body by Ricardo Sandoval that finished Jay Harris was wicked. Upset of the week: Has to be 14-65-5 Brett Fidoe stopping 14-1 Tyrone McCullagh. Fidoe hardly showed any excitement with his win. He just banged his gloves together as a show of satisfaction. This is his second win in a row and he keeps this up he may have take “celebrating” lessons. Prospect watch: Mexican Super lightweight Gabriel Valenzuela is in good form unbeaten in his last 22 fights. Observations Good to see no rubbish about Davis vs. Barrios as any kind of “unification” fight as Josh Taylor holds all four of the real super lightweight titles in fact although Davis has won titles in three divisions only the lightweight title is a genuine title. It was a case of the long and the short and the tall*: Gary Cully 6’2” vs. 5’5” Viorel Simion Tyrone McCullagh 5’6” vs. 5’2” Brett Fidoe Mario Barrios 5’10” vs. 5’5 ½” Gervonta Davis Masayoshi Nakatani 5’ 11 ½” vs. 5’7” Vasyl Lomachenko Guido Vianello 6’6” vs. 6’1” Marlon Marshall Leon Lawson 6’5” vs. 5’11” Nathaniel Gallimore Alantez Fox 6’4” vs. 5’8” Manny Woods *The long and the short and the tall is from an old British Army song which starts “bless e’m all, bless e’m all the long and the short and the tall….. and goes down and dirty from there Emiliano Marsili just goes on and on but just can’t land a title fight. At 44 and after 18 years as a pro he is unbeaten in 41 fights (40-0-10) which without checking I think puts him level with Gilberto Ramirez (41-0) with the longer current unbeaten runs. You may- or may not- have noticed that I have included the results of some female title fights in the report. I have finally gone over to the dark side! By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Naoya Inoue crushes Filipino Michael Dasmarinas with body punches in three rounds to retain the IBF and WBA bantamweight titles -Jermall Charlo scores wide unanimous decision over brave Juan Montiel in WBC middleweight title defence -Jaime Munguia’s power proves too much for Pole Kamil Szeremeta who retires after six rounds. -Former WBO super bantamweight champion Isaac Dogboe takes majority verdict over Adam Lopez in featherweight clash -Gabriel Rosado flattens unbeaten Bektemir Melikuziev with one stunning right hand -Felix Sturm continues his comeback with a points win over James Kraft -South African Ludumo Lamati wins the vacant IBO super bantamweight title with majority decision against Mexican Jose Estrada Garcia World Title/Major Shows 19 June Las Vegas, NV, USA: Bantam: Naoya Inoue (21-0) W TKO 3 Michael Dasmarinas (30-3-1). Feather: Isaac Dogboe (22-2) W PTS 10 Adam Lopez (15-3.Super Light: Lindolfo Delgado (12-0) W PTS 8 Salvador Briceno (17-7). Inoue vs. Dasmarinas In another “monster” performance Inoue destroys Filipino Dasmarinas inside three rounds. Round 1 Inouye was tracking the constantly moving Dasmarinas looking to land with his right. Dasmarinas kept moving a poking out jabs but was wary of Inoue’s power. A right to the body and a left hook to the head gave Inoue the round. Score:10-9 Inoue Round 2 Dasmarinas showed more aggression in the second leaping inside and scoring with some southpaw lefts. Inoue continued to hunt Dasmarinas. He shook the challenger with a right and landed a quick combination that saw Dasmarinas drop to his hands and knees. He was up at five and when the action resumed Inoue landed some wicked left hooks to the body but Dasmarinas made it to the bell. Score: 10-8 Inoue Inoue 20-17 Round 3 Dasmarinas jabbed and moved in the third with Inoue stalking him and looking to land more lefts to the body. He finally caught up with Dasmarinas and a series of punches ending with a left hook to the body sent Dasmarinas down in pain. He made it to his feet but Inoue rushed him to the ropes and connected with another left hook to the body and as Dasmarinas went down the referee waived the fight over. Inoue retains the IBF and WBA titles with his eighteenth inside the distance victory. He is now 16-0 in world title fights with 14 wins by KO/TKO in those 16 fights-and at 28 there is more to come. Dasmarinas did not have strong credentials with a win over Karim Guerfi and a draw with Manyo Plange his only tests against world rated opposition and he just could not stand the power of the Inoue left hooks to the body. Dogboe vs. Lopez Dogboe continues his featherweight campaign as he holds off a strong late surge by Lopez to take a majority decision. The little Ghanaian was in control over the first two rounds putting Lopez under pressure and scoring with hard rights. Lopez had a better third getting on the front foot and outscoring Dogboe. Dogboe was giving away considerable height and reach but he was able to get inside in the fourth and was still dangerous with rights. The fifth and sixth were close with Lopez pressing harder and Dogboe boxing more and probably just edging them. Dogboe rocked Lopez in the seventh but Lopez had Dogboe holding on after landing a right in the eighth. Lopez had a big ninth shaking Dogboe with a couple of rights and he outlanded Dogboe in the last but his late dominance was not enough to get the decision. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Dogboe and 95-95. Second win for the former WBO super bantam title holder since suffering back to back losses against Emanuel Navarette. Lopez’s other two losses have been a majority verdict against current WBO super bantamweight title holder Stephen Fulton back in 2017 and a stoppage by Oscar Valdez in which Valdez was down early. Delgado vs. Briceno Delgado goes the distance for the first time with unanimous decision over Briceno. In his first fight for 21 months Delgado made a slow start. He took a few rounds to get back in the groove and start timing his punches. Briceno had height and reach over Delgado and was competitive early working his jab well and bringing blood from Delgado’s nose. As Delgado picked up the pace and began to put his punches together Briceno quickly faded and over the closing rounds was really just looking to survive. Scores 79-73 twice and 80-72 for Delgado a Pan American Games silver medallist and 2016 Olympian who had not previously been take past the sixth round. Briceno has fallen into the job of testing promising younger fighters. Houston, TX, USA: Middle: Jermall Charlo (32-0) W PTS 12 Juan Montiel (22-5-2) .Super Bantam: Angelo Leo (21-1) W PTS 10 Aaron Alameda (25-2). Light: Isaac Cruz (22-1-1) W PTS 10 Francisco Vargas (27-3-2). Feather: Miguel Flores (25-4) W PTS 8 Diuhl Olguin (15-18-4). Charlo vs. Montiel Charlo retains the WBC title with a wide decision over a limited but extraordinary tough and very strong Montiel. Charlo was hurting Montiel early in the first two rounds with body punches but Montiel was looking to stay in front of Charlo switching guards and trading punches despite getting the worse of the exchanges. Charlo had Montiel under heavy pressure in the third connecting well to the body. Montiel landed a good left which was his best punch to this point but Charlo was again landing with both hands. Although Montiel again found the target with a left he was taking punishment to the body. After Charlo rocked Montiel with a right at the start of the fourth a low punch from Montiel paused the action. Montiel tried to walk through some wicked left hooks from Charlo and they traded punches to the bell. Charlo could have made this easier for himself but he was looking to take Montiel out instead of boxing. Charlo staggered Montiel with a right in the fifth and piled on the punches but Montiel showed a good chin. He looked on his way out when Charlo trapped on the ropes in the sixth and unloaded with punch after punch but Montiel came back and landed two crisp left hooks to the body late in the round. The pace dropped in the seventh and eighth with a dogged Montiel rolling forward constantly changing guards taking whatever Charlo threw and firing long punches. Charlo suffered a small cut over his right eye and his work was looking ragged as Montiel took the eighth. Somehow Montiel just kept walking through some savage punishment in the ninth and Charlo, whilst doing most of the scoring, was nowhere near as cool or dominant and he could not stop Montiel almost sauntering forward as Montiel connected with a strong left hook straight right combination. Absorbing punches does not win you rounds, landing them does. Montiel was doing a great job of absorbing punches over the tenth and eleventh and although he also scored with some clubbing body punches Charlo was landing more even as he looked arm weary from hitting Montiel so much for so long. Charlo wanted to box through the last but after doing that for the first half of the round he was forced to brawl at the end. Scores 120-108, 119-109 and 118-109 for Charlo. Fourth defence of the WBC title for Charlo. On the basis of punches landed the score reflected Charlo’s advantage but not the resilience and strength of Montiel. The fact that Jaime Munguia knocked Montiel out in two rounds, the only time Montiel has lost inside the distance. shows just how powerful Munguia is and as he is No 1 with the WBC we could see an explosive title fight later this year. Leo vs. Alameda Leo just scrapes past Alameda on a majority verdict. Both scored well in the opening round and that is how the fight progressed with both having some success and with every round close. Leo pressed the action hard in the second and third connecting with strong body punches but southpaw Alameda was catching Leo on the way in with useful counters. Leo worked the body over the middle rounds with Alameda landing head-snapping uppercuts as they fought fiercely through the seventh and eighth with Leo looking to have edged in front. Alameda did better in the ninth again with hooks and uppercuts and with the fight poised to go either way they fought evenly through last. Scores a strange 98-92 and 96-94 for Leo and 95-95. First fight for Leo since losing his WBO super bantam title to Stephen Fulton in January. He is currently No 6 with the WBO and No 9 with the WBC so has some way to go to get a title shot. Alameda was also coming off a loss in a title match having been outpointed by Luis Nery in a fight for the vacant WBC belt in September. He was No 10 with the WBC so may now drop down in the ratings. Cruz vs. Vargas Cruz gets a career best win as he is just too young and too strong for former champion Vargas. Cruz’s tactics were to stand off letting Vargas come to him and then lunging inside scoring with overhand rights and left hooks to the body. He was bullying Vargas on the inside and when Vargas managed to push Cruz out he just regrouped and chose his time to come forward again. Vargas was landing solid shots but they were having no effect on hard man Cruz and Vargas was being forced to fight at a strength-sapping pace. Despite being met with some stiff counters Cruz was always able to get inside and the body punching began to slow Vargas. Vargas had a good sixth outscoring Cruz and they both landed solid shots in the seventh but Cruz was banging away to the body and Vargas was showing a small cut over each eye. Cruz dominated the ninth with Vargas tending to hold more inside. A wild last round saw Cruz firing hard shots with both hands and outscoring Vargas. A clash of heads opened a bad gash over the right eye of Vargas. The doctor had a look at it but decided to let the fight continue and as Vargas stumbled forward under punches from Cruz he fell to his knees and the referee treated that as a knockdown. Scores 100-89, 99-90 and 97-92 for Cruz important wins over Diego Maldonado and 24-0 Jose Matias Romero have seen the 5’4” Cruz climb to No 2 with the IBF and No 3 with the WBA but in a division ruled by Teo Lopez and Gervonta Davis and with Devin Henry and Vasyl Lomachenko in the wings he will find it tough to win a title. Former WBC super feather champion “El Bandido” Vargas still has plenty to offer but at 36 the glory days are over. Flores vs. Olguin After losses in two big fights Flores had to produce a strong finish to get the split decision over fellow Mexican Olguin. Flores made a good start as he swept the first three rounds based on a focused body attack. Olguin began to roll in the fourth taking the fight to Flores and outscoring him inside. Flores managed to turn the tide and just did enough over the seventh and eighth to give him the edge. Scores 77-75 twice for Flores and 77-75 for Olguin. Flores was coming off consecutive losses to Leo Santa Cruz for the vacant WBA super feather title in November 2019 and to Eduardo Ramirez last December. Olguin had a poor 1-5-1 run of results before this contest. El Paso, TX, USA: Middle: Jaime Munguia (37-0) W RTD 6 Kamil Szeremeta (21-2). Super Middle: Gabriel Rosado (26-13-1) W KO 3Bektemir Melikuziev (7-1). Welter: Raul Curiel (10-0) W TKO 9 Ferdinand Kerobyan (14-2). Welter: Blair Cobbs (15-0-1) W TKO 5 Brad Solomon (29-4). Welter: Alexis Rocha (17-1) W TKO 2 James Bacon (26-5). Munguia vs. Szeremeta Munguia pounds a gutsy Szeremeta to defeat in six rounds. A low-key even first round saw both fighters trying to establish their jabs. Munguia turned up the heat in the second banging home left hooks to the body and putting together some flashy and hurtful combinations before rocking Szeremeta with a left hook to the head. In the third Munguia was boxing more than he has in the past but it was the power in his long sweeping hooks and body punches that were doing the damage. Szeremeta tried to fire back but lacked the power to match Munguia and his head was being snapped back by uppercuts in the fourth and fifth. Munguia handed Szeremeta a savage beating in the sixth driving Szeremeta around the ring connecting with straight rights, left hooks and uppercuts and Szeremeta wisely retired at the end of the round. The former WBO super welterweight champion’s skills are improving but it is the power that has brought him 30 inside the distance wins that makes him such a force. He is No 1 with both the WBC and WBO so a title shot this year looks on. Szeremeta was having his first fight since retiring after seven rounds against Gennady Golovkin in an IBF title fight in December. Rosado vs. Melikuziev Rosado comes off the floor to flatten heavy favourite Melikuziev with a single right thunderbolt in the third round. After a slow start Melikuziev attacked fiercely at the end of the first round with Rosado dropping to one knee under a shower of clubbing head punches. He did not look too badly hurt and the bell went as he arose at eight. Melikuziev scored with straight southpaw lefts and body punches throughout the second and was too quick for the slower Rosado. It was looking too easy for the Uzbek and he made a confident start to the third darting in and landing with body shots. An overconfident Melikuziev was coming with his hands down and the next time he did it Rosado met him with a thunderous counter right that froze Melikuziev before he pitched face down to the canvas. Melikuziev tried to rise but fell on his side with the referee waiving the fight off and summoning help for the Uzbek. In his last fight in November 2020 the 35-year-old Rosado had lost a very close split decision to Daniel Jacobs. He lost to Gennady Golovkin and Peter Quillin in world title shots but with Melikuziev No 7 with the WBA that right might earn him a third title shot. Big setback for Melikuziev but at 25 he can come again perhaps with a little less arrogance next time. Curiel vs. Kerobyan Curiel comes from behind to stop Armenian Kerobyan in the ninth. Kerobyan outworked Curiel over the first three rounds using a strong jab and chopping rights to put Curiel on the back foot. Curiel upped his punch output over the fourth and fifth but the Armenian was the stronger and Curiel’s work was sloppy as Kerobyan connected with rights to the head. Curiel finally began to take control in the eighth. He rocked Kerobyan with head punches and suddenly Kerobyan was in trouble. Curiel was driving the Armenian around the ring with Kerobyan unsteady at the bell. A low punch landed by Kerobyan paused the action in the ninth as Curiel was given time to recover and when the fight resumed Curiel drove Kerobyan to the floor with a right. Kerobyan was up quickly but looked unsteady. Curiel then pounced on Kerobyan and staggered him with an uppercut forcing the referee to jump in and stop the fight. Curiel, 25, wins the vacant NABF title with the eighth win by KO/TKO in his last nine contests. After losing a tight decision against Blair Cobbs Kerobyan had regrouped with three wins and looked good here until he fell apart. Cobbs vs. Solomon Cobbs too young and too strong for Solomon. Cobbs made a strong fast start putting the older Solomon under plenty of pressure and scoring heavily in the first three rounds. Solomon finally began to settle in the fourth connecting with clever counters early in the round but it was a brief respite for Solomon as Cobbs attacked strongly and Solomon faded. A series of punches from Cobbs saw a tiring Solomon drop to his knees and the fight was stopped. Philadelphian southpaw Cobbs is making steady progress. Now 38 Solomon has wasted his talents with just one fight each in years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Rocha vs. Bacon Rocha rebounds from defeat against Rashidi Ellis and destroys Bacon in two rounds. Southpaw Rocha began the fight with a cluster of lefts to the body. Bacon began to fire back but Rocha was winning the exchanges and looked to have the harder punch. In the second Rocha was loading up on his punches and when Bacon tried to match him a burst of body punches and a right to the head floored Bacon. He arose at seven but Rocha took him to the ropes and landed some more before a brutal right dropped Bacon face down under the bottom rope and the fight was waived off. Impressive rebound performance by 23-year-old Californian Rocha. Bacon had been in good form with 7 wins in his last 8 fights but was overpowered here. 16 June Sydney, Australia: Heavy: Justice Huni (5-0) W TKO 10 Paul Gallen (11-1-1).Middle: Isaac Hardman (11-0) TKO 4 Emmanuel Carlos (12-2).Middle: Andrei Mikhailovich (16-0) W TKO 2 Alex Hanan (13-1). Feather: Sam Goodman (9-0) W TKO 6 Nort Beauchamp (18-5). Cruiser: Jason Whateley (9-0) W TKO 4 Victor Oganov (32-9). Huni vs. Gallen Huni retains the Australian title with last round stoppage of outclassed but brave Gallen. Huni was 6” taller, 15lbs heavier and 17 years younger than Gallen and all of those factors together with Huni’s superior speed and mobility left Gallen with little chance of winning. Huni rocked Gallen with a right in the first and came close to a stoppage in the third. He then used his longer reach to score with hard body shots with Gallen rolling forward but with the exception of a close fifth having little success. The body punches tired Gallen and by the ninth he had little left and only just survived the round. In the tenth a huge left from Huni floored Gallen. He climbed to his feet but the referee stopped the fight. All three judges had Huni in front 89-82 at the finish. The 22-year-old Huni from Brisbane was making the third defence of the national title and he will now go on to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. Gallen, 39, a former Rugby player, showed tremendous heart but was out of his league in every sense here. Hardman vs. Carlos Hardman retains the Australian title with stoppage of Carlos. “Headsplitter” Hardman was scoring well in the firsts with rights. Carlos was cut high on his forehead in a clash of heads in the second and they trade punches fiercely with Hardman getting the better of the exchanges. Hardman dominated the third and then put Carlos down with a right in the fourth. Carlos made it to his feet but was in a bad way and as Hardman attacked the referee came in and stopped the fight. Ninth inside the distance win for the 25-year-old Queenslander. Carlos had won his last five fights. Mikhailovich vs. Hanan In a clash of unbeaten fighters Mikhailovich stops Hanan in two rounds. A beauty of a left hook put Hanan on the floor in the second. He beat the count but was floored by another left hook and although he made it too his feet the fight was stopped. The 23-year-old Russian-born “Renegade” has nine wins by the quick route and was too good for Hanan who had never really been tested previous to this fight. Goodman vs. Beauchamp Former amateur star Goodman outboxes and then stops Beauchamp. Goodman was scoring at distance with his jab and then landing heavy counters to the body as Beauchamp came forward. Beauchamp managed to get inside and was more competitive in the third but Goodman handed out steady punishment in the fourth and fifth with both the referee and doctor warning Beauchamp that unless he showed more the fight could be stopped. When Goodman connected with some heavy punches in the sixth the referee stepped in to save Beauchamp. Fifth win by KO/TKO for the 22-year-old Goodman who collects the vacant Australasian title. He was Australian Youth champion and won a bronze medal at the World Youth Championships. Thai-born New Zealander Beauchamp suffers his third loss in a row. Whateley vs. Oganov A farcical mismatch sees Whatley beat Oganov in four rounds. Whatley at 6’5” was 9” taller than Oganov and was also 14 years younger. Oganov had nothing to offer. He had occasional success with lunging attacks in the third but he was cut and soaking up punishment in the fourth and his team threw in the towel. Russian-born 44-year-old Oganov was carrying 29lbs more than the 168lbs he weighed when he turned pro in 1998. 17 June Hurlingham, Argentina: Super Middle: Marcelo Coceres (30-2-1) W TKO 2 Nelson Rosalez (5-4). Coceres scores two knockdown in the second round to finish overmatched Rosalez in a fight for the vacant WBA Fedebol title. Sixteen inside the distance wins for Coceres who lost on an eleventh round kayo against Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO super middle title in 2019. Second inside the distance loss for Rosalez. 18 June Sheffield, England: Fly: Rosendo Guarneros (19-4-2) W PTS 12 Tommy Frank (13-2). Huge disappointment for local fighter Frank as he lets an early lead slip away and loses a split decision against Mexican Guarneros. Good boxing saw Frank pile up the points over the early rounds holding off the aggressive attacks of the visitor. Pressure from Guarneros saw him get into the fight over the later rounds. It seemed as though Frank might have just done enough but the officials came up with scores of 117-112 and 115-113 for Guarneros and 115-113 for Frank. When they met in December Guarneros won as Frank retired after eight rounds due to a shoulder injury. Guarneros had lost on points to Sunny Edwards in 2019 and as there are few flyweights in Britain he may be asked back again. Frank will get an early chance at redemption as he is scheduled to fight unbeaten Kyle Yousaf for the vacant British title in August. Beziers, France: Light: Jaouad Belmehdi (11-0-3) W Sylvain Chapelle (17-27-2) Hometown fighter Belmehdi retains the French title with wide unanimous decision over Chapelle. Belmehdi used his longer reach and better skills to control this one all the way. Belmehdi had won his last four fights by KO/TKO and shook Chapelle early but Chapelle survived and never stopped trying. He was eating punches all night without ever threatening Belmehdi’s dominance but preserved his record of never losing inside the distance. Scores 100-90 twice and 98-91 for 23-year-old Belmehdi. This is Chapelle’s fifth unsuccessful tilt at winning a French title. 19 June Kempton Park, South Africa: Super Bantam: Ludumo Lamati (18-0-1) W PTS 12 Jose Estrada Garcia (12-2-1). Welter: Thulani Mbenge (18-1) W TKO 3 Jabulani Makhense (11-1). Super Welter: Brandon Thysse (14-2-1) W TKO 10 Tomi Silvennoinen (9-4).Super Welter: Roarke Knapp (12-1-1) W RTD 2 Benoit Makangila (12-1-2) Cruiser: Johnny Muller (23-9-2) W PTS 10 Akani Phuzi (11-2). Lamati vs. Estrada Lamati wins the vacant IBO title with a majority decision over Mexican Garcia in a fight that would have graced any title. Lamati had to be at his best to withstand the pressure from Garcia. Boxing when he could Lamati had the edge in skill but the pulsating pressure from Garcia too often found Lamati forced to stand and trade punches. The South African had scored well when he could create some space and established a good lead after nine rounds but Garcia had more left and he rocked Lamati and opened a cut under his right eye in the tenth. Lamati was under pressure again in the eleventh and a cut was opened over the South Africa’s right eye. Despite the cuts Lamati showed a warrior’s spirit somehow finding the strength to fight hard to the last bell to emerge a deserved winner-but only just. Scores 116-112 and 115-113 for Lamati and 114-114. Wins over experienced opposituion such as Luis Melendez, 27-2 Alexis Kabore and Filipino Richie Mepranum have lifted Lamati to No 7 with the WBC and now he has a title. Garcia was 10-0-1 in his last 11 fights including a victory over 17-1-1 Luis Lebron last year. Mbenge vs. Makhense This was the most anticipated fight on the show but it turned out to be a one-sided triumph for Mbenge. From the first bell Mbenge used a strong jab to put Makhense on the back foot . A clash of heads saw Mbenge cut on the inside of his mouth but he maintained the pressure and dominated the action in the second. Mbenge connected with a series of left hooks to the head in the third which had Makhense reeling and then some hard rights saw Makhense stumbling and pitching forward as the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. Former IBO champion Mbenge shows he is still very much a force with his fourteenth win by KO/TKO. His only defeat was a very close point loss against unbeaten Sebastian Formella and with this win he has now collected both the ABU and the WBA Pan African titles since that 2019 defeat. Makhense had beaten some good domestic opposition but could not match Mbenge for power. Thysse vs. Silvennoinen Thysse scores a late stoppage of Finn Silvennoinen. Thysse was quicker and a much better boxer than the limited Silvennoinen in a fight which never really caught alight. With Silvennoinen deducted a point for holding in the ninth Thysse looked on his way to a comfortable points win until he dropped Silvennoinen with an uppercut early in the tenth. Silvennoinen beat the count but was put down again by a right to the body and counted out. Fourth consecutive win for Thysse who is No1 in the South African ratings. Third defeat in a row for Silvennoinen Knapp vs. Makangila Local boxer Knapp makes it ten quick wins as he defeats previously undefeated Makangila. No knockdowns but Knapp handed out a solid beating with Makangila not answering the bell for the third round. Knapp’s lost was a seventh round stoppage by Thysse in November 2019. Congolese fighter Makangila was having his second fight in South Africa and is 0-1-1 there now. Muller vs. Phuzi Muller gets split decision over Phuzi. The more experienced Muller had won the WBA Pan African title with a unanimous points victory over Phuzi in December and simply outworked Phuzi this time in a lacklustre affair to hold on to the belt. Scores 97-93 twice for Muller and a strange 96-94 for Phuzi. Muller has been a pro for twelve years and in his glory days scored wins over Kevin Lerena and Mateusz Masternak. Phuzi has scored wins over Namibians Wilberforce Shihepo and Vikapita Meroro. Hamburg, Germany: Light Heavy: Felix Sturm (42-5-3,1ND) W PTS 10 James Kraft (19-1-1). Heavy: Hussein Muhamed (17-0) W PTS 10 Senad Gashi (21-4). Super Middle: Vincent Feigenbutz (33-3) W KO 9 Nuhu Lawal (27-9). Sturm vs. Kraft Sturm continues his comeback with unanimous demission over unbeaten Kraft. The 18-year younger Kraft tried to set a fast pace and take the fight to Sturm and made the former title holder work hard. Kraft threw plenty of punches rocking Sturm in the fifth but Sturm’s experience was the important factor. He stayed cool scoring with solid, accurate punching and when under pressure blocked, dodged and used clever upper body movement to get away from Kraft’s punches. There were no knockdowns and neither fighter was ever in trouble so Sturm managed ten rounds of useful work to prepare himself for bigger fights. Scores 99-93, 97-94 and 96-94 for Strum. At 42 and having been out of the ring for almost four years before returning with a win in December Sturm has a limited shelf life. Kraft had been kept away from any tough tests but boxed well here and is still only 24. Muhamed vs. Gashi Muhamed wins the vacant WBC International Silver title with victory over more experienced Gashi. Muhamad cleverly used his longer reach and 5” height advantages to work on the outside with Gashi having success with body punches. Gashi slipped to the canvas under pressure from Muhamed in the second and was given a count. There were some fierce exchanges in the fifth with Muhamed scoring a genuine knockdown. Pressure from Gashi over the late rounds made the fight close but he could not claw back the points from the two knockdowns with Muhamad emerging a clear winner. Scores 97-91, 96-94 and 95-93 for Muhamad. This was a big step in quality of opposition for the 6’5” German Muhamad who adds another interesting factor the heavyweight division in Europe. Kosovon-born southpaw Gashi has come up short in step-up fights against Carlos Takam and Dereck Chisora. Feigenbutz vs. Lawal Feigenbutz keeps busy with a ninth round win over Lawal. Over the opening rounds Feigenbutz settled for dominating the centre of the ring and controlling the fight with his jab. He upped his pace from the fourth before flooring Lawal in the fifth. Feigenbutz kept up the pressure and ended it the ninth when with Lawal pinned against the ropes he landed a cluster of punches and Lawal went down and was counted out. Although nothing is signed the talk is of a match with Sturm which would be a big attraction. Lawal, 39, falls to 2-7 in his last 9 fights. Guadalajara, Mexico: Cruiser: Anderson Silva (2-1) W PTS 8 Julio Cesar Chaves Jr (52-5-1,1ND). Middle: Ramon Alvarez (29-8-3,1ND) W PTS 8 Omar Chavez (38-7-1). Super Welter: Damian Sosa (18-1-0) W PTS 10 Abel Mina (13-1). Super Light: Jorge Melendez (14-7-2) W PTS 8 Kevin Torres (17-2-1). Silva vs. Chavez Another black eye for boxing as UFC senior citizen Silva takes a split decision over Chavez Jr. The contract weight for this fight was 182lbs and, not for the first time, Chavez came in 2.4lbs over and this time he had to pay $100,000 to Silva for that failure. Although Chavez made a good start over the second half of the bout Silva, 42, out threw and outlanded Chavez who was 10lbs heavier than in his last fight in November. That indicated how hard he trained for this one and he tired badly late in the fight as Silva continued to find the target with jabs and some punches out of his UFC bag of tricks. A cut and exhausted Chavez just faded out of the fight and squandered his early lead. Scores 77-75 twice for Silva and 77-75 for Chavez but Silva looked to have won this one clearly. Silva who some consider to be the best of all time in MMA, had one pro fight in 1998 which he lost and one in 2005 which he won. He aims to continue in boxing. Chavez, 35, really should retire. Alvarez vs. Chavez In a clash of two members of Mexican boxing’s first families Alvarez goes 2-1 ahead in his series of bouts with Chavez as he wins a unanimous decision. Alvarez was the aggressor throughout. A clash of head opened a deep gash on the forehead of Chavez in the fourth but the fight continued with Alvarez landing more and the harder punches. Scores 80-73 twice and 79-73. First fight for Alvarez, Canelo’s elder brother, since being knocked out by Erislandy Lara in fight for the vacant WBA secondary title in August 2019. Chavez, the son of Julio Cesar, had lost to novice Oziel Santoyo in his last fight in June 2019. Sosa vs. Mina Mexican “Samurai” Sosa wins the vacant WBO Latino title with split verdict over Ecuadorian Mina. Scores 96-94 and 95-94 for Sosa and 96-94 for Mina but it was a very controversial decision and Mina looked unlucky. Melendez vs. Torres Melendez delighted his home city fans as he took a very thin decision over “Diamond Boy” Torres. Scores 77-74, 77-75 and 76-74 for Melendez who was a very modest 3-3 going into this fight against Torres who had scored wins in his last seven contests. This show was to celebrate the career of the great Julio Cesar Chavez. On an emotional evening he boxed an exhibition against Hector Camacho Jr in what Julio has promised will be his last ever appearance in a ring and Canelo worked his corner for the last round of the exhibition. It is a pity that his two sons did not perform better but the night was really about Julio Cesar Snr. a World Champion six times over three weight divisions with 107-6-2 career record. Brisbane, Australia: Super Middle: Rohan Murdock (25-2) W TKO 3 Les Sherrington (38-16). Murdock crushes a shot looking Sherrington. Murdock put Sherrington down three times with the referee waiving the fight off after the third knockdown. Eighteen inside the distance wins for Murdock who was stopped in eleven rounds by Zack Parker in his last fight in March 2020. Sherrington, 38, has now suffered 6 inside the distance defeats in his last 7 outings. Golden Sands, Bulgaria: Super Welter: Yosif Panov (19-3) W PTS 10 Angel Emilov (10-31). Panov wins the vacant Bulgarian title as he eases to a unanimous decision over Emilov. Scores 99-90, 98-91 and 98-95 for Panov. After being 2-3 at the start of his career “The Viper” has scored 17 consecutive victories over opponents who would be flattered to be described as modest. Emilov has won only one of his last ten fights. Munich, Germany: Super Emre Cukur (17-1) W PTS 10 Geard Ajetovic (31-24-2). Cukur gets routine win over experienced survivor Ajetovic. Tall southpaw Cukur was able to outbox Ajetovic and alternated between fighting on the back foot and using his jab to force Ajetovic onto the defensive. Ajetovic was just too slow to pose any threat and Cukur was able to do some showboating but with only three wins by KO/TKO did not have the power to stop Ajetovic. Cukur tired badly over the last three rounds but still won every round. A points loss to unbeaten Davide Faraci indicates Cukur will struggle against good level opposition. Serb Ajetovic, 40, falls to 0-91 in his last 10 fights but has never been stopped. Panama City, Panama: Super Fly: Keiver Fernandez (23-1-1) W PTS 9 Keyvin Lara (30-4-1). Panamanian-based Venezuelan Fernandez just gets by Nicaraguan Lara on a split decision. It was eight rounds of war and a candidate for Panamanian Fight of the year. Fernandez won on two scores of 86-85 with the third judge going for Lara by the same score. Fernandez wins the vacant WBA Fedelatin title but his impressive figures hide a standard Venezuelan padded record with 18 of those he has beaten having “amassed” six wins between them. Lara was knocked out in the eleventh round by Kazuto Ioka in a challenge for the secondary WBA flyweight title in 2016 Miami, FL, USA: Welter: Harold Calderon (25-0) W RTD 4 Ramal Amanov (16-4). Calderon halts late substitute Amanov in four rounds. From the first Calderon was targeting Amanov’s body and the Miami-based Azeri quickly began to wilt. Calderon kept up the pressure rocking Amanov and pounding to the body until Amanov’s team pulled their man out of the fight. Chicago-born Nicaraguan Calderon has 17 wins by KO/TKO but has been carefully matched. Amanov suffers his fourth inside the distance loss in a row. Atlanta, GA, USA: Super Welter: Yuri Foreman (35-3,1ND) W Jimmy Williams (17-5-2,1ND). It looks like the end of the road for Foreman a former holder of the secondary WBA super welterweight title as he loses a majority decision against Williams. Scores 77-73 twice for Williams and 75-75. They were to have clashed in March but Forman reported sick the day before the fight so it never happened. Williams went 14-0-1 at the start of his career but has struggled since then. Foreman 40 won the WBA title in 2009 but lost it to Miguel Cotto the following year. Fight of the week (Significance): The victories for Naoya Inoue, Jermall Charlo and Jaime Munguia could all prove to be significant over the next six months. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Ludumo Lamati vs. Jose Estrada Garcia was war all the way with honourable mention to Keiver Fernandez vs. Keyvin Lara in Panama Fighter of the week: Inoue again lives up to his “Monster” billing Punch of the week: The left to the body from Inoue that finished Dasmarinas was fearful but that single right counter from Rosado that flattened Melikuziev gets my vote. Upset of the week: UFC veteran Anderson Silva outpointing Julio Cesar Chavez Jr was an upset but Chavez brought it on himself Prospect watch: Russian-born New Zealand middleweight Andrei Mikhailovich 17-0 is progressing well Observations It was good to see the career of the great Julio Cesar Chavez celebrated in Guadalajara. JCC boxed an exhibition with Hector Camacho Jr. and his sons Julio Cesar Jr and Omar also boxed on the show. The Chavez dynasty was not the only family in attendance as Ramon Alvarez, the elder brother of Saul, won over Omar Chavez and Canelo climbed in the ring to be in JCC’s corner for the last round of the exhibition-whisper it but there is another Alvarez about as young Johan, a nephew of Saul and Ramon, won his first pro fight on the show. How times change with Australian heavyweight champion Justice Huni now off to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. Gone are the days when the Games were for amateurs. By Eric Armit
