Lopez vs. Kambosos

By Frank Bartolini, Ringside

Words, hats and crows were the entries being fed to all the experts, pundits and media inside the Hulu Theater after George Kambosos, Jr, Sydney Australia, clobbered Teofimo Lopez, Brooklyn. N.Y., over twelve rounds to capture the unified WBA, IBF, WBO World Lightweight Championship. All the experts forecasted an early doom for the challenger from "down under."

Booming cheers rang out from the packed house from the opening bell, when Lopez charged out his corner and teed off, landing thudding punches on Kambosos',134.4 lbs., head and body. During all the commotion, no one seemed to notice Lopez blows were not having much effect on Kambosos. While most of Lopez's opponents collapsed under these blasts, Kambosos waited for his chance. That moment came with seconds left in round one, when Kambosos connected with a perfectly timed counter right hand over Lopez’s left jab. Lopez,135 lbs., went down on both knees. Upon getting up, he managed to return to his corner.

Midway through the contest, the expected blowout victory by Lopez was not occurring. In fact, Kambosos was in the lead. Believing the headlines going into battle, Lopez had no game plan, and when the predicted destruction never happened, Kambosos applied a well thought out strategy of counters and movement. As his confidence grew, Kambosos then started taking it to Lopez and backing him into the ropes.

Scoring a good combination at the conclusion of round six, Kambosos danced and laughed at Lopez before returning to his corner. Suffering a cut eye in round seven did not deter Kambosos as he battered Lopez with overhand rights to the head.

Even though Kambosos was getting the better of the action, both combatants absorbed a good deal of punishment. Lopez got through with two rights to the chin that dropped Kambosos in the tenth. A testament to this grueling battle showed through the lumps, scraps, and cuts on the warriors' faces. A Kambosos right hand opened a nasty cut around Lopez’s left eye in the eleventh. Seasoned referee Harvey Dock had to halt the action to have the ringside physician check out the damage. Covered in blood, Lopez appeared to have walked off the set of a horror movie. After a long period of scrutiny, the doctor let it continue. 

Leaving their corners for the final round, each boxer knew the fight was on the line. Fans stood and screamed the entire session of the ebb and flow as momentum shifted back and forth. The walls were shaking from the roar of the crowd when the final bell rang.

What looked like a clear victory for the Australian, had many people wondering out loud if Kambosos could get a fair shake from the judges in New York. Ring announcer David Diamante gave the answer when he declared Kambosos the new champion by split decision victory by scores of 115-112 , 115-111 in his favor, and 114-113 for Lopez. Leaving the ring without his belts Lopez's record is now 16-1, 12 KOs. Remaining undefeated, the new lightweight king Kambosos slate stands at 20-0, 10 KOs.

In a roundabout way that has been well documented, Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing USA promoted the standing room only show that was broadcast on DAZN.

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The Willie Pep & Sandy Saddler of Our Time

By Mike I.

Many people may claim to be the biggest boxing fans, and still have never heard of these two great feather weights Willie Pep and Sandy Saddler. Known as the folkloric moniker “Will o’ the Wisp,” Pep was involved in a situation that became boxing folklore type of situation when he won a round of boxing without throwing a single punch. It has been disputed throughout the years, and probably always will be, seeing how Roy Jones Jr. in the fourth round of his fight with Vinny Paz became the first fighter in (CompuBox) history to go an entire round without being hit by his opponent. Pazienza was credited with throwing five punches and landing zero. No matter the case, if there was ever a boxer besides Jones who could have possibly went a whole round without getting hit even once, it was Pep.

Pep faced off with Sandy Saddler, the perfect boxer to offset such a slickster Like Pep, with an impressive record that included 104 knockouts in 145 fights. The “Tommy Hearns of the featherweights,” standing at around 5’10 and always weighing in for his fights at 126 pounds, the lanky and wiry Saddler was the worst nightmare to any of the great featherweights of his day. These two men fought a total of four bouts, match ups that were a sight to behold. Pep put his amazing speed and ring generalship on display, while Saddler stalked and hunted his opponent down with a vicious jab and that right hand “from hell.” They were not above taking it to a dirty level in the ring either. Their fourth and final fight was called “one of the dirtiest fights in history,” with both men not simply hitting low, but stepping on feet and tripping and wrestling each other to the ground.

If you want to see two great little men show skill, guts, and put on just one hell of a show for you in the ring, find some footage on those fights. I say that because if you want to see the closest thing to that style match up, at least in my opinion, you want to see Gervonta Davis, the newly crowned WBA junior welterweight champ, take on the recent comeback star Vasyl Lomachenko.

Arguably, outside of Manny Pacquiao, Davis seems to be the biggest puncher in all of boxing right now. He just jumped two weights classes and KO’d a much naturally bigger man, Mario Barrios, for the title. Davis has a punch to be reckoned with, and much like Sandy Saddler, he is a force to be reckoned with. For a smaller fighter, he has punching power and boxing ability, even though he lacks the Hearns/Saddler frame. He still packs a great shot in the more compacted container of 5’6, and in the weight classes under welterweight. 

