December 18
Manchester, England: Middle: Billy Joe Saunders (23-0) W PTS 12 Andy Lee (34-3-1) W . Super Welter: Liam Smith (22-0-1) W TKO 7 Jimmy “Kilrain” Kelly (16-1). Super Welter: Liam Williams (13-0-1) W TKO 2 Kris Carslaw (22-6). Super Fly: Paul Butler (20-1) W TKO 6 Silvio Olteanu (15-9-1). Super Light: Jack Catterall (14-0) W TKO 3 Noe Nunez (15-3-1). Middle: Tommy Langford (15-0) W TKO 5 Robert Swierzbinski (15-5-1). Light Thomas Stalker (10-1-3) DREW 10 Craig Evans (14-1-2). Super Feather: George Jupp (13-2) W PTS 10 Mitchell Smith (13-1). Super Feather: Vijender Singh (3-0) W TKO 2 Samet Hyuseinov (7-8). Saunders vs. Lee Saunders wins the WBO title with majority verdict over champion Lee. Both started cautiously probing with their southpaw jab. Lee landed a long range right but at the end of the round Saunders made Lee’s legs quiver slightly with a sharp right hook. Lee had height and reach over Saunders but it was thought it would be his power that would divide the fighters so that right hook was a significant sign saying that Saunders was also a puncher. Both were cautious in the second each looking to draw the other into an error and capitalise with a hard counter. Both managed to get home good lefts with Lee holding his right lead glove higher than in the first round looking to pull the trigger. A confident Saunders did a little dance at the end of the round. Lee missed with two big lefts in the third and when he missed with another one he left himself open and Saunders came up inside with a right hook that sent Lee crashing to the canvas. It was a heavy knockdown but Lee was up at six and ready to go on after the eight count. He tried to get inside and hold but Saunders pushed him off landing four punches none of which connected cleanly as Lee dropped down on his haunches putting his gloves on the canvas to stop himself going all the way down. Lee got up whilst Saunders was baying to the crowd thinking he had the fight won but Lee got up and although Saunders landed some more punches he ducked and dived and lasted to the bell. In the fourth and fifth Lee had recovered and it went back to some cagey sparring with neither taking any chances both being wary of the others power and it was tense but not exciting. The sixth saw hardly any action with Lee probing with his jab but usually falling short. He threw and landed few punches and Saunders did even less. Saunders had a much better seventh out-jabbing Lee despite the Irishman’s edge in reach and getting through with some lefts. Lee was more active in the eighth but the respect each had for the others power meant neither was committing himself and it was a case of both jabbing and feinting with only the occasional punch landing which made it hard to score the rounds. Both did a bit of dancing in the ninth to show they were still full of energy and when Lee managed to land a rare left clipping Saunders on the jaw Saunders mimicked being hurt. Again you could count the punches landed on one hand but Lee probably did just enough to edge it. Saunders was letting the champion back into the fight but was still well in front. Saunders took the tenth landing a good left early and then a right and snapping out his jab. Lee landed a body punch on the bell which was the first real body punch of the fight. There was a little more action in the eleventh but even though Lee must have felt he was behind there was little real fire and an absence of any heated exchanges. The tactics in the last round said it all with Lee throwing more lefts than he had all fight, but missing with most of them, and Saunders constantly moving and just looking to stay out of trouble. Scores 115-113 and 114-112 for Saunders and 113-113 which seems to indicate that the third round, be it 10-8 or 10-7, was the difference between the fighters. Not a great fight but an important one and a huge win for the 26-year-old Saunders. Also a great few weeks for the traveller community with two world champions in Tyson Fury and Saunders. Saunders is not ready for Gennady Golovkin but as he was the mandatory challenger he can pick his next opponent and see how things develop but has ruled out a return with Chris Eubank Jr saying Eubank needs to earn the chance. Lee, 31, obviously wants a return. This was really his first defence as a defence against Peter Quillin turned into a non-title bout when Quillin failed to make the weight. Lee might have to wait for a chance for revenge Smith vs. Kelly As expected Smith proves too strong for Kelly and retains his WBO title. Kelly was competitive early but the strength of Smith and his thudding body punches finally proved too much for the challenger. Kelly’s only chance was to keep Smith on the outside and he had some success with good work with his jab, but Smith was waging a war of attrition inside. The champion turned up the heat with each successive round and since Kelly could not keep him out with his jab and was out-powered on the inside it was obvious just a matter of time before Smith broke down the Manchester-born fighters resistance. In the sixth a desperate Kelly was deducted two points for a blatant butt. He was on the floor in the seventh and although no count was given he had no resistance left and his corner sensibly threw in the towel to save their man. The 27-year-old “Beefy” was making the first defence of the title he won with a victory over John Thompson in October. Whilst a total of 12 wins by KO/TKO in 23 fights may not seem impressive Smith has now won his last seven bouts inside the distance which shows a growing power even against tougher opposition. Kelly is a good young fighter with talent but was not really in Smith’s class and jumped from nowhere to No 8 with the WBO for winning their Inter-Continental title against a fighter who had won only one of his previous five fights. Kelly can come again. Williams vs. Carslaw Williams makes this look easy as he halts Scot Carslaw in two rounds, Williams indicated he did not intend sticking around for long as he floored Carslaw with a combination in the first round. Carslaw came out in the second trying to take the fight to Williams but ran onto a ramrod stiff jab which had enough power to put him down and the referee waived the fight off without a count. Williams was having his first fight since November 2014 having been side-lined with an injury. The victory gives the 23-year-old Welshman 8 wins by KO/TKO and the British title to go alongside his Commonwealth title. The draw on his record was a technical one