Highlights: - Devon Haney holds off a strong finish from Jorge Linares to retain the WBC lightweight title -Filipino wonder man Nonito Donaire stops Nordine Oubaali in four rounds to win the WBC bantamweight title - Mexican Esteban Bermudez springs a huge upset with kayo of unbeaten title holder Carlos Canizales to win the WBA light flyweight title -Puerto Rican Subriel Matias floors and beats Batyrzhan Jukembayev on a eighth retirement in an IBF super lightweight eliminator -South African Azinga Fuzile stops Thomas Joseph Ward in seven rounds in IBF super featherweight eliminator -Jason Quigley outpoints Shane Mosley Jr in a middleweight ten rounder -Super light Gary Antuanne Russell makes it 14 wins by KO/TKO in 14 fights with win over Jovanie Santiago -Australian heavyweight hope Justis Huni outpoints Christian Ndzie Tsoye World Title/Major Shows 28 May 2) W TKO 6 Carlos Canizales (22-1-1). Super Bantam: David Carmona (22-7-5,1ND) W PTS 10 Belmar Preciado (21-4-1). Bermudez vs. Canizales Huge upset as unfancied Bermudez grinds down then floors and halts previously unbeaten Canizales to win the WBA secondary light flyweight title. Canizales was scoring early with hooks and uppercuts inside. Bermudez was a bit crude but had a strong jab and looked dangerous with overhand rights. Bermudez kept coming forward behind his jab in the second forcing Canizales onto the back foot. Canizales rocked Bermudez with a right but Bermudez repaid him with a right that snapped the title holder’s head back and Canizales looked rattled. Canizales scored well inside in the third but then the strength of Bermudez had him backing up. Bermudez continued to march forward behind his jab. He was shrugging off counters from Canizales and scoring with strong rights to the head and banging away to the body. Canizales turned up the heat in the fourth. He attacked hard and worked Bermudez over on the ropes and Bermudez looked to be tiring. It was Canizales who was showing signs of tiring in the fifth. Bermudez continued to walk Canizales down raking him with long punches and Canizales was cut over his left eye. Canizales was landing some good counters but Bermudez just shrugged them of and worked on the body of Canizales. The sixth saw Canizales landing quality punches but he could not keep Bermudez out. A right to the head shook Canizales and another sent him down heavily. He staggered up but looked unsteady and when the action resumed a right to the head sent Canizales falling to the canvas against the ropes and the referee immediately stopped the fight. The 25-year-old new champion had no right even being in the ring with Canizales as the WBA had to manipulate their ratings to suddenly bring him from nowhere to No 10. Bermudez seized his chance. He proved a big, strong and determined challenger and walked through the punches from the champion even though Canizales had scored 17 wins by KO/TKO. He was very crude at times but effective. Venezuelan Canizales was making the third defence of the title. It may be that one year without a fight took away something from him but he had previously beaten fighters with better credentials than Bermudez and he just crumbled under the constant pressure. Carmona vs. Preciado Carmona makes it a double for Mexico over South America as he outpoints Colombian Preciado in a mild upset. Preciado started well and edged two of the early rounds. Carmona then took the fight inside outscoring Preciado and administering a bad body beating. Preciado faded and in the last it even looked possible that Carmona might stop him. Scores 98-93 twice and 96-94. Carmona wins the WBC Fecarbox belt. He has been beaten in title shots by Omar Narvaez and Khalid Yafai and had lost 5 of his last 6 fights so another title shot is a long way away. Preciado is a very in-and-out performer and nowhere near world class. 29 May Carson, CA, USA: Bantam: Nonito Donaire (41-6) W TKO 4 Nordine Oubaali (17-1). Super Light: Subriel Matias (17-1) W RTD 8 Batyrzhan Jukembayev (18-1). Super Light: Gary Antuanne Russell (14-0-0) W RTD 6 Jovanie Santiago (14-2-1). Super Light: Kevin Johnson (9-2) W KO 8 Luis Salazar (15-1). Bantam: Alejandro Santiago (24-2-5) W KO 2 Juan Medina (12-7). Donaire vs. Oubaali Donaire crushes WBC champion Oubaali with three knockdowns to make history as the oldest fighter to win a bantamweight title. Round 1 A close opening round saw Oubaali using his speed and landing jabs to head and body. Donaire was a little slower but looked dangerous with his left hooks. Score: 10-9 Oubaali Round 2 Similar story but Oubaali upped his pace a bit more and mixed in some good hooks and straight rights. Donaire applied pressure and connected with some left hooks but was just outscored by the champion. Score: 10-9 Oubaali Oubaali 20-18 Round 3 Donaire was walking Oubaali down and closing the distance. Oubaali was still jabbing well but had nothing with which to keep the taller Donaire out. It was a close round until with 45 seconds to go in the round Donaire clipped Oubaali with a left to the head. Oubaali fell forward putting his glove on the canvas to stop himself from going down. When he straightened he looked shaky. After the count Donaire floored Oubaali heavily. Initially the referee seemed to throw his arms out to stop the fight and corner men and the doctor were climbing thought the ropes. The referee waived for them to get out and he then gave Oubaali a count and Oubaali survived the round. Score: 10-7 Donaire Donaire 28-27 Round 4 Oubaali tried to hold Donaire off in the fourth but failed and a left hook dumped Oubaali on the floor propped up against the ropes. He looked in some distress and this time the referee did stop the fight. Great victory for the 38-year-old Donaire who is already a four-division champion and becomes the oldest fighter to win the bantamweight title. Now he wants a return with Naoya Inoue who took his WBA super bantamweight title in his last fight in November 2019. Oubaali was making the third defence of the title. Oubaali had been a travelling champion having won the WBC title by beating Rau’shee Warren in the USA and defended it in Kazakhstan and Japan. He just could not match the power punching of Donaire. He is 34 but unlikely to retire. Matias vs. Jukembayev Matias brutalises and breaks down unbeaten Jukembayev to force Jukembayev’s corner to pull their man out of the fight after eight rounds. A confident start from Jukembayev. He was finding gaps for his right jab and banging home straight lefts. Matias had some success with left jabs late in the round but the early work from Jukembayev earned him the round. Matias was coming forward throughout the second with Jukembayev scoring with rights and lefts but he could not keep Matias out and the Puerto Rican scored well to the body. Jukembayev was being forced to stand and trade punches in the third with the strength of Matias telling and in the fourth a series of punches sent Jukembayev reeling back and down. Jukembayev beat the count and fought hard to make it to the bell. Jukembayev boxed his way through the fifth but Matias had him under heavy pressure at the end of the sixth. Matias was relentless in the seventh. Jukembayev was countering with accurate shots but Matias was walking through them and landing hurtful body shots although Jukembayev seemed to stagger Matias with a right hook late in the round. Matias handed out a solid beating for the whole three minutes of the eighth. With serious swelling around both eyes an exhausted Jukembayev retired at the end of the round. This was the semi-final of an IBF eliminator series to establish a mandatory challenger to Josh Taylor with Australian Liam Paro and Argentinian Jeremias Ponce the other two contesting the semi-finals. Matias was floored and outpointed by unfancied Russian Petros Ananyan in February 2020 but came back with a win over 18-0 Malik Hawkins in October. Canadian-based Kazak Jukembayev had not fought since January 2020 and the only name on his record was Miguel Vazquez who he outpointed in 2019. Russell vs. Santiago Russell has yet to go the distance for a win and he floored and broke down Santiago who retired after the sixth round making it the longest fight so far for Russell. Russell dictated the action with stiff jabs in the first and began to find the range with southpaw lefts in the second but Santiago dug in some left hooks to the body at the end of the round. Russell got through with solid shots to head and body in the third and dropped Santiago with a short right hook in the fourth. Santiago soaked up more punishment but made to the bell. The fifth was a more even round but Russell battered Santiago in the sixth and came close to ending it with Santiago retiring at the end of the round. First fight in fifteen months for the 24-year-old Russell who has taken only 29 rounds for his 14 wins. First inside the distance loss for Puerto Rican Santiago who had lost on points against Adrien Broner in February Johnson vs. Salazar Johnson proves too strong and too quick for Dominican Salazar. Salazar was having his first fight outside the Republic and was exposed by the less experienced Johnson. Salazar never really got into the fight in a significant way. Johnson outboxed him over the first two rounds and then floored him twice in the third. Salazar survived but also suffered a cut on the bridge of his nose. Salazar’s cut bleed copiously but he managed to avoid too much trouble until the seven when he was dropped for the third time. With his face smeared with blood when he went down again in the eighth the fight was stopped. Johnson, a former National PAL silver medal winner, had lost to two unbeaten former amateur stars in Fazliddin Gaibnazarov and Richardson Hitchins and was having his first fight for 15 months but this win might lead to a more active run. Former Dominican amateur champion Salazar had been carefully matched against novices and faded fighters and was exposed here Santiago vs. Medina Mexican Santiago brushes aside Dominican Medina. Santiago outscored Medina in the first and then put him down and out in the second. WBC International champion Santiago is unbeaten in his last 20 fights including four draws and is No 6 with the WBC. Medina drops to 2-7 in his last 9 fights. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Light: Devin Haney (26-0) W PTS 12 Jorge Linares (47-6). Super Feather: Azinga Fuzile (15-1) W TKO 8 Thomas Joseph Ward (24-2-2) W. Middle: Jason Quigley (19-1) W PTS 10 Shane Mosley Jr (17-3). Haney vs. Linares Haney takes unanimous decision over Linares in WBC title defence. He outboxes Linares most of the way but is seriously rocked at the end of the tenth and fades late. Round 1 Easy first round for Haney. His hand speed allowed him to score with jabs and long rights to the body. Linares trailed Haney and landed a couple of jabs but Haney pierced his guard throughout the round and landed a sharp left hook. Score: 10-9 Haney Round 2 Brilliant boxing from Haney. He consistently scored with his jab and rights to the body. He also added some left hooks to the body and a sneaky uppercut. Linares padded forward and had some success but was just not quick enough. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 20-18 Round 3 Don’t change a winning formula. Again Haney was slotting home his jab firing long rights to the body and an occasional left hook to the body. Linares was just following Haney around the ring unable to land anything of note. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 30-27 Round 4 A much better round for Linares. He was working well with his own jab and closing the distance better. Haney was still scoring with his jab but his output dropped and Linares finished the round with a burst of punches. Score: 10-9 Linares Hany 39-37 Official Scores: Judge Steve Weisfeld 40-36 Haney, Judge Patricia Morse Jarman 39-37 Haney, Judge Dave Moretti 39-37 Haney. Round 5 Haney was back in control. He had his jab on target and was scoring with hooks and uppercuts. He was using upper body movement to get under the punches and then going back to his jab again. Linares just could not pin him down. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 49-46 Round 6 Total change of tactics from Haney. He took the fight to Linares forcing Linares on the back foot and outfighting Linares in close. He was bullying Linares and scoring with hooks. Late in the round Linares landed a good left and Haney banged back with a right to the head Score: 10-9 Haney 59-55 Round 7 Haney went back to his jab. He was doubling his jab to head and body and connecting with straight rights. Linares pressed hard and had success with his own jab and left hooks but Haney finished the round strongly again with jabs. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 69-64 Round 8 Dominant round for Haney. He was coming forward throughout the round. He was getting through with uppercuts from both hands and coming up under Linares jab with rights to the head. Linares now had lumps around both eyes and a snick over his left eye. Score: 10-9 Haney Haney 79-73 Official Scores: Judge Steve Weisfeld 80-72 Haney, Judge Patricia Morse Jarman 80-72 Haney, Judge Dave Moretti 79-73 Haney. Round 9 A close round but one for Linares. Haney was continuing to take the fight to Linares but Linares was firing punches as Haney came in. For the first time in the fight Linares was firing burst of punches instead of just one or two at a time. Linares did a little jig as he went back to his corner pleased with his efforts. Score: 10-9 Linares Haney 88-83 Round 10 Haney was very cautious in this round and he punch output drooped. Linares was jabbing well and scoring with left hooks and Haney was off target with his jab. At the end of the round a right to the head from Linares staggered Haney and he was on shaky legs as he went back to his corner with Linares waiving his hands to politely usher Haney home. Score: 10-9 Linares Haney 97-93 Round 11 Another round for Linares. For most of the round Haney was not throwing punches but just darting under Linares jab to get close and hold. Linares was not doing a great deal but even then it was more than Haney was doing until Haney connected with a couple of punches late. Score: 10-9 Linares Haney 106-103 Round 12 Linares was looking to land the big shot he needed to win this fight but just could not find it. He did land a couple of good left hooks and a right. Haney was just looking to avoid trouble. He could have been deducted a point for holding and Linares could have lost a point for punches to the back of the head but neither happened. Score: 10-9 Linares Haney 115-113 Official Scores: Judge Steve Weisfeld 116-112 Haney, Judge Patricia Morse Jarman 116-112 Haney, Judge Dave Moretti 115-113 Haney. Haney retains the WBC title in his third defence. He outboxed Linares for eight rounds but fell away badly after that and was lucky that the right that unhinged his legs in the tenth came at the end and not at the beginning of the round. He was ultra cautious and did not look the same fighter over the last two rounds. Vasyl Lomachenko is NO 1 with the WBC and that would be a great match for Haney. Linares showed he still has plenty left and another title shot is well within his reach. Fuzile vs. Ward Fuzile stops Ward in IBF eliminator. Both were very tentative in the first round with neither really committing themselves but what action there was saw Ward take the round with his jabs. Fuzile stepped up the tempo in the second going on to the front foot and scoring well. Ward reasserted himself in the third with plenty of slick movement and putting Fuzile under pressure. In the fourth a quick right hook from Fuzile knocked Ward off balance and his gloves touched the canvas resulting in a count and a strong round for Fuzile. There was a pause in the action in the fifth after a low punch from Fuzile and then the fight really caught fire and they stood and traded punches with Ward just having the edge. A left hook from Fuzile in the sixth rocked Ward and the South African attacked hard scoring with lefts and rights with Ward fighting back at the end of the round. Half way through the seventh as Ward came forward his legs slid from under him and he injured a knee then started to limp. Fuzile was able to manoeuvre around the stationary Ward and score from different angles with Ward finding it hard to reset himself. A clash of heads opened a bad cut over Ward’s left eye and then Fuzile cracked him with a peach of a right hook that sent Ward down. Ward had to use the ropes to climb to his feet and was dazed initially looking out into the crowd and bleeding heavily from the cut. The referee decided he was able to continue-which he obviously wasn’t -and although Ward took a couple of steps forward Ward’s trainer stepped up to the ring apron to get the fight stopped. Big win for Fuzile. He was having his first fight since being stopped in eight rounds by Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in September 2019. The IBF title is vacant and with Fuzile having been ranked 5 (4) and Rakhimov No 1 it puts Fuzile in a strong position to contest the vacant title. Ward was very much in the fight until he damaged his knee and hopefully will be able to work his way to another eliminator Quigley vs. Mosley Quigley wins the vacant WBO NABO title with a majority decision over Mosley. Lots of studying in the first round with Mosley a bit more active and doing the scoring and connecting with a good overhand right. The action picked up a little in the second. Quigley was scoring well with his jab and straight rights. They started to swop punches in earnest in the third. Mosley seemed quicker and had more variety in his work. The action was suspended for a short while after a low punch from Quigley as he sought to score with left hooks to the body. They traded punches through the fourth and fifth which Mosley edged with a higher work rate. The sixth saw both boxers rocked by big punches and Quigley clawed that round back with right hands. Quigley took the seventh constantly stabbing home his jab and after being shaken by a right from Mosley he connected with two hard rights just before the bell. Both landed heavily in the ninth but Quigley seemed to have more left in the tank. Quigley made the better start to the tenth as they just stood and swung tired punches but Mosley finished the round stronger and just pinched it. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Quigley and 95-95. Third win for Quigley since his ninth round loss to Tureano Johnson in July 2019. He is down at No 15 with the WBC and this win should get a rating with the WBO but he has a long way to go to get near a title shot. Mosley had won his last four fights and seems to have reached his ceiling. 26 May 2021 Sydney, Australia: Heavy: Justis Huni (4-0) W PTS 10 Christian Ndzie Tsoye (5-4-2). Super Middle: Issac Hardman W TKO 8 Robert Berridge (30-7-1). Huni vs. Tsoye Huni outpoints Cameroons boxer Tsoye in second defence of the Australian title. The 6’4” Queenslander was much too good and in front of 40 selected attendees he won a wide unanimous decision. Although outboxed Tsoye was competitive over the early rounds but then tired but from the effect of some lusty body punching from Huni. With only twelve rounds of pro boxing behind him and with both a fight with Paul Geller and the Olympics coming up Huni eased off over the closing rounds to get in some ring time. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92 for Huni who won the Australian title in his first pro fight. He meets Gallen on 16 June and is a heavy favourite. Tsoye won a bronze in the African championships and although he travelled to Australia for the 2018 Commonwealth Games did not compete and stayed in Australia. Hardman vs. Berridge “Headsplitter” Hardman takes a short notice fight to stay busy. Berridge was cut over the right eye in the second and floored in the third. Southpaw Berridge fought hard to stay in the fight but in the last round was put down twice by body punches and the fight was stopped. Eighth inside the distance win for the Australian champion who had just two weeks preparation for the fight. New Zealander Berridge was stopped in four rounds by Dmitry Bivol in a challenge for the secondary WBA light heavyweight title in 2017 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Cruiser: Felix Varela (19-4) W RTD 3 Reinaldo Gonzalez (16-4). Feather: Frency Fortunato (11-1) W TKO 3 Albert Gonzalez (18-7-1). Valera vs. Gonzalez Valera uses focused body attack to force Gonzalez to pull out of the fight after the third round. Valera controlled the action in the first with some strong jabbing and left hooks to the body. They exchanged punches throughout the second both landing heavily but again Valera’s jab made the difference. Valera launched a ferocious body attack in the third. Just before the bell he landed low and Gonzalez was given some time to recover. When the action resumed Valera again landed to the body with Gonzalez wincing in pain and he did not come out for the fourth round. Sixteenth win by KO/TKO for the 33-year-old former interim WBA light heavyweight title holder who has now moved up to cruiserweight. Second inside the distance loss this year for Venezuelan Gonzalez. Fortunato vs. Gonzalez Fortunato punches too hard for Venezuelan Gonzalez. Fortunato had a substantial reach edge and was able to outbox Gonzalez in the first round. A clash of heads in the second saw Fortunato on the floor. He got up but was dazed. The doctor examined him and allowed the fight to continue. A right from Fortunato floored southpaw Gonzalez in the third. He made it to his feet but a left to the body dropped him again and the fight was stopped. Dominican Fortunato lost on points in March to Argentinian Alberto Melian in a frantic fight that featured seven knockdowns. Venezuelan Gonzalez was having his first fight for 17 months and with some ultra careful matching had lost only one of his previous 13 fights with eleven of his opponents never having won a fight. 28 May Perth, Australia: Super Feather: Jackson Jon England (13-1) W TKO 6 Shiva Mishra (7-4). Australian prospect England picks up two titles as he stops Mishra with a left to the body in six rounds. His fifth quick win in his last six fights nets the 23-year-old local fighter the vacant IBO Oceania-Orient and WBC Asan Boxing council belts. He is a former undefeated Australian featherweight champion but is now fighting at super featherweight. New Zealander Mishra had won his last four fights. Berlin, Germany: Middle: Marten Arsumanjan (11-1-2) DREW 12 Thomas Piccirillo (8-0-3). Super Welter: Haro Matevosyan (13-0,1ND) W TKO 3 Damiano Falcinelli (14-1). Super Middle: William Scull (17-0) W KO 2 Dragan Lepei (19-4-2). Middle: Vincenzo Gualtieri (17-0-1) W PTS 12 Khaliil El Harraz (13-2-1). Super Welter: Jama Saidi (19-2) W PTS 10 Dennis Dauti (19-5).Middle: Bjoern Schicke (17-1-1) W TKO 1 Vito Vendetta (14-8-1). Arsumanjan vs. Piccirillo Arsumanjan climbs off the floor to retain the EU title with a split draw against Piccirillo in an entertaining contest. The first round went to Arsumanjan as Piccirillo made a slow start allowing Arsumanjan to build a lead. Piccirillo upped his pace from the fourth and floored Arsumanjan late in the sixth. Arsumanjan rebounded talking a couple of rounds to settle again and then although Piccirillo is known for his stamina Arsumanjan matched him over the closing rounds. It had been a well balanced fight and the draw looked right. Scores 116-113 for Arsumanjan, 116-112 for Piccirillo and 114-114. Arsumanjan, a cousin of former IBF and WBO title holder Arthur Abraham, was making the first defence of the EU title he won with an impressive victory over Piccirillo’s unbeaten team mate Bjoern Schicke in June last year. Italian-born German champion Piccirillo will be hoping to get another shot at Arsumanjan. Matevosyan vs. Falcinelli Matevosyan also retained his title as he overwhelmed Italian Falcinelli in two rounds for the IBF Inter-Continental belt. Southpaw Matevosyan took the first two rounds and was landing heavily in the third when the referee stopped the fight as the towel came in to save Falcinelli. Armenian-born Matevosyan was making his first defence and gets his eighth inside the distance victory. Italian champion Falcine4li just did not have the power to match Matevosyan Scull vs. Lepei Cuban Skull contributed to making it a bad night for Italian/Italian based boxers as he stopped Lepei. Scull never allowed Lepei to get in the fight as he outscored him in the first and put Lepei down and out with an uppercut in the second. Scull, 28, was defending the IBO International title. Romanian-born former undefeated Italian champion Lepei suffers his second KO/TKO defeat. Gualtieri v. El Harraz In another IBO title fight Gualtieri used his longer reach and better skills to outbox former Italian champion El Harraz. The challenger had difficulty getting past Gualtieri’s jab and was shipping plenty of counters when he tried. Gualtieri’s confidence grew as the fight went on and he was eventually comfortable to swap punches with El Harraz but lacked to power to end things early. Scores 120-108 on all three cards in favour of Gualtieri who remains IBO Continental title holder. The draw on Gualtieri’s record came against team mate Piccirillo in a defence of the German title in August last year. El Harraz’s other loss was a very creditable points loss against 21-1-1Marcos Nader in November 2019. Saidi vs. Dauti Saidi successfully defends the German International title with unanimous verdict over Swiss-based Greek Dauti. Saidi boxed well against the strong and aggressive Dauti showing a solid defence and accurate attacking skills but was never able to completely subdued Dauti. All three judges gave the fight to Saidi on scores of 98-92. Saidi, of Afghan antecedents, is hoping to now face Italian Orlando Fiordigiglio for the vacant EU title. His losses have been against Culcay, who now trains him, and world rated Vincenzo Feigenbutz. Dauti had won 5 of his last 6 fights. Schicke vs. Vendetta Schicke dismantles fellow-German Vendetta with three knockdowns in 63 seconds. Schicke, a former EU champion, was having his first fight since losing the EU title on a sixth round retirement against Marten Arsumanjan in June 2020. Vendetta, real name Vito Palmieri, is 2-4 in his six most recent outings. Mexico City, Mexico: Light Fly: Esteban Bermudez (14-3- Johannesburg, South Africa: Light: Tshifihiwa Munyai (33-6-1) W TKO 9 Khaya Busakwe (7-2). Super Bantam: Innocent Mantengu (14-5-1) W PTS 12 Luthando Mbumbulwana (11-7). Bantam: Layten Gloss (7-3) W TKO 7 Tumelo Matsane (4-3). Munyai vs. Busakwe Munyai remains South African champion with stoppage of Busakwe. Experience played a big role in this fight. The taller Busakwe made an impressive start and quickly moved into the lead. Munyai eventually found his way into the fight but Busakwe was matching him. Busakwe had never gone past the seventh round in a fight and Munyai had paced the fight better. He came through with two knockdowns in the ninth to end Busakwe’s challenge. The 36-year-old “Atomic Spider”, a former Commonwealth champion, makes it five consecutive wins. Busakwe showed enough in those early rounds to say he will improve with more experience and challenge again. Mantengu vs. Mbumbulwana Mantengu gets back into the ranks of winners as he outpoints Mbumbulwana in an all-southpaw clash to win the vacant WBA Pan African belt. Scores 118-109, 117-110 and 116-112 for Mantengu. The former South African champion had lost his national title in his last fight in September 2019. After a good start to his career Mbumbulwana has fallen away and has lost in shots at the South African and WBFederation super bantam belts so is 0-3 in title fights. Gloss vs. Matsane Both of these fighters had won 3 of their last 4 fights but it was South African No 4 Gloss who made it 4 out of 5 with a seventh round stoppage of unrated Matsane Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania: Super Welter: Hassan Mwakinyo (19-2) W TKO 9 Antonio Mayala (10-4-1) . Cruiser: Olan Durodola (36-8) W KO 2 Shaban Hamadi Jongo (8-2-2). Light: Ibrahim Class Mgender (26-6) W PTS 8 Sibusiso Zingange (14-5-2,1ND). Mwakinyo vs. Mayala Mwakinyo breaks down and stops Mayala to win the vacant ABU title. This was a tough, competitive fight. Mayala had height and reach with Mwakinyo quicker and moiré accurate. Both had good spells and there were some exciting exchanges. Mwakinyo’s best punch was his right cross and the left side of Mayala’s face marked up and swelled. By the fifth round the snap had gone out of Mayala’s punches and he was tiring and under constant pressure. Both fighters tried switching guards on occasion but it did not interrupt the flow of the fight which was one-way with Mwakinyo handing out steady punishment and Mayala firing back when he could. Mwakinyo staggered Mayala with two big rights in the eighth and he ended it in the ninth landing four lefts to the head which put Mayala down on his back and the referee just waived the fight off. Seventeen wins in his last 18 fights for 26-year-old Mwakinyo including a second round demolition of current WBC Silver middleweight belt holder Sam Eggington in Birmingham in 2018. A big win that he has not built on. The 40-year-old Angolan Mayala has done all of his boxing in South Africa. He was 8-0-1 going into this one and showed well until he tired. Durodola vs. Jongo Durodola keeps the ABU title with dramatic second round kayo of local fighter Jongo. The Tanzanian took the fight to Durodola in the first trying to hustle and bustle the more experienced Nigeria. Durodola did not look comfortable under the pressure and was being caught with some overhand rights. Just before the end of the round a butt from Jongo opened a bad cut over the left eye of Durodola. In the second a right from Jongo sent Durodola back to the ropes but the Nigerian connected with a thunderous right to the head that sent Jongo face down hanging over the bottom rope. He made to his feet but then toppled back to the floor again and the refer halted the fight. The 40-year-old Durodola is rated No 7 by the WBC but when he has stepped up against Michal Cieslak and Ilunga Makabu in a WBC title challenges he has lost inside the distance. Jongo was strong but very crude. Mgender vs. Zingange Mgender take unanimous decision over south African Zingange but looks very fortunate to get the decision. Scores 77-75 twice and 78-74 for Mgender. He is 12-2 in his last 14 fights with the losses not surprisingly coming against world rated Azinga Fuzile and Eduardo Hernandez. Former undefeated ABU title holder Zingange the South African No 1 and WBA Pan African champion was unlucky here. Sheffield, England: Heavy: Kash Ali (18-1) W Tomes Salek (15-2). Ali wins the vacant IBF European title with stoppage of Czech Salek. Ali’s punching power proved too much for Salek. After taking the first round Ali floored Salek with a volley of uppercuts in the second. Salek managed to beat the count but more uppercuts and head punches put him down in the third and although he made it to his feet the fight was stopped. The 6’6” Ali is battling his way to respectability after being disqualified in March 2019 for biting David Price. This is his fourth win since then. Salek had won his last four fights by KO/TKO. 29 May Liege, Belgium: Super Light: Hovhannes Martirosyan (11-0) W PTS 8 Tsotne Sultanshvili (3-5). Light: Mirko Khatchatryan (12-0) W PTS 8 Nukri Gamgebeli (10-11. Heavy: Herve Hubeaux (33-3) W PTS 8 David Spilmont (10-6). Super Welter: Gary O’Sullivan (31-4) W PTS 6 Nodar Robakidze (15-36-6). Martirosyan vs. Sultanshvili Belgian champion Martirosyan keeps his 100% record with unanimous decision over Georgian Sultanshvili. Scores 80-73, 79-75 and 77-75. Fourth points defeat in a row for Sultanshvili Khatchatryan vs. Gamgebeli Local boxer Khatchatryan, 25, makes it 2-0 for Belgian champions vs. Georgian as he floors and decisions Gamgebeli. Scores 80-71 twice and 79-72 for Khatchatryan. Eighth consecutive defeat for Gamgebeli. Hubeaux vs. Spilmont Hubeaux sheds the rust of 15 months of inactivity as he outpoints Frenchman Spilmont on scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74. The 6’4” Hubeaux has now gone 7-1 in his last 8 fights with the loss coming against Oscar Rivas in 2018. Spilmont had improved his record