His potential opponent Lomachenko is possibly the closest thing to Willie Pep in this generation. Lomachenko just knocked out Masayoshi Nakatani in their fight, much like Davis did to his opponent.  Nakatani is a wiry boxer, like Saddler, and Lomachenko KO’d him.

Now the question must asked, can Lomachenko beat a man with the power of Saddler? Davis clearly has the power even though he does not have the frame. Lomachenko has the speed and type of ring generalship Pep had. I say that because Pep would do bizarre things in the ring and still get away with them because of his grace and speed. These “bizarre things” included grabbing an opponent by the wrist (they had gloves with the thumb free back then), and pulling the opponent towards him while hitting him with the same hand right before dogging underneath and getting out of the way of a counter punch.

In Pep’s folkloric cult classic fight that he won a round of boxing without throwing a punch, Pep allegedly wound up behind his opponent, tapped him on the shoulder, and said, “Here I am pal.”

If there is one guy people could see having the same type of style, one in which a fighter makes his opponent feel like he is surrounding him all by himself, it is Lomachenko. He was given the moniker “the Matrix” for his ability to be in front of his opponent, and then seem like he is just teleporting into another position around them.

Also, like Pep was in the fights with Saddler, Lomachenko will be the matador of a show down with Davis. He has no power compared to Davis, like Pep had no power compared to Saddler.

Although, I do not see a matchup out there that would come closer to Pep vs. Saddler, Davis’ great jab and boxing ability coupled with his unbelievable power against Lomachenko’s speed and awkward, and unique style of swarming an opponent from all angles would come close to these legendary fights.

Davis is the perfect bull for the matador Lomachenko, as although he could KO him with one shot and yet he will have to show his other great talents and boxing skills to land against such an elusive and tricky opponent. Lomachenko it seems from his recent victory that he learned from the Lopez fight about how to deal with a bigger puncher. With Davis he would be learning how to deal with a huge puncher, who also has amazing reflexes and style. This fight is interesting to see if Lomachenko, like Pep, is great enough to learn during his fights and pull-out wins, rather than just learning from a defeat.

If this matchup has the potential that I think it does, we as fans would want to see Davis and Lomachenko have four matchups just like Pep and Saddler did. Davis and Lomachenko are the same quality of athletes as Pep and Saddler not only in style, but in their willingness to want to be the best. So, even though styles make fights, great competitors who bring more than talent to the table make even better fights at times. Pep and Saddler sure did for their era, and I can only hope Lomachenko and Davis do the same for modern times. The boxing world should crave this fight the way a person who hasn’t eaten in days wants a four-course meal.

Some fans may ask what about a Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez rematch? Well, that is going to happen sooner than later as Lomachenko said, “I want people to remember my name I fight for this, I fight for legacy.”

Davis and Lomachenko are the kind of guys who are throwbacks to when fighters were not just hungry for fast fame and fortune, but proud about what they did over the course their careers. 

Willie Pep

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Devin Haney: Don’t Call Him a Prospect

By Luis A. Cortes III

It’s clear that the narrative of Devin Haney (22-0) (14 KO’s) being one of boxing’s best young prospect sis something that the young lightweight sensation was never really trying to achieve.  As a matter of fact, it’s a moniker that Haney seems to evade, like most of the punches that are thrown his way.  Yes, when a fighter turns professional at the age of seventeen and runs through the early part of his career in the fashion that Haney has, seemingly easily, beating all opposition during his rise through the lightweight division, it’s not hard to understand why so many boxing insiders started to gush over his skills, both inside and outside of the ring.  He is a well-spoken young man, with the looks that suggest he could easily transcend the sport to become a popular main stream star. 

Boxing history is littered with the once upon a time prospects that had the same traits that Haney currently possesses.  What seems to be a bit different regarding Haney is that he has always delivered where it matters the most.  Inside of the ring.  At times many of these prospects in the past have not been able to handle everything that comes with a quick rise through the professional ranks.  Some fall to situations outside of the ring in their personal lives, while others fail to live up to expectations as the level of competition increases. 

In contrast, the talent that Haney possesses made many fight fans and boxing insiders pick him as their heir apparent to the throne of boxing’s biggest box office draw.  His speed both of foot and hand are something that can be best described as generational.  Add to that, Haney’s mental prowess and his ability to adapt during fights to capitalize on the mistakes his opponent’s make, along with the knowledge at such a young age to dictate the pace of a fight.  What you wind up having in total is a complete fighter.  The only thing that seems to be missing is how Haney would fair against a tough, gritty opponent that could push him physically and mentally.  Again, those types of boxing intangibles may not be tested until Haney begins to fight the elite level of his division and the sport.  

With twenty-two fights under his belt in his career at just the age of twenty, Haney enters his fight on Friday night against Zaur Abdullaev (11-0) (7 KO’s), of Russia, aiming to capture something that would put the boxing world on notice.  A victory would make him the WBC Interim champion and their number one ranked lightweight in the world.  Currently the lightweight division is one of the most talented in the sport, with the fighter many feel is the best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound in Vasly Lomachenko holding the WBA/WBC/WBO titles.  A Haney win would mean that he would put himself in a prime position to fight Lomachenko, possibly for all those titles.  With Lomachenko fighting under the Top Rank Promotions banner, he has made it clear that his goal is to be undisputed lightweight champion. As a result, he will patiently await the winner of the proposed December 14^th fight between IBF champion Richard Commey and his number one challenger Teofimo Lopez. 

