Much of today's most notable and most exciting comes from Canada where fans are in for a treat, in fact they are in for one of the best shows this year with 3 genuinely notable bouts and 2 lesser quality support bouts. As well as the Canadian show we also have notable action in Mexico with several interesting contests. We'll start with Canada where the main event is a blockbuster Light Heavyweight bout between the thunderously hard hiting Sergey Kovalev (26-0-1, 23) and tough Canadian based Haitian Jean Pascal (29-2-1-1, 17). Kovalev will be defending the WBA “Super” , IBF and WBO titles in his first bout since he convincingly defeated Bernard Hopkins last year and this could be his second big win. As for Pascal he needs a good win here if he's to remain a big fighter fighter, especially after his farcical contest with Roberto Bolonti last time out and his terrible unexciting contest with Lucian Buta last January. A brilliant support bout will see former Cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham (28-6, 13) battle against unbeaten Heavyweight hopeful Vyacheslav Glazkov (19-0-1, 12) who has been really been unconvincing in recent contests. Glazkov needs a good performance to remain relevant whilst Cunningham will be hoping to move one fight closer to a potential mega-payday which he is well due before his retirement. The second big support bout will see Vasily Lepikhin (17-0, 9) battle against Isaac Chilemba (23-2-2, 10) in a really well match Light Heavyweight bout. The winner here may well be the next opponent for the Kovalev/Pascal winner and it wouldn't be a surprise for this contest to be a very competitive bout. In a supporting under-card bout Nadjib Mohammedi (36-3, 22), another top Light Heavyweight contender, will take on Lee Campbell (8-1, 4) in a stay busy fight whilst former Light Welterweight title challenger Dierry Jean (27-1, 19) takes on Carlos Manuel Reyes (25-3-1, 17) in what should be an easy win for Jean. In Tijuana, Mexico fans will get the chance to see former world IBF Super Flyweight champion Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr (19-3-1, 9) battle against the highly experienced Luis Melendez (41-9-1, 30), himself a former world title challenger. This could be an good contest but Sanchez Jr should be too fresh for the 35 year old Melendez. On the same card Yazmin Rivas (31-8-0-4, 9) looks to defend her WBC female Bantamweight title against the little known Celina Salazar (6-1-2, 1). On a second Mexican card, held in México, fan will see heavy handed Bantamweight contender Julio Ceja (28-1, 26) battle against former world title challenger Oscar Blanquet (32-9-1, 23), who enters this bout on a run of 5 successive losses including a loss to Akira Yaegashi and a stoppage to Roman Gonzalez. (Image courtesy of fightnetwork.com)
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This past Saturday was a very busy day in the boxing world with numerous world level fighters in action around the globe. It was, in some ways, one of the most interesting days of the year for boxing fans despite a lack of elite level fights or huge name fighters. One of the key bouts was a Middleweight clash between former world title challenger Martin Murray (29-1-1, 12) who scored a technical decision win over Italian tough guy Domenico Spada (39-6, 19). The bout, for the WBC silver Middleweight title, was certainly not the best fight of the weekend but was a very important one and it seems likely the winner , Murray, will be facing Gennady Golovkin next February, also in Monaco. That bout looks like one of the best that can be made in the division but can see past a Golovkin stoppage against the game British fighter. Another bout on the same show saw Unbeaten Light Heavyweight contender Eleider Alvarez (16-0, 9) score a statement win by stopping previously unbeaten South African Ryno Liebenberg (16-1, 11) in 7 rounds. Liebenberg was attempting to defend the WBC silver Light Heavyweight title for the first time however the win for Alvarez is likely to put him right in contention for a WBC world title fight. For us however the most interesting bout, both in the ring and in terms of general significance, was a Bantamweight bout between the unbeaten Randy Caballero (22-0, 13) and former champion Stuart Hall (16-4-2, 7). The bout was a very competitive and exciting one as both men gave their all, sadly for Hall his all wasn't enough to over-come the more technically capable Caballero who scored a second round knockdown and just edged the contest. For Caballero this opportunity was a well deserved one following his win in an eliminator against Kohei Oba earlier this year and now we're hoping Caballero will be considering a unification bout with Shinsuke Yamanaka. In Montenegro we saw two other fringe world class fighters in action. One of those two fighters was Dejan Zlaticanin (20-0, 13) who dropped the teak tough Alex Bone (10-19-3, 4) twice on route to a very wide decision victory. Zlaticanin is a world ranked fighter and is best known for his upset win over Ricky Burns though it does seem likely that he could struggle to find other big fights due to a lack of a major backer. The other man on the card was Super Middleweight contender Nikola Sjekloca (28-2, 8) who out pointed Jorge Rodriguez Olivera (25-10, 12) in a clear cut 8 round bout. Unlike Zlaticanin it's fair to say that Sjekloca isn't struggling to get big bouts and has fought both Sakio Bika and Arthir Abraham recently and will be back in the ring on November 22nd to fight Callum Smith. One