with a run of seven wins before losing on a sixth round stoppage against Nicolas Wamba in his last fight in February 2020. O’Sullivan vs. Robakidze “Spike” O’Sullivan gets in some needed ring time as he decisions Robakidze. In his first fight since losing on an eleventh round stoppage against Jaime Munguia in January 2020 O’Sullivan eased his way past experienced survivor Robakidze on scores of 60-55, 59-57 and 58-56. O’Sullivan is looking for a big fight some time this year. Robakidze is still looking for his first win outside of Georgia after 31 attempts. Maraussan, France: Middle: Mike Esteves (7-1) W PTS 10 Sofian Bellahcene (11-18-3). The French Federation is going to great lengths to keep their titles moving as this clash between novice Esteves and Bellahcene shows. It is also giving local promoters the chance to feature their boxers. In this fight for the vacant French title neighbourhood fighter Esteves came through with a convincing win over experienced former champion Bellahcene on scores of 97-93 twice and 98-92 giving him his sixth win on the bounce. It was Bellahcene’s first fight since September 2019 Rumilly, France: Middle: Bruno Surace (18-0-2) W PTS 10 Mahdi Madani (20-9-1). Light Heavy: Thomas Faure (20-4-1) W PTS 10 Patrick Bois (15-9-1). Surace vs. Madani Surace takes his title into the home town of seasoned pro Madani and retains it with a good points victory. A wide divergence in the scores with the judges tallies all for Surace reading 98-91, 97-92 and 95-94. First defence of his title for Surace and to show how strong the division is in Europe his 15 fight unbeaten run has not been enough to get him into the EBU ratings. Madani had won his last seven fights and collected the WBC Mediterranean title but was second best in this one. Faure vs. Bois Faure successfully defends the national title for the second time with a unanimous decision over ex-champion Bois. Scores 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94. Second defence for Faure who has lost only one of his last 14 fights. Bois is 1-6 in a series of very tough assignments. Tijuana, Mexico: Super Light: Carlos Diaz (29-1,1ND) ND 7 Elvis Torres (19-1-2,1ND).Super light: Diego Torres (9-0) W KO 1 Francisco Pina (16-18-7). Fly: Bryan Mosinos (21-2) W Unfortunate ending to an exciting scrap as a punch to the back of the head renders Torres unable to continue. A wild opening round saw Torres rock Diaz badly. Torres was letting his fists fly but was leaving himself open and a series of shots from Diaz dropped him to his knees. He beat the count and attacked strongly and it looked as though Diaz touched the canvas with his gloves when he was knocked off balance but the referee did not apply a count and the bombed each other to the bell. They settled down and boxed more with the shorter Torres using his right jab to get inside and Diaz countering but with Torres getting the better of the exchanges. Diaz changed things in the fifth attacking more but Torres bounced back to take the sixth. As Torres ducked to come inside in the seventh Diaz landed two punches to the back of the head of Torres. Torres was badly dazed and shaking his head . He was given recovery time but was unable to continue and it was ruled the punch were accidental resulting in a No Decision. I though the first punch was deliberate and the second definitely was but that’s the decision. Torres was well in front at the end but there was still plenty of time to go. Torres vs. Pina “Azabache” Torres chalks up another quick win as he knocks out Pina in the opening round. Torres sent Pina down twice with body punches and Pina was counted out. The 23-year-old Torres has scored six victories in the first round and three in the second including finishing Nery Saguilan in just 58 seconds in his last fight in March. Ninth inside the distance loss for Pina. Mosinos vs. Alejo Mosinos squeezes past experienced Alejo on a unanimous decision. In a fiery battle Mosinos had to climb off the floor twice but also scored a knockdown and his aggression and higher work rate gave him the edge. Scores 95-92 twice and 94-93. Mosinos, trained by Hall of Famer Ignacio Beristan extends his current winning run to eight. Alejo has lost to Donnie Nietes and Andy Acosta in shots at the WBO light flyweight title. Mexico City, Mexico: Super Bantam: Ernesto Salcedo (13-0) W KO 2 Manuel Montalvo (?). Bantam: Luis Rosales (10-15-1) W TEC DEC 7 Jose Rojas (4-6-1). Salcedo vs. Martinez An easy inside the distance job for Salcedo as he knocks out late substitute Montalvo in the second round. After a slow first round where Salcedo did most of the scoring he staggered Montalvo with a left hook in the second and then drove him into a corner and unloaded punches until Montalvo dropped to the floor and was counted out. Salcedo was to have fought for the vacant Mexican title but his opponent was injured and Montalvo came in as a very short notice replacement. You could tell he was a short notice fill-in as he was using someone else’s gumshield which was much too big and did not really fit inside his mouth. Now ten wins by KO/TKO for Salcedo. Montalvo’s record was given as 10-2-1. Rosales vs. Rojas This was also supposed to be for a vacant Mexican title but again there was a late substitution. Rosales suffered a bad cut on his right eyebrow in the fourth. It was a close battle early but Rosales was weakening Rojas with hooks to the body and was on top in the fight until the referee halted the action with just 10 seconds to go in the seventh round. The doctor said the cut was too bad for the fight to continue and it was decided on the cards. Scores 59-55, 59-56 for Rosales and 57-57. Big disappointment for 33-year-old Rosales who had his sights set on becoming national champion. Rojas just a limited prelim fighter. Ascona, Switzerland: Super Middle: Celso Neves (8-1-1) W TKO 8 Marzio Franscella (9-1-1). Super Light: Ricardo Silva (19-2-2) W PTS 6 Sladjan Dragiisic (5-24-2). Neves vs. Franscella Portuguese fighter Neves wins the vacant Swiss title with three knockdowns and a stoppage of Franscella. Neves set a frantic pace and floored Franscella with a series of punches in the second. Franscella is limited but strong and by the end of the round he had driven Neves back with some hard head punches. They were fighting on equal terms in the third when an uppercut sent Franscella down for the second time but again Franscella’s strength saw him survive. It was the movement and hand speed of Neves against the tough clubbing shots of Franscella with an occasional spectacular head-jerking uppercut from Neves. In the eighth round Neves floored Franscella and although he managed to get up the referee saw he was unsteady and stopped the fight. Third consecutive win for Neves who showed some nice moves. Franscella slow but fought back well after those two early knockdowns. Silva vs. Dragisic Silva outpoints Dragisic but has to come off the floor for the win. Silva was much the better boxer and outscored Dragisic in the first. They bumped heads in the second with Silva suffering a cut high on his forehead. Silva was bit too confident in the third standing and trading punches with Dragisic and he was sent to the floor by a couple of hooks. He made it to his feet and Dragisic was unable to capitalise on that success. From there Silva boxed his way to a unanimous verdict. Scores 59-55 twice and 59-56 for Silva. He is 3-0-2 in his last five fights. Dragisic is 0-10-1in his last 11. 30 May Heavy: Lukasz Rozanski (14-0) W KO 1 Artur Szpilka (24-5). Cruiser: Mariusz Masternak (44-5) W PTS 10 Adan Balski (15-1). Light Heavy: Pawel Stepien (15-0-1) W KO 5 Deneb Diaz (14-1,1ND). Rozanski vs. Szpilka Rozanski gets off the floor and scores three knockdowns to finish Szpilka. A great start for Szpilka as he put Rozanski down with straight left just seconds into the fight. Rozanski was up quickly and did not look hurt. Less than a minute later a wild right from Rozanski had Szpilka on the floor again. Szpilka got up but after the count a right to the head sent Szpilka down heavily. He made it to his feet and was given a little more recovery time as his gumshield had come out. When the fight resumed three swinging head punchers from Rozanski sent Szpilka down for the third time and he was counted out. The 36-year-old Rozanski is a brutal bull of a fighter with no finesse but a big punch which has brought him twelve consecutive inside the distance victories and his seventh first round ending. He reportedly collected the vacant WBC International bridgerweight title here. Szpilka suffered a knee injury in the fight and in fact wore an elastic cover on his left knee. This is his fifth loss all of which have come inside the distance but there was no statement of retiring. Masternak vs. Balski Masternak wins a clear decision but Balski fights hard to make an entertaining ten rounds. Balski took the opening round but from there Masternak used his better skills and experience to give him the edge. Balski never stopped trying to take the fight to Masternak. He was cut and bruised under the left eye but was always dangerous with counters and made the rounds close but when Masternak chose to box he was in control and won well. Scores 99-91 twice and 98 92 for Masternak. He wins the vacant IBF Inter-Continental title and is hoping to qualify to compete in Tokyo. This was just too big a step up for Balski. Stepien vs. Diaz Polish champion Stepien collects the vacant IBF Inter-Continental title with kayo of Colombian Diaz. Stepien made a measured start taking no chances and boxing carefully. He upped his pace from the third and already Diaz seemed to be tiring. Stepien scored with left hooks to the body in the fourth and a right put Diaz down and out in the fifth. Stepien had drawn with useful Marek Matyja for the vacant Polish title in July 2019 but outpointed Matyja to lift the title in July last year. Diaz’s record is padded with some abysmal opposition. Fight of the week (Significance): Devin Haney’s win over Jorge Linares keeps him in with the chance of fights with Teo Lopez or Gervonta Davis Fight of the week (Entertainment): Plenty of quality action and a strong finish from Linares kept the interest high in the fight with Haney. Honourable mention to Carlos Diaz vs. Elvis Torres who went to war before the fight ended in a No Decision Fighter of the week: Nonito Donaire a true modern great Punch of the week: The hammer blow from Olan Durodola that left Shaban Hamadi Jongo draped over the bottom rope. Upset of the week: Esteban Bermudez was hand-picked as an easy defence for WBA light flyweight title holder Carlos Canizales but turned the tables and instead stopped Canizales Prospect watch: No one stood out. Observations What is it about these Filipinos? They seem to collect titles hand over fist. Ignoring secondary and interim titles: Manny Pacquiao –Ten titles in six different divisions Nonito Donaire-Nine titles in four different divisions Donnie Nietes –Four titles in four different divisions For a voluntary defence of the secondary WBA light flyweight title the promoter of Carlos Canizales selected obscure Esteban Bermudez who was not even remotely near being worthy of being rated. As usual the WBA manipulated their ratings to parachute Bermudez in at No 10-and Bermudez gave Canizales a beating and took the title. Canizales must have been mad that his team made such a bad mistake in seeing no danger in matching him with Bermudez. It takes me back to a story regarding Terry Downes. Terry, a future world champion, was matched in his third pro fight with a Nigerian named Dick Tiger who was an unimpressive 6-5 in his first eleven fights in Britain. Future world champion Tiger proceeded to give Downes a beating and stopped him in five rounds. When the reporters asked Downes who he wanted to fight next Downes answered “The stupid f….r that made this match. Mikey Duff slid quietly out of the dressing room!! By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Scot Josh Taylor floors and outpoints Jose Carlos Ramirez to unify the super lightweight titles -Evgeny Romanov decisions Dmitry Kudryashov in WBC bridgerweight eliminator -Novice Ayanda Ndulani wins the vacant IBO minimumweight title with kayo of Nkosinathi Joyi who lost the title when he failed to make the weight for the title defence. -Two-division champion Hekkie Budler returns to the ring and wins the WBC Silver light flyweight title with victory over Filipino Jonathan Almacen -Sam Eggington wins the WBC Silver middleweight title with unanimous decision over Carlos Molina. -Jose Zepeda outpoints Hank Lundy and remains No 1 super light with the WBC putting him position to challenge Taylor World Title/Major Shows 21 May Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Light: Josh Taylor (18-0) W PTS 12 Jose Ramirez (26-1). Super Light: Jose Zepeda (34-2.2ND) W PTS 10 Henry Lundy (31-9-1). Super Feather: Jose Durantes Vivas (21-1) W PTS 8 Luis Coria (12-4). Super Light: Kenneth Sims Jr (15-3-1) W PTS 8 Elvis Rodriguez (11-1-1). Light: Ray Muratalla (12-0) W TKO 5 Jose Gallegos (20-11). Robeisy Ramirez (7-1) W PTS 6Ryan Lee Allen (10-5-1). Taylor vs. Ramirez Taylor outpoints Ramirez and makes history as he unifies the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO titles becoming only the seventh boxer and only the fifth male boxer to hold the four belts simultaneously in the past 30 years. He is also the only Scot to achieve that feat. He did so by flooring Ramirez twice and then staying strong to hold off a big effort from Rammers over the last four rounds. Round 1 A close and lively opener. Ramirez was on the front foot advancing behind a high guard. Taylor was popping Ramirez with right jabs and lefts to the body and just edged the round. Score: 10-9 Taylor Round 2 Taylor’s round. He was jabbing well but also brought his straight left into play firing it through the high guard of Ramirez. Ramirez pressed hard at the end of the round and had Taylor under pressure but Taylor stayed cool and boxed well. Score: 10-9 Taylor Taylor 20-18 Round 3 A very good round for Ramirez. He was moving inside behind his jab and outfighting Taylor landing body punches and clipping Taylor with a left hook. Taylor connected with some left hooks to the body but Ramirez stayed on top of Taylor who looked uncomfortable under the pressure. Score: 10-9 Ramirez Taylor 29-28 Round 4 A close round. Taylor started well jabbing strongly and getting through with lefts with Ramirez not pressing as much. Ramirez came on strongly over the middle of the round swarming all over Taylor and landing a couple of crisp left hooks. Taylor made space and countered well but it was Ramirez’s round. Score: 10-9 Ramirez Taylor 38-38 Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 39-37 Taylor, Judge Dave Moretti 38-38 Tied, Judge Steve Weisfeld 39-37 Ramirez Round 5 Taylor boxed intelligently in this round. He was slotting right jabs through Ramirez defence and finding the target with straight lefts. Ramirez was not as aggressive and when Ramirez did march forward Taylor was countering and then tying Ramirez up inside. Score: 10-9 Taylor Taylor 48-47 Round 6 Dramatic opening to the round. Within the first ten seconds. Ramirez moved inside and threw a right and Taylor came over the top of Ramirez right with a left hook and Ramirez fell forward and down. He was up quickly and did not look too badly shaken. Taylor dominated the rest of the action connecting with a couple more lefts but Ramirez fought back strongly. Taylor was showing a small cut by the side of his left eye. Score: 10-8 Taylor Taylor 58-55 Round 7 This was another great round for Taylor. He boxed on the back foot stabbing right jabs through the guard of Ramirez and landing with lefts. Ramirez connected with a couple of good punches but was floored again. Late in the round as they fought inside Taylor delivered a fearsome left uppercut that sent Ramirez down heavily onto his back. This time Ramirez was definitely hurt and badly as he was unsteady when he climbed to his feet. By the end of the eight count and whilst the referee confirmed Ramirez was able to continue there were just ten seconds remaining in the round. Taylor landed more head punches and drove Ramirez to the ropes but the bell went before he could finish the job. Score: 10-8 Taylor 68-63 Round 8 Now it was Taylor making the running and Ramirez hesitant and on the back foot. Taylor was scoring with jabs and right hooks and looking to land another big left. There was very little coming back from Ramirez until late in the found when he came to life again briefly. Score: 10-9 Taylor Taylor 78-72 Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 78-72 Taylor, Judge Dave Moretti 77-73 Taylor, Judge Steve Weisfeld 77-73 Taylor Round 9 The pace dropped dramatically. There was very little activity early in the round with Ramirez finding the target with his jab. Taylor was not throwing much and Ramirez started to let his punches go late in the round and drove Taylor back with a series of lefts and rights. Score: 10-9 Ramirez Taylor 87-82 Round 10 This one was close again. Ramirez scored well early in the round. Taylor connected with some good straight lefts and showed some good defensive movement but Ramirez finished the round stronger. Score: 10-9 Ramirez Taylor 96-92 Round 11 Taylor boxed cautiously early in this round perhaps feeling he did not need to take any chances. Ramirez needed to win the round but was showing too much respect for Taylor’s left. Ramirez then burst into life and drove Taylor back and had him under heavy pressure at the bell. Score: 10-9 Ramirez Taylor 105-102 Round 12 Ramirez took the last round as Taylor played safe . Even then Ramirez only attacked in bursts when he needed much more than just to win the round. Score: 10-9 Ramirez Taylor 114-112 Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 114-112 Taylor, Judge Dave Moretti 114-112 Taylor, Judge Steve Weisfeld 114-112 Taylor. Taylor rules the super lightweight world after just 18 pro fights. He showed his power particularly with the second knockdown and boxed with a sore hand over the late rounds. He is hoping to get a chance to defend the titles in Edinburgh and there is also talk of a fight with Terrence Crawford. Jose Zepeda is the WBC No 1 but Jack Catterall the WBO No 1 and Lewis Ritson the unlikely WBA No 2 could present opportunities for a domestic fight. Ramirez gave it his all but in the end the two knockdowns proved decisive. After Taylor he is the best super lightweight out there and a fight with Regis Prograis might be the route back to a second fight with Taylor. Zepeda vs. Lundy Zepeda successfully protected his No 1 position with the WBC as he outpointed seasoned pro Lundy. If he watched this then Josh Taylor will have seen nothing to worry about Zepeda as a threat. The California fought at more studied pace than is usual for him. Perhaps he had in mind the wild multi-knockdown slug fest he had with Ivan Baranchyk in his last fight and did not want to take the chance of any repeat of that. He never seemed to run in a high gear. He was winning the rounds but without ever looking likely to add Lundy to his list of twenty-six victims who failed to go the distance and he had to settle for a decision win. Scores 98-92 from all three judges for Zepeda. As WBC No 1 there is a good chance he will get a shot at Taylor. It will be his third title shot and he is due some luck. He lost to Terry Flanagan in a fight for the vacant WBO lightweight when a dislocated shoulder forced him to retire after two rounds and lost a majority decision against Ramirez for the WBC title in 2019. He has earned his No 1 spot with wins over Jose Pedraza and Baranchyk so is a much better fighter than he showed in this fight. At 37 Lundy’s career is winding down. His title shot ended on a fifth round stoppage against Terence Crawford for the WBO super light title in 2016. Vivas vs. Coria Vivas climbs off the floor three times to outpoint Coria. This was a close-quarters contest from the off. Vivas took the first two rounds as he out-slugged Coria on the inside hammering away with body punches throwing more and landing more. In the third a left hook from Coria put Vivas down on firstly on a knee and from there face-first on the floor. After the count Vivas tried to walk through a shower of head punches and tumbled down to the canvas again, He bounced up immediately and again just walked straight in to Coria. He was rocked a couple of times but just kept punching to the bell but it was a 10-7 round for Coria. Vivas was attacking hard again in the fourth but added to his troubles by landing a low left hook which cost him a point. They continued to go toe-to-toe in round after round with the greater strength of Vivas giving him the advantage and he clawed back the four lost points by sweeping the last four rounds. Scores 75-74 for Vivas from the three judges. The 26-year-old Mexican lost on points to Ruben Villa in September 2019 but has battled back with wins over unbeaten Carlos Jackson and 22-3 John Vincent Moralde. Coria was coming off losses to Adam Lopez and Robson Conceicao but he played his part here in making this eight rounds of trench warfare. Sims vs. Rodriguez Sims outpoints Rodriguez in something of an upset. There was very little activity in the first two rounds. Although Rodriguez is the bigger puncher Sims was coming forward confidently behind his jab and Rodriguez seemed tight and was not throwing much although he came to life briefly at the end of the second. Both fighters were cautious again in the third with Rodriguez slightly the busier. Sims switched to southpaw in the fourth but then switched back to orthodox in the fifth but again there was not a great deal of sustained activity making the rounds hard to score. Sims had a good sixth drilling Rodriguez with straight rights but neither fighter was dominating. The fight changed in the seventh with Sims moving inside and he outscored Rodriguez and edged the last. Scores 78-74 twice for Sims and 76-76. Sims looked the winner but 78-74 looked harsh. Sims struck a bad patch in 2017 and 2018 winning only one of his four fights against very modest opposition but this win has restored his standing. A very disappointing result for Rodriguez who seemed to have problems letting his hands go which was unusual as he won his last nine fights eight by KO/TKO. He is better than he showed here. Muratalla vs. Gallegos Muratalla outclasses Gallegos and gats the stoppage in the fifth. In the first Muratalla connected with a series of body punches and head shots and had Gallegos in peril with a stoppage looking possible. Gallegos survived but Muratalla continued to hurt him with jabs and left hooks to the body. Gallegos was game but he had neither the speed or the power to match Muratalla who also benefitted from a much longer reach. It seemed that Muratalla was content to let Gallegos hang around for a while as he fought in bursts putting together some impressive combinations and then backing off. Gallegos took lots of punishment in the fourth being rocked by uppercuts but kept fighting back. Muratalla wrapped up the fight in the fifth. He bombarded Gallegos with punches and when a flashing combination of six or seven punches all landed the referee stopped the fight. Seventh inside the distance win in a row from 24-year-old Muratalla who improves from fight to fight. Gallegos had plenty of heart but not the skill to contend with Muratalla. Ramirez vs. Allen Cuban Ramirez outpoints Allen but again fails to impress. Ramirez floored Allen in the second and took the unanimous decision but he seemed to coast at times. Scores 60-53 twice and 59-54. Ramirez was outstanding as an amateur but has not really caught alight yet as a pro. Perhaps he needs to shake off that feeling that winning was all that mattered as an amateur and realise than entertainment is also important in the pros. Allen had gone ten rounds with rated Cobia Breedy and has not lost inside the distance. 20 May Tokyo, Japan: Welter: Ryota Toyoshima (14-2-1) W KO 10 Yuki Beppu (21--1). Toyoshima defends the OPBF title and wins the WBO Asia Pacific belt with kayo of Beppu. Despite Beppu’s impressive statistics he was largely untested and was no match for Toyoshima. After two fairly even rounds Toyoshima took control and never relinquished it. He scored well to the body in the third and fourth and was in front on all cards after the fourth with scores of 40-36 twice and 39-37. A focused body attack saw Beppu beginning to wilt and he was floored by an uppercut in the seventh. Beppu rallied briefly in the eighth but was down 80-71, 80-71 and 78-73 at the bell. Beppu survived the ninth but a crunching left hook floored him in the tenth and he was counter out. A former All-Japan Rookie (newcomer) king Toyoshima, 25, gets his eighth inside the distance win. “Tyson of Kyushu” Beppu, also an All-Japan Rookie king, was making the first defence of the WBO Asia Pacific title. Novosibirsk, Russia: Super Middle: Pavel Silyagin (8-0) W PTS 10 Abdallah Shabani Pazi (29-10-1). Feather: Andranik Grigoryan (13-0) W TKO 4 Carl Herrera (41-4,2ND). Silyagin vs. Pazi Silyagin floors and outpoints Pazi. Silyagin won this one but it was a below par showing from the Russian. He lacked his usual accuracy and had more trouble than expected against the Tanzanian. Pazi was taking the fight to Silyagin and had plenty of success landing some good shots and often forcing Silyagin onto the back foot and having the Russian rattled at times. Silyagin dropped Pazi with a left hook in the fourth and shook Pazi a couple of times taking advantage of Pazi’s poor defence but it was not a very convincing performance from Silyagin who took the unanimous decision. No scores were announced. The tall 27-year-old WBC Silver title holder is No 8 in their ratings. As an amateur he won bronze medals at the World Championships and the European Games. He was Russian champion at Under-22 and Senior level and won and lost against Joshua Buatsi. Pazi was knocked out in two rounds by Rocky Fielding in 2019 which is one of only two losses by KO/TKO. Grigoryan vs. Herrera Grigoryan just too big and too strong for the tiny Herrera. Grigoryan handed out steady punishment and when Herrera was sent reeling by a series of punches in the fourth the referee stopped the fight. Canadian-based Grigoryan was defending the NABA North American title –in Russia against a fighter from Uruguay! Herrera is just 5’1” tall and at 40 must be nearing the end of the road. He was 21-0 at the start of his career but was knocked out in four rounds by AJ Banal in an IBF super flyweight title in 2007 which is the closest he has come to a title shot. 21 May Khimki, Russia: Bridgerweight: Evgeny Romanov (16-0) W PTS 12 Dmitry Kudryashov (24-4). Super Light: Ivan Kozlovsky (3-0) W PTS 10 Adam Kipenga (11-2). Middle: Magomed Madiev (15-0-2) W PTS 10 Maxim Voshkov (9-1-1). Romanov vs. Kudryashov Romanov clearly outpoints Kudryashov to win the vacant WBC Silver title and opens the way to be the first challenger to the winner of the WBC bridgerweight title fight between Oscar Rivas and Bryant Jennings. Kudryashov opened brightly moving around Romanov and stabbing out jabs. Romanov moved less and threw less but he was accurate and had more power. Kudryashov very quickly ran out of ideas. Romanov was doing nothing spectacular but what he was doing he was doing well and was effective. He was constantly finding gaps for solid jabs and curling left hooks around Kudryashov’s guard. He was also connecting with rights over the top of Kudryashov left and Kudryashov’s activity level dropped off. Romanov is not quick but he does have power (he knocked out Deontay Wilder in the amateurs) and Kudryashov’s work became messy as he dropped his hands threw careless punches and wasted his time with too much movement. Romanov was cruising to victory in the last until a punch sliced open a nasty cut over his right eye and the eye also began to rapidly close but the injury came too late to have any impact on the result. Scores 120-108, 119-109 and 119-109 all for Romanov. At 6’0” tall the bridgerweight limit of 225lbs is just right for Romanov but he will find either Rivas or Jennings a tougher test. Kudryashov has lost the big fights having been beaten by Yuniel Dorticos for the secondary WBA title and Ilunga Makabu for the WBC Silver title. Kozlovsky vs. Kipenga Southpaw Kozlovsky lifts the vacant WBC International Silver title with points victory over Tanzanian Kipenga. This did not look a difficult tasks for former star amateur Kozlovsky as he had a 5” height advantage over the 5’4” Kipenga, another southpaw. It looked as though it was going to be a short fight as Kozlovsky put Kipenga down in the first and bossed the next three rounds. However when Kipenga refused to succumb Kozlovsky found he had a fight on his hands. His work became untidy and Kipenga was able to get through with some good punches. Kozlovsky retrenched and then took control again and ended strongly as Kipenga tired. Scores 100-89, 99-90 and 98-91 for Kozlovsky. The decision was right but the scores are a little harsh on Kipenga. The 24-year-old Kozlovsky won gold medals at the Russian Junior, World Junior and Russian Youth Championships. Kipenga gave a very good account of himself. His other loss was against unbeaten Rajesh Kumar in India. Madiev vs. Voshkov Madiev just scrapes past Voshkov with a majority decision. In a contrast of styles Madiev was forced to chase down the clever and elusive Voshkov. There was never much between them with both having good spells. In the end the aggressive approach of Madiev just gave him a very thin advantage but the decision could just as easily have gone to Voshkov. Scores 96-94 twice and 95-95 for Madiev. The 26-year-old Madiev takes possession of the vacant WBC International Silver title. Madiev drew against Artur Osipov in a Russian title defence in his last fight in July 2020 yet Madiev is somehow No 2 with the WBA-and Osipov is not in the first fifteen. It seems as though the WBA have decided to ignore that fight results as it would just be too much trouble to rate Osipov. Southpaw Voshkov, 24, showed some good skills and can still be a force in this division. Panama City, Panama: Light: Ricardo Nunez (22-3) W TKO 9 Alfredo Santiago (13-2). Feather: Anselmo Moreno (39-6-1) W PTS 10 Antonio Tostado Garcia (25-7). Light: Jezzrel Corrales (24-4) W TKO 1 Miguel Martinez (15-4-1). Super Feather: Pablo Vicente (17-1,1ND) W TKO 3 Jose Luis Espinoza (14-4). Nunez vs. Santiago Nunez shakes off accumulated dust to stop Santiago in nine rounds. Nunez showed the effects of his inactivity in a slow start that saw Santiago take the first two rounds. From the third Nunez began to time his punches and find the range. In round after round he weakened Santiago with body punches and messed up his face. Santiago began to wilt and was holding so much that the referee twice deducted a point from him. Nunez floored Santiago in the seventh and after a second knockdown in the ninth the referee stopped the fight. Nunez, 27, was having first fight since July 2019 when he was halted in two rounds by Gervonta Davis in a challenge for the WBA super feather title. He picks up the vacant WBA Latino title and gets win No 20 by KO/TKO. In fact only three of his fights have gone the distance. Dominican Santiago lost on points to Devin Haney for the WBC lightweight title in November 2019. Moreno vs. Garcia Moreno was having his first fight since November 2019. He was in charge from the start and Garcia had very little other than aggression to offer against the former WBA bantamweight champion. Moreno boxed well once he hit his stride finding gaps for his southpaw jab and scoring effectively to the body. Garcia never stopped rolling forward but was too slow to really threaten Moreno but at least he made Moreno work hard which is what Moreno most needed out of this fight. Now 35 Moreno wins the interim WBA Latino title and hopes to work his way to a title fight at featherweight. Garcia was also having his first fight since November 2019. He was knocked out in four rounds by Omar Narvaez in a WBO flyweight title challenge in 2014. His only title shot. Corrales vs. Martinez Former WBA super featherweight title holder Corrales cuts down Martinez in 44 seconds. Corrales started the round with a torrent of punches that drove Martinez back and down to his knees. Martinez was up quickly but after the count Corrales connected with a series of head punches with left hooks snapping back Martinez’s head and another sending him down for the second time with the referee instantly waving his arms to end the fight. Corrales badly needed a win. He lost his WBA title when he failed to make the weight for a defence against Alberto Machado and was knocked out by Machado. He was returning here after consecutive losses to Ladarius Miller and Chris Colbert and is going to campaign as a lightweight now. Third inside the distance loss for Mexican Martinez. Vicente vs. Espinoza Impressive performance from Cuban Vicente as in his first fight for fourteen months he demolishes Espinoza. Vicente was hurting Espinoza with body punches in the first and put him down in the second The knockdown came from some wicked left hooks to the body and although Espinoza made it to his feet he was just delaying the inevitable. Vicente scored with more punishing body shots in the third and Espinoza retired in his corner. The 27-year-old “Judge” makes it 15 wins by KO/TKO. His only loss was a very debatable split decision against Marcos Villasana in Mexico. Espinoza is now 2-3 in his most recent outings. East London, South Africa: Minimum: Ayanda Ndulani (11-2-1) W KO 4 Nkosinathi Joyi (29-6-1,1ND). Light Fly: Nhlanhla Tyirha (5-1) W PTS 10 Joey Canoy (16-5-1,1ND). Light Fly: Siphamandla Baleni (17-3-2) W TKO 11 Nwabisile Cholani (7-10-1). Ndulani vs. Joyi It looks to be the end of the road for Joyi as he loses his IBO title on the scales and is then crushed by relative novice Ndulani. In the opening round it was already obvious that Joyi had drained himself trying to make the weight. Ndulani jolted and staggered Joyi in the first and then put him down twice in the second. Joyi made it through the rest of the round and the third but in the fourth a right to the head deposited Joyi face down on the canvas and the referee waived his hands to end the fight. The 31-year-old new IBO champion, a former ABU title holder, was only rated as 5th best in the South African rankings so quite an upset. He really has only the most basic of techniques which shows how far Joyi has slipped. Joyi, 37, a former IBF title holder, was having his first fight for 17 months. He has been a pro for 19 years and for many years has been one the best little men in the world but retirement must be probable. Tyirha vs. Canoy In a clash of southpaws Tyirha scores surprisingly easy points victory over more experienced Filipino Canoy. Tyirha never allowed Canoy to get a toe-hold in the bout and won on scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92. The 21-year-old local fighter, a former South African champion, wins the vacant WBA Inter-Continental title. He had lost on points to Joyi in a challenge for the WBO African title in his last fight in April 2019. Canoy had lost to Hekkie Budler for the WBO light fly title and in December 2019 to Joyi for the vacant IBO title. Baleni vs. Cholani Baleni wins the vacant South African title with a late stoppage against overmatched Cholani. If Baleni was a heavy puncher this one would have been over much earlier but Cholani was game and stayed around until the fight was finally stopped in the eleventh. “Toy Toy” Baleni, 30, is a former South African minimumweight champion but has moved up a division. Cholani had won only three of his last twelve fights and this is his sixth defeat by KO/TKO. Ugento, Italy: Light: Giuseppe Carafa (13-4-2) W PTS 10 Pablo Fuego (16-6). Carafa picks up the vacant IBO Continental title with points victory against Spaniard Fuego in a lively contest. The opening rounds were tight but from the third Carafa used his better skills and boxed more to move in front having Fuego rocked in the fourth. Fuego came through that crisis and began to find the target with hard rights to claw back some of the deficit. Carafa let himself be drawn into some close-quarters stuff and had to fight hard to hold on to his lead and just did enough. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 for Carafa. He finally wins a title at lightweight after losing and drawing in shots at the Italian super featherweight title and being outpointed by Massi Tachour for the European super lightweight title . Fuego has lost tough jobs against Mathieu Germain in Canada and Jacob Ng in Australia. Tokyo, Japan: Feather: Satoshi Shimizu (10-1) W PTS 12 Musashi Mori (12-1). Bantam: Kazuki Nakajima (10-0-1) W PTS 12 Kai Chiba (13-2). Shimizu vs. Mori Two titles on the line here and now Shimizu has them both as he scores a clear-cut points win over Mori in a clash of southpaws. The pace was quick at the start. Although 3 ½” taller Shimizu was not looking to box but instead fought Mori inside. That suited Mori and they both scored well over the first four round with the judges split at 39-37 Shimizu, 39-37 Mori and 38-38. From the fifth Shimizu began to make use of his longer reach and followed through with his “Diamond Left” ripping punches through Chiba’s guard. That turned the fight 100% his way and despite the strong efforts of Chiba he was in front on all cards now 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75. Mori pressed hard but Shimizu stayed composed and finished the stronger to take the verdict. Scores 118-110 twice and 116-112 for Shimizu. He holds on to the OPBF title and takes Mori’s WBO Asia Pacific title. A bronze medallist at the London Olympics Shimizu is 35 so time is marching on. He is No 14 with the WBC and lucky to be that high as he has done nothing of note since being stopped by Filipino Joey Noynay. Mori was making the fourth defence of his title and had scored a couple of good domestic wins and in the mad world of the sanctioning bodies was No 4 with the WBO. Nakajima vs. Chiba Nakajima collects the vacant OPBF title with emphatic victory over Chiba. The first four rounds were fought at a slow pace with the bigger Nakajima getting the better of the exchanges and scoring strongly with southpaw lefts. He had opened a clear gap after four rounds blanking Chiba with two scores of 40-36 and one of 39-37. Those scores forced Chiba to up his work rate but Nakajima matched him and connected with some crisp body punches out-fighting Chiba in the eighth establishing a winning lead at 79-73 twice and 77-75. Chiba attacked fiercely in the ninth, tenth and eleventh as Nakajima coasted but even in cruise control he was matching Chiba and clearly won the last round. Scores 119-109, 117-111 and 116-112 for the new champion. Nakajima was testing himself over twelve rounds for the first time and lasted the pace with ease. He was 72-15 as an amateur so has that experience behind him. Chiba, the Japanese No 5, was jumping from eight rounds to twelve and was well beaten. Pionki, Poland: Light: Erick Encinia (14-4-1) W PTS 10 Damian Wrzesinski (22-2-2,1ND). Mexican Encinia was supposed to just be there to add another win to Wrzesinski’s impressive looking record. The danger signs showed up early as Encinia shook Wrzesinski in the first and non-stop pressure saw him in command in the second and third. Wrzesinski seemed to find the answer to the Mexican’s tactics as boxed well in the fourth but Encinia upped his pace over the fifth and sixth. Wrzesinski found his rhythm again and frustrated Encinia’s attacks with plenty of clever movement and a higher level of accuracy seventh and eighth. Encinia put in a strong finish over the last two rounds to emerge a good winner despite the majority decision. Scores 07-93 and 96-94 for Encinia and 95-95.Encinia wins the Republic of Poland International title from Wrzesinski and is 5-1 in his last 6 contests. Wrzesinski, 33, was unbeaten in his last eleven contests including victories over three decent level Mexican opposition so a modicum of national revenge here for Encinia. Belgrade, Serbia: Heavy: Emir Ahmatovic (10-0) W PTS 10 Gabriel Enguema (10-11). Light: Ralfs Vilcans (12-0) W PTS 10 Nick Hannig (9-1-1) W. Super Middle: Patrick Mendy (19-17-3) W TKO 5 Karwan Al Bewani (8-0). Light Heavy: Luca Cinqueoncie (13-0) W TKO 3 Kristof Kov1cs (8-3-1). Cruiser: Veljko Raznatovic (10-0) W TKO 2 Levani Lukhutasvili (10-8). Super Light: Nikola Ivkovic (3-26-3) W PTS 8 Howik Bebraham (17-2). Super Middle: Shefat Isufi (31-4-2) W KO 2 Ericles Torres (20-018-1). Cruiser Enrico Koelling (27-4) W RTD 2 Slavisa Simeunovic (36-49). Ahmatovic vs. Enguema Ahmatovic wins the GBU title with split verdict over Spaniard Enguema. Ahmatovic had trouble getting past the reach of the 6’5 ½” Spaniard. It was a tight fight with many rounds close and Serbian-born Ahmatovic was fortunate to get the verdict as Enguema looked worth at least a draw. Scores 97-92 and 96-93 for Ahmatovic and 95-94 for Enguema. Ahmatovic has been carefully matched and this was his first real test. Enguema is on a bad run being 2-8 in his last ten fights. Vilcans vs. Hannig Latvian Vilcans springs a surprise as he floors and decision unbeaten German Hannig. The German had promised an early knockout and had an impressive first round. Vilcans survived and it quickly became clear this was not going to be an early night with much taller Vilcans ahead on two cards after the fourth round. Hannig fought his way to the front but a clash of heads saw him cut over the left eye. The fight swung on the ninth round when Vilcans floored Hannig and kept his lead in a close tenth. Scores 97-94 and 96-94 for Vilcans and 95-94 for Hannig. The 27-year-old Latvian “Train” wins the WBC International title. Hannig has been promised an early return by promoter Alexander Petkovic. He had draw and defeated Ryno Liebenberg and was making the third defence of the International title. Mendy vs. Al Bewani Mendy gets what is becoming a rare victory as he stops unbeaten Al Bewani to collect two world titles. Mendy had to give away height and reach but landed only his second inside the distance win. He had scored only one win in his last ten fights but Mendy can be a danger on his night. He collected the vacant WBFederation belt and snatched Al Bewani’s GBU belt. Al Bewani from Kurdistan had won his last six fights by KO/TKO. Cinqueoncie vs. Kovacs Italian teenager Cinqueoncie is the new WBC Youth title holder after stopping Hungarian Kovacs in three rounds as he moves to ten wins by KO/TKO. The 19-year-old has an Italian father and a Belarusian mother but had done all of his fighting in Germany until now. First fight for Kovacs since being knocked out in the first round by Jessie Wilcox in Ontario in March 2019. Raznatovic vs. Lukhutasvili Farcical win for Belgrade’s Raznatovic. He towered over the badly out of condition Georgian Lukhutasvili. The visitor obviously wanted to be somewhere else and put in very little effort. He was floored twice in the second and after the second knockdown just walked back to his corner ignoring the count. Now seven short route wins for the 6’3 ½” Raznatovic. Fifth inside the distance loss in his last six outings for Lukhutasvili. Ivkovic vs. Bebraham The sacrificial lamb has teeth. Ivkovic actually scores his second pro victory in a row with a split decision over sure fire winner Bebraham. Ivkovic was conceding height and reach but he outfought Bebraham and was a deserved winner. Scores 78-74 and 77-75 for Ivkovic and 77-75 for Bebraham. After winning his first pro fight the little Bosnia then went 0-26-2 in his next 28 fights. He is 2-0-1 now which counts as a substantial unbeaten run by his standards. Bebraham had won his last six fights and his only other loss was a split verdict against then world rated 20-2 Fedor Papazov. Isufi vs. Torres Not even the pretence of a competitive match here as the aim is some ring time for Isufi but he only gets less five minutes as he knocks out china-chinned Torres in the second round. First fight for ten months for the Serbian-born Germany who lost on points against Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO super middleweight title back in May 2019. Eight consecutive losses for Hungarian-based Cuban Torres seven by KO/TKO. Koelling vs. Simeunovic If anything this was almost as much of a waste of time as the Isufi fight as Simeunovic retired at the end of the second round so just six minutes of work in his first fight for 18 months for Koelling. The German was knocked out in the twelfth round of a fight with Artur Beterbiev for the vacant IBF title in 2017 and was coming off back-to-back losses to Dominic Boesel and Leon Bunn. Bosnia Simeunovic ,42, now has 37 inside the distance defeats. Sheffield, England: Light: Myron Mills (15-1) W PTS 10 Lucas Ballinger (13-2). Great first show for the new Fightzone TV outlet as Mills and Ballinger battle hard over ten entertaining rounds with action all the way. Mills made the better start but Ballinger fired back hard. Mills looked to have turned the fight his way with a strong fifth but again Ballenger upped his pace and it was anyone’s fight until Mills just had the edge over the last two rounds. Scores 96-95 twice and 96-94 for Mills which illustrates how close this one was. Mills retains the English title and will now be looking to go after the British title. Two losses in a row for Ballenger but he is only 24 and will rebound. Tampa, FL, USA: Light Fly: Jonathan Gonzalez (24-3-1,1ND) W RSF 4 Armando Torres (26-19). Welter: Mekhrubon Sanginov (10-0-1) W Andres Viera (10-2). Super Feather: Otar Eranosyan (8-0) W PTS 10 Jose Argel (8-1). Gonzalez vs. Torres Gonzalez stops Torres but with some controversy over the finish. Gonzalez had boxed his way into the lead over the first three rounds against a competitive Torres. In the forth as Gonzalez connected with a right their heads banged together and Torres suffered a bad cut up over his left eye and was dazed with Gonzalez pouring on the punches. The referee stopped the action so that the doctor could examine the cut but Torres was cleared to continue. As Gonzalez drove in he landed a body punch but their heads clashed again and Torres turned away from the action complaining of a butt forcing the referee to stop the fight and declaring Gonzalez the winner. The 30-year-old Bronx-born Puerto Rican was stopped in seven rounds by Kosei Tanaka in a challenge for the WBO light flyweight title in August 2019 but had returned with a hard won victory over Saul Juarez in February. Torres, 40, had won his last five fights including a one round kayo of former WBC light flyweight champion Ganigan Lopez in October 2019. Sanginov vs. Viera Tajik Sanginov remains undefeated as he halts Viera early in the second round of what was supposed to be Sanginov’s first outing over ten rounds. The 25-year-old Tajik turned pro in 2016 after losing out at the World Qualifier for the Rio Olympics. Uruguayan Viera, 37, had won five low level domestic fights leading up to this contest. Eranosyan vs. Angel Georgian Eranosyan breezes past Angel winning all the way against the inexperienced Chilean. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91 for Eranosyan. The 27-year-old Eranosyan won a stack of medals as an amateur including silver in the European Union and European Championships and bronze at the World Championships and European Games. Viera, the Chilean champion, lacked the experience to threaten Eranosyan. 22 May Johannesburg, South Africa: Light Fly: Hekkie Budler (33-4) W PTS 12 Jonathan Almacen (7-4-2). Budler, already a two-division champion, returns with a win. Budler understandably took a couple of rounds to shed the rust accumulated in the 29 months since losing his WBA title to Hiroto Kyoguchi. Almacen had also been out of the ring for some time so both felt their way over the first four rounds at which point two of the judges had them level with the third giving Budler a slight edge. From then Budler started to take control and although Almacen stayed competitive the class of Budler told as he was getting his punches off quicker and was more accurate. After the eighth he had moved in front on all of the cards. A big test would be how he handled the closing rounds but Budler had paced the fight well and the 21-year-old Almacen, who had only gone ten rounds once, was unable to match the strength over the late rounds of Budler who turned 33 just four days before this fight and Budler won a wide unanimous decision,. Scores 118-111 twice and 117-111 for Budler. “The Hexecutioner” wins the vacant WBC Silver light flyweight belt with another world title shot the aim for next year. I was going to say the return to action would get Budler back in the ratings but despite not fighting since December 2018 he was No 2 with the WBC before this fight. Almacen never really threatened Budler’s control once the South African hit his stride but he did go the full twelve rounds which was what Budler needed after such a long lay-off. Coventry, England: Middle: Sam Eggington (30-7) W PTS 12 Carlos Molina (37-12-2). Welter: Kaisee Benjamin (12-1-1) W RTD 7 Martin Harkin (13-2). Middle: River Wilson Bent (9-0) W TKO 7 George Farrell (5-1). Light Heavy: Shakan Pitters (15-1) W TKO 5 Jermaine Springer (7-3). Super Welter: Stephen McKenna (8-0) W TKO 1 Damian Haus (3-6). Eggington vs. Molina Eggington wins the vacant WBC Silver title as he outpoints veteran Molina in an entertaining contest. Eggington started the fight strongly coming in over the first two rounds behind some jolting jabs and scoring to the body. He was just too busy for Molina. However Molina was pacing himself and eventually he was more often the one on the front foot. Eggington was able to get through consistently with his jab and rights but Molina was clever defensively dropping his hands and using upper body movement to make Eggington miss. There were times when it seemed that Eggington might overwhelm Molina but Molina stayed cool and boxed his way out of trouble. The pace dropped over the ninth and tenth with Molina too often catching Eggington with sneaky head punches. Molina pressed hard in the eleventh and this time it was Eggington boxing with his hands down but he fired back strongly late in the round. Despite his 37 years Molina seemed to have more left in the last round but with Eggington again finishing with a flourish. Scores 119-110, 117-111 and 116-112 for Eggington. The former British and Commonwealth champion is a bit of a phoenix. He has been derailed by losing important fights with the most recent example his being outpointed by Ted Cheeseman last August but he has battled his way back with a win over Ashley Theophane and now this victory against Molina. The firmer IBF super welterweight champion was a very flattering No 8 with the WBC but that means that this win could put Eggington in with a chance of a title fight. Benjamin vs. Harkin Benjamin wins a British title eliminator with victory over Harkin. Benjamin had built a lead but Harkin was competing strongly until a vicious right to the body dropped him at the end of the seventh and probably broke a couple of ribs and Harkin retired in his corner. Bent vs. Farrell Bent retains the BBB of Midlands title with a stoppage of unbeaten Farrell Pitters vs. Springer Former British champion Pitters bounces back with a win as he stops Springer. Pitters had won the first three rounds and when Springer was badly shaken by a right in the fourth the referee stopped the fight. First fight for Pitters since losing his title to Craig Richards in December. Second consecutive defeat for Springer. McKenna vs. Haus Irish prospect McKenna blows away Haus inside a round. McKenna came out firing punches and never stopped. Haus had shots coming at him from all angles and had no chance to set himself to counter. McKenna was whacking him with left hooks to the body and over hand rights until Haus fell to the floor. He made it to his feet but another barrage of punches put him down and the fight was stopped. McKenna is certainly a firebrand. All of his wins have come inside the distance and he has taken less than fifteen rounds to get the jobs done. He was Irish Under-18 champion, won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games and silver at the European Youth Championships. Pole Haus has lost 6 of his last 7 fights. Osaka, Japan: Feather: Tomoki Kameda (37-3) W PTS 8 Hironori Miyake (9-11-2). In his first fight for almost two years Kameda takes easy decision over Miyake. Kameda worked almost exclusively with his left jab and left hooks using his right only sparingly and that helped Miyake go the distance. In the fifth Kameda slipped under a punch and his gloves momentarily touched the canvas so the referee applied a count. Kameda stuck to his left side approach and worked his way to the final bell, Scores 78-73 twice and 79-73 for Kameda. In his last ring appearance Kameda lost a unanimous decision against Rey Vargas in a WBC bantamweight title fight. Fifth consecutive defeat for Miyake. Belgrade, Serbia: Super Welter: Asinia Byfield (15-4-1) W TKO 2 Roland Hamar (5-10). British fighter Byfield turns up in Belgrade and feasts on sub standard opponent Hamar scoring a stoppage in the second round. Byfield was finding hard to get a win being 0-1-3 if his last four fights. Hungarian Hamar is having and even worse time as won only one of his last eleven fights. Ptuj, Slovenia: Light Heavy: Dominic Boesel (31-2) W PTS 8 Ondrej Budera (14-21-1). Light Heavy: Tom Dzemski (16-0) W KO 3 Achilles Szabo (25-27). Boesel vs. Budera Since we are here we might as well pick up some pocket money. That’s the story as Boesel and Dzemski took a break from training in Slovenia and moved out of the gym and into a paid evening. Boesel had no trouble outpointing Czech Budera as he starts to rebuild from losing on a third round kayo against Robin Krasniqi in October in a fight that cost him his IBO and WBA interim titles. Budera falls to 2-7 in his last 9. Dzemski vs. Szabo Dzemski got his job over a bit earlier putting away Szabo in the third. The 24-year-old IBF Youth champion has failed to impress against opposition he should be able to brush aside easily so it will be interesting to see how he fares in more demanding fights later this year. Szabo needs to find another hobby as he had won only one of his last nine fight with seven inside the distance losses. Fight of the week (Significance): Josh Taylor vs. Jose Carlos Ramirez Fight of the week (Entertainment): Josh Taylor vs. Jose Carlos Ramirez with honourable mention to Jose Vivas vs. Luis Coria Fighter of the week: Josh Taylor a world champion Punch of the week: The uppercut from Taylor that scored the second knockdown Upset of the week: It has to be Nikola Ivkovic (2-26-3) outpointing 17-1 Howik Bebraham Prospect watch: Georgian super featherweight Otar Eranosyan is 8-0 and progressing well Observations -Time for a change of the old guard in South Africa. Moruti Mthalane lost his IBF flyweight title to Sunny Edwards in April and on Saturday Nkosinathi Joyi looked a totally shot fighter as he lost his IBO title on the scales and was stopped in four rounds by raw novice Ayanda Ndulani. That leaves Hekkie Budler as the flag carrier for what has been a golden age for South Africa’s little men. -From the little men to an obese giant. You wonder just what constitutes “fit” in boxing terms. South African Osborn Machimana is 6’3 ½” and in a fight in Russia weighed 344lbs (156kg). A man with those dimensions must be in serious danger of a heart attack so letting him fight seems a huge medical risk. On Saturday he was knocked out cold and laying face down flat out on the canvas and the doctor and the seconds just stood there wondering how the hell they were ever going to get him up or turn him over. Next time he fights apart from then usual medical kit a rope and pulley might be useful. -Patrick Mendy is a fight anyone-fight anywhere and fight at short notice guy so it was good to see him win a two “world “titles by stopping unbeaten Karwan Al Bewani -Still on weight. Russian Artem Oganesyan was left without an opponent when Javier Maciel came in at 6.1kgs over the contract weight which is just ridiculous how can you turn up 13.4lbs over and expect to fight? -Sometimes I wonder whether matchmakers do any research at all on fighters they put together. On Saturday in Belgrade Scottish heavyweight Nick Campbell stopped Hungarian Jozsef Kormany in one round. Campbell was 6’7” and Komany 5’7 ½”. A total farce and to make it worse the 5’7 ½” Kormany weighed 235 ¼ lbs- a sort of mini-Machimana. Campbell scored three knockdowns with body punches. There must have been a concern that he would land a body punch and his glove would disappear in Kormany’s paunch and never be seen again. -Two final things on Taylor vs. Ramirez. It was not just a world title fight it was a Global title fight. The main man in each corner was wearing a MTK Global jacket luckily neither fighter got confused and went to the wrong corner. The first pro title that Josh Taylor won was the Commonwealth title in Edinburgh in 2016-and as a director of the Commonwealth Boxing Council I was the one who placed the belt around his waist-the first of many titles. By Eric Armit:
Highlights: -Brandon Figueroa wins the WBC Super Bantamweight title with kayo of champion Luis Nery -Michal Cieslak stops Yury Kashinsky in one round in IBF cruiserweight eliminator -Manuel Charr returns after more than three years of inactivity and knocks out a bloated Chris Lovejoy in two rounds -In a trio of European title fights in Manchester Lerrone Richards wins the vacant Super Middleweight title with points victory over Giovanni De Carolis, Tommy McCarthy knocks out Alexander Jur in a Cruiserweight defence and Jason Cunningham decisions Gamal Yafai to win the Super Bantamweight title -Nicola Henchiri outpoints Mario Alfano to win the vacant European Super Featherweight title. World Title/Major Shows 15 May Carson CA, USA: Super Bantam: Brandon Figueroa (22-0-1) W KO 7 Luis Nery (31-1). Super Bantam: Daniel Roman (29-3-1) W PTS 10 Ricardo Espinoza (25-4). Super Feather: Xavier Martinez (17-0) W PTS 10 Juan Burgos (34-5-2). Figueroa vs. Nery Figueroa wins the WBC title (**this fight unified nothing)with seventh round kayo of Nery as he lives up to his “heartbreaker” nickname and beats the resistance out of Nery in a war of attrition. Round 1 Right from the start Figueroa was constantly changing guard. He was rushing forward throwing punches looking to work inside. Nery was scoring well with his jab and landing the better punches inside with Figueroa too often off target. Score: 10-9 Nery Round 2 Figueroa was intent on turning this fight into a brawl. He was lunging inside throwing punches but again he was wild and Nery was picking him off in the way in and when Figueroa got his way and they stood and exchanged punches Nery was doing most of the scoring. Score: 10-9 Nery Nery 20-18 Round 3 This was three minutes of toe-to-toe stuff. It was what Figueroa wanted but it wasn’t working for him. He was punching with his head down with no idea where his punches were going to land whereas Nery had his head up and was throwing more and with more accuracy. Score: 10-9 Nery Nery 30-27 Round 4 A good round for Figueroa. Nery tried to box at the outset but then relentless pressure from Figueroa forced him to stand and punch. This time Figueroa was more accurate and Nery’s punch output was down. Score: 10-9 Figueroa Nery 39-37 Official Scores: Judge Zachary Young: 38-38 Tied, Judge Edward Hernandez 38-38 Tied, Judge Lou Moret 40-36 Nery Round 5 Nery took this one. He managed to move and jab for most of the round frustrating Figueroa’s attempts to cut off the ring and countering Figueroa with lefts. He was made to stand and swop punches at the end of the round and looked to have slowed under the frantic pace Figueroa was forcing him to fight at but you also had to wonder how long Figueroa could stand the pace. Score: 10-9 Nery Nery 49-46 Round 6 The pace finally began to tell and it told on Nery. Figueroa was still rumbling forward pumping out punches. Nery was moving and countering but then he looked to tire and was under strong pressure from Figueroa to the bell. Score: 10-9 Figueroa Nery 58-56 Round 7 Nery began to wilt. He was punching wildly in a last ditch approach but Figueroa just kept whacking Nery with body punches. Nery dropped his hands and then tried to punch with Figueroa but a left to the body put him down. He made it to his knees but was gazing out through the ropes with his back to the referee as he was counted out. Great win for Figueroa his seventeenth inside the distance and at just 24 there is plenty more to come. A split draw with Julio Ceja in November 2019 shows his tactics may not be the right approach against every opponent and he has no plan “B”. Nery had scored 24 wins by KO/TKO but he just could not put a dent in Figueroa and loses his WBC title in the first defence of his second reign. **To label this a unification fight is ridiculous. The word “unite” literally means “to make one” so if you choose to believe this win for the WBA secondary title holder over the WBC champion unites the WBA and WBC titles and ignore the real WBA title holder Murodjon Akhmedov then you would have to accept that if Tyson Fury beat the secondary WBA heavyweight title holder Trevor Bryan then he would have unified the WBC and WBA titles-do you really believe that? Roman vs. Espinoza Roman takes another step along the road to regaining his titles with a point win over Espinoza. It was a hectic few early rounds for Roman as Espinoza came out firing punches harrying Roman and setting a fast pace. Roman had to make some adjustments to counter Espinoza’s aggression and he did so. From the fourth Roman found his range and refined his timing. He was catching the advancing Espinoza with hurtful, accurate shots and making him pay for forcing the fight. Roman gradually took control and a left hook in the seventh had blood pouring from Espinoza’s nose. Espinoza kept pressing and made some rounds close. Roman had to fight hard all the way but he was winning the rounds scoring with hurtful shots with both hands and cleared what had looked a challenging hurdle over those first few rounds. Scores 98-92 twice and 97-93 for Roman from the judges. Roman had outpointed TJ Doheny in April 2019 to unify the IBF and WBA titles but then lost them to Murodjon Akhmadaliev in January 2020. He returned to action with a good win over former WBA super bantam title holder Juan Carlos Payano in September. He is rated WBC 2/WBA 3/IBF 6(5) and hoping for a title shot but with Akhmadaliev negotiating for a defence of his (**real) WBA and IBF titles against Ronny Rios and new WBC champion Figueroa aiming for (a real) unification against WBO title holder Stephen Fulton Roman is going to have to be patient. Mexican “Hindu” Espinoza had no plan B once Roman had figured him out. He was 15-01 in his previous 16 fights with the loss being a twelfth round stoppage against John Riel Casimero for the interim WBO bantamweight title in April 2019 and he had scored two wins since then. He is an entertaining fighter and beatable so a title fight is always a possibility for a voluntary defence. Martinez vs. Burgos Martinez protects his high WBA rating as he outpoints experienced Burgos. The pattern of this one mirrored that of the Roman vs. Espinoza fight. Although taller with a longer reach Burgos kept piling forward from the start looking to fight inside and he had some early success but with the better skills of Martinez eventually prevailing. Burgos was doing some excellent work with hooks to the body when he got in close but was forced to eat some fast, accurate counters as he came forward. Martinez’s work was more eye-catching as he landed plenty of head punches whereas Burgos kept that body focus. Both threw lots of punches but again the accuracy of Martinez gave him the edge and he emerged a clear winner with scores just a little harsh on Burgos at 99-91 from the three judges. Wins over John Vincent Moralde and Claudio Marrero have seen Martinez rise to No 2 with the WBA but he is not yet ready for Oscar Valdez or Gervonta Davis. Now 33 Burgos was having his first fight for 14 months. He drew with Roman Martinez in a challenge for the WBO title in 2013 and lost to Mikey Garcia for the same title in 2014. He had since fallen away with back-to-back losses in very tough asks against Devin Haney and Hector Tanajara. Manchester: Super Middle: Lerrone Richards (15-0) W PTS 12 Giovanni De Carolis (28-10-1). Cruiser: Tommy McCarthy (18-2) W KO 6 Alexandru Jur (19-5). Super Bantam: Jason Cunningham (29-6) W PTS 12 Gamal Yafai (18-2) W. Light Heavy: Joshua Buatsi (14-0) W TKO 4 Daniel Bienda Dos Santos (15-1). Super Light: Dalton Smith (8-0) W TKO 6 Lee Appleyard (16-6-1). Richards vs. De Carolis Richards wins the vacant European title as he outclasses experienced De Carolis. Richards boxed his way to victory in this one. He did not have any physical advantages such as reach or height but he did have polished skill, better footwork and faster hands. De Carolis was not able to get close enough often enough to threaten Richards and was forced to resort to lunging attacks which Richards easily anticipated and countered. Richards needed that higher level of skill as he is not a noted puncher (just three wins by KO/TKO). When De Carolis did get close Richards was either clinching and smothering De Carolis efforts or outworking him. There really was no way into the fight for De Carolis who just continued to tramp forward behind a high guard usually ending up in the space Richards had just vacated leaving him frustrated without any semblance of a Plan B. The tenth in which he managed to pin Richards to the ropes a few times was about the only round you could award him and Richards was able to coast to victory. Scores 120-108 twice and 119-109. A former undefeated British and Commonwealth champion the 28-year-old southpaw had scored wins over high level domestic opposition in Tommy Langford and Lennox Clarke and he could soon take another step up as he may have to face the winner of an EBU eliminator between Germans Tyron Zeuge and unbeaten Leon Bauer in contest to decide who is Richards mandatory challenger. De Carolis, 36, is a former holder of the secondary WBA title who had drawn and lost against Zeuge but in his last fight fight in June 2019 had taken a unanimous decision over former WBA and WBO title challenger Khoren Gevor. McCarthy vs. Jur McCarthy retains the European title as Jur is counted out whilst indicating the last punch had landed at the back of his head. McCarthy made a confident start. Jur was on the back foot throwing occasional jab and McCarthy landed a couple of useful left hooks. There was not a lot of action in the second with Jur crouching and stabbing out jabs and McCarthy looking for a chance to land power shots. McCarthy changed the pace completely in the third. He was chasing Jur down letting fly with punches from both hands and Jur was just trying to stay out of trouble. A left to the body dropped Jur late in the fourth but there was not enough time for McCarthy to capitalise on that. Lots of movement and some good defensive work got Jur through the fifth but McCarthy was landing heavy rights in the sixth. Jur complained that a couple of punches had landed to the back of his head and when he ducked under a punch and it made some contact with the back of his head Jur dropped to his knees with his head touching the canvas and he was counted out. Jur was on his way out anyway and he ducked under the punch leading to it landing behind his head so it was regrettable but not intentional. First defence of the title for McCarthy. Wins over 17-0 Fabio Turchi and 25-1-2 Bilal Laggoune have seen him rated WBA 5/IBF 8(6)/WBC 7 so some way from a title shot. Domestic competition is fierce in this division with Lyndon Arthur, Anthony Yarde and Joshua Buatsi all rated and his mandatory challenger is former champion Krzys Wlodarczyk. Romanian Jur had nothing in his arsenal to even mildly threaten McCarthy and was beyond lucky to land a shot the European title . Cunningham vs. Yafai Three knockdowns and some skilful boxing help Cunningham spring an upset and take Yafai’s European title. As expected Yafai put Cunningham under pressure in the first. Cunningham boxed assuredly countering the advancing Yafai for a good opening round. Things went even better for Cunningham in the second. He walked Yafai onto some sharp jabs and as Yafai marched forward clipped him with a shot to the head and put Yafai down. Yafai had a better third scoring with a powerful left hook continued to take the fight to Cunningham and having a little more success but he was floored in the fourth and a cut opened over his left eye. Cunningham boxed well in the fifth and then put Yafai on the canvas again with a left in the sixth. Yafai put in a big effort in the seventh and may have just edged it and the eighth was close with Cunningham countering classily. Yafai knew his title was slipping away and he outscored Cunningham in the ninth and had Cunningham holding on desperately in the tenth. Yafai was pressing hard over the last two rounds and landed some big punches but Cunningham boxed and countered and Yafai just could not find the punch he needed to save his title. Scores 114-111 twice and 115-110 for Cunningham. Those three early 10-8 rounds were too much for Yafai to claw back and “Iceman” Cunningham, a former Commonwealth champion, now hold the prestigious European title. Yafai was No 10(8) with the IBF so Cunningham will also gets a world rating. Huge set-back for Yafai who had lost to Gavin McDonnell back in 2018 but defeated 22-1-2 Luca Rigoldi to win the European title in December only to lose it in his first defence. Buatsi vs. Dos Santos Buatsi returns with an emphatic win as he crushes Frenchman Dos