This leaves Haney somewhat on the outside in terms of the world title picture.  Although this may be the case, Haney has made it clear that he is glad to continue his path and does not need to rush into a fight with Lomachenko.  “The WBC Interim World Championship means a lot to me.  Being able to fight for an Interim World title means everything.  This not only makes me the WBC mandatory for Lomachenko, but I’m able to do Interim title defenses until Lomachenko is ready to fight,” stated Haney during a recent media day. 

“Some people kept labeling me a prospect when I knew I was so much more.  I know Abdullaev is focused, he’s been at the top of the rankings for a while now.  I believe the winner is in a really good position with the WBC,” asserts Haney. 

Friday night is the type of opportunity that Haney has been preparing for since he first started boxing when he was seven years old.  Not only is it a huge chance to start building his legacy,  It is also the first time that Haney will be the main event at the building known as the “Mecca of Boxing,” Madison Square Garden.  Although the fight will take place inside of the smaller theater and not the main room, the theater is at times known as the proving grounds where future top attractions of the sport first test just how big their box office appeal truly is.  A dominant performance for Haney along with a sizable crowd of paying customers to witness his first major career milestone would be the first step towards him proving to the boxing world that all the praise he has received at such an early age is warranted.  

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After Saturday the Lightweight picture gets clearer

By Luis A. Cortes III

Heading into this Saturday afternoon’s (ESPN+ 4 p.m. ET) lightweight unification fight, there are many sub plots that accompany this major fight.  WBA/WBO unified champion and top ranked pound for pound fighter in the world, Vasyl Lomachenko (13-1)(10 KO’s) defends his two portions of the lightweight crown against fellow 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist, and England native Luke Campbell (20-2)(16 KO’s).  One of these sub plots is the fact that not only will the winner of this fight stake their claim as the best lightweight in the world with the two previously mentioned titles, the vacant WBC world lightweight title is also up for grabs.  This means that Lomachenko can add a third title to his ever-growing collection of championships.  While for Campbell, with one huge upset victory, he can go from top contender to owner of three of the four major titles in the division. 

While we will take a closer look at the type of fight that Lomachenko-Campbell could shape up to be once the first bell rings out from the O2 Arena in London, what is intriguing is just what this fight means to the lightweight division once the dust settles and a winner is announced.  Earlier this summer the lightweight division and the path towards crowning an undisputed champion was covered prior to the title defense of IBF champion, Richard Commey ("The Road to Undisputed Lightweight King Begins"). 

With Commey successfully defending his version of the title against Beltran, and Teofimo Lopez winning his fight to secure the spot as the IBF number one contender, all signs point to the two men meeting in a championship fight in December at Madison Square Garden.  The victor of this Saturday’s fight in London will be waiting with bated breath for the outcome of the proposed Commey-Lopez fight.  For Top Rank Promotions, the ideal situation would be for Lomachenko to continue to impress the world by proving with a victory over Campbell that he is the best fighter in the world.  It also would make a potential fight next year with the winner of Commey-Lopez much easier to make since both of those fighters also ply their trade under the Top Rank banner. 

As mentioned in the article earlier this summer.  Luke Campbell has attached himself to this scenario as the absolute wild card.  Campbell, unlike the other three fighters mentioned, is not signed to Top Rank and is promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.  However, something tells me that if he can accomplish the upset by beating Lomachenko, which not many boxing observers or fans on social media seem to give him a valid chance in doing, Team Campbell may in fact be demanding that they as well look no further then December’s fight for their next opponent. 

All of this means that Saturday will go a long way into making the path and picture of crowning an undisputed lightweight champion much clearer.  As for the fight itself, this event does say a lot about the reigning champion.  With the fight taking place in London, it’s not often that in today’s day and age of champions demanding to be considered the “A” side of a promotion that the hometown fighter is the challenger.  Lomachenko is proving that he is anything but a regular champion.  He sees this as an opportunity to display his skills on a large scale in front of an audience that hasn’t seen him compete live since his days in the World Boxing Series prior to turning professional, or since the 2012 Olympic Games (held in London).  One thing is for certain, while Campbell will most likely have most of his native land’s support, with over 18,000 tickets sold and a sellout expected, Lomachenko has been attending fight week events that have been packed with his supporters. 

Already an international star, an impressive victory over Campbell would just add the rest of England to Lomachenko’s growing list of supporters.  Although its rare to see the champion or pound for pound best willing to travel to the native land of the challenger, to his credit Lomachenko had this to say about the task at hand on Saturday.  “Maybe it will be a harder fight, but I can’t answer that until after the fight.  Luke Campbell is not an easy fighter.  He’s a top fighter.  He’s a smart fighter.  He’s a technical fighter, so it will be an interesting and technical fight.” 

