Some days are really good for boxing and this past Saturday was one of those days with a lot of action spread around the globe. It had something for everyone as well. From the casual fans there was Adrien Broner whilst for the hardcore fans there was Juan Francisco Estrada. For the Brits there was Carl Frampton whilst for the Argentinians there was Lucas Matthysse. And better yet they were spread over 3 shows.

The first of the days major results was in Belfast as the hugely popular Carl Frampton (19-0, 13) claimed the IBF Super Bantamweight title with a clear and dominant decision victory over Spaniard Kiko Martinez (31-5, 23). Martinez, known for wins over Hozumi Hasegawa amongst others, was unable to impose himself against Frampton who at times looked exceptional. Despite clearly winning, and being impressive, Frampton didn't show anything to suggest he would be a threat to Guillermo Rigondeaux and in fact the gulf between those two is huge. Thankfully it seems he knows it and instead of calling out the Cuban has hinted at fights with Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz, both easier and more exciting bouts. For Martinez this was his second loss to Frampton though he'll have felt happier this time considering he was knocked out last time he fought the talented Northern Irishman.

Several hours after the Frampton/Martinez bout we moved on to action from the US with a televised card that was shown by Showtime. The card had big names on it but little in terms of competitive action. 

The first bout on the televised part of the Showtime card saw former world champion Andre Berto (29-3, 22) take a clear though thoroughly uninspiring decision victory over the toothless Steve Upsher Chambers (24-4-1, 6). Whilst some will excuse Berto's performance due to surgery it's unthinkable that he will become a force in boxing again, in fact if anything this bout suggested that he may have become a gatekeeper as opposed to a contender. For Upsher Chambers it was a chance to shine though he didn't take the chance at all and fought as if a win would force into witness protection. It's fair to say that both were very disappointing given that they were being televised by Showtime.

Following the sleep inducing bout between Berto and Upsher Chambers we then got controversy as Argentinian puncher Lucas Martin Matthysse (36-3-0-1, 34) scored an anti-climatic stoppage against the previously unbeaten Mexican Roberto Ortiz (31-1-1, 24) who appeared to be counted out at 9 late in the second round. Ortiz clearly beat the 10 count but the referee, Benjy Esteves Jr, clearly botched the call to allow Matthysse a disappointingly early win. Matthysse retained his WBC Silver Light Welterweight title with this win though seemed to admit that he was unhappy with the ending. Matthysse did call out Danny Garcia after the fight though it seems he may need to do with a second option, someone like Adrien Broner, next time out.

Talking about Adrien Broner (29-1, 22), boxing's very own clown, was in the main event and fought fellow American Emmanuel Taylor (18-3, 12) in a bout that ended up being incredibly competitive though further showed that Broner is not the fighter he thinks he is or that Showtime want to tell he is. Broner scored the win via  a narrow unanimous decision that was punctuated by a 12th round knockdown that really saved his blushes and possibly saved him from a draw.  This bout, if anything, showed that Broner still struggles with aggression and that he was certainly fortunate that Taylor lacked the power to make the most of his defensive issues. Broner did call out Matthysse after the fight and that does seem to be the logical next step for both though boxing rarely makes sense and we'd not be shocked if they went in their own directions.

Whilst Broner was fighting Taylor in the US the hardcore fans tuned into action from Mexico as unified Flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada (27-2, 20) successfully defended his titles against the, almost, always fun to watch Giovani Segura (32-4-1, 28). We had really high hopes for this bout though need to admit we were disappointed by it. The fight had promised a war on paper though unfortunately Segura looked like a shadow of his usual self and was really dominated from the opening until he eventually saved by the referee in round 11. The one thing Segura showed through out the bout was that he was still tough, sadly for him that just prolonged the beating that Estrada gave him. If boxing is logical then the next step for Estrada is a rematch with Roman Gonzalez, who stopped Akira Yaegashi yesterday. toe claim the WBC title If that takes place then it will unify the WBA, WBO and WBC Flyweight titles and clearly define a #1 in the division.