Santos in four rounds. Buatsi had Dos Santos on the retreat in the first Dos Santos showed a useful jab but Buatsi landed a strong left as they traded punches at the end of the round. In the second Buatsi connected with a good left hook and then floored Dos Santos with a fierce right. Dos Santos beat the count and survived further pressure to the bell. In the third pressure from Buatsi had Dos Santos reeling and stumbling and Buatsi ended it in the fourth. Buatsi started the fourth with two left hooks and when Dos Santos backed into a corner Buatsi connected with a booming right to the chin and added a chopping right as Dos Santos was toppling to the floor with the referee immediately waiving then fight off. Buatsi was in his first fight with Virgil Hunter in his corner so was looking to impress. He retains the WBA International title and moves to twelve inside the distance finishes. He is rated WBA 2/IBF 3(2)/WBC 6 WBO 9 but I am not sure he is ready yet for Artur Beterbiev and both Dimity Bivol and Joe Smith are much more experienced. Dos Santos might have been 15-0 but he was only a 4 and 6 round prelim fighter so in way over his head with BoxRec having No 124 in the world. Smith vs. Appleyard Smith breaks down and stops Appleyard. No real action until the last twenty seconds of the opening round when Smith landed a sharp left hook and Appleyard fired some hooks. Smith picked up the pace in the second piercing Appleyard guard with a couple of fast hooks and then dominated the third with flashing jabs and some impressive combination punching rocking Appleyard at the bell. A series of rights to the head shook Appleyard in the fourth and body punches had him wincing. A low punch had Appleyard turning away and walking to the ropes in the fifth and he was given some recovery time but was then caught with some hefty rights. He had no answer to the hand speed of Smith and Smith was banging home hard head punches in the sixth when the referee made a well timed stoppage . An impressive showing from Smith who wins the English title the first of many the talented 24-year-old “Thunder” from Sheffield will collect. A former English champion Appleyard was in over his head in this fight. Cologne, Germany: Heavy: Manuel Charr (32-4) W KO 2 Chris Lovejoy (19-1). Heavy: Viktor Vykhryst (7-0) W KO 1 Jacek Platek (11-1). Super Light: Volkan Gokcek (6-0,1ND) W TKO 2 Giorgi Mtchedlidze (4-4-1). Heavy: Christian Hammer (26-7) W TKO 3 Patryk Kowoll (7-25). Light Heavy: Mohammed Bekdash (20-0) W TKO 1 Mindia Nozadze (13-21). Charr vs. Lovejoy This fight was every bit as much of a farce as expected. In the opener Lovejoy was fat and slow and just prodded with his punches. The referee actually stopped the action to show Lovejoy he was supposed to his with the knuckle part of the glove and not the back of the glove! At the end of the round Lovejoy lurched forward grabbing Charr and then fell to his knees as Charr stepped back. No knockdown but Lovejoy was very slow in getting up. In the second Lovejoy started by throwing some punches but a series of jabs from Charr saw Lovejoy retreat to the ropes and a right to the head and a left hook dropped him and he took the ten count on one knee. Charr, 36, were having his first fight since November 2017. This was a non-title fight. Charr had been WBA secondary champion but then was re-designated to “Champion in Recess” but now that he has fought again it will be interesting to see how the WBA designate him. Lovejoy was obese and inept. He weighed 306 ½ lbs for this fight 61lbs more than Charr and 70lbs heavier that his last fight in January 2020 which tells you how much training he did for this fight. He also turned up on his own with no trainer or corner men. Box Rec rated him No 332 and even that flatters him. Vykhryst vs. Platek Ukrainian Vykhryst knocks out Platek in the first. Since he was conceding lots of reach but was 24lbs heavier Platek was just walking forward trying to force his way inside. He paid the price for his aggression when after targeting the advancing Platek with jabs Vykhryst landed a series of heavy rights which dropped Platek face first on the canvas and he was counted out. The 6’5” Ukrainian is still very much a work in progress but he is improving and this is his fifth early finish. Platek, 48, has been as high as 292lbs but was a relatively svelte 261lbs in his first fight since September 2019. Gokcek vs. Mtchedlidze Gokcek hammers Mtchedlidze to defeat in two rounds. Gokcek punched much too hard for the Georgian novice hunting the youngster down throughout the first. He continued to land heavily in the second. He had Mtchedlidze trapped on the ropes and under fire. With only seconds to go in the round the referee was standing by ready to interrupt to end the round but instead decided Mtchedlidze had taken too much punishment and stopped the fight with just two seconds remaining in the round. The 25-year-old Turkish prospect was moving up to his first eight round contest but this was never going that far. Mtchedlidze, 20, just a four round fighter. Hammer vs. Kowoll Another total mismatch. Hammer floors Pole Kowoll three times to force the stoppage in the third round. The Romanian-born Hammer (real name Christian Ciocan) has scored wins over Erkan Teper and David Price but has been seriously overmatched in points losses to Alexander Povetkin, Luis Ortiz and Tony Yoka. Poor Kowoll is now 2-9 in his last 11 fights with all nine losses inside the distance. Bekdash vs. Nozadze Another farce as Syrian-born Bekdash floors Nozadze four times before the fight is stopped after just 129 seconds. Eight inside the distance wins in a row for southpaw Bekdash and his eleventh first round stoppage-all scored against abysmal opponents. The 40-year-old Georgian Nozadze suffers his tenth consecutive loss nine of them by KO/TKO. 14 May Warsaw, Poland: Cruiser: Michal Cieslak (21-1) W TKO 1 Yury Kashinsky (20-2). Super Middle: Lukasz Stanioch (6-0) W PTS 10 Robert Talarek (24-14-3). Cruiser: Nikodem Jezewski (20-1-1,1ND) W PTS 8 Vladimir Reznicek (10-4-2). Cieslak vs. Kashinsky Cieslak moves closer to a second world title shot with first round stoppage of Kashinsky. Cieslak used his longer reach to put Kashinsky on the back foot. Kashinsky also showed a strong jab but a left hook to the body had him hurt. A right to the head saw Kashinsky on his way down. He staggered across the ring as Cieslak connected with another right and fell into the ropes in a corner and the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. Kashinsky would have gone down but for the ropes and looked shaken but capable of continuing. He strongly protested the stoppage with good reason. Cieslak, 32, lost on points to Ilunga Makabu for the vacant WBC title in January 2020 and his return to the ring in December knocked out Taylor Mabika in six rounds. He has inside the distance victories over Olan Durodola and Youri Kayembre Kalenga. This was an IBF eliminator and with the rumour being that Mairis Breidis is looking to move to heavyweight this win will put Cieslak in the No 1 spot with the IBF guaranteeing him a shot at Breidis or at the vacant title. Russian Kashinsky’s only other loss was a close decision against Ruslan Fayer. Stanioch vs. Talarek After a slow start Stanioch outboxes more experienced Talarek to take a comfortable unanimous decision. Talarek scored well in the first but Stanioch found his rhythm in the second and scored consistently with jabs and hooks over the third and fourth. At that point Stanioch was up 39-37 on two cards and level at 38-38 on the third. From the fifth Talarek was fighting a defensive fight behind a high guard with Stanioch slotting jabs and straight rights home. After eight rounds he had the fight won as two judges had it 79-73 and the third 78-74 for Stanioch. Talarek was never completely out of the fight but Stanioch, eleven years younger, finished strongly to emerge an impressive winner. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92 for 26-year-old Stanioch who wins the WBC Francophone title. Talarek, 37, had lost only one of his last 14 fights and scored a stoppage win over 19-1 Patryk Szymanski in that sequence so was a good test for Stanioch. Jezewski vs. Reznicek Jezewski eases his way back into the winning column as he outboxes Czech Reznicek. Jezewski started by intelligent use of his jab to open up the slower Czech for right hands. As the fight developed Jezewski made things harder for himself by too often ignoring his corner’s instructions to stick to the jab, use his longer reach and not get involved inside. That allowed Reznicek a bit of success but not enough to challenge Jezewski’s control. He was too slow and not busy enough but he did shake the Pole with a right late in the fight. All three judges had Jezewski winning at 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74. First fight for Jezewski since filling in as a very late substitute against Lawrence Okolie in December and getting floored three times and stopped in the second round. A run of 6-1-2 had given Reznicek some respectability but he was well beaten here. Mar Del Plata, Argentina: Super Feather: Requen Cona Facundo Arce (13-3-2) W PTS 10 Nicolas Paz (5-4-2). “Topo” Arce collects the WBA Fedebol belt with a split verdict over Paz. There was never much of a gap between these two Arce had the better of the exchanges over the first half of the fight and it looked as though he might overwhelm Paz. However “Elegant” Paz came on over the later rounds. It was the aggression and harder punching of Arce that gave him the victory. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Arce and 96-94 for Paz. After a rocky start to his career Paz put together an unbeaten streak of 13 fights but in November lost to Mayco Estadella for the interim National title. Paz is in poor form as shown by his recent 1-5-1 form. Mexico City, Mexico: Light: Denilson Jair Valtierra (15-0) W KO 3 Emanuel Lopez (30-13-1). Both fighters let their hands go from the start. Valtierra used his much longer reach to score well at distance and connected with some well-timed body punches. Lopez managed to land with some shots early in the second but Valtierra countered again with fast, accurate punches. Valtierra softened Lopez up with body shots in the third and then floored Lopez with a right late in the fourth and the count continued after the bell giving Valtierra the win at 3:02 of the round. The 19-year-old “Kaiser” retains the WBC Latino title with his eighth win by KO/TKO. At one time Lopez held the interim WBA super feather title but that was in 2015. He lost in a fight for the vacant IBO title in 2017 but this is his third inside the distance defeat in a row. 15 May Brescia, Italy: Super Feather: Nicola Henchiri (10-4-2) W PTS 12 Mario Alfano (15-3-1). Super Bantam: Mattia De Bianchi (11-0) W PTS 10 Jonathan Sannino (13-1-1). Feather: Luca Rigoldi (22-2-2) W Cristian Narvaez (16-25-6). Henchiri vs. Alfano Henchiri wins the vacant European Union title with close unanimous decision over favoured Alfano. Henchiri knew he did not have the power to trade with Alfano but he had height, reach and speed on his side and he used those advantages cleverly. Over the early rounds Alfano pressed hard and had some success but too often his poor defence let him down with Henchiri finding plenty of gaps for his quick jabs and thumping rights. Alfano used a focused body attack as he tried to slow Henchiri but found it difficult to pin down the quicker man. One of Alfano’s faults is that he tends to fight in bursts and in between bursts Henchiri was picking up points with his lighter but more accurate punching and although coming in to the fight at short notice he finished strongly. Scores 115-113 twice and 116-112 all for Henchiri. The 31-year-old from Pisa had fought a draw in a contest for the vacant Italian title against Giuseppe Carafa in June 2019. He had then competed well in losing over eight rounds against world rated Francesco Patera last month and was preparing for another fight so although he came in at just three days notice after Eric Donovan pulled out with a injury he was in reasonable condition. Alfano had lost to Maltese boxer Haithem Laamouz for this same title in December but Laamouz was reportedly stripped off the title after testing positive for a banned substance. De Bianchi vs. Sannino De Bianchi is the new Italian champion after outscoring reigning title holder Sannino. De Bianchi was just too quick and too smart for the aggressive but limited Sannino. The champion pressed hard but De Bianchi showed a solid defence and set a fast pace that Sannino just could not match. Scores 99-92, 98-92 and 98-91 for the new champion. The 23-year-old “Spartan” was in his first ten round fight. Sannino was making his first defence. Rigoldi vs. Narvaez Former European champion Rigoldi returns to action with a gentle run out as he wins every round against seasoned loser Narvaez. Rigoldi made a steady start and then wound up the pressure bit by bit. Narvaez used his standard bag of survival tactics holding and covering well to give Rigoldi eighteen minutes of ring work. Rigoldi will be looking to fight his way back to a shot at the European super bantam title he lost to Gamal Yafai in December. Spanish-based Nicaraguan Narvaez is 1-21-2 in his 24 most recent fights but has only been beaten once by KO/TKO. Brisbane, Australia: Heavy: Demsey McKean (19-0) W PTS 10 Kiki Toa Leutele (7-1-2). Super Welter: Joel Camilleri (20-6-1) W PTS 10 Luke Woods (6-4). McKean vs. Leutele McKean overcomes a nightmare fourth round to outpoint Leutele. McKean was a heavy favourite over New Zealand novice Leutele. He had big edges in height and reach but Leutele did some good work over two slow opening rounds to keep the fight tight. McKean seemed to hit his stride in the third making good use of his jab. The roof nearly fell in on McKean in the fourth. He was cut over his left eye and staggered badly a couple of times being forced to hold desperately to make it to the bell. From the fifth McKean used his longer reach to score but too often allowed himself to be bundled to the ropes where his reach was of no use. He was winning the rounds but it was an untidy fight and Leutele landed some single heavy shots in close. Although winning clearly it was a very unimpressive performance by McKean. Scores 98-92 twice and 97-93 for McKean. The 6’6” southpaw is rated IBF 12(11)/ WBO 12 but will struggle when he comes up against any quality opposition. Leutele did much better than expected as he had been down twice in a draw against Julius Long in his last fight in August 2019. Camilleri vs. Woods Camilleri wins the vacant Australasian title with unanimous decision over Woods. All three judges had Camilleri the winner but the scores were all over the place with the judges tabbing the fight 100-90, 97-93 and 96-94. Camilleri has won 5 of his last 6 fights with the loss being on points against Tim Tszyu. Woods was an Australian amateur champion and an Elite level amateur but just hasn’t made it as a pro. Quebec City, Canada: Super Light: Mathieu Germain (19-2-1) W PTS 10 Steve Claggett (29-7-2). Germaine had lost two of his last three fights going into the all-Canadian contest so he badly needed a win. He changed his usual tactics and took the fight to Claggett. The fight was conducted at a fast pace and was entertaining but Claggett did not seem to know quite how to adjust to facing an aggressive Mathieu instead of the clever boxing fast moving Mathieu had been in the past. There were many close rounds but the volume and accuracy from Germaine gave him the edge and he looked a clear winner despite the split decision. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Germaine and 97-93 for Claggett. Some were ready to write Germaine off after being knocked out by Mexican Uriel Perez and stopped by Yves Ulysse but this was a good answer to his detractors. These two had shared the points in a split draw in January 2019 with Claggett also going on to lose to Ulysse but he had rebounded to recorded wins in his last two contests. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Light: Starling Wilson Castillo (14-0) W TKO 2 Abraham Peralta (19-9). Bantam: Victor Santillan (10-0) W PTS 10 Jose Valdes (9-5-1). Castillo vs. Peralta Castillo stops Peralta in two rounds. Castillo pressured Peralta from the start. Peralta proved an awkward and unpredictable opponent. He showed some very flashy movement, leapt in with wild attacks and goaded Castillo any time Castillo missed with a punch. Castillo went after Peralta hard in the second and Peralta fell through the ropes but was helped back in the ring. Castillo landed with a series of body punches and Peralta again fell through the ropes and was pushed back in. Castillo was connecting with more body punches and with Peralta bent in half and not firing back the referee stopped the fight. Eleven wins by KO/TKO for 25-year-old Castillo. Peralta is 1-5 in his six most recent contests with all five losses by KO/TKO. Santillan vs. Valdes In a bout moved from eight rounds to ten Santillan proves too big and strong for Valdes. He wins the decision and collects the WBA Fedecaribe belt but only after suffering a shock knockdown. A southpaw and much Santillan was controlling the bout from the centre of the ring with Valdes circling him looking for gaps. Santillan was sailing along nicely in the third when a crunching right dropped him heavily. He clawed his way up using the ropes and was badly dazed but made it to the bell. From there Santillan managed to outbox the always dangerous Valdes. As Valdes tired over the last two rounds a stoppage looked on but Valdes didn’t crumble and made it to the final bell. First ten round fight and some good experience for Santillan. Mexican Valdes had won his last two fights. Accra, Ghana: Middle: Obodai Sai (36-3-1) W RTD 3 Adam Misho (12-3). Feather: Prince Dzanie (22-0) W TKO 6 Kamarudeen Boyefio (11-10). Sai vs. Misho Sai gets back into action with a win against overmatched Tanzanian neophyte Misho who did not come out for the fourth round. The 34-year-old former Commonwealth champion makes it 27 victories by KO/TKO but has come up short whenever he has met quality opposition. Southpaw Misha was in only his third fight in almost four years. Dzanie vs. Boyefio Dzanie stops Boyefio n six rounds. A gutsy Boyefio was never in with a chance in this poor match. He was giving away height and reach and was having his first fight for three years. Danzie was a good few rungs higher on the ladder where ability was concerned and blasted Boyefio with thunderous punches from both hands. Boyefio did well to last to the sixth but he was cornered and beaten to the canvas and counted out. The 36-year-old Dzanie, a 2008 Olympian, has 18 inside the distance wins but has yet to be put into a testing fight. That should happen soon as he has been signed up by Salita Promotions but at 36 must have a limited shelf life. Fourth inside the distance loss in a row for Boyefio. He doesn’t do distance fights as his eleven wins and eight of his losses have come by KO/TKO Perez, Argentina: Welter: Gabriel Corzo (13-0) W PTS 10 Martin Ruiz (11-6-2). Corzo wins the vacant WBA Fedebol title with a points victory over Ruiz. It was an entertaining contest but one in which Corzo built a lead early and maintained his advantage to the end. Ruiz fought hard but was handicapped by a cut over his left eye in the fifth and one over his right eye in the eighth. Scores 89-82, 89-83 and 87-84 for Corzo. This was a nine round title fight so Corzo has yet to be in a ten round fight. Ruiz was having his first fight since December 2017. Fight of the week (Significance): Brandon Figueroa’s win over Luis Nery raises the possibility of unifying the WBC and WBO super bantam titles Fight of the week (Entertainment): Figueroa and Nery went to war from start to finish. Fighter of the week: Brandon Figueroa the new WBC title holder Punch of the week: The devastating right from Joshua Buatsi which sent Daniel Bienda Dos Santos on his way to the canvas Upset of the week:( Chris Lovejoy managing to last more than one round.) No only joking. Jason Cunningham was very much the underdog against Gamal Yafai Prospect watch: No new names Observations I want my money back! That might have been the reaction to who ever paid to see the show in Cologne topped by Mahmoud Charr vs. Christopher Lovejoy. The schedule was for six fights with a total of 50 rounds. In the end the fights all finished early with less than 11 rounds fought. It’s easy to see why some were describing Nery vs. Figueroa as a “unification” fight supposedly unifying the WBC and the WBA titles even though Figueroa was only the holder of the WBA secondary title. Even as the WBC/WBA “unification” was being trumpeted the WBA were calling for purse offers for their real champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev to defend the real WBA title against Gold champion Ronny Rios. When the sanctioning bodies do things like this confusion is inevitable. Right there is not one fighter who can really claim to be a champion. No one holds all four sanctioning body versions in any division so the most the can be labelled is title holder. The winner of Josh Taylor vs. Jose Ramirez will be a champion and with luck the winner of Joshua vs. Fury and Alvarez vs. Plant will see three champions crowned. By - Eric Armit
Highlights: -Saul Alvarez collects a third super middleweight belt as Billy Joe Saunders retires after eight rounds due a bad swelling limiting his vision -Elwin Soto retains WBO light flyweight title with stoppage of Katsunari Takayama -Magomed Kurbanov gets questionable win over Lam Smith -Souleymane Cissokho wins again with split decision over Kieron Conway - Frank Sanchez gets technical verdict over Nagy Aguilera in another “back of the head punch” incident World Title/Major Shows 8 May Arlington, TX, USA: Saul Alvarez (56-1-2) W RTD 8 Billy Joe Saunders (30-1). Light Fly: Elwin Soto (19-1) W RTD 9 Katsunari Takayama (32-9,1ND). Super Welter: Souleymane Cissokho (13-0) W PTS 10 Kieron Conway (16-2-1). Heavy: Frank Sanchez (18-0,1ND) W TEC DEC 6 Nagy Aguilera (21-11). Welter: Christian Gomez (20-2-1) W TKO 2 Xavier Wilson (11-3-1). Light: Keyshawn Davis (3-0) W PTS 6 Jose Meza (7-5). Alvarez vs. Saunders Alvarez now holds three of the four super middleweight belts after WBO title holder Saunders retired at the end of the eighth round due to a swelling severely limiting his vision from his right eye. Round 1 A cautious first round, Saunders was circling and prodding out his jab but not really committing too it. Alvarez managed to land three long lefts and a couple of body punches to take the round. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Round 2 Saunders boxed well over the first two minutes managing to dart inside to score. Over the last minute Alvarez began to find the range with straight rights which gave him the edge. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 20-18 Round 3 A close round as there was very little action. Saunders was showing plenty of movement and pushing out punches but coming up short. Alvarez finished the round strong again targeting Saunders with rights. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 30-27 Round 4 Another close round. Saunders committed himself to coming forward a few times but Alvarez showed some quick defensive skills. Not too many punches landed with Alvarez sneaking the round with a sharp right uppercut that almost dislodged Saunders mouthguard and a couple of rights. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 40-36 Official Scores: Judge Glenn Feldman 39-37 Alvarez, Judge Tim Cheatham 39-37 Alvarez, Judge Max DeLuca 39-37 Alvarez Round 5 Slick boxing from Saunders in this one. Plenty of movement and plenty of jabs. Alvarez connected with a couple of rights but Saunders was darting in quickly and scored two strong straight rights and was out before Alvarez could counter. Score: 10-9 Saunders Alvarez 49-46 Round 6 Not much between them in this round. Alvarez scored with some rights to the body early but just could not pin Saunders down. Saunders was putting together some quick combinations and countered well with lefts to the body of Alvarez and just doing enough to edge the round. Score: 10-9 Saunders Alvarez 58-56 Round 7 Best round so far for Saunders. He was just too quick for Alvarez regularly slotting punches through Alvarez’s guard and scoring with quick one-twos. Alvarez was always a step behind and at times was forced onto the back foot. Score: 10-9 Saunders Alvarez 67-66 Round 8 Saunders started the round well but then it changed. Alvarez upped his pace connecting with hooks to the body with both hands and landing heavily to the head. One of those punches landed near the right eye of Saunders and Alvarez seemed to sense this was a critical moment. Saunders was not moving so much and already Alvarez was raising his hands in triumph as he was able to cut off the ring and land heavily. Score: 10-9 Alvarez Alvarez 77-75 Official Scores: Judge Glenn Feldman 78-74 Alvarez, Judge Tim Cheatham 77-75 Alvarez, Judge Max DeLuca 78-74 Alvarez The right eye of Saunders was almost completely closed and wisely his corner pulled him out of the fight before the start of the ninth round. It was not a great fight with Saunders not looking to trade punches with Alvarez. He had certainly posed some problems for Alvarez before the retirement but Alvarez had upped his pace even before the injury. IBF title holder Caleb Plant looks to be the next step with Alvarez aiming to unify the four titles. Soto vs. Takayama In an entertaining contests Soto holds on to his WBO title with stoppage of a very active and competitive Takayama. Round 1 No feeling out time here as they were both letting their punches fly. Soto landed the better punches in the first exchange but Takayama hit back strongly. A big right to the head saw Takayama buckle at the knees. Soto followed up looking for an early finish but Takayama banged back well until another right had him in deep trouble just before the bell. Score: 10-9 Soto Round 2 Soto was looking to build on his success in the first round and landed some hurtful shots early. Takayama was perpetual motion circling Soto and throwing jab after jab and rights to the body. He looked on the way to winning the round until Soto nailed him with some solid hooks and uppercuts. Score: 10-9 Soto Soto 20-18 Round 3 Takayama was busy, busy. His punch output was amazing. There was very little power in his punches but the sheer volume was his best defence against the single big shots from Soto and despite Sots connecting with some eye-catching punches late in the round it was the challengers three minutes but you had to wonder how long the 37-year-old Takayama could maintain the pace Score: 10-9 Takayama Soto 29-28 Round 4 Takayama was setting a frantic pace constantly moving and pumping out punch after punch. A lot of those punches were wasted being off target or blocked. Soto worked harder in the round and connected with some hard body punches. Takayama chose to stand and trade punches and Soto bossed the exchanges. Score: 10-9 Soto Soto 39-37 Round 5 Takayama was Mr Perpetual Motion. He never stopped moving and punching. He even found time to do some show boating. Soto was forced onto the back foot as he was showered with punches and when he staged a late rally he was outpunched. Score: 10-9 Takayama Soto 48-47 Round 6 Great action in the round. Soto upped his pace and did a better job of closing Takayama down. Takayama moved less and tried more. That allowed Soto to score with a series of body punches and lefts and rights to the head Takayama’s response was to stand his ground and try to match Soto punch-for-punch it was exciting stuff but Takayama took some solid punishment. Score: 10-9 Soto Soto 58-56 Round 7 Takayama just kept showering Soto with punches. Unfortunately nine out of every ten were either blocked by Soto or off target. Soto clipped Takayama with a sharp right and landed the better quality and harder punches. Score: 10-9 Soto Soto 68-65 Round 8 The pace Takayama was setting was suicidal. He sprayed Soto with a never ending stream of punches. They were not heavy but the quantity was stifling Soto’s attempts to counter and it was Takayama’s round. Score: 10-9 Takayama Soto 77-75 Round 9 The pace and Takayama’s insistence of punching with the harder puncher brought the end. He continued to march forward and exchange punches with Soto but he was being rocked by head punches that made him stumble and the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. It looked a much too early stoppage as Takayama had not been down but he was on his last reserves of strength. Soto, 23, was making the third defence of the WBO title and gets his thirteenth inside the distance win. He is one of the lower profile champions in one of the weaker divisions but he got the job done today. Takayama averaged over 100 punches thrown per round and in the end he paid for that fierce pace. The WBO manipulated their ratings by introducing Takayama at No 11 in March when he had not fought since December. He certainly made this an entertaining fight but at 37 another title chance must be beyond him. Cissokho vs. Conway Cissokho overcomes late shock to win a split decision over. Conway in a disappointing fight. Frenchman Cissokho, a bronze medal winner at the Rio Olympics, seemed to have the edge in the early rounds but there was very little to excite the fans with only the odd heavy punch landed. In the ninth a left from Conway rocked Cissokho who dropped top one knee. Conway tried hard to find another punch like that but Cissokho survived and then dominated the last round. He looked a clear winner but the judges scored it 96-93 and 95-94 for Cissokho and 97-92 for Conway. Senegalese-born Cissokho takes Conway’s WBA Inter-Continental title. England’s Conway was 6-0-1 going in. Sanchez vs. Aguilera Sanchez gets a technical decision over Aguilera in another punch to the back of the head incident. Sanchez was far stronger and the harder puncher and had Aguilera hurt with a right in the second. In the third Aguilera turned to the referee to complain about a punch to the back of the head from Sanchez but the referee took no action and Aguilera paid for being distracted as Sanchez rocked him with a right. Sanchez continued to boss the action scoring heavily in the fourth and fifth. In the sixth a punch from Sanchez landed on the back of Aguilera’s head and he went down. He managed to rise but was unable to continue so it went to the cards which all read 60-54 for Sanchez. Not a satisfactory ending for Sanchez who was looking for his thirteenth victory by KO/TKO. He was defending the WBC Continental Americas title and is rated WBO 6/WBC 14/WBA 14. Dominican-born Aguilera was having only his third fight in the past five years. Gomez vs. Wilson Gomez moves to 18 inside the distance wins as he stops Wilson inn two rounds. After taking the first round Gomez floored Wilson with a thunderous left hook in the second. Wilson beat the count but the referee stopped the fight despite Wilson protesting he was fit to continue. Fourth quick win in a row against very modest opposition for Gomez since being stopped by Daniel Echevarria in April 2019. Wilson is 1-3 in his last four fights. Davis vs. Meza Just a light work-out for Norfolk southpaw Davis as he showcases his massive talent and wins every round. Scores 60-54 for Davis on the judges’ cards. Third fight this year for Davis so they are keeping him busy. Mexican Meza did well to last the distance. 