final bout of note was a female on in Mexico as Yazmin Rivas (31-8, 9) defended her WBC Bantamweight title with a 10 round decision over Australian veteran Susie Ramadan (23-2, 8). (Image courtesy of http://www.goldengloves.co.za) This Saturday is a great day for boxing fans with a genuinely brilliant card coming from Monaco which is developing a real niche position in European boxing circles for some interesting international shows that show case many interesting fighters, some of which are getting their main exposure via these shows. The headline bout here will see Middleweight hopeful Martin Murray (28-1-1, 12) battle against former contender Domeico Spada (39-5, 19) in a WBC Silver Middleweight title bout. In theory, and lets be honest boxing never does what it should, the winner of this bout should face the winner of a contest between Miguel Cotto, the WBC world champion, and Gennady Golovkin, the WBC interim world champion. We're hoping to see Spada and Murray put on a great fight but we do feel that Murray has been over-rated for a decent showing against a badly damaged Sergio Martinez and that Spada has had more chances than he actually deserves. In a second Middleweight bout Britain's Nick Blackwell (15-3, 6) will be battling the under-rated Sergey Khomitsky (29-11-2, 12). This is a great bout even if no titles are on the line and we actually prefer it to the other Middleweight bout despite this bout being a level lower, that's because it's a more competitive match up. At least to us. At Light Heavyweight we get another WBC silver title bout as Ryno Liebenberg (16-0, 11) faces fellow unbeaten fighter Eleider Alvarez (15-0, 8). This is a genuinely great bout between two top 15 Light Heavyweights and it's hard to call either way. Both men are looking for the "big win" to get them into the mix and a win here could well be that big one that they so desperately want. Another bout on this card that looks very interesting will see the IBF Bantamweight title up for grabs as Randy Caballero (21-0, 13) battles against former champion Stuart Hall (16-3-2, 7). The belt, which was vacated by Paul Butler, was held by Hall earlier this year and we had hoped to see Caballero fighting Hall for the belt when Hall held it. Instead Caballero gets his chance now, a chance he earned when he went over to Japan and stopped Kohei Oba. We suspect this could be a good fight but we can't hide the fact that we are Caballero fans and hope that he can pick up the win here. One other bout on this card will see China's Xiong Zhao Zhong (24-5-1, 14) battling against Hekkie Budler (26-1, 9) in a WBA Minimumweight title bout. Whilst this is in Monaco it does feature an Asian fighter and we have fully previewed this bout here. As well as the action in Monaco we also have a very notable female title fight in Mexico as the very talented Yazmin Rivas (30-8, 9) battles the once beaten Susie Ramadan (23-1, 8) in a very interesting contest for the WBC female Bantamweight title. Both of these women are top tier fighters and both will come in to this bout with serious confidence and self belief. In many ways it's the bout of the day and we're expecting a very memorable contest between two equally talented fighters. (Image courtesy of http://www.goldengloves.co.za) This weekend we had a busy weekend in world boxing, especially on Saturday which featured a host of major bouts involving both top male fighters and top female fighters. The most notable bout was a male world title fight in the US that pitted two unbeaten fighters against each other in a contest that had genuine intrigue. Both men had their share of backers, both had their share of doubters and both went in with questions to answer. As it turned out the defending WBO Lightweight champion Terence Crawford (24-0, 17) was the one who was more able to answer the doubters than his Cuban opponent Yuriorkis Gamboa (23-1, 16). The bout between Crawford and Gamboa was interesting from the moment it was signed with people asking how would Crawford cope with a man quicker than himself and how would Gamboa cope with the size disadvantage against Crawford. At the end of the day however Gamboa's problem wasn't actually the size difference but was his recklessness which saw him getting dropped 4 times with the referee finally waving off the contest after a monster uppercut sent Gamboa down hard in the 9th round. The result, the first loss of Gamboa's career, saw Crawford proclaimed as an American star though in honesty he still has some way to go to live up to that sort of praise. Crawford wasn't the only man retaining his world title as Mexico's Oswaldo Novoa (14-3-1, 9) retained his WBC Minimumweight title, also for the first time. Novoa was taking on the challenge of Nicaragua's Alcides Martinez (12-3-8-1, 6) and managed to do as he wished against an over-matched and under-qualified challenger who was mercifully saved by his corner who refused to let him take too much of a beating. For Novoa, who won the title by stopping Xiong Zhao Zhong earlier this year, this was a perfect home coming though won't have been the best preparation for looms ahead of him, a likely mandatory defence against Thailand's talented and unbeaten Wanheng Menayothin. In a third male "world" title bout we did see a new champion crowned as Darleys Perez (30-1, 19), himself a former Yuriorkis Gamboa victim, picked up the WBA "interim" Lightweight title. Perez was battling against the little known and unbeaten Argenis Lopez (19-1, 7) and managed to secure himself the belt with a clear decision