What Lomachenko is referring, to aside from showing respect to his challenger and fellow Olympic champion, is the only thing that boxing observers have pointed to that favors Campbell going into this fight, his size and reach advantage over the smaller champion.  Campbell is a very tall lightweight with solid fundamentals and a tough southpaw style.  He also has good professional experience, only losing twice by split decision, one of those fights being a 2017 loss to then WBA champion Jorge Linares.  Although most people thought Linares was the rightful winner of the fight, Campbell showed grit and determination after being dropped in the second round by rising to his feet and adjusting in order to make the fight a close one.  Linares was also the fighter that wound up dropping Lomachenko during their heated fight last year when Lomachenko moved up in weight to capture the WBA title. ("Top Rank Boxing Presents Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Jorge Linares Recap")

“I’ve been through a lot having the experience of the London Olympics, the crowds, the pressure of going out there, getting a medal and winning.  My professional career, coming to America to fight Linares for a world title.  I’ve learned from my experiences, and boy, do I love a challenge.  I’ve said for years being in boxing, to be the best, you have to beat the best,” stated Campbell. 

So, while his amateur pedigree and his professional experiences, coupled with his physical traits have many feeling that Campbell will make this a competitive fight, mostly everyone winds up saying that in the end Lomachenko will find a way to figure out the right plan of attack during the fight and make the adjustments needed to chop down his worthy challenger.  What will be interesting to see is if Campbell will also be able to adjust to the champion’s adjustments in order to try and take control of the fight as the challenger, and clearly come out as the winner of the fight. 

A couple things are for sure, whichever way this fight winds up playing out, fight fans will continue to reap the benefits of cross promotion as the best fight the best.  Also, one fighter will walk out of the ring with three of the four major belts, thus taking us closer to an undisputed champion.  Lastly, even if the fight does wind up turning into a technical fight between the two fighters as they jockey for advantages, it will be an intriguing high tense chess match.  If this is the case, pay close attention to the subtle boxing moves done with both the fighter’s hands and feet as they probe for the right plan of attack to be successful.  Enjoy, and let the lightweight picture get that much clearer! 

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The Road to Undisputed Lightweight King Begins

By Luis A. Cortes III

On Saturday night from Temecula California, Top Rank Promotions and ESPN (10 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) will broadcast a fight card that’s main event will feature the beginning of the path towards an undisputed king.  The quest for lightweight supremacy begins as IBF lightweight champion Richard Commey (28-2, 22 KO’s) defends his title for the first time against former world champion and grizzled veteran Ray Beltran (36-8-1, 22 KO’s).  When Mikey Garcia decided to vacate the WBC portion of the lightweight crown back in April after his loss to welterweight champion Errol Spence, it meant that the biggest fight in the division between Garcia and the WBA/WBO champion Vasiliy Lomachenko would have to once again be placed on hold.

With Garcia now set to face Danny Garcia at welterweight, it meant that the division could now move on from the unification fight between Garcia and Lomachenko and allow for the rest of the world class talent a chance to stake their claim as the king of the talent rich division.  Lomachenko (a top pound-for-pound fighter) and already a unified champion in the division is clearly the proverbial favorite to be the last man standing when the dust settles.  This brings us back to what will take place this weekend between Commey and Beltran. 

Commey, the hard-punching champion from Ghana, won the IBF portion of the crown in February when he blasted Isa Chaniev with power shots in two rounds to earn the knockout win.  It was supposed to have set up Commey with the chance to unify his titles with Lomachenko in April.  However, due to a hand injury sustained during his title winning victory, it caused a need for surgery and Lomachenko to look elsewhere for his next opponent.

Beltran himself has had to navigate a twisting path towards this opportunity to have his name listed as the divisions king.  It was just last year that Beltran, after a long career that had seen its ups and downs, finally captured a world championship when he defeated Paulus Moses.  In his first defense of the WBO title in August, he dropped a decision to Puerto Rico’s Jose Pedraza.  Going into that fight (like the Commey situation this year), it was believed that with the victory over Pedraza, Beltran would be next in line for Lomachenko and the seven-figure payday that accompanies that type of fight.  Unfortunately for Beltran, Pedraza not only won the WBO title but would get the fight last December with Lomachenko.  With a comeback knockout victory last February, Beltran has now placed himself into a prime position to challenge Commey for another portion of the lightweight crown.   

“Being a world champion is great.  I went back home, and everyone welcomed me at the airport.  It was like a hero’s welcome, it was unbelievable,” stated Commey during the final press conference this week.  “I never try and knock out my opponent.  It comes when it comes.  I believe he’s a strong guy, a tough guy, and so am I.  It’s going to be a good fight, but I’m the champion, and I’m going to keep my belt.”

It’s clear that Commey has taken to the role of favorite for this fight as the champion, but for Beltran being an underdog is par for the course for him at this point in his twenty-year career.  “I feel like I made it the hard way.  Even when the sport or boxing world didn’t believe in me, that’s when I had to believe in myself,” expressed Beltran.  “Nobody gave me an opportunity, I had to go and take it.  I became a world champion and I am fighting for another world title.  It’s not about if people believe in you.  You must believe in yourself.”