7 May Ekaterinburg, Russia: Super Welter: Magomed Kurbanov (22-0) W PTS 12 Liam Smith (29-3-1). Welter: Eduard Skavynskyi (14-0) W PTS 10 Joel Julio (39-6).Super Bantam: Mukhammad Shekhov (9-0-1) W PTS 10 Evgenii Liashkov (8-2). Kurbanov vs. Smith Kurbanov gets contestable unanimous verdict over Smith. Kurbanov did the better work in a quiet first round and also edged the second. Smith picked up the pace in the third which was a close round but Smith was finding gaps and scoring well in the fourth. At that point all three cards had Kurbanov in front 39-37. Smith began to roll. He was slotting home jabs and cracking Kurbanov with rights with Kurbanov’s output dropping and Smith took the fifth. Kurbanov did enough to make the sixth close but good work with his jab and accurate rights saw Smith collect the points in the seventh and eighth. The split scoring now had them level at 76-76 on two cards with one judge having increased Kurbanov’s lead to three points at 78-75. Kurbanov was showing signs of tiring in the ninth but Smith was still strong and outlanding the local fighter. The tenth was close with both fighters having some success and it could have been scored for either of them. The eleventh was again a difficult one to score. Kurbanov was more accurate but Smith was landing the heavier punches and they both threw everything into the last with Smith having the narrowest of edges. Scores 115-113 twice and 117-111 for Kurbanov. It wasn’t quite robbery but one of those cases where Smith would probably have got the decision if the fight had been held in the UK. Kurbanov, 25, the Russian “Black Lion”, collects the WBO International title. He was No 5 with the WBO but more significantly Smith was No2 so Kurbanov can now expect to be sitting right behind No 1 Tim Tszyu and in with a good chance of a shot at the WBO title later this year. Huge disappointment for Smith a former WBO and interim WBC title holder. He had rebuilt since his loss to Jaime Munguia for the WBO title in 2018 with three wins over good level opposition and it might be hard for him to fight his way back into another title shot. Skavynskyi vs. Julio Locally based Ukrainian Skavynskyi gets a confidence building win over seasoned pro Julio. Now 36, and a lack of recent activity have drained away much of Julio’s ambition and although he showed some of his old skills there was very little fire left. Skavynskyi was able to dictate the pace of the fight and connected with a left hook in the fifth that put Julio on the floor. Julio rallied late but not enough to even see him win a round. Scores 100-89 for Skavynskyi on the three judge’s tabs. Skavynskyi has yet to be put in a testing fight. A 34-1 start to his career saw Colombian Julio land a shot at Serhiy Dzinziruk for the WBO super welter title back in 2008 but he lost on points and in 2010 he was knocked out by Alfredo Angulo for the interim WBO title. Since then he had been largely inactive and this was only his fourth fight in the last ten years. Shekhov vs. Liashkov Uzbek-born Russian Shekhov gets an away win as he outpoints Ekaterinburg-based Liashkov to win the vacant WBO European title. Liashkov took the fight to southpaw Shekhov trying to off-set Shekhov’s better skills with a more aggressive approach. It did not work as Shekhov outboxed and outscored Liashkov to emerge a good winner. Scores 97-93 for Shekhov from the Judges. Two or three experienced campaigners in Shekhov’s list of victims but there are tougher fights ahead. After losing his first fight Liashkov had put together an eight-bout winning streak but this was his first fight scheduled for ten rounds and hopefully he will have learned a few valuable lessons Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina: Middle: Emiliano Pucheta (14-4) W PTS 10 Nicolas Luques (12-8-1). Pucheta wins the vacant National title with comfortable victory over Luques. In a fight lacking any real drama Pucheta easily outpointed Luques. Pucheta had the superior skills and was never threatened by a one-paced Luques who showed poor technique and a lack of accuracy. Only Pucheta’s lack of power allowed Luques to last the full ten rounds. All three judges had Pucheta winning 99 ½ -91. Pucheta had lost in a challenge for the Argentinian super welter title in February 2020. Luques is 2-2-1 in his last five contests. Morbihan, France: Welter: Sandy Messaoud (15-6,1ND) W PTS 10 Oliver Mollenberg (7-1-1). Super Welter: Milan Prat (10-1) W TKO 1 Sie Palenfo (10-3-1). Messaoud vs. Mollenberg Local boxer Messaoud retained the WBA Inter-Continental title with unanimous decision over Dane Mollenberg. The Frenchman had a good first round showing his strength and connecting with some hard shots. Mollenberg did better in the second round but Messaoud took over from the third dominating the action scoring with uppercuts and left hooks. Messaoud had a good fifth but Mollenberg rebounded to take the sixth and got into the fight more as the 14-year older Messaoud slowed a little but the Frenchman was a good winner. Scores 98-92 twice and 99-91 looked a little harsh on Mollenberg. The 34-year-old Messaoud has turned his career around with a run of seven wins. Danish champion Mollenberg is just 20 and has had a good amount of experience from his time in the amateurs so can recover and learn from this loss. Prat v. Palenfo Prospect Prat blasts out Palenfo inside a round. Prat put Palenfo down with a left hook and although Palenfo beat the count a body punch dropped him again and the towel came in during the count. The tall 21-year-old Prat is a former French Youth and Senior champion and is aiming to fight in the Tokyo Olympics. He has seven wins by KO/TKO and his loss was a disqualification. Palenfo is from the Ivory Coast but is now 0-2 in fights in France. Kissimmee, FL, USA: Super Feather: George Acosta (12-1) W PTS 10 Gadwin Rosa (11-3). Super Welter: Elvin Gambarov (15-0) W PTS 10 Diego Cruz (21-10-2). Super Light: Mandeep Jangra (1-0) W PTS 4 Luciano Ramos (0-1). Acosta vs. Rosa Acosta takes a unanimous decision over Rosa to win the vacant WBA Fedecentro belt. This was a competitive fight largely carried out at close quarters. What boxing there was came from Acosta who when he could create space used his jab well and planted rights on the bulldozing Rosa. It was Rosa pressing the action and Acosta lacked the power to keep him out but he was tying Rosa up inside and although Rosa had the harder punch Acosta was busier. There was too much clinching as they tired over the last three rounds but Acosta was the one scoring more and the landing the cleaner punches. Scores 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 all for Acosta. This was the fifth consecutive win for Acosta, 24,his second fight in the last nineteen days and also his first fight scheduled for more than six rounds. Puerto Rican Rosa suffers his second defeat in his last three fights. Gambarov vs. Cruz Miami-based Azeri Gambarov is the new holder of the WBC International Silver title as he outpoints Cruz. This was a war all of the way. Going the distance snaps a nine-fight inside the distance streak for Gambarov for the 29-year-old Gambarov. Cruz has never failed to go the distance but drops to 2-7-1 in his last ten outings. Jangra vs. Ramos After a highly successful time as an amateur India’s Jangra turns pro with a win. It was not a smooth transition as a he was on the floor in the first and had to fight hard over the remaining three rounds to just take the decision. Jangra, 27, was a god medallist at the South Asian Games and won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games but did not manage to qualify for this year’s Olympics. Ramos a total novice having hi first fight. 8 May Warendorf, Germany: Light Heavy: Christian Pawlak (41-8-1) W DISQ 3 Muhammad Oguzhan Arifogullari (6-2). Pawlak gats disqualification wins over late substitute Arifogullari. After taking a slow first round Pawlak drove Arifogullari to the ropes in the second and Arifogullari sagged to a sitting position on the ropes. As the ropes stopped Arifogullari from falling the referee gave Arifogullari a count. In the third Pawlak put Arifogullari down again with a left to the body. After getting up Arifogullari rushed Pawlak and bundled Pawlak out of the ring and Arifogullari fell through after him. The referee ruled that Arifogullari had deliberately pushed Pawlak out of the ring and disqualified him. Polish-born Pawlak, 41, wins the interim UBO title with his twentieth win in a row. Some achievement to find 20 opponents bad enough for Pawlak to beat. German-born Turk Arifogullari was said to be in training for another fight which allowed him to step in. He should start a slimming club as he was 195 ¾ lbs in a fight on 18 April and presumably had to get below 175lbs for this fight! Managua, Nicaragua: Super Bantam: Alexander Mejia (17-1) W PTS 10 Aron Juarez (17-9-3,1ND). Mejia wins the vacant National title with unanimous decision over Juarez. Nine consecutive wins for Mejia. His only loss came in 2017 when he was seriously overmatched in Japan when put in against former OPBF champion and WBO title challenger Hiroshige Osawa in only his eighth fight. He had beaten Juarez on points in 2018. Southpaw Juarez is an experienced survivor with Khalid Yafai the only guy to have stopped him Malaga, Spain: Light: Samuel Molina (16-0,1ND) W PTS 8 Viorel Simion (22-4). Super Light: Johan Orozco (2-0) W PTS 6 Gadatamen Taylor (2-3-1). Molina vs. Simion Molina takes unanimous verdict over seasoned pro Simion. Molina used his longer reach to fight this one at distance. Simion kept rolling forward but smart movement and good countering made it difficult for him to get into the fight. The Romanian put in a big effort in the seventh but Molina boxed coolly and held his own in an exciting last round. Scores 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74 for Molina. The 22-year-old lost his Spanish title in December 2019 after a ban for a positive test. Simion, 39, has won only one of his last five fights. He was close to a world title shot after winning 21 of his first 22 fights but losses to Scott Quigg, Shakur Stevenson and Denys Berinchyk dashed those hopes. Orozco vs. Taylor Prospect Orozco much too good for southpaw Taylor. Orozco outboxed Taylor being too quick and too accurate. Taylor bravely walked forward and fought well enough to share a round but there was a big gap in ability. Scores 60-55 twice and 60-54 for Orozco. The Colombia-born 26-year-old was a top level amateur bring Spanish champion three times and representing Spain at the EU Championships and European Games. Liberian-born Taylor had won his last two fights. Fight of the week (Significance): Saul Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders as Alvarez takes another step towards unifying the four belts at super middle Fight of the week (Entertainment): Elwin Soto vs. Katsunari Takayama with Takayama making Soto trade punches for three minutes in every round Fighter of the week: Saul Alvarez Punch of the week: Nothing really explosive this week Upset of the week: None Prospect watch: French super welterweight Milan Prat 9-1 looks promising Observations What goes around comes around. Billy Joe Saunders harshly criticised Daniel Dubois for surrendering to Joe Joyce because his left eye was shut-Saunders retired against Alvarez because of a swelling that hindered his vision and his injury did not look nearly as bad as the one Dubois had Another controversial ending as a result of a punch to the back of the head. Sanchez had landed to the back of Aguilera’s head early in the fight and not been warned-so no reason not to do it again. French prospect is more than just a very talented boxer. Cissokho is reported to have a masters degree in economics, is in the late stages of qualifying for a law degree and danced in a ballet with the Paris Opera star Marie-Agnes Gillot. You lose some-you win some. Argentinian welterweight Sergio Damian Rosalez fought in a supporting bout on the 7 May show in Villa Carlos Paz and lost on points against Javier Herrera. After the fight Rosalez proposed in the ring to his girlfriend and she accepted. It is not a rare occurrence but imagine the embarrassment if the lady refuses or says Marry you? Get me the winner! By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Joseph Parker scores split decision victory over Dereck Chisora -Andy Ruiz recovers from a second round knockdown to outpoint Chris Arreola -Sunny Edwards outpoints Moruti Mthalane to win the IBF flyweight title -Dmitry Bivol defends WBA light heavyweight title with points win over Craig Richards -Erislandy Lara collects the vacant secondary WBA middleweight title with first round kayo of Thomas Lamanna -Jovanni Straffon wins vacant IBO light weight title as he stops James Tennyson in the first round -Eduardo Ramirez halts Isaac Avelar in three rounds in fight for vacant interim WBA featherweight title -Chris Eubank Jr outpoints Marcus Morrison -Michael Conlan returns with a points win over Ionut Baluta -Sebastian Fundora beats Jorge Cota, Abel Ramos beats Omar Figueroa and Jesus Ramos beats Javier Molina, Abel Ramos World Title/Major Shows 30 April London, England: Fly: W Sunny Edwards (16-0) W PTS 12 Moruti Mthalane (39-3). Super Bantam: Michael Conlan (15-0) W PTS 12 Ionut Baluta (14-3). Super Welter: Troy Williamson (16-0-1) W TKO 6 Kieran Smith (16-1). Edwards vs. Mthalane Edwards wins the IBF title with unanimous victory over Mthalane. From the start this was a hunt with Edwards the quarry and Mthalane the hunter. Edwards boxed quite brilliantly he used his speedy footwork to avoid Mthalane’s attacks he used every inch of the ring circling the perimeter at speed and constantly changing direction. Mthalane tried to exert pressure but too often he was left swishing air at the spot which Edwards had just left. Edwards was constantly changing guards and pumping out punches looking for quantity rather than power. Mthalane was marching forward behind a high guard and blocking a lot of the punches but plenty were getting through and a bump developed under Mthalane’s left eye. The pattern did not change much as Edwards followed his corner’s instructions to keep moving. Mthalane was occasionally dangerous when he managed to trap Edwards on the ropes but Edwards was building a big lead. As Mthalane was thirteen years older it might have seemed as though a fast early pace might see the champion tire late but that did not happen. From the eighth Mthalane upped his pace putting Edwards under a lot more pressure and raising a bump under the Londoners left eye. Edwards was still quick enough to be picking up the points but now it was a much more level fight as Mthalane experience in twelve round fights and the hectic pace Edwards had set saw the challenger forced to stand and trade more often. Mthalane managed to claw back some of the deficit but the late run was just a bit too late and Edwards boxed his way to a well deserved victory. Scores 120-108, 118-111 and 115-113 for Edwards. If 120-108 looked too wide the 115-113 was hard to understand. Sunny follows his elder Charlie brother as a world title holder with Charlie having won the WBC flyweight title in 2018. He has no mandatory challenger as the first two slots in the IBF aerating are vacant but the Sunny himself was not rated at all at flyweight but was the IBF No 6 super flyweight so who knows what will happen in boxing. At 38 Mthalane must be nearing the end of the road. It is criminal the way he has been undervalued. He was in his second reign as IBF champion have relinquished the title previously. In this reign he won the title in Malaysia and has defended it Macao and twice in Japan his only loss in his previous 26 fights had come on cuts against Nonito Donaire s a true warrior. Conlan vs. Baluta Conlan gets a majority decision over Baluta as he builds a big lead only for Baluta to come back strongly over the closing rounds. No sign of rust or dust from Conlan as he opened the fight with sharp jabs switching guards and landing good counters. Conlan started the second round scoring at distance but Baluta got through with some rights to the body before Conlan finished the round with a strong attack. Both rounds had been close with Conlan having a slight advantage but the third saw Baluta coming forward more and landing some strong rights and left hooks to the body and putting his punches together well. Baluta fired a series of accurate punches at the start of the fourth but Conlan re-established his jab and connected to head and body to take the round. Conlan drove forward throughout the fifth but Baluta was moving and countering and throwing lots of punches with Conlan following Baluta around the ring but not getting close enough often enough. A better round for Conlan in the sixth. Again Baluta was firing bursts of punches but with very little accuracy. Conlan was on target with his jabs and landing rights. The seventh was close with Baluta again letting his hands fly but without much accuracy whereas Conlan was tending to throw one punch at a time but on target more and Conlan also took the eighth with some solid body punching. Conlan continued to drive forward in the ninth again attacking the body with Baluta looking to be tiring but Conlan having swellings by both eyes. Conlan had won a run of close rounds and was well in front but instead of fading Baluta came on strongly to take the tenth and continued his success into the eleventh. Baluta won the last big. He was pumping out punches and getting through with Conlan mostly on the back foot as though he felt he had the fight won and was not going to take any chances. Scores 117-112 and 115-114 for Conlan and 114-114. I had it 115-113 for Conlan and saw the first score as harsh on Baluta. Conlan wins the WBO International title to strengthen his No 1 rating with the WBO and will be looking to challenge champion Stephen Fulton later this year. Spanish-based Romanian Baluta just came up short but will have raised his profile quite a bit with the exposure this fight gave him. He was very much under the radar until scoring wins over Kyle Williams, former IBF champion TJ Doheny and David Oliver Joyce . Williamson vs. Smith Power wins this of former top level amateurs for Williamson as he halts unbeaten Smith. The much longer reach and good movement of the 6’2” Smith saw him go into the lead from the start. He was boxing well and Williamson found it hard to get past Smith’s jab or to cut down the ring. Williamson finally got though in the sixth hurting Smith early with a right. Smith tried to box his way out of trouble but another big right and a battery of punches put Smith down heavily and the fight was stopped. Williamson, a former British amateur champion, moves to nine wins on the trot and twelve victories by KO/TKIO. He is the IBF European champion which has landed him a No 13 slot in their ratings. At 27 Smith, who represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, can rebound from this. 1 May Carson, CA, USA: Middle: Erislandy Lara (28-3-03) W TKO 1 Thomas Lamanna (30-5-1). Heavy: Andy Ruiz (34-2) W PTS 12 Chris Arreola (38-7-1,2ND). Super Welter: Sebastian Fundora (17-0-1) W KO 4 Jorge Cota (30-5). Feather: Eduardo Ramirez (25-2-3,1ND) W KO 3 Isaac Avelar (17-3). Welter: Abel Ramos (27-4-2) W RTD 6 Omar Figueroa Jr (28-2-1) . Welter: Jesus Ramos (16-0) W PTS 10 Javier Molina (22-4). Welter: Adrian Granados (21-8-3,1ND) DRW 8 Jose Sanchez (11-1-1). Heavy: Carlos Negron (23-3) W PTS 8 Scott Alexander (16-4-2). Lara vs. Lamanna Lara obliterates Lamanna in eighty seconds. Lara was probing with jabs and then scored with lefts down the middle. As Lamanna moved in he dropped his left glove a little and Lara blasted him with a left that landed just in front of Lamanna’s ear. He went down heavily with his head bouncing off the canvas and after starting the count the referee abandoned it to get Lamanna some medical attention and it was some time before Lamanna recovered. Lara, 38, wins the vacant secondary WBA title so is not really a two-division champion. His losses have both been split decisions coming against Saul Alvarez and Jarred Hurt. Lamanna was No 8 with the WBA having leapt from nowhere to No 8 by beating 22-14 Juan De Jesus Angulo. Ruiz vs. Arreola Ruiz returns and despite an early knockdown comprehensively outpoints Arreola. Positive opening round from Ruiz as he took the fight to Arreola scoring well with his jab and outworking Arreola. Ruiz was doing well in the second until he walked on to a downward short right to the temple from Arreola which knocked him off balance and he dipped to one knee with a glove resting on the canvas. Ruiz straightened up immediately but after the count was hurt by another right from Arreola. Arreola rocked Ruiz with a left in the third but Ruiz fired back with a left hook and a right to take the round. Ruiz took the fourth as they brawled and again it was Ruiz’s round as he jabbed to the body and landed a clubbing shot to the head. Arreola was not letting his hands go and Ruiz, comfortable on the back foot, jabbed and scored with big rights and ended the fifth with two good left hooks. Arreola was still not working hard enough and Ruiz was dominating the action in the sixth and seventh with his quicker hands and Arreola was cut on the bridge of his nose. The eighth saw Ruiz in charge jabbing strongly to head and body. Arreola was a bit more active but winced in pain and shook his left arm after landing a punch. Through the ninth once again Ruiz was throwing more and landing more and putting some good combinations together. They clashed heads in the tenth but luckily neither was cut and Ruiz pocketed another round partially with some good body punches but also because Arreola was doing very little except defend. Ruiz wobbled Arreola with a left hook in the eleventh and Arreola was again showing signs of trouble with his left shoulder and he told the referee in the break that he had a problem but would see out the last round. Ruiz was on top in the twelfth looking to take Arreola out but Arreola stayed there to the bell. Scores 118-109 twice and 117-111 for Ruiz. He looked more like the fighter who scored an upset win over Anthony Joshua and was almost 30lbs lighter than when losing to Joshua in the return. There is talk of a fight with Deontay Wilder or Luis Ortiz and Ruiz has said he would be happy to fight Arreola again. He is a man in demand now. At 40 and after two inside the distance losses in two shots at the WBC title Arreola can either retire or become a scalp for the young lions of the division. Fundora vs. Cota Fundora breaks down and stops Cota in four rounds. Cota was giving away almost 6” in height and every bit as much in reach so he took this fight inside. Fundora was happy to compete with Cota there rather than box and he was matching Cota and using his height to lean on Cota and force him back. Cota was having trouble getting off the ropes and Fundora was punishing him with hooks and uppercuts and a cut opened over Cota’s right eye. The brawl should have suited Cota and he did score with some overhand rights but he was being outscored inside as Fundora just kept pumping out punches. Cota came apart in the fourth as Fundora punished him with hooks and uppercuts that had Cota reeling and floundering. Despite that Cota connected with a heavy right but Fundora drove him to the ropes and was unloading when the referee stepped in to save Cota. The 6’5 ½” “Towering Inferno” must have hollow legs to fight at super welter. He looks thin as a rake but gets substantial leverage on his punches and in his last three fights has beaten Nathaniel Gallimore, Habib Ahmed and now Cota inside the distance. He is flattered by his No 2 ranking from the WBA but with his height and good power he will present problems for anyone he meets. Mexican “Demon” Cota had suffered consecutive losses in very tough assignments against Jeison Rosario and Jermell Charlo but had re-established himself with wins over Cesar Chavez and Thomas Lamanna and was No 12 with the WBA. Ramirez vs. Avelar If WBA titles were confetti the WBA could go into the wedding business. Ramirez stops Avelar to win the vacant interim WBA title. In typical Mexican style neither fighter wanted to back up and both were looking to land power shots early. They had some frantic exchanges with Ramirez rocking Avelar with a right in the first. They went at it again in the second with Ramirez again getting the better of the exchanges. Avelar was still trying to punch with Ramirez in the third when he was floored by a powerful right. Avelar only just made it to his feet but Ramirez swept him to the ropes and landed some more head punches forcing the referee to come in and stop the fight. Ramirez, 28, had lost on points to IBF champion Lee Selby in 2017. It was to be a title fight but as Ramirez came in over the division maximum he could not have won the title anyway. He suffered another setback when he lost on points to Claudio Marrero in June 2019 but then scored wins over unbeaten Leduan Barthelemy and Miguel Flores which landed him this title shot. “Little Canelo” Avelar lost to Stephen Fulton and in a six round fight to 14-13-3 Miguel Tique but bounced back with a win over 23-0 Sakaria Lukas in December. Ramos vs. Figueroa Ramos gets victory as after an eccentric display Figueroa retires at the end of the sixth round. Figueroa took the opening round. He was rumbling forward with a strange crouching, side-to-side jerky style but did enough work in close to take the round. Ramos was boxing on the back foot trying to figure out Figueroa’s style and his counters saw him even things up by winning the second. Figueroa kept rolling forward with exaggerated upper body movement in the third but Ramos was finding him an easy target and pushing Figueroa off to stop him working in close. On the occasions when Figueroa did get inside he was connecting with good hooks to the body but over the fourth and fifth continued to walk into punches from Ramos. By the sixth Ramos was the one coming forward landing punch after punch with Figueroa still using his strange movement to avoid punches that were not even being thrown. Ramos dished out plenty of punishment and with Figueroa spitting up lots of blood in his corner they took him out of the fight at the end of the round. Ramos lost a split verdict to Yordenis Ugas for the secondary WBA title in his last fight in September but is down at No 8 in their ratings so may struggle to get another shot. Figueroa’s style was worryingly bizarre. The former undefeated WBC lightweight champion has scored victories over Ricky Burns, Antonio DeMarco and Robert Guerrero but was floored and outclassed by Yordenis Ugas in July 2019. Ramos vs. Molina Good learning fight for Ramos as he outpoints experienced Molina and goes ten rounds for the first time. After a cautious first round in which Ramos just had a slight advantage Ramos took over in the second scoring with powerful jabs and left hooks. Molina did a bit better in the third but again Ramos was marching forward and targeting Molina’s body. The fourth and fifth followed the same pattern with Ramos walking through Molina’s punches hurting Molina to the body but Molina defending well. Molina had a good sixth but in the seventh he lost a point for a punch to the back of the head. Ramos kept up the pressure in the eighth but Molina rallied over the ninth and tenth. Scores 99-90 twice and 97-92 for Ramos. The tall 20-year-old southpaw from Arizona had won his last five fights inside the distance but former Olympian Molina keeps his record of never being stopped. Granados vs. Sanchez Granados and Sanchez fight to a majority draw in a competitive eight rounder. Granados was the boss inside but Sanchez scored with useful counters. Both were rocked at times and Sanchez had a good fourth boxing more and having Granados badly hurt by a left hook. Granados recovered and stepped up the pressure over the late round and both were shaken as they traded punches in the last. Scores 76-76 twice and 77-75 for Granados who looked unlucky not to get the decision. Granados was 0-2 in 2019 losing to Danny Garcia and Robert Easter. He was inactive last year but had returned with low level win in February. Sanchez was on a nine-bout winning streak but over moderate opposition. Negron vs. Alexander Negron makes it three wins in a row as he outpoints Alexander. No real highlight with Negron able to use his longer reach to control much of the action but with Alexander doing better over the second half of the fight. Scores 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75 for the 6’6” Puerto Rican. The former Olympian suffered a shock 66 seconds knockout at the hands of Brian Howard in August 2019 but then went on to stop unbeaten Cuban Robert Alfonso in one round. Alexander loses when he tries to step up but had performed creditably in flooring 31-2 Travis Kauffman before losing a majority decision. Manchester, England: Heavy: Joseph Parker (29-2) W PTS 12 Dereck Chisora (32-11). Light Heavy: Dmitry Bivol (18-0) W PTS 12 Craig Richards (16-2-1). Light: Jovanni Straffon (24-3-1) W TKO 1 James Tennyson (28-4). Middle: Chris Eubanks Jr (30-2) W PTS 10 Marcus Morrison (23-4). Super Welter: Scott Fitzgerald (15-0) W TKO 3 Gregory Trenel (13-7-2). (). Parker vs. Chisora Parker comes back from a first round knockdown and losing the first four rounds to outwork Chisora late to take a majority verdict. A dramatic start saw Chisora floor Parker with a right to the head less than ten seconds into the fight. Parker was up quickly and Chisora piled in trying to find another big punch. Parker held and moved until his head cleared and by the end of the round was firing big rights of his own. Chisora marched forward in the second and clipped Parker with a right to the chin. Parker was jabbing and then stepping inside and holding and Chisora was warned for a punch to the back of the head as they brawled. Chisora made the running in the third and fourth prowling after Parker walking through the New Zealander’s jab to thump to the body and rocking Parker with a heavy right. Parker did better in the fifth and sixth. He could not stop Chisora coming forward but was spearing him with jabs and bursts of hooks and tying Chisora up in close. Chisora landed a dangerous uppercut late in the sixth. Parker boxed his way through the seventh moving more and landing more and found the target with a right that forced Chisora to back up. The eighth was another round for Parker. Chisora looked to be slowing and Parker was getting through with jabs and late in the round connected with a heavy right. He was now cutting into Chisora’s lead built over the first four rounds and as he outboxed Chisora in the ninth he had probably levelled the fight. Both looked very tired in the tenth a close one which could have gone either way. As Chisora seemed to tire Parker found a reserve and had a strong eleventh when he connected with a heavy right and outlanded Chisora. The last saw Chisora dip down the well and find the energy for one last big effort and he clearly took the last. Scores 116-111and 115-113 for Parker and 115-113 for Chisora. The 29year-old former WBO champion is now 2-2 in fights in the UK having beaten Hughie Fury and Chisora and lost to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He is No 3 with the WBO and No 6 with the IBF and WBC but no one knows for sure how the heavyweight picture will pan out until a Joshua vs. Fury fight takes place-or doesn’t!. Parker has said he will gladly fight Chisora again. It has been nine years since Chisora lost to Vitali Klitschko in a challenge for the WBC heavyweight title. Losses to Dillian Whyte and Oleksandr Usyk knocked him back but he had rebounded with victories over reasonable level opponents in Senad Gashi, Artur Szpilka and David Price. Before this fight his only rating was at No 15 with the WBC and this loss will have been a big blow to any chance of another title shot and at 37 time is rapidly running out for him. Bivol vs. Richards Bivol outpoints Richards in WBA title fight. Bivol found the target early with his jab and short hooks as Richards made a tentative start. Bivol increased his work rate in the second putting his punches together well. Richards got into the fight in the third connecting with a savage right but Bivol responded with a strong attack that had Richards defending with his back against the ropes. A left to the head stung Richards in the fourth but he was willing to stand and trade with Bivol late in the round and scored well in the fifth as his confidence increased. Both had success in a close sixth with Richards just getting the better of the exchanges. Bivol asserted himself in the seventh as he outworked Richards using some flashing combinations and he built on that to also sweep the eighth connecting with some crisp rights. The ninth was close with stiff jabs from Bivol giving him a slight edge but Richards then had a good spell. He put Bivol under pressure backing the champion up in the tenth and rocking Bivol with an over hand right before scoring well to the body in the eleventh. Richards put in a huge effort in the last but Bivol showed his experience in countering cleverly and doing enough to wrap up the victory. Scores 118-110,115-113 and 115-114 all for Bivol. The first score looked too wide and the other too close as Bivol was having his first fight for sixteen months. He did hold the secondary WBA title but was upgraded to Super and this was his first defence since his elevation. The 30-year-old Kyrgyzstan-born Russian has wins over both the WBO champion Joe Smith and Jean Pascal who followed him as secondary WBA champion and it would be great to see him in against Artur Beterbiev to unify the WBA, IBF and WBC titles. Richards performed above expectation here as he had never faced a rated fighter but he showed he could compete as this high level and with Joshua Buatsi, Lyndon Arthur, Anthony Yarde and MTK tournament winner Ricards Bolotniks all rated there are some good domestic opportunities for him. Straffon vs. Tennyson The biter bitten as big puncher Tennyson is stopped inside a round by Saffron in the IBO title fight. Tennyson landed a couple of rights early but Saffron fired back with a quick burst of punches. They stood and swopped punches with both landing some heavy shots Tennyson to the head and Saffron to the body. Tennyson was driving Saffron back and had snapped Saffron’s head back with an uppercut but Saffron connected with a right hook and a left that sent Tennyson stumbling back across the ring and down. He struggled to his feet but Saffron forced him to the ropes and landed two hard head punches bringing both the referee’s intervention and the towel from Tennyson’s corner. The 27-year-old Mexican southpaw had won his last nine fights against some very modest opposition and was No 84 in the IBO ratings with Tennyson at No 15 but this his seventeenth win by KO/TKO makes him a champion. Only four of Tennyson’s fights have gone the distance. His punch has seen him score 24 inside the distance wins but his chin/defence have caused his four losses to also be quick. Eubank vs. Morrison Eubank sheds some accumulated rust with ten rounds against Morrison. The first round saw both fighters cautious with Eubank doing what scoring there was. Eubank came alive in the second twice showering Morrison with punches but then on each occasion backing off which indicated Eubank was looking for some useful ring time rather than a quick finish. Morrison was fired up at start of the third going forward throwing punches and landing with a couple of rights. Then he seemed to go off the boil and the round drifted to its end with very little more action. There was very little action in the fourth but in the fifth Eubank cut loose with a series of punches. He was then darting back before stepping in again with more punches and after doing that a few times he stood and traded punches. Morrison took some heavy hits but also landed some useful counters before Eubank shut down again and did little more in the round. Eubank used the same tactics of fire then caution in the sixth and seventh. He allowed Morrison to take the lead in the eighth as he worked on his defence. Morrison landed a heavy right in the ninth which led to some fierce exchanges and Eubank was content to run down the clock on some valuable work experience. Scores 98-92 for Eubank on the three cards. When Eubank fought Matvey Korobov for the interim WBA title in December 2019 it ended in a second round victory for Eubank when Korobov had to retire with injured shoulder. That meant that before this fight Eubank had seen less than two rounds of action in the past 26 months so you could understand his determination to get ten rounds of work. He has been training under Roy Jones Jr so he probably wanted to test out some of the changes Jones had instilled in him and he achieved those aims here. Morrison had some success but could never really threaten Eubank but he showed in stopping Emanuel Blandamura in Italy in July 2019 that he has to be respected. Fitzgerald vs. Trenel Fitzgerald returns to action with stoppage of Frenchman Trenel. A distinctly fleshy looking Fitzgerald forced the fight from the start with strong, stiff jabs and left hooks to the body. Trenel showed some early resistance but by the second round was already panting heavily and dropping his hands. With Trenel fading badly in the third he was given a slight reprieve with a stop in the action due to a low punch from Fitzgerald. When the action resumed Trenel was pinned to the ropes showing some clever defensive work but was not punching back and the referee stopped the fight. Fitzgerald had moved to the top of the domestic super welterweights with wins over Anthony Fowler and in last fight in October 2019 Ted Cheeseman but for this fight he was 169 ¼ lbs so has some weight to lose. Trenel had suffered some serious over matching being one of Edgar Berlanga’s first round victims and being stopped in six rounds by Sergio Garcia and he did not look in good condition here. 30 April Mar del Plata, Argentina: Middle: Lucas Bastida (17-1) W PTS 10 Jose Villalobos (13-7-2). 