The most significant fight for us on Friday was in Argentina as Juan Carlos Reveco (34-1, 18) successfully defended his WBA Flyweight title with a very, very hard fought victory over Felix Alvarado (18-2, 15). The bout was almost everything we enjoy, it had action, it had both men unloading, it had exchanges and it had momentum shifts that saw the bout swinging one way and then the other.
Unfortunately for Alvarado he wasn't quite able to over-come Reveco's home field advantage and, after having 2 points deducted, he fell just short of the victory that would have boosted him into the mix at the top of the division. Alvarado, who had previously lost in a world title fight last year to Kazuto Ioka, looked an improved fighter to the one who fought Ioka. Whilst still overly aggressive Alvarado seemed more refined here as he took the fight to Reveco and hurt him several times in a fight that will see some Nicaraguan fans calling for a rematch. For Reveco however a rematch will be the last thing on his mind and he has already been linked to fights with Kazuto Ioka, Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep, Noknoi Sithipraset and Suguru Muranaka. Certainly some options out there for the defending champion. Whilst the Flyweight title bout was the most significant it was far from the only on of note with a notable Heavyweight bout taking place in France. This bout, for the WBC Heavyweight Silver title, saw the French based Carlos Takam (30-1-1, 23) announcing himself on the world stage with a very impressive victory over former 2-time world title challenger Tony Thompson (39-5, 26). Takam should the advantages of youth and aggression as he out worked Thompson who really did look his age for the first time. Thompson, who came into this bout on the back of a victory over Odlanier Solis, will now likely forget his dream of having another world title fight and instead look to get the best paydays before he waves good buy to the sport. One other bout that caught our eye was in the US as former amateur stand out Ievgen Khytrov (5-0, 5) stopped Chris Chatman (12-4-1, 5). The knockout was a thing of beauty from the highly Khytrov, though we can't help but think he's regressed since turning professional. He still appears to be a very physically strong fighter but his skills have certainly gone backwards since his days of winning the 2011 World Amateur Champions, incidentally beating Ryota Murata in the final. We hope his team can work on his defensive flaws which are becoming more apparent after every fight.
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With a number of Asian fighters fighting on Asian soil this weekend we may have been forgiven a little for forgetting about this weekend's international action. Instead however we've actually become rather excited about it and more interestingly is the fact it takes place over several countries, proving that boxing is starting to really get underway for the new year. For most boxing fans the key fight is in the Light Heavyweight division where we get 3 really interesting bouts all on the same card in Quebec, Canada. The biggest of those Light Heavyweight bouts is a brilliant match up between Jean Pascal (28-2-1, 17) and Lucien Bute (31-1, 24). Although the bout has the NABF title on the line it's actually a bout that doesn't need any belt at all to sell it with it being the biggest bout one could make in Canada. The fighters have shown a dislike of each other, their fans have shown a general resentment of the other man and the fight it's self is as close to a 50-50 contest as we could have. To be frankly honest this is what domestic level boxing is all about and we really appreciate the promoters for putting it together. On paper the winner of Pascal/Bute should walk in to a bout with WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, though we'd not be hugely shocked if WBO champion Sergey Kovalev managed to get one of the two men in his next fight as well. The other Light Heavyweight bouts on the card include 3 very interesting unbeaten fighters. The most notable unbeaten man is Russian's Artur Beterbiev (3-0, 3) who takes on the tough Gabriel Lecrosnier (16-25-3, 1) in what should be a bout to get rounds under Beterbiev's belt. The other bout, an all-unbeaten clash between Eleider Alvarez (13-0, 8) and Andrew Gardiner (10-0, 6) is a bout we love the look of and should be a thriller for as long as it lasts. One final bout from this Canadian card that we want to talk about is a Heavyweight bout between Cuba's Mike Perez (20-0, 12) and the once beaten Carlos Takam (29-1, 23). Perez, who fought in a tragic bout with Russian Magomed Abdusalamov late last year, will be hoping that that bout doesn't have lingering effects on him, though if it does he could well find his career unwinding here against the dangerous Takam in a bout that does scream "must watch". Outside of Canada we have a several female bouts that interests us. The most notable is the Super Bantamweight bout in Mexico between Yazmin Rivas (28-8, 9) and Calixta Silgado (11-2-2, 8). This bout, which shares the headline of the card in Jalisco alongside Fernando Lumacad's bout with Horacio Garcia, is only a secondary title bout though really it should be for a world belt with Rivas having been cruelly robbed of her title late last year. In Chile we have another female Super Bantamweight bout with the unbeaten Carolina Rodriguez (10-0, 1) defending her WIBA title against Brazil's Simone Da Silva Duarte (14-4, 6). Rodriguez, Chile's first ever world champion, is unlikely to really have the big bouts her talent deserves but will be happy in being a national boxing hero. The final interesting female bout is in Argentina where Monica Silvina Acosta (19-0-2, 5) defends her WBA Light Welterweight title against Ana Laura Esteche (9-3-1, 2). This should be a very easy bout for the highly talented Acosta, though unfortunately she doesn't have too many options in her division and this bout may well be as good as it gets for 2014. Back to the men, the most interesting bout, other than the ones in Canada, is in Hermosillo, Mexico, as the very highly regarded Felipe Orucuta (28-2, 23) takes on Efrain Perez (16-4, 11). Orucuta, the WBO #1 at Super Flyweight, will be eying up a potential rematch with Omar Andres Narvaez, the WBO champion who beat him via a split decision last year. Of course Orucuta isn't the only man looking to fight Narvaez with Daiki Kameda said to be angling for a fight with him and a loss for the Mexican puncher would see him falling from graces with the WBO and a door being left open to various Asian fighters. Of course we believe a few Asian fight fans will be tuning in to the Hermosillo show to see the potentially explosive encounter between Marco Demecillo and David Sanchez in what is potentially the best fight of the weekend. We believe that's all the big international bouts for this weekend and hopefully we'll see a few of the bouts living up to their potential. |
InternationalWe know that not every fight involves an Asian fighter but a lot of fights do affect Asian fighter. As a result we've decided to add this new section to Asian boxing where we look at selected International bouts. Archives
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