on foreign soil. Sadly despite the win it seems to be a result that tells us more about the loser than the winner and Perez did little to convince the top Lightweights that he's a real threat to them. In fact the key think Perez did was secure himself a bigger payday when he returns to the ring to defend his "world" title. On the same show as Perez's victory home town fans got to see Dahiana Santana (33-6, 14) successfully claim the WBA interim female Featherweight title as she clearly out pointed Colombian foe Francia Elena Bravo (16-4-2, 9). Santana is a former IBF champion at the same weigh though seemed to set her focus on getting herself a bout with WBA regular champion Edith Soledad Matthysse. A bout between Matthysse and Santana is a bout that would be a lot more competitive than the records of the fighters would suggest and in fact we'd rather look forward to that one if it could be made. Back in Mexico, on the same card as the Novoa/Martinez card, there was two other female bouts. The most notable of those saw the highly skilled Zulina Munoz (42-1-2, 27) defending her WBC female Super Flyweight title against the over-matched Renata Domsodi (12-5, 5) who was stopped in the 6th round. Munoz, arguably the only fighter who would give Naoko Fujioka a real test, was in charge from the off and Domsodi really didn't belong in there with her. In the other female contest Yazmin Rivas (30-8-0-4, 9) claimed the WBC female Bantamweight title as she over-came Alesia Graf (26-5, 11) via 10 round decision to record her biggest victory. (Image courtesy of Top Rank) Whilst this Saturday is basically revolving around Russian's and Filipino's for us there are numerous fights, around the globes, with some value, including several world title fights and numerous female world title fights. Of those fights the most notable is in the US and headlines the show that will also see Matt Korobov fighting against Jose Uzcategui. The bout in question is a WBO Lightweight title fight between Terence Crawford (23-0, 16), the reigning champion, and Cuban sensation Yuriorkis Gamboa (23-0, 16). Both men have identical records on paper but a lot separate them with Gamboa having been out of the ring for over a year and being the naturally smaller man. It really is a great match up and one that will see the winner really elevating themselves in the world of boxing. One of the other male "World title" bouts will see Darleys Perez (29-1, 19), himself a former Gamboa opponent, facing off against the lesser known Argenis Lopez (19-0-0-1, 7) for the interim WBA Lightweight title. Perez suffered his sole professional defeat at the hands of Gamboa in a genuine stinker of a bout last year and since then has only beaten a very poor opponent that has some how qualified him for this bout. As for the unbeaten Lopez this is his first bout of note and it's hard to really rate his chances here. The only other male world title bout is in Mexico where WBC Minimumweight champion Oswaldo Novoa (13-4-1, 8) will be defending his title against Nicaragua's Alcides Martinez (12-2-8-1, 6). Novoa came to the attention of the boxing world earlier this year when he beat up and stopped Xiong Zhao Zhong in very impressive fashion to claim the WBC world title, this will be his first defence of that title. As for Martinez this will be his big chance to make a name for himself though he is being given no chance at all of scoring the upset, similarly like Novoa. From what we understand the winner of this contest will be facing Thailand's unbeaten Wanheng Menayothin in a mandatory later this year or very early next year. Whilst the three male world title bouts are the most notable bouts there are actually a host of notable female bouts. One of those female bouts is on the same show as the Perez/Lopez bout as Dahiana Santana (33-6, 14) will be battling against Francia Elena Bravo (16-3-2, 9). It's hard to see anything but a Santana win here but we really don't rate her very highly and view her record as a padded one more than a genuine one with a lot of her recent opponents being very limited. The better female bouts are in Mexico with the most interesting of those being a WBC female Super Flyweight title fight between defending champion Zulina Munoz (41-1-2, 26) and Hungarian challenger Renata Domsodi (12-4, 5). Munoz is the only fighter at Super Flyweight that we think could test the exceptional Naoko Fujioka though even then we'd have to favour the Japanese fighter. With that in mind we don't imagine Munoz, a talented, experienced and battle hardened fighter, will struggle much with the 35 year old Domsodi. Another of the female title fights will see Yazmin Rivas (29-8-0-4, 9) taking on the talented Alesia Graf (26-4, 11) in a battle for the WBC female Bantamweight title. Graf is the only fighter to have beaten the aforementioned Munoz and we'd be shocked if she didn't give Rivas a very tough contest here. We certainly expect this to be a better bout than the bout for the interim version of the same title which will see Jessica Gonzalez (4-1-0-3) taking on Yulihan Luna Avila (10-1, 1). Back to male action for a moment, we're expecting to see the big punching Ilunga Makabu (16-1, 15) taking on former world champion Glen Johnson (54-18-2, 37). Johnson, a true veteran, has been stopped just once in his 74 fight career but we honestly fear for him here against Makabu who looks like a future world champion. (Image courtesy of Top Rank) 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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