Klitschko pulverizes Pulev, Farias wins female title, Gamboa picks up win and Kalenga destroys Daley11/17/2014 This past Saturday was a big one in some ways for boxing fans. They had a major Heavyweight world title bout, a major female bout, a very interesting Cruiserweight contest and the return of a very exciting fighter. It may not have stopped the world in it's tracks but it was certainly and interesting day for fans around the globe. The first of day's big bouts came from Germany where Heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko (63-3, 53) scored a stunning knockout against the previously unbeaten Kubrat Pulev (20-1, 11). The bout saw Pulev dropped twice in the opening round and again the third round before attempting to fight back. Sadly for Pulev as he began to open he was clocked himself by a vicious left hook that left him flat on the canvas for the count. It was a spectacular finish to what had been an enjoyable Klitschko fight, not something we've been able to say in recent years. Just a division lower, and in Canada, fans saw another sensational finish as WBA interim Cruiserweight champion Youri Kayembre Kalenga (21-1, 14) stopped the previously unbeaten Denton Daley (12-1, 6). Daley could have been saved in round 10 but the referee allowed them one to reach a relatively nasty end with Daley taking a real beating in round 12. When the referee eventually stepped in it was too later and Daley was on his way to dream world. We'll be honest and say we like Kalenga and would love to see him fighting some of the other top Cruiserweights as he is so exciting to see in full flow. In Mexico we had two other bouts of note. One of those was an intriguing female WBC Light Welterweight bout between former WBC Lightweight queen Erica Anabella Farias (21-1, 10) and 4-weight world champion Alejandra Marina Oliveras (31-3-2, 16). The fight was an all Argentinian affair and was a highly competitive bout as both gave fantastic accounts of themselves in one of the best female bouts of the year. Sadly for Oliveras she was unable to impress the judges who gave Farias the decision and the title in what was really a great all-action female contest. On the same card fans also saw Cuban sensation Yuriorkis Gamboa (24-1, 17) make light work of Joel Montes de Oca (18-4, 10). This was Gamboa's first bout since suffering a knockout loss to Terence Crawford and it appears that he has his eyes on a fight with Takashi Miura in 2015. (Image courtesy of Sumio Yamada)
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Some days are monster days with huge fights across the world, others are smaller with only a couple of big fights. This Saturday falls into the second category however it does feature possibly the most anticipated Heavyweight clashes in years as well as a very interesting female world title bout and the return to the ring of one of the sports most exciting fighters. The Heavyweight bout will see the unified world champion Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52) attempt to add yet another defense of his various world titles as he takes on Bulgarian hopeful Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11). Klitschko enters as the clear favourite but this is one of the very rare occasions where fans are giving a challenger a real chance against Klitschko and with good reason with Pulev being a genuinely stand out challenger. Sadly however we suspect that Pulev will merely prove that even the best challengers aren't real competition for the Ukrainian champion who has ruled the division with a steel fist for the better part of a decade. Up to now Pulev has proven to be a very capable boxer with good stamina, a genuine toughness and under-rated power, the question is whether or not he'll be strong enough and tough enough to cope with Klitschko's monstrous right hand and imposing physical strength. In Mexico the big fight, in regards to world titles, will see female WBC Light Welterweight champion Alejandra Marina Oliveras (31-2-2, 16) attempts to defend her belt against once beaten compatriot Erica Anabella Farias (20-1, 10) who will be hoping to become a 2-weight world champion. This may not be the type of bout to appeal to most boxing fans but in all honesty we would suggest giving this one a go if they can as it will be good. On the same card in Mexico fans will get the chance to see former 2-weight world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (23-1, 16) battling against Joel Montes de Oca (18-3, 10) in what is viewed as an easy comeback fight following his stoppage loss to Terence Crawford in a WBC Lightweight title bout. We will also get the chance to see Cristian Mijares (50-8-2, 25) fight against Lester Medrano (14-2-1, 9). (Image courtesy of fightnews.com) This past Sunday saw one of female boxing's true super fights as the two top Lightweights collided. The bout, between Delfine Persoon (29-1, 13) and the previously unbeaten Erica Anabella Farias (19-1, 9) was supposed to leave us with a clear indication of who is the best female Lightweight on the planet. Unfortunately, though as we often see in this sport, the bout left us with no clearer indication of who really is the better fighter. The bout was sloppy and aggressive from the off with both trying to behead the other. It was fun to watch but lacked the sweet science that some would have expected from the two women involved. Later on the sloppiness from both saw headclashes and forced the referee to deducted a point from either fighter under the WBC accidental foul rule. Going in to the final round it seemed pretty even and it looked like it was all for the taking. The final round all Farias as she dominated, almost certainly proving that she was the better fighter. Unfortunately though the judges disagreed and gave Persoon the decision with unquestionably unfair scores declaring the Belgian the winner with cards of 96-93, 96-92 and 96-92, effectively scoring the bout 7 rounds to 3 in favour of Persoon, a disgraceful set of scores. The victory sees Persoon taking the WBC belt from Farias who had held the title since 2011. (Image courtesy of boxeohoy.blogspot.com) It's not often that we get a world class bout on Sunday but that's what Belgian fans get this weekend when their queen of the ring Delfine Persoon (28-1, 13) faces Argentina's unbeaten Erica Anabella Farias (19-0, 9) in a battle for both the WBC female Lightweight and for the over-all position as the elite female Lightweight.
