Last week was one of the busiest in boxing this year. We had the title fights on Wednesday as Hozumi Hasegawa took on Kiko Martinez and Shinsuke Yamanaka fought Stephane Jamoye, we then saw the unexpected failed drug test of Denis Lebedev and all that was before Saturday!

On Saturday things went up a gear, we didn't just get fights but we got a maelstrom of fights across all the levels of the sport, and they gave us a bit of everything. Excitement, controversial, action and pain.

The first of the major fights was in Germany as Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52), the Heavyweight king and by far the most dominant fighter in is division, retained his collection of titles with an impressive display. Klitschko was fighting against the WBO mandatory challenger Alex Leapai (30-5-3, 24) but made Leapai look like a man off the street. The champion landed jabs, straights, hooks and even the occasional uppercut as he systematically dismantled the challenger with ease. Klitschko is often slated for his holding and hugging but there was little of that as his footwork and offensive shot selection created all the distance he needed to dominate.

On the same card in Germany there were good wins for Joseph Parker (8-0, 7) and Oleksandr Usyk (3-0, 3) who both scored stoppages and continued rolling on in their promising and very exciting careers. Although neither man has 10 fights they do, genuinely, look likely to be top contenders in the next year or two. Usyk could probably go for a Cruiserweight title in his next 5 fights if he wished, he really is that good. For Parker the developmental process will be longer but he's a baby in the Heavyweight division.

Talking about Heavyweights the exciting Lucas Browne (20-0, 18) claimed the Commonwealth title stopping Canada's Eric Martel Bahoeli (10-4, 7) in 5 rounds in the UK. This was an exciting fight with Browne throwing caution to the wind after being cut by a clash of heads. The big Aussie is one of the most fun to watch Heavyweights when he lets his hands go and although he wasn't in great shape he showed his power in a great overall display.

As with the action in Germany the Heavyweight bout in the UK shared a show with some big punchers, including Kirill Relikh (16-0, 14) and Adam Etches (16-0, 13) who both recorded early victories, as did the the new European Bantamweight champion Zhanat Zhakiyanov (22-1, 15) who scored a career best result.

Whilst there was action in Europe the big talking points were all about the US where we had a trio of interesting bouts.

The first of that trio was a WBC Lightweight title fight between defending champion Omar Figueroa (23-0-1, 17) and former amateur rival Jerry Belmontes (19-4, 5). Figueroa was involved in a sensational bout with Nihito Arakawa last year though here he looked lack lustre, flat and basic as Belmontes out boxed him. Despite looking like the loser Figueroa managed to retain his title thanks to a frankly ridiculous scorecard of 118-110 turned in by David Mendoza who certainly needs an eye test.

If Figueroa/Belmontes left a bad taste in the mouth it was quickly forgotten as we got a thrilling contest between Lucas Martin Matthysse (35-3, 33) and John Molina (27-4, 22). Matthysse was dropped twice, once in each of rounds 2 and 5, before coming back, going through the gears and soundly beating up Molina who given a seriously nasty battering in round 10 before being stopped the following round in a FOTY candidate.

The one bout that went exactly as expected on this US card saw WBA "interim" Welterweight champion Keith Thurman (23-0-0-1, 21) stop former Lightweight world champion Julio Diaz (40-10-1, 29). Diaz was forced to retire at the end of round 3 with a rib injury. Although some are tipping Thurman as the man to defeat Floyd Mayweather Jr we can't help but feel he is very unproven considering the hype he is getting. He's talented but no where near the natural talent of Mayweather.

The final international bout of note for us was in Argentina as Argentinian female superstar Yesica Yolanda Bopp (27-1, 12) claimed the WBO female Flyweight title with an excellent victory over compatriot Daniela Romina Bermudez (16-3-2, 5). The fight saw both fighters changing weights from where they usually fight with Bopp going up a division and Bermudez coming down a division. Unfortunately for Bermudez she was unable to use her natural size advantage and instead Bopp's skills and speed were the difference as Bermudez was widely beaten in the end, despite putting up a good effort. This was a case of a very good big fighter fighting a great smaller fighter and the smaller fighter being a that bit too good.

