This past Saturday was one of the weakest in boxing this year. It really was lacking in terms of fighters and excitement. Thankfully however 4 world class ladies gave us two memorable bouts whilst some men gave us some interest action.

For us the most important bout of the day was in Argentina where female veteran and female boxing legend Marcela Eliana Acuna (42-6-1, 18) successfully defended her WBO female Super Bantamweight title with a 10 round decision over WBA female Featherweight champion Edith Soledad Matthysse (12-7-1, 1). The bout was the second meeting between the two world class females though the skill level between the two was clear with Acuna taking a unanimous decision against the cruder Matthysse who never stopped trying even when the fight looked to be a lost cause. We do tend to view Acuna as one of the greatest females to lace up the gloves and although she is getting to the end of her career we cannot ignore the fact she is still one of the most talented out there.

The other two females in action were the amazing Jessica Chavez (21-3-3, 4) and the little ball of aggression Melissa McMorrow (9-5-3, 1). Like Acuna we saw Chavez using her skills to over-come an aggressive and highly determined foe via a unanimous decision. Although Chavez won on all 3 cards she'll be well aware that she was in a fight. Sadly for McMorrow this further muddies her record though she is one of those fighters with a very misleading record and although she's suffered back-to-back losses she is very difficult to beat.

As for men the big story was in the US as former world title contender Mike Jones (26-2, 19) suffered a huge shock loss to Jaime Herrera (12-2, 7). Jones, a former sparring partner of Ryota Murata, was fighting for the first time in over 2 years and was supposed to blitz Herrera. Instead what we saw was Herrera scoring his 5th straight win. Herrera was in serious trouble in rounds 2 and 3 though gritted his teeth and fought back valiantly eventually forcing Jones to quit in his corner. With this loss we imagine Jones's career really is close to over barring something major changing in his.

In Mexico former world champion Antonio DeMarco (31-3-1, 23) was given a real scare in the opening round against the tough and under-rated Lanardo Tyner (31-11-2, 20). DeMarco was dropped in the opening round though fought back well to win every other round and take a clear decision over the talented though frustrating Tyner. It's a shame Tyner has never managed to make the most of his skills though he is one of the US's best journeymen right now and a man we do enjoy seeing, just a shame he doesn't seem capable of picking up the wins any more.

This coming Saturday is certainly not a great one for fight fans looking for amazing fights in the west though we do have 2 very under-rated contests in female boxing. We know many fans don't care about female boxing but we can safely say that those fans are genuinely missing out on some great fights and fighters, just like the fans who refuse to watch the lower divisions.

The better of the fights, at least in our eyes, takes place in Mexico as popular Mexican Jessica Chavez (20-3-3, 4) battles the always fun to watch American Melissa McMorrow (9-4-3, 1) in a bout for the WBC International female Flyweight title. If you've never seen these two in action you've really missed out. McMorrow is an all action girl who throws relentlessly and enjoys a "good old fashioned tear up". Not only does McMorrow enjoy all action fights but she's happy to fight the best anywhere on the planet and has travelled to Mexico and Germany in the past for big fights, a real credit to the sport. Chavez is the more talented fighter and has fought a who's who of female boxing including Tenkai Tsunami, Irma Sanchez, Arely Mucino and Yesica Yolanda Bopp.

Although neither McMorrow nor Chavez are big punchers they both extremely hard in the ring and put on amazing fights with a lot of punchers and a lot of action. We expect to see that again this weekend in what could well be the fight of the weekend.

The other female bout sees Argentinian legend Marcela Eliana Acuna (41-6-1, 18) defending her WBO female Super Bantamweight title against fellow Argentinian Edith Soledad Matthysse (12-6-1, 1). Matthysse is the sister of Lucas and although she lacks her brothers concussive power she does boast a really impressive work rate and desire to win, both traits that we expect to see here as she attempts to avenge a previous loss to Acuna. The champion however is one of the true greats of female boxing and combines skill, speed and power very well and will clearly be favoured over Matthysse. Strangely if Acuna loses we imagine that she will wave good bye to boxing due to the fact she is fast approaching 40, it would be a shame to lose to such a great though we do expect her to pass the torch sooner rather than later. Saying that it's unlikely that the torch will be passed to Matthysse here.

The highlight of Friday nights boxing action was in America with the US hosting the semi-final's of the "Boxcino" Lightweight tournament.

For those who haven't been following it, the "Boxcino" tournament is an 8 man competition being aired on ESPN and the hope is that a star will be born. Unfortunately that seems unlikely though the competition it self does seem to be genuinely interesting.

The first of fights this Friday saw the hard hitting Fernando Carcamo Garcia (17-5, 13) claiming his position in the final as he defeated Miguel Angel Gonzalez (23-4, 16) majority decision. Some how one of the judges had the scores level at 76-76 and we've got to admit that that particular judge, Tocker Pudwill, probably needs to be brought in front of the commission to explain himself.

Whilst the first semi final was highlighted by the awful scoring of Pudwill the second bout saw no judges needed as Russian born Spanish based fighter Petr Petrov (34-4-2, 16), pictured, dismantled the rangier Christopher Rudd (13-2, 8). Petrov quickly cut the distance, forced his fight on Rudd and forced the referee to step in in round 4.

As well as the Boxcino competition their was also a number of notable female bouts across the globe

The most notable of the female fights saw the legendary Marcela Eliana Acuna (41-6-1, 18) defended her WBO Super Bantamweight title with a 6th round stoppage of Mexico's Estrella Valverde (9-4-1, 1). Acuna, one of the true female legends of the sport, seems to be merely solidifying her reputation as one of the greats.

Another female title fight in Argentina saw Mayra Alejandra Gomez (15-3, 4) defeat fellow Argentinian Carolina Marcela Gutierrez Gaite (21-3-1, 13) to claim the interim WBO Bantamweight title.

It was a great day for the WBO who had yet another female world title fight as German Ramona Kuehne (22-1, 8) defended her belt. Unfortunately for the fans watching this bout, which was really good, the ending was a sad one with the previously unbeaten Gina Chamie (8-1, 4) being forced to retire with an injury to her elbow. 

(Photo courtesy of ESPN)

It's rare for Friday night boxing to be genuine disappointing but this weekend is a bit disappointing with the key fight of note being a female world title fight in Argentina.

That fight will see female fighting legend Marcela Eliana Acuna (40-6-1, 17) defending her WBO female Super Bantamweight title against fellow Argentinian Estrella Valverde (9-3-1, 1). Acuna is a genuine legend of the sport and shouldn't struggle at all with beating Valverde who is no where near the level of Acuna.

As well as the female world title bout we also get 2 bouts of interest in the US as the Lightweight "Boxcino" tournament continues to the semi final stage.

The most interesting of those semi finals, according to boxrec.com, is between 28 year old American Miguel Angel Gonzalez (23-3, 16) and the big punching Mexican Fernando Carcamo Garcia (16-5, 13). In the quarter finals it was Carcamo Garcia that genuine impressed us and we're hoping to see his power come in to play again here.

In the other semi-final we will see Russian born Spanish based Petr Petrov (33-4-2, 15) fighting against the tournaments surprise package Christopher Rudd (13-1, 8). Rudd upset the experienced Yakubu Amidu in the quarter finals though is still viewed as the big betting under-dog here. As for Petrov his quarter final was an impressive showing against the previously unbeaten Fedor Papazov and that result seems to have made him the tournament favourite.

(picture courtesy of ESPN)