due to his opponent being cut. Carslaw, 31, had been in with some good class opposition and won his last four fights. This is the first time he has been beaten on KO/TKO. Butler vs. Olteanu Butler stops game little Romanian Olteanu in six rounds to win the vacant WBO European title. The “Baby Faced Assassin” was in charge from the beginning and only the bravery of Olteanu kept him in the fight as Butler was just too quick for the aging Romanian. Butler had Olteanu in trouble a couple of times but Olteanu stayed in the fight although he soaked up a lot of punishment in a one-sided fourth round. Despite that he actually seemed to have recovered in the fifth and was able to land some nice counters on the young Brit. In the sixth a wicked left hook to the body put Olteanu down. He was up and ready to continue after the eight count but another series of punches saw the referee stop the fight. Olteanu protested but Butler is a finisher and this fight could not have lasted much longer. The former undefeated 27-year-old IBF bantam champion now has 11 wins by KO/TKO. His only loss was an inside the distance defeat against Zolani Tete in a challenge for the IBF super fly title. Tete has also joined Frank Warren but it would make sense to keep them apart. Olteanu, 37, a former European Champion, lost a controversial split decision to Daiki Kameda for the WBA flyweight title in Japan in 2010 and suffered majority decision losses to Wilbert Uicab and Armando Santos in Mexico so breaks have been hard to come by for the little Spanish-based craftsman. Catterall vs. Nunez Catterall continues to do the business but Mexican Nunez came to fight. Catterall looked comfortable winning the first round behind his southpaw jab and straight lefts. That changed in the second as Nunez came storming forward and landed some good punches which split open a cut on the lip of the Chorley fighter. Nunez tried to take the fight to Catterall again in the third but Catterall had found his range and a straight left forced Nunez back into the ropes. Catterall followed-up with some brutal head punches and the referee halted the fight to save Nunez. The 22-year-old local “El Gato” was making the second defence of his WBO Inter-Continental title and makes it 9 wins by KO/TKO. Nunez, 28, had won 6 of his last 7 fights and this is first loss by KO/TKO. Langford vs. Swierzbinski Langford also makes a successful second defence of his WBO Inter-Continental title. Langford took the first round impressively with the use of his jab, uppercuts and hooks to the body. He looked to have scored a knockdown with a right in the second but it was not counted but his body work was weakening the Pole. Langford dominated the third with more damaging work with his jab and body punches. In the fourth further pressure from Langford saw Swierzbinski forced to go down on one knee to get a break from the punishment. Langford went straight back to the attack and his eagerness saw him catch a couple of punches from Swierzbinski but he shrugged them off and put Swierzbinski down with a right. The Pole made it to the bell but was wilting under body punches from Langford in the fifth when the referee stopped the fight. Langford continues to impress and gets his fifth win by KO/TKO. Third loss by KO/TKO for the Pole but the other two losses have been to David Lemieux and Chris Eubank Jr so no shame there. Stalker vs. Evans A second draw shows how well matched these two are. Last time the feeling was that Stalker may have been unlucky not to walk away with the victory but this time although it was close a strong finish from Evans seemed to have turned things his way. Stalker had built a lead but despite suffering a cut over his right eye in the ninth round Evans did enough to close that gap and put his nose in front but it was even closer than their first fight. Scores 96-94 for Evans, 96-94 for Stalker and 95-95. Stalker, 31, a long-time top amateur just has not been able to get any traction as a pro and this is his third draw in a row. Blackpool-based Welshman Evans, 26, lost a decision to Scott Cardle for the vacant British title in May and is prone to cuts but is a talented boxer who can come again. Jupp vs. Smith There are no certainties in boxing as Jupp proved with hard-fought win over WBO rated Smith. Jupp had his jab working effectively from the outset and it was the fight winning punch for him as with Smith being unable to out-jab Jupp he had to get inside to work the body. Smith kept the bout close with his inside work but Jupp was busier and more active with Smith not really letting his punches go and too often loading up on his punches whereas Jupp was constantly scoring with his jab and also with left hooks. The middle rounds were all close with Smith trying to up his work rate but Jupp was edging them on accuracy and using good footwork and a solid defence to block many of Smith’s punches. By the last Smith needed a knockout but he had never come close to having Jupp in trouble in the fight and Jupp ran out a comfortable winner. Scores 98-94, 97-93 and 96-94. The 25-year-old Jupp has now won his last 9 fights and has twice had experienced of full ten round fights but he is not a noted puncher and the opposition had not been strong. This is a huge win for Jupp as he lifts Smith’s WBO Inter-Continental title and as Smith was rated a much too high No 4 with the WBO it will be interesting to see what they do with the ratings of both fighters. This will get Jupp some good paydays which is the least he deserves. Smith, 23, had wins over much better opposition on paper in Cristian Palma and Dennis Tubieron but they were both coming off loses so Smith’s rating is based on his winning the WBO Inter-Continental title rather than the quality of his opposition and if you ignored the daft WBO rating this was a contest between two promising young largely untested fighters and on that basis was perhaps not a huge upset. Smith is just 23 so he can and will rebound from this. Singh vs. Hyuseinov Singh gets his third win with stoppage of reluctant Bulgarian. Singh worked him over in the first round and at the start of the second round he cornered Hyuseinov and unloaded a series of punches that saw the referee halt the fight. Three wins by KO/TKO in three fights for the 30-year-old former star of Indian boxing. Hyuseinov is 2-5 in his last 7 fights.
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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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