(Photo thanks to Sumio Yamada)

This coming Saturday is a major day in the boxing world and ends one of the most interesting weeks this year. The bigger fights, which take place around the world, are nothing short of major bouts and are really, really exciting.

The biggest fight of the day is in Germany as Heavyweight kingpin Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51) defends his WBO, WBA "super" and IBF titles against WBO mandatory challenger Alex Leapai (30-4-3, 24). Many have written Leapai off though with his power he does have a punchers chance against Klitschko, as long as he catches clean. Admittedly it's rare for Klitschko to be caught but there is always that chance.

For those complaining about Leapai getting this chance it's worth noting he did earn the chance having beaten Denis Boytsov last time out.

On the same card there is a second notable Heavyweight bout as the promising and unbeaten Joseph Parker (7-0, 6) takes on late replacement Marcelo Luiz Nascimento (17-3, 15) who has taken the place of Sherman Williams who has had a big falling out with the promoter of the show.

A third interesting bout on this card sees Klitschko's compatriot, and 2012 Olympic gold medal winner, Oleksandr Usyk (2-0, 2) in action against the tough Ben Nsafoah (15-9-2, 8).

In the UK we get a third interesting Heavyweight contest as the hard hitting and very likeable Lucas Browne (19-0, 17) takes on Canada's Eric Martel Bahoeli (10-3, 7) in an excellent looking Commonwealth title fight. We like Browne and although we know he's limited he's always going to be a lot of fun.

Talking about fun to watch fighters the same British show will feature Adam Etches (15-0, 12), who will be fighting Felipe De la Paz Teniente (12-1, 6), and Kirill Relikh (15-0, 13), who battles Ty Gilchrist (6-3-1, 2), who are also very fun to watch, heavy handed and aggressive minded fighters.

Staying on the subject of fun to watch fighters the audiences watching Showtime get a number of fun to watch fighters in action.

One of those will be Lucas Martin Matthysse (34-3, 32) who battles John Molina (27-3, 22). On paper this looks fun though in reality it's likely to be a mismatch and it's hard to see anything but a steam roller job by Matthysse who will be looking to leave an impact on his return to the ring after losing to Danny Garcia last time out.

Another of those will be Omar Figueroa (22-0-1, 17) who will defending his WBC Lightweight title against former amateur foe Jerry Belmontes (19-3, 5). Figueroa is returning to the ring for the first time since damaging his hands on the head of Nihitio Arakawa in one of the 2013 FOTY contenders, he'll be hoping to have fully recovered as he's facing a man who beat him in the unpaid ranks.

A third, world class, fighter on this card is Keith Thurman (22-0-0-1, 20). Thurman is the WBA "interim" Welterweight champion and is viewed by some as the heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather Jr, we'd disagree with that but he has a great chance to shine against former 2-time IBF Lightweight champion Julio Diaz (40-9-1, 29). This should be an easy KO win for Thurman if he's as good as speculated by the US media and fans.

One more man of note on this US card is Antonio Orozco (19-0, 15) who we absolutely love watching. Orozco should, like the other exciting fighters on this card, pick up an easy stoppage as he takes on the much smaller Martin Honorio (32-8-1, 16). Honorio is a former world title challenger and is a world class Super Featherweight but Orozco is more of a Light Welterweight.

In Argentina we have a very special looking female bout as Yesica Yolanda Bopp (26-1, 12) battled fellow Argentinian world champion Daniela Romina Bermudez (16-2-2, 5). The bout is a little bit weird as Bopp, the WBO Light Flyweight champion, is stepping up to 112lbs whilst Bermudez, who holds a title at Super Flyweight is stepping down. For all intents and purposes this is a bout fought at a catchweight of 112lbs, the Flyweight limit, with the vacant WBO Flyweight title on the line. Very interesting bout and one we've been told is "must watch". This will be the second time the two have met and the first time around Bopp took a very hard fought decision, with that in mind it's a true 50-50 bout in our eyes.

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