(Image courtesy of http://www.cyclonepromotions.com)

In the last few weeks US network "Showtime" have come in for some pretty wide spread condemnation from boxing fans for allowing Al Haymon and "TMT" to put together some appalling matches between them. Those matches have included some real duds like Danny Garcia Vs Rod Salka, Lamont Peterson Vs Edgar Santana and Badou Jack Vs Jason Escalera. Sadly the same continues this weekend with some less than desirable matches been screened by the channel and being viewed by many casual fans as the highlight of the boxing weekend. Sadly those fans are being mislead as the key action is in Mexico and Japan.

We'll start show however which features a trio of notable fighters all of whom will be backed strongly against their lesser known foes.

The first of the 3 US bouts will be a contest between former Welterweight title holder Andre Berto (28-3, 22) and the little known Steve Upsher Chambers (24-3-1, 6). Berto, like so many American fighters, was dubbed as the future of the sport a few years ago. Since then however his career has hit a brick wall and he has suffered a trio of notable defeats to Victor Ortiz, Robert Guerrero and Jesus Soto Karass whilst also failing a drugs test and getting a controversial stoppage win over Jan Zaveck. This is must win for Berto though with his confidence likely at an all time low there is no certainty that he'll be able to stop the rot against a man knowing that a win will boost him to a major fight.

Another bout on this card will see former 3 weight world champion Adrien Broner (28-1, 22) battle against Emmanuel Taylor (18-2, 12). Like Berto we heard the hype machine go into over-drive about Broner who some dubbed as the future of boxing whilst others anointed him as the successor to Floyd Mayweather Jr. At the end of the day however Broner looked poor against Marcos Maidana and Carlos Molina and many are now wondering whether he will ever even get close to the heady heights predicted of him. We would imagine Broner will have more than enough to take a win over Taylor here though some are building up Taylor as a real threat to Broner. For what it's worth Taylor looked like a fringe contender when he was easily beaten by Chris Algieri earlier this year, though Algieri has proven his worth with a win over Ruslan Provodnikov and has moved onto a mega fight with Manny Pacquiao.

Thankfully the show isn't a total write off and we're expecting great things of the other bout on this card as the always fun to watch Lucas Martin Matthysse (35-3-0-1, 33) battles against unbeaten Mexican Roberto Ortiz (31-0-1, 24). This bout promises fire works though we wonder whether or not Ortiz will be able to stand up the power of "The Machine", if he can we could be in for a FOTY contender. Unfortunately not many can take Matthysse's power and we'd not be shocked to see Ortiz stopped early.

In Mexico we have a fight that we think will be the fight of the night as unified Flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada (26-2, 19) defends his WBO and WBA "super" titles against the always fun Giovani Segura (32-3-1, 28). Estrada gave Roman Gonzalez arguably his toughest bout to date and has since gone on to make a name for himself as one of the stand out guys at 112lbs. The champion combines teak toughness, freakish strength, great skills and fantastic work rate whilst Segura is an out and out fighter who often looks crude but tends to win a brawl more often than not. It's hoped that the winner here will fight the winner of the Akira Yaegashi/Roman Gonzalez bout which will take place on Friday, if we do get the winners meeting then we'll have an almost completely unified Flyweight crown and a clear pound-for-pound fighter in the division.

In Northern Ireland we get another interesting looking bout as IBF Super Bantamweight champion Kiko Martinez (31-4, 23) battles against the insanely popular Carl Frampton (18-0, 13). This bout is a rematch following Frampton's KO of Martinez last year. Since then however Martinez has looked like a monster 4 wins, all by stoppage, including victories over Jhonatan Tomero, Jeffrey Mathebula and Hozumi Hasegawa. As for Frampton he has scored stoppages over the limited Jeremy Parodi and former Light Flyweight champion Hugo Fidel Cazares following his win over Martinez. This is a chance for Martinez to avenge his only stoppage loss and an opportunity for Frampton to get his hands on a world title. A genuinely brilliant fight.

(Image courtesy of http://www.boxnoticias.net)