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)

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 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)