Both fighters are clearly focused on the task at hand and through their words one can tell that they are not taking this opportunity to prove that they are elite lightly.  Having both missed out on an opportunity to fight for bigger fight purses, each fighter clearly is aware what victory and defeat can mean to their careers.  What should also be promising for fans is the fact that both men are hard nosed both in their approach to the sport in terms of preparation, but also in how they fight inside of the ring.  They do not shy away from trying to find their opponents and are happy to exchange power shots to inflict punishment.  In other words, get ready for a fight that has the potential to provide fireworks and bombs for as long as the warfare lasts. 

With a fight between the sport’s top young sensation lightweight Teofimo Lopez and veteran Masayoshi Nakatani scheduled for July 19^th as an IBF title eliminator, whoever survives the fight on Friday night and steps out of the ring with the IBF title will have his eyes focused on that ring in July.  In fact, Lopez will have his eyes on the ring Friday since he is scheduled to be in California to watch Commey and Beltran do battle from ringside. 

Lopez has not been shy about wanting to prove to the world that his days as “top prospect” are behind him.  He has been vocal in calling out the unified champion Lomachenko and with this road to crowning an undisputed lightweight king getting underway.  Lopez will have his chance with just two victories during the remainder of the year to not only fulfill his dream of becoming a world champion, but also, to put himself in the prime position to challenge Lomachenko to become undisputed champion.

A wild card has been thrown into the mix since there still is that issue of the WBC title being vacant.  While it seemed that Luke Campbell, the former 2012 Olympian, would somehow be involved as one of the fighters with top contender status in the WBC rankings, what became interesting was that the WBC named Lomachenko also as a top contender in their rankings despite holding two other portions of the crown.  As a result, there have been plenty of news circulating that a unification fight between Campbell and Lomachenko tentatively scheduled for late August in London is all but set.  Campbell could walk into a London ring with no titles, and if he were to pull off the mega upset, would walk out of that ring with three of the four portions of the undisputed lightweight crown. 

However, if all goes as expected late this summer across the pond, Lomachenko will add that WBC title to the other two portions of the crown he already holds and will await the fighter who survives this small tournament that gets underway Friday night to decide the IBF title.  Whichever way things will pan out in the division, by this time next year, barring any drastic changes or outside of the ring mishaps, fans of the sport should be happy to know that finally a talent rich division will have the elite champions and contenders fight to crown one undisputed king at lightweight. 

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The Nurturing of Teofimo Lopez, "The Takeover"

By Luis A. Cortes III

Check out my latest article on boxing's next star, Teofimo Lopez on "The Sweet Science." 

The Nurturing of Teofimo Lopez, "The Takeover"

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Top Rank Stars Shine from the Garden: Crawford vs. Khan Results

By Matt Ward, Ringside

World championship boxing presented by Bob Arum's Top Rank returned to the Mecca of Boxing Madison Square Garden last night with a WBO World Welterweight title bout between boxing veterans and future Hall of Famers, Amir Khan (33-5, 20 KOs) and Terence Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs). Despite the fact that Crawford entered this bout as the favorite in betting circles, many boxing insiders believed that this would be a competitive matchup between two proven warriors. Unfortunately, Khan did not live up to the expectations of these boxing analysts. 

Crawford started the fireworks early in the main event with a first round knockdown. The shot that sent Khan crashing to the canvas was a big right hand to the head. Although Khan pulled himself up from the mat, Crawford's message had been sent loud and clear to Khan, who appeared to be on shaky legs for the remainder of the opening frame. Khan answered the second round bell a scared man, fighting most of the round with cautionary and defensive maneuvers. 

Khan appeared to settle down in the third round when he started to let his hands go against Crawford, who appeared to hold back offensively throughout the round. In the fourth round, Crawford unloaded on Khan with a multi-punch combo. Khan, again being reminded of Crawford's power, moved away from the pressure and chose not to exchange blows with the "Pride of Omaha." Crawford continued to stalk Khan, and around the 30 second mark of the fourth, hurt Khan again with a viscous multi-punch combo. Khan, hoping to make it to the bell, "jumped on the bike," and moved away from Crawford. He saved face in the eyes of the fans by cracking Crawford with a hard right hand to the head as the bell rang. 

Crawford snapped Khan's head back with a well-placed right hand to the head in the fifth. For the remainder of the round, Khan's form "went to hell" as he swung wildly at the calm and composed Crawford. At the end of the round, Khan walked back to his corner a frustrated and disheveled man. In the sixth round, Crawford connected with a left uppercut that landed below the belt. The referee, taking notice of the incidental low blow, called for a timeout to give Khan adequate time to recover. Instead of taking the full five minutes he was entitled to, Khan informed the ringside physician and his corner that he was unable to continue in the bout. The end came at the 47 second mark of the sixth round of a scheduled 12 round contest. Crawford walked away the winner by TKO, and called out Errol Spence in his post-fight interview. 