1 Local Bastida puts his troubles outside the ring behind him and retains the South American title against Villalobos. Bastida could not have made a better start. He floored Villalobos twice in the opening round. A right to the head dropped Villalobos in the first minute of the fight and he was down again later in the round from a left. Villalobos was badly rocked by the second knockdown and deliberately spat out gumshield and was deducted a point making it a 10-6 round. Bastida kept up the pressure in the second and third and floored Villalobos again in the fourth. From the fifth Villalobos clawed his way into the fight. He used plenty of clever boxing to neutralise Bastida’s power and even rocked Bastida with a right in the eighth as Bastida tired but he needed a knockout and did not even come close to that. Scores 96-91, 94-92 and 96 ½ -91 ½ for Bastida. “The Tornado” was making the third defence of his title and extends his winning sequence to 14 fights. Early in April he was arrested and jailed after being accused of the sexual assault of a woman in a gym but after a police investigation he was cleared of the charges and released just a few days before this fight. “Tsunami” Villalobos is 2-3 in his last five outings. Mexico City, Mexico: Feather: Miguel Marriaga (30-4) W KO 6 Jorge Garcia (14-4-1). Marriaga returns and picks up the WBC Fecarbox title with sixth round win over Mexican Garcia. Marriaga launched a focused body attack then in the second switched to the head and a right uppercut had Garcia staggering around the ring. Marriaga continued to put Garcia under pressure and in the sixth a left to the body dropped Garcia and he was counted out. In September the Colombian “Scorpion” lost a wide decision against Joet Gonzalez. He has lost in title fights against Nicholas Walters, Oscar Valdez and Vasyl Lomachenko but is hoping to work his way to a fourth title chance. First fight for southpaw Garcia since June 2019 and his second inside the distance defeat. Managua, Nicaragua: Super Feather: Francisco Fonseca (28-3-2) W KO 8 Robin Zamora (16-9). Super Light: Israel Lopez (7-1) W KO 7 Gabriel Escalante (14-1). Welter: Wiston Campos (32-8-6) W PTS 8 Walter Castillo (27-6-1). Fonseca vs. Zamora Fonesca scores crushing kayo of Zamora. Fonseca was hounding Zamora from the start. He had Zamora constantly on the back foot scoring with hooks inside. Zamora was firing back but didn’t have the power to keep Fonseca off. Zamora dropped to the floor in the third under a series of punches and twice lost his gumshield as Fonseca whacked him with body punches. Fonseca’s face showed how hard he had to work to win this one but in the eighth he took Zamora to the ropes and then nailed him with a left that sent Zamora down flat on his back. After starting the count the referee stopped it and called for medical assistance for Zamora who was lying half under the ropes with his legs twitching. He recovered and was able to leave the ring without aid. Fonseca's second inside the distance win over Zamora. Fonseca, 27, collects the vacant WBA Fedelatin title. He lost on points against Tevin Farmer for the IBF super feather title in 2018 and looked unlucky to only get a draw against Alex Dilmaghani in London in 2019 but was knocked out in 80 seconds by Ryan Garcia in February last year. Five of Zamora’s nine losses have come by KO/TKO. Lopez vs. Escalante Minor upset as Lopez knocks out unbeaten Escalante in seven rounds. Escalante had big edges in height and reach and scored well with his jab and straight rights when he boxed on the outside but a determined Lopez was able to get past the jab and score to the body inside keeping Escalante under pressure. It didn’t matter how many punches Escalante landed Lopez just kept coming. In the seventh he forced an exhausted Escalante to the ropes and connected with a left hook to the head that put Escalante down on his back and he was counted out. After an early disqualification loss southpaw Lopez has won six in a row. Escalante has some reconstruction work ahead. Campos vs. Castillo Campos outpoints Castillo in a battle of experienced campaigners. After a cagey start the fight warmed-up with southpaw Campos the better boxer on the back foot countering the lunges of Castillo. Campos put Castillo down with a left in the third and outboxed Castillo over the first half of the fight. The stronger but slower Castillo produced the stronger finish but Campos took a deserved unanimous decision. Welcome win for Campos after losses to Josh Kelly and Shakhram Giyasov in his last two fights. Castillo had lost to Sergey Lipinets and Devon Alexander but had not fought in 2018 or 2019 before scoring a low level win in February last year. General Santos City, Philippines: Fly: Jayson Mama (16-0) W RTD 8 Ramshane Sarguliia (7-6-2).Super Fly: Jade Bornea (16-0) W PTS 10 Roland Jay Biendima (15-8-1). Super Bantam Mike Plania (25-1) W PTS 6 Emmanuel Mogawa (5-4) Mama vs. Sarguliia Mama controls the fight all the way until Sarguliia retires after the eighth round. Mama was streets ahead of Sarguliia in skill and controlled the fight from start to finish. He used a stiff jab to keep Sarguliia on the back foot and found plenty of gaps for rights to the head. Sarguliia lacked the skills to really complete and had only occasional success with long right hands. Mama never really got out of second gear until the seventh when he hurt Sarguliia with a left to the body. He repeated the dose in the eighth with Sarguliia soaking up lots of punishment and then calling it a night. Ninth win by KO/TKO for the unbeaten 23-year-old local favourite. Fifth loss on the trot for Sarguliia Bornea vs. Biendima Routine points win for Bornea. He continually switched guards to southpaw and varied his tactics between boxing at distance and spearing Biendima with jabs and straight lefts or rights and stepping inside and brawling with Biendima. He looked comfortable in dealing with Biendima’s rushing attacks and never seemed to move out of second gear. He tried hard to finish the fight in the last showering Biendima with punches but Biendima never really looked in real trouble. Scores 99-91 twice and 100-90. The 25-year-old “Hurricane”, rated IBF 8(6)/WBC 15, was having his first fight for 16 months. He was a top performing amateur winning a number of tournaments and beating future WBO flyweight champion Kosei Tanaka. Third defeat in his last three fights for Bien Plania vs. Mogawa World rated General Santos City fighter Plania gets unanimous decision over fellow-Filipino Mogawa. Really just a shedding rust exercise for Plania. He rarely pressed his attacks hard but punished novice Mogawa if Mogawa managed to land a good punch. Plania put together some flashy combinations rocked Mogawa a few times. Even through crude Mogawa showed strength and stayed there for the full six rounds. Scores 60-54 for Plania from the judges. “Magic” Plania established himself in the world ratings by flooring 21-1-1 Joshua Greer twice on the way to a points victory in June last year earning himself a No 7 spot with the WBA and 8(6) with the IBF. Mogawa just a learner. 1 May Perez, Argentina: Welter: Brian Chaves (13-1) W KO 5 Carlos Santana (16-4). Chaves makes a successful defence of the WBA Fedebol title with victory over Santana. Southpaw Chaves was in charge of this one over the opening four rounds before ending it in the fifth. As Santana piled forward to take the fight to Chavez the champion met him with a slashing left hook to the body that dropped Santana to his hands and knees he was counted out. After eleven straight wins Chaves suffered a devastating loss when he was knocked out inside a round by world rated Jeremias Ponce in October 2017. He did not fight again until returning this year with a win in January. Santana had won 3 of his last 4 fights. Tijuana, Mexico: Feather: Jesus Delgado (22-1-1) W KO 1 Eduardo Marquez (16-8-1). Delgado continues his run of good form as he blasts out Marquez in the first round. Delgado found the range early with his jab before exploding on Marquez. He drove Marquez to the ropes landing left hooks to the body and rights to the head. Marquez managed to get off the ropes but another series of rights and lefts dropped him and he was counted out. The 24-year-old local prospect is unbeaten in his last 20 fights. Three inside the distance defeats in a row for Marquez. Plant City, FL. USA: Welter: Jose Borrego (18-2) W Alan Sanchez (20-5-1). Super Middle: Enrique Collazo (14-1-1) W Marcelo Molina (23-19-1). This was a close very competitive fight with Sanchez doing the boxing and Borrego pressing hard in every round. A clash of heads opened a cut over Sanchez’s left eye and that led to a period of even stronger pressure from Borrego who switching guards after almost every punch. The cut over Sanchez eye continued to drip blood but he boxed skilfully on the back foot using his long reach. Borrego chased and chased but Sanchez put in a great last round landing with heavy shots from both hands and that won him the fight. Scores 78-74 and 77-75 for Sanchez and 77-75 for Borrego. A welcome win for Sanchez after consecutive defeats against unbeaten fighters Alexander Besputin and Daniyar Yeleussinov. Borrego had been in good form with four wins over experienced rivals. Windhoek, Namibia: Super Light: Harry Simon Jr (14-0) W PTS 6 Dominikus Weyulu (0-1). Super Bantam: Flame Nangolo (6-0) W PTS 8 Gustav Petrus (0-1). Simon vs. Weyulu Simon gets a first win under a new promoter as he outpoints Weyulu. Simon had Weyulu in trouble in the fourth but Weyulu survived and was still there at the end of the six rounds. All three judges had Simon winning 60-54. The 23-year-old son of former two-division title holder Harry Snr. had his contract terminated by his promoter two weeks ago due to indiscipline but was quickly signed up by another promoter for this show. Nangolo vs. Petrus Nangolo scores a one-sided victory over Petrus,. He floored Petrus in the second and then outboxed him the rest of the way. Scores 79-72 twice and 80-71 for the 20-year-old. Accra, Ghana: Super Middleweight: Eliasu Sulley (9-0) W KO 8 Mawuli Folivi (5-2). Super Light: Gabriel Cofie (2-0-1) W PTS 8 Faisal Abubakar (6-1). Super Middle: Jacob Dickson (8-0) W TKO 1 Cudjoe Darah (2-28). Heavy: Haruna Osumanu (12-2) W KO 2 John Dudu (5-25). Sulley vs. Folivi Sulley collects both the National and the vacant West African titles with knockout of Ghanaian champion Folivi. All nine of Sulley’s wins have come by KO/TKO. First defence by Folivi Cofie vs. Abubakar Something of a domestic upset as Cofie outpoints highly touted crowd favourite Abubakar. The 19-year-old Sulley outboxed the heavier puncher Abubakar who had stopped all six of his victims inside three rounds. Dickson vs. Darah Prospect Dickson gets rid of badly overmatched Darah in the first round. Dickson finished it with a vicious left hook to the body. Poor Darah stood there for a couple of seconds almost as if not having been hit but then the pain kicked in and he dropped to the floor. He did get up but thankfully the referee stopped the fight before Darah got seriously hurt. Dickson, 23, has taken less than twelve rounds to win his eight fights. Poor Darah needs to be told to put his gloves away as 25 of his 28 losses have been by KO/TKO Osumanu vs. Dudu Another terrible mismatch sees 41-year-old Osumanu kayo Dudu. Two knockdowns in the second saw Dudu counted out. Osumanu who did not turn pro until he was 37 has eight wins by KO/TKO. He weighed 201lbs for a fight in 2019. He was 276lbs in his last fight! Dudu, 36, has lost 23 times by KO/TKO and was 190lbs in his last fight Fight of the week (Significance): Joseph Parker’s win over Dereck Chisora keeps him in the queue of heavyweights waiting to fight for a title once Joshua vs. Fury is settled. Fight of the week (Entertainment): Both heavyweight fights were entertaining with Parker vs. Chisora just a little livelier than Ruiz vs. Arreola Fighter of the week: Sunny Edwards for lifting the IBF flyweight title against such a good champion as Moruti Mthalane Punch of the week: The laser guided left from Erislandy Lara that flattened Thomas Lamanna Upset of the week: Jovanni Straffon was not given much chance against James Tennyson but he delivered in style Prospect watch: No one I have not recommended previously Observations Whilst it is great to see live audiences again the small riot at the Andy Ruiz vs. Chris Arreola fight was hardly the welcome return boxing needed. It was also good to see a fighter jump on the ropes and thrust his arms in the air to a crowd of fans instead of to empty seats. We had a weather set of nicknames this week with fighters bearing the nicknames of Tsunami, Tornado and Hurricane but I loved “Mad Man” Scott Fitzgerald vs. “Crazy” Gregory Trenel a bit like a lady at a party seeing another lady wearing the same dress-oh OK nothing like that! A Board or Commission has a duty to its licence holders to protect them against themselves so it is painful to see Ghanaians Cudjoe Darah 2-28 (25 losses by KO/TKO) and John Dudu 5-25 (23 losses by KO/TKO) still fight and still getting knocked out. You need stamina to be a fan now. The big show in Carson would have lasted almost six hours if all the light had gone the distance and a show in Tijuana had 15 fights scheduled. If the trend continues I can see fans having to pass a medical before being allowed in to the arena. By Eric Armit
Highlights: -Emanuel Navarrete stops a gutsy Chris Diaz in the last round and remains WBO featherweight champion -Kenshiro Teraji defends the WBC light fly title for the eighth time as he decisions Tetsuya Hisada -Michael Magnesi retains the IBO super featherweight title with first round victory over Khanyile Bulana -In Barcelona Sandor Martin outpoints Key Prospere in a European super light title defence and Andoni Gago is still European featherweight champion after a controversial technical draw against Gavin McDonnell with Kevin Lejarraga stopping Jez Smith. -Felix Cash stops Denzil Bentley to unify the British and Commonwealth middleweight titles and Callum Johnson returns with a win - Edgar Berlanga floors Demond Nicholson four times but has to go the full eight rounds as his streak of 16 consecutive first round wins comes to an end. World Title/Major Shows 24 April Kissimmee, FL, USA: Feather: Emanuel Navarrete (34-1) W TKO 12 Christopher Diaz (26-3). Super Light: Josue Vargas (19-1) W PTS 10 Willie Shaw (13-3). Super Middle; Edgar Berlanga (17-0) W PTS 8 Demond Nicholson (23-4-1). Light: Jamaine Ortiz (14-0-1) DREW 8 Joseph Adorno (14-0-2).Feather: Orlando Gonzalez (17-0) W PTS 8 Juan Antonio Lopez (15-9). Welter: Xander Zayas (8-0) W KO 1 Demarcus Layton (8-2-1). Navarrete vs. Diaz Navarrete stops challenger Diaz in the last round after an exciting title fight. Round 1 Good opening round for Navarette he was floating around the ring in his customary languid style poking jabs through Diaz’s guard and then unleashing a few powerful swings. Diaz was content to stay out of range but Navarette landed a couple of shots just before the bell. Score: 10-9 Navarrete Round 2 Better from Diaz. He dropped a couple of rights over the top of lazy jabs from Navarrete then used quick lateral movement to avoid Navarrete’s attempts to close him down and landed a couple of nice hooks. Score: 10-9 Diaz TIED 19-19 Round 3 Total change of pace by Navarrete. He was quickly closing Diaz down and connecting with hooks and uppercuts. Navarrete kept pressing firing lots of punches. Navarrete is so unconventional the Diaz could never be sure what punch would be coming from where. Diaz regrouped and attacked at the end of the round but already there was a swelling under his right eye. Score: 10-9 Navarrete Navarrete 29-28 Round 4 Diaz was having a good round. Fast movement was frustrating Navarrete’s attempts to close him down and connected with a couple of crisp left hooks. Then suddenly it was not such a good round for Diaz. Navarrete started to throw a right and then instead let fly with a left hook and his feet were almost off the ground when it landed but it sent Diaz down. He got up and then dropped down on one knee before getting up at eight. He stepped in close to Navarrete and punched with him to the bell. Score: 10-8 Navarette Navarrete 39-36 Official Scores: Judge Christopher Flores 39-36 Navarrete, Judge Patricia Moses Jarman 39-36 Navarrete, Judge Alex Levin 39-36 Navarrete. Round 5 An entertaining round. Showing no ill effects from the knockdown Diaz set out to control the action. He was quicker and was looking to exchange punches with Navarrete and connected with some good hooks. Navarrete spent most of the round on the back foot but again when he landed his power showed but Diaz just edge the round. Score: 10-9 Diaz Navarrete 48-46 Round 6 Another action-filled found. Diaz was taking the fight to Navarrete. He was forcing Navarrete onto the back foot walking through Navarrete’s counters and scoring with hooks to the body inside. Navarrete was landing heavy counters but could not keep Diaz out and Diaz rocked him a couple of times. Diaz was warned for kidney punches. Score: 10-9 Diaz Navarette 57-56 Round 7 The pace stayed hot as Diaz continued to try to walk through Navarrete but this time Navarrete was meeting him with bursts of counters. Diaz shrugged them off but in a clinch he again landed a punch to the kidney’s of Navarrete and the referee deducted a point*. Diaz was relentless but he was paying a price for his aggression and by the end of the round he was like a guy walking into a storm and being buffeted by the wind. Score: 10-9 (10-8*) Navarrete Navarrete 67-64 Round 8 Navarrete started the round with a series of long swinging hooks but again Diaz moved in close trying to deny Navarrete the room he needed for those dangerous long shots. Diaz was having some success but then Navarrete unleashed a salvo of hook and uppercuts and Diaz dropped to the canvas. Diaz was up at eight but a storm of punches from Navarrete forced him to his knees. He arose at eight and was now showing a gash under his left eye. There were only ten seconds left in the round but instead of trying to clinch Diaz traded punches with Navarrete. Score: 10-7 Navarrete Navarrete 77-71 Official Scores: Judge Christopher Flores 79-69 Navarrete, Judge Patricia Moses Jarman 78-70 Navarrete, Judge Alex Levin 78-70 Navarrete. Round 9 Navarrete raked Diaz with punches early in the round but Diaz showed no sign of caving in and connected with some good hooks. Navarrete was fighting in bursts and in the act of throwing a combination he tumbled backwards to the floor. Not really surprising as Navarrete must have the worst footwork of any champion and poor balance. He was soon on the attack again with Diaz standing up well to the pressure. Score: 10-9 Navarrete Navarrete 87-80 Round 10 Diaz seemed to have recovered from the horrors of the seventh round and he outworked Navarrete getting in close and hooking to the body. Navarrete just let his punches go in isolated bunches and effectively took a breather. Score: 10-9 Diaz Navarrete 96-90 Round 11 Diaz was bouncing around as if it was the first round. He was darting in firing hooks and then tying Navarrete up inside. Navarrete put together some nice sequences of punches but Diaz simply outworked him. Score: 10-9 Diaz Navarrete 105-100 Round 12 Diaz came out throwing punches and Navarrete again found himself on the back foot as Diaz dug in with hooks to the body but then the energy seemed to drain from Diaz. Despite that he kept moving forward throwing tired punchers and Navarrete was also slowing. It looked as though this one was going the distance until Navarrete scored with two clubbing rights to the head. A left hook had Diaz stumbling and almost going down. Navarrete had Diaz’s head bouncing around with punches from both hands. The referee looked ready to step in when Diaz stumbled to one side and a push from Navarrete sent him to the canvas. The referee could have stopped it but he gave Diaz a count. Diaz was up at seven and looked in a bad way. Initially the referee stepped back to let the fight continue but then rightly decided to stop the fight. Navarrete was making the first defence of the WBO title with win No 29 by KO/TKO. Some sources say 28 but he scored a stoppage in a non-title fight in Mexico City in June last year but as it was not under the Commission there it shows as a No Decision). The featherweights are not one of the strongest divisions right now and I really can’t see his mandatory challenger James Dickens as any real threat to Navarrete. This was a highly entertaining fight due in no small part to the way the Diaz chose to take the fight to Navarrete and even in defeat the 26-year-old Puerto Rican must have boosted his stock. His other losses have been on points against Masayuki Ito for the vacant WBA super feather title and Shakur Stevenson. Vargas v. Shaw After an early scare southpaw Vargas settled into the fight and emerged a good winner. Vargas was coming forward confidently in the first when a right counter from Shaw had him staggering backwards. Shaw piled in throwing punches taking Vargas to the ropes and connecting with a series of punches. Vargas survived the storm and although Shaw remained dangerous on occasion Vargas controlled the rest of the fight. He was piercing Shaw’s guard with quick, accurate jabs and firing rapid lefts to the head. Shaw tried to counter but Vargas either used classy body movement to get around the punches or was stepping back quickly out of range. Shaw tried coming forward behind a high guard but uppercuts from Vargas quickly showed that was not a good idea. Vargas was just too quick for the one-paced Shaw and slowed Shaw with some juicy body shots. The fight became untidy late with too many clinches as they both tired. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92 for 22-year-old Puerto Rican Vargas. His only loss was a disqualification and he has won thirteen in a row with the last five all by decision. Shaw proved dangerous but limited. Berlanga vs. Nicholson It had to happen sometime and in his seventeenth fight Berlanga finally heard the bell to signal the start of the second round. He floored Nicholson four times but his streak of first round wins was snapped. In the first Berlanga was trying to line Nicholson up for some heavy rights but Nicholson moved well and had no real trouble getting through the first three minutes. Nicholson was looking to trade with Berlanga in the second and had some success. He went down under a shower of punches in the second but it looked more as though he tumbled forward rather than was knocked down. Berlanga piled on the punches but Nicholson survived. Nicholson was finding flaws in Berlanga’s defence in the fourth but went down again and this time it looked as though Berlanga threw him down. Berlanga was just too strong for Nicholson to really compete with. He showed no real respect for Berlanga’s reputation but he was the one who broke of the exchanges each time. A fierce attack from Berlanga had Nicholson reeling and going down for a third time in the fifth and taking some heavy punishment in the sixth and seventh. Berlanga came near to finishing it when he put Nicholson on the floor with a right in the eighth but Nicholson got up and was there at the bell. Scores 79-69 twice and 79-68 for Berlanga. Good experience for the 23-year-old. The 16 first round finishes had made it impossible to judge anything other than his power and it was evident here there was things that needed to be worked on. The only fighter to have beaten Nicholson inside the distance is Jesse Hart back in 2018. He had won five fights since then and proved a much needed test for Berlanga. Ortiz vs. Adorno A great little scrap sees Ortiz down twice but fight back hard and get a well deserved draw. Ortiz outboxed Adorno in the first before experiencing an almost disastrous second. Adorno connected with a savage left hook which had Ortiz bleeding heavily from a probably broken nose and then floored Ortiz with a vicious left hook. Ortiz made it through the round and then used his speed and better skills to get back into the fight and edge ahead. In the seventh an uppercut from Adorno sent Ortiz tumbling into the ropes which held him up resulting in Ortiz being counted. Ortiz had more left in the eighth but he could not claw back all of the points from the two knockdowns and had to settle for a majority draw with one judge having Ortiz the winner 76-74 and the other two scoring it 75-75. A loss to Gary Antuanne Russell at the US Trials prevented Ortiz from competing at the Rio Olympics and he showed some slick boxing here. Second successive draw for Adorno who had ended up all even against 14-7-3 Hector Garcia in January last year. Gonzalez vs. Lopez Puerto Rican Gonzalez also had an inside the distance streak ended in this fight as after ten wins by KO/TKO he had to go the full eight rounds for victory. Gonzalez took charge from the first but found fellow southpaw Lopez a better fighter than his record indicated. Gonzalez was sharper and outboxed Lopez over the first three rounds before rocking him with a blistering left in the fourth. Lopez just told Gonzalez to bring it on and they exchanged insults often. Lopez was strong and determined and opened a cut on the right cheek of Gonzalez in the sixth. He just could not match the hand speed of Gonzalez and was cut over his right late in the last round as Gonzalez fired his way to victory. Scores 79-73 twice and 78-74 for Gonzalez. The 25-year-old from Puerto Rico is making steady progress and a step up to ten rounds can’t be far away. Lopez is limited but tough and drops to 3-7 in his last ten outing. Zayas vs. Layton Zayas obliterates Layton in under a minute. Zayas came out throwing punches. Layton tried to keep him out with jabs but a booming left hook sent him into a corner and Zayas exploded with punches to head and body until another left hook sent Layton slumping to the canvas and he was counted out after just 56 seconds. The 18-year-old Puerto Rican gets his fifth first round win. No need to rush him but he needs some useful ring time. Layton never had a chance. Osaka, Japan: Light Fly: Kenshiro Teraji (18-0) W PTS 12 Tetsuya Hisada (34-11-2). In his first fight for sixteen months Teraji makes a successful defence of the WBC title with wide unanimous decision over a strong and gutsy Hisada. Round 1 Hisada made a confident start taking the fight to the champion and getting the better of the exchanges in a low key round. Score: 10-9 Hisada Round 2 Hisada continued to plunge forward with Teraji showcasing some slick skills. He was connecting with eye-catching rights and one of those landed and put Hisada on the floor. It was the first time Hisada had been dropped but he showed his fighting spirit by getting up and again taking the fight to Teraji. Score: 10-8 Teraji Teraji 19-18 Round 3 Hisada again showed some real aggression in this one. He piled on the pressure walking through counters from Teraji and scoring well to the body and outworking Teraji. Score: 10-9 Hisada TIED 28-28 Round 4 Teraji began to take control. Hisada found that even though he continued to have some success the speed and accuracy of Teraji’s work was giving him the edge and Teraji’s confidence was growing as he found the range after a slow start. Score: 10-9 Teraji Teraji 38-37 Official Scores: Judge Yoshikazu Furuta 38-37 Teraji, Judge Hisatoshi Miyazaki 38-37 Teraji, Judge Masahiro Noda 40-35 Teraji Round 5 This was the best round so far. Teraji continued to pick up the points with his classy boxing and sharp counters. Hisada was not letting Teraji have things all his own way and he had some success as he upped his pace to make it a close round but Teraji was doing most of the scoring. Score: 10-9 Teraji Teraji 48-46 Round 6 Hisada was not letting up and again he attacked hard scoring with hooks and overhand rights. Teraji had upped his pace and he made Hisada pay for his aggression with some great counters and put together some exciting combinations and landed hurtful body punches. Score: 10-9 Teraji Teraji 58-55 Round 7 It was a case of for round 7 see round 6. Hisada was putting in a great effort expending lots of energy but the classy work from Teraji meant that Hisada saw very little reward for his efforts as Teraji was superior in defence and attack and although Hisada was making the rounds close he just could not find a way to win one. Score: 10-9 Teraji ` Teraji 68-64 Round 8 Another round for Teraji. He was outboxing Hisada and had more power. More and more Teraji was raking Hisada with body punches and although Hisada seemed to just absorb them and kept coming you had to feel they were having an effect. Score: 10-9 Teraji Teraji 78-73 Official Scores: Judge Yoshikazu Furuta 78-73 Teraji, Judge Hisatoshi Miyazaki 78-73 Teraji, Judge Masahiro Noda 79-72 Teraji Round 9 Teraji continued to target Hisada’s body and the cumulative effect of that assault began to show in the round. Hisada was still full of aggression but his output dropped. Teraji dominated the action piercing the challengers guard with jabs and those body punches and it became to some extent a case of whether Hisada would make it to the final bell. Score: 10-9 Teraji Teraji 88-82 Round 10 Easily Teraji’s round as Hisada looked to be fading giving Teraji more room to set himself for his punches. He was scoring consistently to head and body whereas Hisada was unable to sustain his aggression and was no real threat to the champion. Score: 10-9 Teraji Teraji 98-91 Round 11 One thing Hisada still had was determination and he dredged up some energy to again be piling forward but that only made Teraji’s job easier as Hisada was right there in front of him. Teraji finished the round strongly making Hisada wince with a body punch and banging home some savage head punches. Score: 10-9 Teraji Teraji 108-100 Round 12 Hisada went down fighting. He once again drove forward with Teraji having to adjust to facing a rejuvenated challenger and a level of pressure that he had not had to deal with over the last four rounds. Teraji rose to the challenge and again the quality and accuracy of his punches more than offset Hisada’s brave final fling and Teraji took the round. Score: 10-9 Teraji Teraji 118-109 Official Scores: Judge Yoshikazu Furuta 118-109 Teraji, Judge Hisatoshi Miyazaki 118-109 Teraji, Judge Masahiro Noda 119-108 Teraji The 29-year-old Teraji was making the eighth defence of the WBC title. He has a complete set having won the WBC Youth, Japanese and OPBF titles. Fourteen of his eighteen fights have been title fights and he has the ability to unify the four versions of the title if the fights can be made. He is the son of a former Japanese middle and OPBF light heavyweight champion so quite a physical difference between father and son. Originally Teraji fought as Ken Shiro with the name taken from a famous manga character but under any name he is a very talented performer. At 36 it may be the end of the line for Hisada, a former Japanese champion, he lost to Hiroto Kyoguchi for the WBA title in his last fight in October 2019 so it might be a good time to put the gloves away as he is unlikely to get another shot. Sydney, Australia: Heavy: Paul Gallen (11-0-1) W TKO 1 Lucas Browne (29-3). Gallen blasts out Browne in less than two minutes. Browne came out poking and prodding with his left using his height and longer reach to force Gallen back to the ropes. Brown let fly with a couple of punches to the head but Gallen turned Browne to the ropes and then landed a series of rights that put Browne down. He was up at four and when the eight count was completed Browne tried to stand and punch with Gallen but Gallen staggered him with a right and then kept pounding Browne with rights until Browne went down again. Although he staggered to his feet the referee had waived the fight over after just 1:55. Sixth inside the distance for the 39-year-old Australian Rugby League player Gallen. He was giving away 7” in height and 33lbs but the 42-year-old Browne was pathetic and the win said more about Browne than Gallen who is tremendously strong but has only rudimentary technique. Nine of his victim had only five wins between them and the draw was three fights ago against 44-year-old Barry Hall who was having his only pro fight. Brown, a former holder of the secondary WBA title, had been knocked out in three rounds by Dave Allen in April 2019. 20 April Los Angeles, CA, USA: Light: Frank Martin (13-0) W TKO 7 Jerry Perez (13-0). Light Heavy: Marcus Browne (24-1) W PTS 10 Denis Grachev (20-13-1). Martin vs. Perez Martin, an outstanding amateur continues his progress for pay as he stops unbeaten Perez in seven rounds. Perez got through with some hard rights in the first but Martin took over from the second. The Detroit-born southpaw found the target regularly with lefts and used clever movement to spin away from Perez’s attacks. Perez upped his pace in a competitive fifth but he was rocked by a left from Martin late in the round. It was over in the seventh as Martin put Perez down with a left hook. Perez beat the count but was taking punishment when the referee stopped the fight. Both fighters were moving up to ten round level for the first time. Martin, 26, a National Golden Gloves gold medallist and a silver medal winner at the US National Championships gets his tenth inside the distance victory. Californian Perez had registered ten inside the distance wins but did not have to skills or power of Martin. Browne vs. Grachev In his first fight for twenty months Brown wins every round against Grachev. Scores 100-90 on the three cards for Browne. He will now be aiming to work his way back to a return with Jean Pascal who floored him three times before a cut brought their fight for the interim WBA title to a halt with Pascal winning a technical decision and taking Browne’s title. The 30-year-old New Yorker is No 2 with the WBC with curiously the WBA secondary champion Pascal at No 1 with the WBC so a return is certainly on the cards. Also curious is that this fight received no coverage and no publicity. Russian Grachev at 38 is on the other side of the hill with just one win in his last seven fights. 