Going in the two women have traded the #1 boxrec ranking for the last year or two and they are easily the two standout fighters in the division. This bout is to decide the clear number #1 though of course with Persoon being at home it's fair to say a robbery or controversial decision may harm the legitimacy of the bout. Interestingly for Belgian boxing this bout comes just days before Stephane Jamoye fights Shinsuke Yamanaka for the WBC Bantamweight title. The country, which is a boxing minnow, may well have a double celebration by the end of this week. Lomachenko fails in record attempt, females all retain whilst a number of titles swap hands3/2/2014 This past Saturday was the first monster day of the boxing year. It may have taken some time coming but what a day it was and what a memorable day it was with fights taking place all over the globe, multiple titles changing hands, multiple champions in action and an amateur stand out attempting to create history. To say that Saturday March 1st was a bumper day in boxing is to merely state the obvious. The action began in Australia where WBC female Super Featherweight champion Diana Prazak (13-2, 9) retained her title by stopping compatriot Shannon O'Connell (8-3, 5) in round 5. Prazak's power presented O'Connell problems from the off and the challenger was dropped twice in round 2 before being saved by the referee in round 5. Prazak is amongst the most feared female fighters on the planet right now and this result showed why. She's got dynamite in her hands and stopping O'Connell, who lost a close decision to Hyun-Mi Choi last year, was nothing short of impressive. Although Prazak retained her title several fighters in Europe didn't. One of those was Britain's Ricky Burns (36-3-1, 11) whose luck finally ran out as he faced unbeaten American Terence Crawford (23-0, 16). Crawford, who appeared to fight well within himself, controlled the fight from round 4 onwards with his speed and combinations. Unfortunately British commentary team Jim Watt and Nick Halling seemed to do all they could to downplay Crawford's victory though it was obvious that Burns was well beaten. This victory saw Crawford claiming the WBO Lightweight title and put himself amongst the elite at 135lbs. Another WBO title changed hands in Germany where Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28) reclaimed the WBO Super Middleweight title with a narrow points victory over rival Robert Stieglitz (46-4, 26). This result was a genuine shock to us as we viewed Abraham as washed up though the "King" had reclaimed his crown and taken a 2-1 lead from a trilogy with Stieglitz. The bout was an interesting one though a 12th round knock down by Abraham did effectively seal the fight for him. On the same card in Germany WBO female Middleweight champion Christina Hammer (17-0, 8) put on a clinic to out point Jessica Balogun (23-3, 11). Balogun was game through out though her technical limitations cost her any chance at a victory as Hammer won every round with her skills and movement. Although Hammer's shots never hurt Balogun they were so technically sound they they prevented the challenger from getting much going offensively herself. In South Africa was saw another champion retain their title with Hekkie Budler (25-1, 8) defended his WBA interim Minimumweight title for the first time. Budler, a genuine non-puncher, needed just a round to see off the very limited Karluis Diaz (21-5, 14). We're now hoping to see Budler fight IBF champion Katsunari Takayama in a unification bout though their appears to be work to be done if this fight is to be made. Across the Atlantic the action continued with even more major bouts. The most notable bout on the American continent happened in the US as Ukrainian amateur great Vasyl Lomachenko (1-1, 1) attempted to secure his place in professional boxing history. Lomachenko, fighting for the WBO Featherweight title in just his second bout unfortunately came up short against grizzled veteran Orlando Salido (41-12-2-1, 28). Although Lomachenko lost a split decision to Salido plenty felt he took more from the loss than many prospects take from 25 wins and with Salido failing to make the weight and being stripped of the title we'd not be shocked if Lomachenko fights for the vacant title next time out. If Lomachenko had won he'd have broken the almost 40 year record of Saensak Muangsurin who won a world title in just his third pro bout. As well as the Lomachenko bout there was also a major rematch on the same card as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (48-1-1-1, 32) managed to take a clear, but hard fought, victory over the game Brian Vera (23-8, 14). The two men had fought last year with many feeling Vera was robbed this time however Chavez took a genuine victory even if he did do some things that were very annoying, especially in round 12 where he ran and danced. After the fight their murmurs of a bout between Chavez Jr and Gennady Golovkin, though presumably Golovkin would have to make the move to Super Middleweight for the bout to make sense. Staying with rematches Mexico saw a major rematch as female star Zulina Munoz (41-1-2, 26) managed to defend her WBC Super Flyweight title and avenge her sole defeat as she claimed a technical decision over Alesia Graf (26-4, 11). Graf, who beat Munoz back in 2007, traded shots with Munoz willingly in one of the nights best fights but unfortunately a clash of heads in round 6 forced the bout to the scorecards which all favoured Munoz. This wasn't a pretty fight in terms of boxing but it was highly entertaining stuff with both freely swinging at the other. Great action for as long as it lasted. Going further down the America's there was also a world title fight in