Knockout artist and Brooklyn native Teofimo Lopez (13-0, 11 KOs) added another knockout to his record last night over Finland's Edis Tatli (31-3, 10 KOs). Both fighters spent the opening round feeling one another out. Lopez put pressure on Tatli in the second round. Tatli employed some "fancy" footwork in the fourth round, as Lopez stalked him around the ring. Tatli had a smart game plan through four, choosing to not brawl with the dangerous and tough Lopez. Lopez finally caught up with Tatli towards the end of the fourth, landing a series of big shots that forced Tatli to wrap him up. 

Lopez landed a hard right hand to the ribs of Tatli that dropped the fighter to his knees. The referee counted Tatli out at the 1:32 mark of the fifth round. Lopez celebrated his eleventh knockout victory with a back flip. 

Newark, New Jersey's Shakur Stevenson (11-0, 6 KOs) continued his winning ways last night, and in the process captured the IBF Intercontinetal and NBO Featherweight titles. Stevenson's opponent Christopher Diaz (24-2, 16 KOs), trained by legendary trainer Freddie Roach, wore trunks that paid homage to the Philadelphia Phillies logo text style. The two fighters spent the first round feeling one another out. Stevenson fought a smart second round as he landed several solid and clean shots, and displayed outstanding defense against his tough veteran opponent. 

Stevenson proved to be the faster fighter throughout round three, giving Diaz problems adjusting to his style. Stevenson connected with a big straight left to the head in the third. Later in the round, a multi-punch combo around the 30 second mark shook Diaz. By the fifth round, every shot Diaz landed was answered by double the number of shots by Stevenson. Stevenson peppered a frustrated Diaz with multiple straight left-right hand combos in the fifth round. 

By the sixth round, Stevenson was toying with Diaz as he tee'd off on him at will. Diaz winced under a hard left hand in the first minute of the sixth round. In the seventh round, both men were noticeably taking turns stepping on one another's lead toes as they threw punches. 

In the tenth and final round, the two fighters were openly taunting one another. Both fighters cruised through this round. The only "notable" moment involved Stevenson urging an exhausted Diaz to come forward and strike him. The judges scored the bout 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92 for Stevenson. 

The pay-per-view portion of the card kicked off at 9:00 PM EST with a lightweight fight between Bryan Vasquez (37-4, 20 KOs) and Felix Verdejo (25-1, 16 KOs). In what could have been a competitive fight, Felix Verdejo dominated the ten round contest. Verdejo picked up the momentum in the second, when he easily won the round by landing the cleaner shots throughout the frame. 

In the third round, Vasquez aggressively came forward numerous times but was always greeted with a Verdejo jab to the head. As the round came close to its end, a cut appeared under Verdejo's left eye. Verdejo connected with a big left-right hand combo to the head of Vasquez in the fifth. 

Verdejo continued to put pressure on Vasquez in the sixth and seventh round, but Vasquez escaped these attacks or wrapped his opponent up. In the eighth round, Verdejo landed a big right to the head, followed up with multi-punch body shots. In the tenth round, Vasquez hurt Verdejo with a left to the head. Both men, on shaky legs, exchanged big shots in the center of the ring during the final seconds of the fight. The judges scored the bout 97-93 twice and 98-92 for Verdejo. 

Frank Galarza (20-3-2, 12 KOs) fought Carlos Adames (17-0, 13 KOs) for the NABF/NABO Super Welterweight title. The two fighters spent the first round feeling each other out. The big highlight of this opening round was an Adames big left hand to the side of Galarza's head. There was limited action again in the second round as both men continued to fight cautiously from a safe distance. Adames, who is trained by Robert Garcia, came out swinging in the third round. 

Adames followed up his offensive onslaught in the fourth round, when he knocked Galarza down in the first 30 seconds of the round with a left hand to the jawline. Adames jumped all over Galarza when he pulled himself up from the canvas. He beat Galarza into the corner with a viscous multi-punch combo that forced referee Benjy Esteves to call a halt to the action at 1:07 of the fourth round of a scheduled ten rounds. 

Edgar Berlanga (10-0, 10 KOs) made fast work of Samir Barbosa (37-16-3, 26 KOs) last night. Berlanga, the fan favorite, put pressure on Barbosa early in the opening frame of a scheduled eight round middleweight contest. A Berlanga left hand to the jaw stunned Barbosa, and sent him stumbling back into the ropes. The referee saw enough at the 46 second mark after Berlanga landed two consecutive straight right hands to his opponent's face. 

Ireland's Larry Fryers (10-1, 3 KOs) defeated Dakota Polley (5-3, 2KOs) in a six round super lightweight contest. The two fighters spent most of the first round feeling one another out. Fryers hammered away at Polley, the son of current professional Byron Polley, in the second round after appearing to settle into his fighting rhythm. Fryers landed big right and left hands to the head of Polley, coupled with an increase in body shots during this frame. 

By the fourth round, it was evident that Fryers was throwing more punches. Despite this fact, Polley was not the one with swelling under both eyes. By the fifth round, Fryers had officially landed more punches in every round than his opponent. 

The action was paused in the fifth round around the 1:59 mark after the referee noticed the bad cut above Polley's right eye caused by an accidental headbutt. The doctor examined the cut and opted to allow him to continue. Soon after the timeout, Fryers went on the attack and knocked Polley off balance with a multi-punch combo. Polley returned to his corner with blood running down the side of his face. Polley's cut man certainly earned his paycheck last night at the Garden! 