21 April Sydney, Australia: Super Feather: Liam Wilson (9-0) W PTS 10 Francis Chua (8-2-1). Super Feather: Bruno Tarimo (26-2-2) W PTS 10 Kye MacKenzie (21-3). Welter: Steve Spark (12-1) W PTS 8 Jack Brubaker (16-4-2). Welter: Leonardo Zappavigna (38-4) W TKO 3 Danny Kennedy (9-3-1). Wilson vs. Chua Wilson continues his progress with points victory over southpaw Chua. Wilson had plenty of height and reach over Chua and a much higher level of skills. He was switching guards and slotting punches home. Chua was cut in the second but just kept throwing punch after punch to make the third close. Wilson was finding the target with left hooks. He rocked Chua badly in the fourth and by the fifth there was some concern over Chua’s injury. Chua looked to have shaken Wilson in the eighth but Wilson was the one doing the major share of the scoring in the ninth and neither had much left for the last round as the fight petered out. Scores 98-92 twice and 97-94 for Wilson. A clear win for the Australian No 1 but not a hot performance from Wilson who stated after the fight that he had injured his hand in the third round. The 25-year-old remains one of the best prospects in Australia. Chua, the Australian No 6, was too small and did not have the power to match Wilson but he showed plenty of guts. Tarimo vs. MacKenzie Relocating to Australia has been a great career move for little Tarimo as he gets another outstanding win by decisioning the much taller MacKenzie. Tarimo just kept coming and was busier and more accurate. MacKenzie never used his physical advantages and Tarimo emerged a wide winner despite being deducted a point in the eighth for a low punch. Scores 97-92 twice and 96-93 for the 25-year-old Tanzanian who has taken Australian citizenship and is No 3 in the National rankings. He is 5-0-1Tec Draw in his last six fights including wins over Joel Brunker and Nathaniel May. He was defending the IBF International title and wins the vacant IBO Inter-Continental belt. MacKenzie had lost and won against Francis Chua and was having his first fight since November 2019 and this is a big setback for him. Spark vs. Brubaker Spark gets off the floor to score wide decision over more experienced Brubaker. Brubaker got a great start flooring Spark with a right in the first but then Spark began to connect with some strong rights to the head and took rounds two and three to even the scoring. Spark took the fourth to move ahead and then totally dominated the fifth and never let Brubaker into the fight after that. Scores: 77-74 twice and 80-72 for Spark. The 24-year-old Queenslander, a former undefeated Australian super lightweight champion, lost on a majority decision in China in his second professional fight but has put together an impressive run including eight inside the distance wins in a row before this contest. He is No 1 in the Australian National Boxing Federation rankings. Two losses in succession for Brubaker but sixteen months apart as he was stopped in four rounds by Tim Tszyu in December 2019. Zappavigna vs. Kennedy Zappavigna eases his way back into action with a third round stoppage of overmatched Kennedy. First fight since June 2018 for the 33-year-old former Australian and IBO champion and IBF title challenger. He had announced his retirement after taking a beating from Alex Saucedo. He would be giving away a bit of weight against Tim Tszyu might it might be a fight that could be made but Zappavigna would be an outsider if it came off. Kennedy, born in Jersey in the Channel Islands, had been stopped in the tenth round by Ben Kite in an Australian welterweight title fight in December. Tokyo, Japan: Super Welter: Hironobu Matsunaga (18-1) W PTS 10 Rei Nakajima (4-1). Super Feather: Reiya Abe (21-3-1) W TEC DEC 7 Koshin Takeshima (4-2-1). Matsunaga vs. Nakajima Matsunaga remains Japanese champion but had to fight hard to retain his title. Nakajima was quick and accurate early but the more experienced Matsunaga made good use of his longer reach and pressed hard upsetting Nakajima’s tactics and had edged in front on all three cards after five rounds at 48-47 twice and 49-46. Nakajima just could not break Matsunaga’s stranglehold on the fight and despite a big effort in the ninth he could not close the gap. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94. Third defence of the title for southpaw Matsunaga, 33, and his twelfth win in a row. Nakajima was in his first ten round fight and the experience will be good for him. Abe vs. Takeshima Abe gets unanimous technical decision over Takeshima. The first round went to Takeshima but little else went his way. A clash of heads saw him cut in the second and Abe scored a knockdown in the third. Takeshima was cut again in the fourth and just could not settle. He was outboxed by clever southpaw Abe and also deducted a point for holding in the seventh and later in the round the fight was stopped due to his cuts. Scores 68-63, 68-64 and 67-64 for Abe. He is No 3 in the Japanese ratings No 3 and has drawn and lost in shots at the National title. Takeshima lacked the experience to deal with Abe and suffers his second loss in a row. 22 April West Point, NY, USA: Super Light: Juan Romero (14-0) W PTS 10 Deiner Berrio (22-3-1). Welter: Angel Ruiz (17-1) W PTS 8 Bobirzhan Mominov (12-1). Super Middle: Christian Mbilli (18-0) W TKO 5 Jesus Gutierrez (27-5-2). Romero vs. Berrio In the first post-COVD show in New York State Mexican Olympian Romero takes unanimous verdict over Colombian Berrio. In the opening round Romero was using his big advantages in height and reach crowding Berrio and doing the scoring. In the second Romero again controlled the action but suffered a cut over his right. Romero continued to get the best of the exchanges but Berrio although outworked fired back with some dangerous overhand rights. A sustained attack in the fifth had Berrio looking to be tiring but the Colombian stayed in the fight. Romero outlanded Berrio in the sixth and seventh but Berrio fought back hard over the last three rounds to make those rounds close. Scores 98-92 to Romero on the cards of the three judges. Romero, 31, a soldier in the Mexican Army, competed in the World Championships and 2016 Olympics and was a series winner in the WSB but did not turn pro until he was 27. He has been given some good tests and come through them but the clock is ticking for him. “Monster” Berrio was 20-0-1 before back-to-back losses in Russia. He came in at just one week’s notice for this fight. Ruiz vs. Mominov Mild upset as Ruiz fights his way through a few low punches to score two knockdowns and take the unanimous decision. Mominov worked his way into a lead taking the fight to Ruiz but the fight turned in the fifth. Mominov had been guilty of going low with his punches and he did it one time too many in the fifth. Ruiz was given time to recover and the referee took a point off Mominov and to complete the turnaround Ruiz floored Mominov just before the bell to end the round. Mominov stormed his way through the sixth but any claw back that spell earned him disappeared when he was dropped by a left in the seventh. The Kazak attacked hard through the eighth but could not close the gap. Scores 76-73 twice and 75-74 for Ruiz showing how the deduction and two knockdowns cost Mominov victory. Mexican southpaw Ruiz was having his first outing since being stopped in two rounds by Javier Flores in October 2019. Californian-based Mominov, a former World Military Champion, will bounce back to the winning column soon but he needs to clean up his act. Mbilli vs. Gutierrez OK I am high on “Solide” Mbilli and he was impressive here in destroying Mexican Gutierrez. He was giving away height and reach to the 5’11” Gutierrez who tried to pressure Mbilli from the start but Gutierrez could not match the strength of the Cameroon-born Frenchman as they went toe-to-toe over four rounds. Mbilli ended it in the fifth with two knockdowns. A couple of heavy rights and two uppercuts put Gutierrez down for the first time and he only just made it to his feet. He chose to try to punch with Mbilli but a right and a left to the head dropped him again and the referee did not bother with a count. The 25-year-old hope has only been taken the distance once as a pro. He won gold medals at the European Youth and European Union Championships. He also scored three wins over England’s Anthony Fowler but lost to eventual gold medallist Arlen Lopez at the 2016 Olympics. Gutierrez was beaten inside the distance in consecutive fights by Steven Butler and Esquiva Falcao but had won his last two fights. 23 April Zagarolo, Italy: Super Feather: Michael Magnesi (19-0) W KO 1 Khanyile Bulana (12-1). Magnesi retains the IBO title with controversial first round stoppage of Bulana. The Challenger was much taller with a longer reach and he started well enough with some jabs until pressure from Magnesi put him on the back foot. Magnesi tracked Bulana around the ring with Bulana throwing punches as Magnesi marched forward. Magnesi caught up with Bulana and connected with a couple of rights to the head and as Bulana backed out the of exchange Magnesi clipped him with another right to the chin. The South African went down on his back but quickly arose to a kneeling position not looking at all distressed and watching the count. He seemed to be at nine but the referee decided he had arisen too late and indicated he had counted Bulana out. There was some confusion with Magnesi going over to Bulana and shrugging his shoulders as if to indicate he did not think the count had been completed but the fight was over. First defence of the IBO title for the 26-year-old “Lone Wolf” and his sixth inside the distance win on the trot. Bulana, the South African No 2, was having his first fight since September 2019. He did not look to have the power to keep Magnesi out but it was an unsatisfactory ending. Barcelona, Spain: Super Light: Sandor Martin (38-2) W PTS 12 Key Prosper (14-2-1). Feather: Andoni Gago (24-3-4) TEC DRAW 5 Gavin McDonnell (22-2-2). Super Welter: Kevin Lejarraga (32-2) W TKO 7 Jez Smith (12-3-1). Feather: Bernard Torres (14-0) W KO 2 Anuar Salas (20-9-1). Martin vs. Prosper Martin remains European champion with unanimous points victory over Prosper in a fight night sold as Spain vs. England. Southpaw Martin had everything going for him skill, speed, accuracy, great defensive moves and experience. Southpaw Prosper exerted plenty of pressure and some less acceptable tactics to try to complicate things for Martin but had very little success. Martin outboxed Prosper over the first two rounds and rocked him in the third. Prosper kept taking the fight to Martin and had some success particularly in the eighth when he was able to make Martin stand and trade. He then undid his work as in quick succession he was deducted a point for low punches and another for hitting to the back of Martin’s head although neither deduction looked justified. Sheer aggression landed Prosper a couple of rounds but Martin was masterful in his control of the fight and a good winner. Scores 119-107, 117-109 and 117-110 for Martin. Nine consecutive wins for Martin and a second successful defence of the European title. The only loss he has suffered in his last 24 fights was on points against Antony Yigit in 2017. He is rated No 7 by both the WBA and WBC so like many other super lights he is waiting to see what shakes out from the unification fight next month between Josh Taylor and Juan Carlos Ramirez. For Luton’s Prosper (Kayamba Prospere), the English champion, this fight has come too early in his career but at 36 it was a chance he had to take even though he lacked the experience to really threaten Martin. He will go back to domestic fights and rebuild. Gago vs. McDonnell Gago retains the European title with controversial majority technical draw against McDonnell. There was a total contrast in styles here. The much taller McDonnell wanted to box on the outside and the smaller, aggressive Gago was launching lunging attack to force McDonnell to the ropes where he could then work on the Englishman’s body. McDonnell emerged from an exchange in the first with a cut over his right eye which the referee ruled as having resulted from a clash of heads but with some protesting it was a punch that did the damage. Gogo attacked constantly if not always accurately hustling McDonnell out of his stride. Gago threw more and landed more with the quality rather than quantity coming from McDonnell. The doctor inspected McDonnell’s cut in the fourth round but allowed the fight to continue until the bell and then before there was any action in the fifth the doctor ruled the cut too bad for McDonnell continue with the fifth round being scored 10-1 it went to the judge's cards and they returned scores of 48-48, 48-48 and 50-46 for McDonnell resulting in a majority draw which incensed Spanish sources as they saw Gago as a clear winner and he certainly seemed to have done most of the scoring. Gago was making the first defence of the European title and an 8-0-1 run had seen him rated IBF 6(5)/WBC 14. McDonnell has lost in fights at super bantamweight for both the vacant WBC title where he dropped a majority decision against Rey Vargas and the WBA title where he was stopped in ten rounds by Daniel Roman. This was his first fight for 16 months. Hopefully there will be a return and normally the champion would want that in his home territory but that did not work out well for Gago here. Lejarraga vs. Smith Lejarraga gets off the canvas twice to stop Smith. Smith boxed well over the first two rounds but was under relentless pressure from the strong Lejarraga. That changed dramatically in the third when a right uppercut from Smith put Lejarraga down heavily. He made it so his feet and managed to survive to the bell although he was now showing a swelling by his right eye. Lejarraga came back strongly in the fourth only to be put down for a second time. Lejarraga had difficulty landing anything of consequence in the fifth due the good defensive work of Smith but the fight changed again in the sixth. A focused body attack from Lejarraga had its effect and Smith was the one visiting the floor. Lejarraga attacked a tiring Smith in the seventh ramming home body punches with Smith doubled over trying to smoother the shots until the referee stopped the fight. The stoppage looked very premature and Smith protested. The Basque “Revolver” gets win No 25 by KO/TKO but this fight illustrated his strength in attack and his weakness in defence which were already evidenced by his two inside the distance losses to David Avanesyan. Smith came very close to an upset here but instead suffers his third inside then distance defeat in his last four contests. Torres vs. Salas Norwegian based-born in the Philippines and fighting in Spain but above all successful that’s Bernard Angelo Torres. The 24-year-old southpaw registered another win last night in Barcelona. He floored Colombian Anuar Salas with a right in the first round and staggered him badly with another punch in the second and the referee stopped the fight to save Salas from further punishment. Promoted by Sergio “Maravilla Martinez” Torres is now 14-0 with 6 wins by KO/TKO. Salas is now 20-9-1 with 4 losses by KO/TKO. Canberra, Australia: Feather: Brock Jarvis (19-0) W TKO 6 Nort Beauchamp (18-4). Middle: Issac Hardman (9-0) W RTD 7 Mark Lucas (10-3). Super Feather: TC Priestley (4-4) W RTD 9 Ben Dencio (8-4). Jarvis vs. Beauchamp Jarvis makes it nineteen wins with stoppage of Beauchamp. Initially Jarvis looked to box at distance but as Beauchamp kept marching forward Jarvis decided to get down in the trenches with him in a competitive opening round. Jarvis scored with some savage rights and lefts in the second but they just bounced off Beauchamp who did not seem to possess a reverse gear. Beauchamp had some success as they fought inside in the third but was being hurt by body punches from Jarvis. Beauchamp managed to pin Jarvis to the ropes at the start of the fourth but by the end of the round Jarvis landed so many devastating shots it was a wonder Beauchamp was still on his feet. Jarvis upped his pace in the fifth again scoring heavily to the body with Beauchamp just hanging in the fight and no more. Jarvis continued to bombard Beauchamp with punches in the sixth shaking off Beauchamp’s desperate attempts to hold until the referee came in and stopped the fight despite vigorous protests from Beauchamp. The Jeff Fenech-trained Jarvis, 23, has to be one of the best prospects in Australia but he now needs to step up to a higher class of opponent. He was defending his WBO Global title and collected the vacant IBF Pan Pacific title in this fight. Seventeen of his nineteen wins have come by KO/TKO. Thai-born New Zealander Beauchamp has never been knocked down as an amateur or a pro and you could see why in the way he absorbed everything Jarvis threw at him but this is his second loss on the bounce. Hardman vs. Lucas Former MMA fighter Hardman stops Lucas in Australian title defence. Lucas was making the fight early as both landed some strong punches. Lucas kept pressing over the third and fourth but Hardman was boxing well and countering Lucas as he surged forward. It was still a close fight in the fifth but a clash of heads opened a cut over the left eye of Lucas. They both scored well in the sixth but the superior power of Hardman was obvious in the seventh as he handed out severe punishment to a fading Lucas and at the end of the round his corner pulled him out of the fight. The 24-year-old “The Headsplitter” from Brisbane has seven victories by KO/TKO. He won the national title with a majority verdict over more experienced Tej Pratap Singh in December and was also defending the IBF Australasian and WBO Oriental titles. First inside the distance defeat for Lucas who had outpointed former IBO champion Renald Quinlan in his last fight in October 2019. Priestley vs. Dencio Former Australian champion Priestley regains the title with second win over Dencio. This one was hard fought all the way. Each had good spells. Dencio was cut over his left eye in the second but it was not a factor in the fight. Not a great deal of skill but plenty of interchanges of heavy punches. The fight was posed to go either way after eight but Priestley broke though in the ninth. He staggered Dencio with a right and put him down with another right. Dencio managed to make it to his feet but after the referee gave him a cautionary look he decided Dencio was finished and stopped the fight. Priestley had stopped Dencio in seven rounds to win the vacant Australian title in April 2019 but never defended the title and it was declared vacant. Now 3 losses in his last 4 fights for local fighter Dencio Cordoba, Argentina: Super Welter: Diego Ramirez (23-4-1) W PTS 10 Maico Sommariva (9-3). Super Welter: Alejandro Silva (15-0-1) W TKO 4 Jonathan Wilson (18-5-1). Ramirez vs. Sommariva Ramirez moves through to the final of the Super Welter Super 8 tournament with split decision over Sommariva. This one was close until Sommariva faded late. Sommariva, the local fighter, made the better start putting Ramirez under pressure with Ramirez taking time to settle. As the fight developed the cleaner work, greater accuracy and extensive experience of Ramirez proved crucial and he staged a strong finish to take the split verdict. Scores of 97-93 ½ and 97-95 ½ to Ramirez and 97-95 ½ for Sommariva. Ramirez’s biggest victory was his second round stoppage of 28-2 Bradley Skeete in 2018 but consecutive defeats against Maximiliano Veron and Custio Clayton knocked him back and he only got through to the semi-final of the Super 8 on a technicality after drawing with Nicolas Palacios in the quarter finals. Sommariva had never been in a ten round fight before and that caught up with him late in this fight. Silva vs. Wilson Silva retains the Argentinian title and advances to the final of the Superb 8 tournament with stoppage of Sanchez. Outstanding performance from Silva as he was in charge from the start and floored Wilson in both the third and fourth rounds to force the stoppage. A savage left hook floored Wilson in the third and it was a series of punches that put him on the floor in the fourth. “The Raven” has now won his last 13 fights and will go on to face Ramirez in the final of the Tournament named The Miguel Angel Castellini Cup after the late WBA light middleweight champion who was a victim of COVID-19 last October. Silva won his quarter final when his opponent Gabriel Diaz was disqualified after biting a chunk out of Silva’’s arm. Wilson had won 6 out of his last 7 going into this fight and was making his second unsuccessful challenge for the Argentinian title. Vancouver, Canada: Cruiser: Ryan Rozicki (13-0) W TKO 6 Sylvera Louis (8-7). Moe Zawadi (1-0) W TKO 1 Olivier Tshitumba (1-1). Rozicki vs. Louis Rozicki gets another inside the distance win as he stops Louis in the sixth round. The 6’2”, 26-year-old from Nova Scotia has won all of his 13 fights by KO/TKO. Louis, 38, came in as a late substitute and now 5 of his 7 losses have come by KO/TKO. Zawadi vs. Tshitumba Canadian prospect Zawadi has his first pro fight and stops Tshitumba in the opening round. The 19-year-old from Ontario was Canadian Junior champion in 2017, Youth champion in 2018 and 2019 and won gold at the Canadian Winter Games so one to follow. Congolese boxer Tshitumba was having his first fight for four years. Gdansk, Poland: Cruiser: Youri Kayembre Kalenga (26-6) W KO 9 Michal Plesnik (9-5). Former interim WBA champion Kalenga dismantles Plesnik before ending things in the ninth. Kalenga’s timing was out but he was too strong for the Slovakian. Kalenga was credited with a dubious knockdown in the second but head punches caused two genuine knockdowns in the fourth and at the end of that round he was 40-33 up on the three cards. Plesnik did well to stay in the fight but by the end of the eighth he had tired badly. A well-timed left hook put Plesnik down in the ninth and the referee saw no need for a count. Kalenga wins the vacant WBC Francophone title with his nineteenth quick win. He is calling out WBC champion and fellow-DRC fighter Ilunga Makabu but is currently No 13 in their ratings and over the past five years has lost important fights against Denis Lebedev, Yuniel Dorticos, Kevin Lerena, Mateusz Masternak and Michal Cieslak so a win over Plesnik won’t make much of an impression. First inside the distance defeat for Plesnik who was way out of his league here. Belgrade, Serbia: Super Middle: Sergei Gorokhov (11-2-2) W TKO 10 Marko Nikolic (27-1). Very much an upset as unsung Russian Gorokhov stops Nikolic in the last round to snap the Serbian’s 27-bout winning run. Gorokhov connected with some eye-catching punches putting Nikolic in trouble early. Nikolic fought back hard from the third using his height and reach to outbox and outpunch Gorokhov and by the end of the ninth the local hero looked to have built a winning lead. Knowing he was losing Gorokhov launched a fierce attack and landed a succession of clubbing punches which had Nikolic stumbling and staggering and the referee stopped the fight with just 32 seconds remaining in the contest. After a poor start to his career the 31-year-old Gorokhov had put together a little unbeaten run of five wins and two draws but there was nothing to say he should have been a problem for Nikolic. He wins the vacant WBC International Silver title the first title of his career. Fireman Nikolic has been very carefully matched but they made a mistake this time. 24 April London. England: Middle: Felix Cash (14-0) W TKO 3 Denzel Bentley (14-1-1). Light Heavy: Callum Johnson (19-1) W TKO 2 Emil Markic (32-3). Cash vs. Bentley Cash stops Bentley in three rounds to unite the Commonwealth and British titles. A frantic start saw Bentley letting his fists fly but then be badly staggered by a right from Cash. Bentley recovered and showed some silky skills but was rocked a couple more times by Cash and who continued to hunt Bentley to the bell. There was plenty of movement and plenty of jabs from Bentley in the second but Cash continued to walk him down. Bentley boxed well and managed to avoid trouble but Cash looked dangerous with his overhand rights particularly as Bentley persistently held his left hand low. Cash caught up with Bentley in the third. He forced Bentley to the ropes and then connected with a series of head punches that had Bentley slumping and helpless and the referee made a good stoppage. Cash retains the Commonwealth title and takes Bentley’s British title with his tenth and most impressive win. Bentley had drawn with and then stopped Mark Heffron in 2020 and was No 9 with the WBO but he lacked the punch to keep Cash out and paid the price for that and a too casual defence. Johnson vs. Markic Johnson overwhelms Markic and batters him to defeat in two rounds. Johnson immediately jumped on Markic forcing him to the ropes and showered him with hooks to the body. Markic managed to get off the ropes but Johnson continued to find the target with hooks. Johnson was rolling forward when a right from Markic saw Johnson sag at the knees and almost go down. He staggered back and Markic went after him throwing punches but Johnson recovered and soon had Markic trapped on the ropes again and under fire. Markic boxed well at the start of the second but Johnson quickly took control and had Markic pinned against the ropes and landed a series of lefts to the head until Markic slumped to the floor and the referee stopped the fight. First fight for Johnson since beating Sean Monaghan in three rounds in February 2019 but obviously no sign of rust. His only loss is a fourth round kayo by Artur Beterbiev for the IBF title in October 2018. The long period out has seen him drop in the ratings and miss a chance to fight for the European title so he will want to keep active with fellow-Brits Lyndon Arthur, Anthony Yarde, Joshua Buatsi, Craig Richards and MTK Global tournament winner Ricards Bolotniks all rated. Bosnian Markic, 38, was rated No 15 by the WBO but he could not cope with the power and aggression of Johnson and he was not rated in the top 15 in the EBU ratings. Gqeberha, South Africa: Fly: Jackson Chauke (20-1-1) W PTS 12 Luyanda Ntwanambi (7-1-1). Super Fly: Yanga Sigqibo (15-1-1) W PTS 12 Jerald Paclar (15-5-3). Light Fly: Sivenathi Nontshinga (10-0) W PTS 10 Christian Araneta (19-2). Feather: Lerato Dlamini (15-1) W PTS 10 Hassam Milanzi (9-0-1). Chauke vs. Ntwanambi Chauke takes a majority verdict over Ntwanambi to retain the South African title and get his hands on the WBO Global title. Ntwanambi defied his lack of experience to run Chauke very close and survived a knockdown to be fighting hard to the last bell. Scores 116-111 and 115-112 for Chauke and 114-114.Ten wins in a row now for 35-year-old Chauke. After twelve years as a pro Chauke will be hoping to get a shot at champion Junto Nakatani although he was rated No 13 and Ntwanambi was unrated before this fight. Ntwanambi was having his first fight since September 2019. Sigqibo vs. Paclar Sigqibo holds on to the WBO Inter-Continental belt as he finishes in front on all three cards. Paclar gave Sigqibo a tough fight getting past the extended reach of the South African and applying persistent pressure. Sigqibo was on the canvas three times but two were slips and the other came from a punch to the back of Sigqibo’s head so none of them counted. The South African boxed cleverly against the aggressive Filipino and just deserved his victory but the fight was closer than the scores made it look as Sigqibo won on tallies of 116-112 twice and 116-113. It is now twelve wins on the trot for Sigqibo and his third successful defence of the WBO Inter-Continental title. He is No 4 in the WBO ratings and with the WBC tournament sweeping up No 1 Srisaket and No 3 Roman Gonzalez Sigqibo might even get a call to challenge champion Kazuto Ioka. Paclar was having his fight for seventeen months and was unbeaten in eight before this fight. Nontshinga vs. Araneta Nontshinga survives a late knockdown to win a close unanimous verdict over Filipino Araneta. Both are reputed punchers but instead of a slugging match both showed they could box and the fight was interesting rather than exciting. There was never much of a gap between them and it looked as though a knockdown scored by southpaw Araneta in the twelfth might get him the win but the judges saw Nontshinga as the victor. Scores 114-113 twice and 115-112 for Nontshinga. The South African “Special One” at 4’11” always has to find a way to overcome that handicap. He was No 3 with the IBF with the first two spots vacant and this win over No 4 rated Araneta clears the way to make him mandatory challenger to champion Felix Alvarado. Araneta’s only other loss was a retirement after four rounds against Mexican Daniel Valladares in 2019 but he rebounded with two wins in 2020. Dlamini vs. Milanzi Dlamini returns with a win as he outpoints Zimbabwean Milanzi. The WBC No 3 holds the WBC Silver title which he won in Jeddah in July 2019 by outclassing 15-0 Filipino David Penalosa so will be hoping to get a title shot sometime this year or early next. He took a unanimous decision here and after losing his first pro fight has run up 15 consecutive victories. Milanzi had been inactive for 19 months. Hamburg, Germany: Light: Artem Harutyunyan (10-0) W PTS 12 Vladyslav Melnyk (13-4). Heavy: Senad Gashi (21-3) W KO 3 Dominic Vial (6-1). Harutyunyan vs. Melnyk Harutyunyan collects the WBA International title with very narrow split decision over Melnyk. This was Harutyunyan’s first fight for fifteen months and it showed as Melnyk went ahead over the early action. Harutyunyan fought his way back into contention over the middle rounds but seemed to fade late and looked a lucky winner. Scores 115-113 and 115-114 for Harutyunyan and 115-113 for Melnyk. The 30-year-old Armenian-born German won a bronze medal in Rio. He had broken his hand twice in training and had moved down to lightweight so there were some excuses for his indifferent performance. Melnyk was a substitute for a substitute. The 22-year-old Ukrainian has kept busy with this his fifth fight in the last nine months. He is now 2-3 in those fights but deserved at least a draw in this one. Gashi vs. Vial Gashi registers yet another inside the distance win as he hammers overmatched Vial. Gashi had no problem getting through the longer reach of Vial of the 6” taller Vial and Vial’s 310lbs was more of as handicap than a help to him. Gash regularly connected with rights to the head until Vial fell in the third and with his girth there was no way he was going to get up. The Kosovon-born German was carefully guided to a 17-1 record but consecutive losses against Carlos Takam (TKO 7) and Dereck Chisora (wide points) marked his ceiling. This is his fourth inside the distance victory since his loss to Chisora with all 21 wins coming by KO/TKO. Vial had won his last five fights on stoppages all against opposition with negative records. Ginowan, Okinawa: Bantam: Ryosuke Nishida (4-0) W PTS 12 Daigo Higa (17-2-1). Newcomer Nishida breaks through in a big way with wide unanimous decision over former WBC flyweight champion Higa to win the WBO Asia Pacific title. Nishida was just too big for Higa. He was coming down from super bantam and Higa was coming up from flyweight and Nishida had a much longer reach and was 4” taller. Nishida used his southpaw jab to control the action over the opening three rounds. Higa, fighting in front of his own fans, managed to get inside over the fourth and fifth but Nishida matched him there. All of Higa’s wins have come inside the distance but he did not have the same power in this division and Nishida boxed coolly and continually scored with accurate counters never letting Higa get a toe-hold in the fight. Scores 117-111 twice and 118-110 for Nishida. In his last fight Nishida, 24, had outpointed former WBO bantamweight title challenger Shohei Omori so a meteoric rise as he will now be looking to crash the world ratings. Higa fell from grace when he failed to make the weight for a defence of the WBC title in 2018. The fight went ahead and Cristofer Rosales stopped Higa to become the new champion. Higa was suspended by the Japanese Board with the suspension ending in October 2019 but Higa had failed to impress in going 2-0-1 since then. Culiacan, Mexico: Super Light: Erik Leon (14-1-1) W TKO 5 Adalberto Moreno (12-4). Leon vs. Moreno Power showing from Leon as he stops Moreno in the fifth round. Leon’s only loss had been on points so he was not about to leave this one to the judges. Moreno was not one to take a step back and he paid for that as he tried to match Leon punch for punch. Leon scored three knockdown before ending it in the fifth round. As they traded punches a booming left cross dropped Moreno flat on his back and his corner immediately threw in the towel. Thirteenth inside the distance win for the tall, 27-year-old Venezuelan. He is now 2-1-1 in 4 fights in Mexico. Naturally being Venezuelan his record back there was rubbish with his twelve victims having combined record of 11-90. Moreno just a 4 and 6 round prelim fighter but he had scored more wins than all eleven of Leon’s opponent in Venezuela combined. Hermosillo, Mexico: Feather: Bryan Acosta (15-0,1ND) W PTS 10 Diego Andrade Jr (12-4-2). Neighbourhood fighter Acosta continues his unbeaten run with a unanimous points win over Diego Andrade. Score 97-93 twice and 98-92 for Acosta. Second win this year for the 22-year-old “Latino” who holds the WBC Fecarbox title. Andrade was coming off an important win over 29-1-2 Jorge Lara in December. Bangkok, Thailand: Light Heavy: Teerachai (45-1 W RTD 6 Sirimongkhol (97-5). Teerachai retains the WBA Asia title with win over fellow-Thai Sirimongkhol. Teerachai, 29 was just too young (relatively) fnisor super veteran Sirimongkhol, 43, who used his vast experience to compete until retiring with a shoulder injury after the sixth round. Teerachai was knocked out in eight rounds by Lucas Matthysse in a fight for the secondary WBA welterweight title in 2018. Sirimongkhol was WBC bantamweight at super featherweight ages ago. Fight of the week (Significance): Emanuel Navarrete vs. Christopher Diaz Fight of the week (Entertainment): Navarrete vs. Diaz gets the nod with a honourable mention to the battle between Jermaine Ortiz and Joseph Adorno Fighter of the week: Navarrete as he again shows he has the power to crush the best with an honourable mention to Kenshiro Teraji for his eighth title defence Punch of the week: The left hook from Erik Leon that flattened Adalberto Moreno was impressive Upset of the week: Ryosuke Nishida (3-0) beating former world flyweight titlist Daigo Higa has to count as an upset. Prospect watch: Lightweight Frank Martin 13-0 is progressing well. Observations It is amazing how Emanuel Navarrete makes so many mistakes and has so many faults and yet it all work for him. I wonder what it must be like to train a fighter who breaks all of the rules on how to box. If you want an example of how the COVID-19 can affect a boxer you just have to look at Teerachai. In November 2019 he was a super welterweight and in his next fight in December 2020 he was a light heavyweight! There is no way that Thai Sirimongkhol will ever get voted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has been a pro for almost 17 years. He won two world titles one at bantamweight and one at super featherweight. He has had 102 fights with a 97-5 record. He turned pro as a flyweight and in 2018 won the Thai light heavyweight title and is still fighting at 43. A real Puerto Rican fiesta on the Top Rank show in Kissimmee with a Puerto Rican or a fighter of Puerto Rican descent in every fight Nationalities were also the feature of two other shows with the two European title fights and Kevin Lejarraga vs. Jez Smith publicised as Spain vs. England and the show in South Africa billed as South Africa vs. Philippines. Not exactly local rivalries but if helps to sell tickets go for it. Good to see a live crowd for the Top Rank show. We are getting there gradually. |
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