Argentina where the ultra-talented Erica Anabella Farias (19-0, 9) successfully retained her WBC female Lightweight title with a victory over compatriot Maria Eugenia Lopez (8-8-2). The bout was a mismatch with Farias just being too good at everything for Lopez though the key thing about the bout was that it was a tune up for Farias who will be fighting in a much more meaningful contest next time out against Delfine Persoon, her mandatory challenger. (Picture courtesy of http://www.thesweetscience.com/) One of the big complaints we've made this year is that there was a real lack of big time action. We're two months in to the year and we could count the number of significant fights on one hand, we could then use the other hand to count how many genuinely good fighter we've had. Honestly it's been an awful start to the boxing year. Thankfully March seems to kick off the boxing for 2014. It may be late but it is much, much better than never. Unfortunately however the sheer number of high quality fights make it almost a given that you will be missing something this weekend. The first notable fight, and the one featured in the small image, is one of several female contests of interest and takes place in Australia as the hard hitting Diana Prazak (12-2, 8) attempts to make the first defense of her WBC female Super Featherweight title. Prazak will be fighting fellow compatriot Shannon O'Connell (8-2, 5) in a bout that has all the ingredients to be a fire cracked. O'Connell is best known to use for her close fight with Korea's Hyun-Mi Choi last year whilst Prazak announced herself last year by stopping Frida Wallberg and unfortunately ending Wallberg's career in the process. Although it's a female fight it could be the best of the day. The O'Connell/Prazak bout isn't the only major female bout of the day and in Germany we get another as the highly popular Chrstina Hammer (16-0, 8) defends her WBO female Middleweight title against fellow German Jessica Balogun (23-2, 11). Whilst the Prazak/O'Connell bout looks like a fantastic match up, this one is unfortunately a huge mismatch and it's hard to see anything other than an easy defense for the talented Hammer. On the same card in Germany their is a WBO Super Middleweight title fight as Robert Steiglitz (46-3, 26) battles Arthur Abraham (38-4, 28) for the third time in less than 18 months. Although the men are 1-1 it seems that Abraham's career is in free fall and we'd be shocked if Steiglitz doesn't retain his title again here. The Stieglitz/Abraham trilogy isn't the only world title fight in Europe as Scotland's Ricky Burns (36-2-1, 11) tries to put poor back-to-back performance behind him and defend his WBO Lightweight title against America's unbeaten Terence Crawford (22-0, 16) in what looks like one of the nights most interesting match ups. We'd favour Crawford here though it's certainly his toughest bout to date and Burns, for the faults he has shown in recent bouts, has shown that he's not got any quit in him. Unfortunately we have the feeling this could end up being either a total dud or controversial with fans on both sides of the Atlantic being unsatisfied by either the action or the result. Staying in Britain there is another major contest involving a Brit as James DeGale (17-1, 11) battles the unbeaten Gevorg Khatchikian (20-0, 8) in what looks to be a semi-final eliminator to fight Sakio Bika for the WBC Super Middleweight title. The winner of DeGale/Khatchikian is likely to need to beat another top contender to get a world title fight but this is a big step towards one. Across the Atlantic the action comes just as thick and fast. The highlight bout state side sees Vasyl Lomachenko (1-0, 1) fighting grizzled Mexican veteran Orlando Salido (40-12-2-1, 28) for the WBO Featherweight title. A victory for Lomachenko gets him into the record books for fewest professional bouts before winning a world title (in regards to men, the actual record is held by the aforementioned Choi who won a WBA title on her debut) though this is far from a foregone conclusion and it should prove to be one of the most enthralling and anticipated bouts of the year. On the same card as Lomachenko/Salido we get a major non-title fight as former WBC Middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (47-1-1-1, 32) takes on the under-rated Brian Vera (23-7, 14) for the second time. The two men fought last year with Chavez being given a highly debatable victory over Vera. Although Chavez had his excuses for his performances it does sound like he means business this time and is expected to "show up" this time around. Going south, down the American continent, we get another major female bout in Mexico. Strangely this is another major rematch as Zulina Munoz (40-1-2, 26) attempts to avenge her sole defeat. Munoz, the current WBC female Super Flyweight champion, is unbeaten in over 6 years, since she dropped a decision to Alesia Graf (26-3, 11) this time Munoz is more experienced, wiser and more mature as well as the home fighter. The Mexican champion has ti be favoured here. Finally, in Argentina, we get one more female world title fight. Like the Hammer/Balogun fight this one is also a mismatch as WBC Lightweight champion Erica Anabella Farias (18-0, 9), one of the premier pound-for-pound female fighters on the planet, defends her title against Maria Eugenia Lopez (8-7-2). To call this a mismatch is little more than stating the obvious, unfortunately however we do sometimes need to state the obvious. A win for Farias however sets up a fight with Belgium's excellent Delfine Persoon in what should be considered a female super-fight. ( |
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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