Before the start of the sixth round, the ringside physician took another look at Polley's eye and allowed him to continue. Polley lost a point in the sixth for what appeared to be rabbit punches. All three judges scored the bout 60-53 for Fryers. 

Two-time Indian Olympian Vikas Krishan (2-0, 1 KO) continued his winning ways as a professional in the super welterweight division with a unanimous decision victory over Missouri's Noah Kidd (3-2-1, 2 KOs). Krishan answered the opening bell throwing big shots, however, slowed down midway through the round. Krishan connected with a flush right hand to the jaw of Kidd in the first round.

Krishan landed a series of big left hands to the head and body of Kidd in the third round. At the end of the third round, blood trickled out of a cut on the side of Krishan's right eye. A Krishan left hook to the Kidd's head in the fourth appeared to take the steam out of him. This shot forced Kidd to readjust his defensive stance, as he clearly kept his guard up to better protect his head as the fight continued. 

Kidd's big uppercuts and shots forced Krishan to backpedal into the ropes in the fifth round. In the sixth and final round, Kidd, realizing he was behind in the cards, desperately charged at Krishan looking for a late knockout to no avail. The judges scored the bout 60-54 twice and 59-55 for Krishan.

Bantamweights Lawrence Newton (12-0, 7 KOs) and Jonathan Garza (7-3, 2 KOs) fought in a six round contest. Early on, Garza swung wildly trying to make something happen against the taller and lengthier Newton. Newton connected with big right hands to Garza's head in the second round. 

Garza spent much of the third round trying to punch up at Newton. These upward shots opened himself up for Newton to bang away at Garza with quality body work. Garza tried to battle back in the fourth but was peppered with clean and accurate shots as he moved forward. Garza showed spirit in the closing seconds of this round by landing a hard right hand on Newton's jaw. 

Garza chased Newton in the fifth round, until Newton began to pick Garza apart with multi-punch combos to the head and body. The two men had a good exchange in the final round, but Newton again had the advantage during this frame by landing the cleaner and more effective shots. Garza looked smoked as the final bell rang. The judges scored the bout 59-55 twice and and 60-54 for Newton. 

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This Past Week in Action with Eric Armit

By Eric Armit

Highlights:

-Vasiliy Lomachenko decisions Jose Pedraza to unify the WBA and WBO lightweight titles

-Emanuel Navarette outpoints Isaac Dogboe to lift the WBO super bantamweight title

-Michel Soro wins the vacant secondary WBA super welterweight title with stoppage of Greg Vendetti

-Kell Brook wins WBA final eliminator with points victory over Michael Zerafa

-Jono Carroll and Guillame Frenois draw in IBF super feather eliminator

-Thabiso Mchunu beats Thomas Oosthuizen and Thulani Mbenge halts Miguel Vazquez in South Africa

-Rene Alvarado outpoints Carlos Morales in WBA super featherweight eliminator

-Prospects Alex Besputin, Teo Lopez, Anthony Fowler, Karim Arce, Mohammed Rabii, Mickael Diallo, Filip Hrgovic and Jeyvier Cintron score wins.

World Title Shows

December 8

New York, NY, USA: Light: Vasiliy Lomachenko (12-1) W PTS 12 Jose Pedraza (25-2). Super Bantam: Emanuel Navarrete (26-1) W PTS 12 Isaac Dogboe (20-1). Welter Alex Besputin (12-0) W PTS 12 Juan Carlos Abreu (21-5-1,1ND). Light Teo Lopez (11-0) W KO 1 Mason Menard (34-4). Super Light: Abdiel Ramirez (24-3-1) W TKO 8 Michael Perez (25-3-2). Heavy: Guido Vianello (1-0) W KO 2 Luke Lyons (5-2-1).

Lomachenko vs. Pedraza

After a studied start Lomachenko gets into his stride and outboxes and outscores a clever Pedraza. He comes close to an inside the distance win with two knockdowns in the eleventh round and takes the decision to unify the WBA and WBO titles.

Round 1

A very cautious opening from both fighters. Pedraza probed with his jab and landed a couple of light straight rights. Lomachenko came to life late in the round and scored with three lefts which was just enough to have him edge the round.

Score 10-9 Lomachenko

Round 2

A good round by Pedraza. He boxed cleverly with plenty of movement, jabbed sharply and slotted home some straight rights. Lomachenko landed a hard straight left late in the round but this time that was not enough.

Score 10-9 Pedraza                                                                                                Tied 19-19

Round 3

Pedraza again boxed well at the start of the round and Lomachenko’s face was already red from the attentions of Pedraza’s jab. Lomachenko fired home some bursts of punches to take the round but all three rounds had been close.

Score 10-9 Lomachenko                                                                         Lomachenko 29-28

Round 4

Lomachenko was finding Pedraza a difficult target. The Puerto Rican was switching guards, employing lots of upper body movement and landing light jabs and straight rights. Lomachenko was getting much closer and he landed some hefty lefts in the round to take it.

Score 10-9 Lomachenko                                                                         Lomachenko 39-37

Official scores: 39-37, 40-36 and 39-37 for Lomachenko

Round 5

Pedraza’s round for me. He kept stabbing out his jab and adding straight lefts with Lomachenko finding it hard to penetrate Pedraza's tight defence. Pedraza’s punches were not hard but he landed a lot more than Lomachenko in this round.

Score 10-9 Pedraza.                                                                                Lomachenko 48-47

Round 6

Best round so far for Lomachenko. He had his jab working and began to land some hard straight lefts rocking Pedraza a couple of times. Pedraza kept throwing light punches but Lomachenko was blocking or ducking them

Score 10-9 Lomachenko                                                                         Lomachenko 58-56

Round 7

Lomachenko was now in control. He was pressuring Pedraza for the whole three minutes bobbing and weaving around and under the Puerto Rican's punches and then rocking Pedraza with quick bursts of hooks and speedy jabs

Score 10-9 Lomachenko                                                                         Lomachenko 68-65

Round 8

More pressure from Lomachenko. With the angles he was creating Pedraza was often not even seeing the punch coming. Lomachenko took him to the ropes and unloaded with hooks until Pedraza forced his out into the ring centre but he was soon back on the ropes again under fire.

Score 10-9 Lomachenko                                                                         Lomachenko 78-74

Official scores: 78-74, 80-72 and 78-74 for Lomachenko

Round 9

Pedraza boxed well enough to stay out of trouble for much of the round but was not landing anything. Lomachenko unleashed bursts of punches over the last 30 seconds. Pedraza was dodging and diving but plenty got through in another dominant round for Lomachenko

Score 10-9 Lomachenko                                                                         Lomachenko 88-83

Round 10

Unexpectedly a round for Pedraza and he won it well. He stayed in the center of the ring firing right jabs and left hooks. When Lomachenko tried to press he moved back quickly firing counters and Lomachenko just could not get close enough to really land anything of note.

Score 10-9 Pedraza                                                                                 Lomachenko 97-93

Round 11

Perhaps his success in the last round made Pedraza a bit overconfident and he paid for it. Just past the minute mark Lomachenko shook him with a couple of left uppercuts. When another left staggered Pedraza Lomachenko poured on the punches landing time and again with hooks, uppercuts and overarm rights. Pedraza was being blown one way and then the other until dropping to one knee. He was up at eight but when the action resumed there were just twenty seconds left in the round. Lomachenko went after Pedraza and he went down again but it looked like a case of just trying to buy time to the bell. He timed it just right with the bell going as he got up at the count of eight.

Score 10-7 Lomachenko                                                                     Lomachenko 107-100

Round 12

Lomachenko managed to land some heavy lefts in the last but Pedraza survived by moving and moving and deserved in the end to go the distance.

Score 10-9 Lomachenko                                                                     Lomachenko 117-109

Official scores: 117-109, 119-107 and 117-109 for Lomachenko`

The 30-year-old Ukrainian continues to set new record with his fourth different title over three divisions in just thirteen fights. If the fight with Mikey Garcia can be made it would unify the four lightweight titles and would be a great fight.  Pedraza, a two-division champion himself said he was proud of the effort he put on in this fight against such a great fighter as Lomachenko. He certainly posed some problems early with his movement and snappy jabs and can hold his head up high and look for some more big fights when he returns to action.

Navarette vs. Dogboe

Navarette lifts the WBO title as he uses his speed, longer reach and a high work rate to decision champion Dogboe who fades badly over the last four rounds.

Round 1

Navarette had a 5” height advantage and a longer reach so Dogboe was quickly moving forward getting past the jab and landing hooks inside. He did a good job of cutting the ring off and although Navarette launched a late attack it was the champions round

Score 10-9 Dogboe

Round 2

A much better round from Navarette as he dominated the round. He took the fight to Dogboe stabbing his jab and landing a nice left hook. He kept up the pressure with Dogboe never able to get on the front foot and Navarette landing with hooks and uppercuts knocking Dogboe off balance with a left and forcing Dogboe around the ring.

Score 10-9 Navarette                                                                                             Tied 19-19

Round 3 

Dogboe made some adjustments coming in low and refusing to be backed up for much of the round. Over the second half of the round Navarette again took over with long swinging hooks. He landed a hurtful right to the head followed by a left to the body and took the round.

Score 10-9 Navarette                                                                                    Navarette 29-28

Round 4

A good round for Dogboe. He moved inside Navarette’s reach firing clusters of hooks to the body. He continued to slip Navarette’s jab and rocked the Mexican with a left hook to the head and connected with more body punches.

Score 10-9 Dogboe                                                                                                Tied 38-38

Round 5

Navarette gave Dogboe a torrid time in this round. He crowded and pressed for the whole three minutes He was landing hooks and uppercuts using his larger physique to push Dogboe back and pumping out punch after punch with Dogboe almost overwhelmed.

Score 10-9 Navarette                                                                                    Navarette 48-47

Round 6

Another round for Navarette. He was setting a frantic pace almost running forward and pumping out punches. He was constantly switching guards and outworking Dogboe. The champion stood his ground more than in the fifth and managed to dig in some body punches.

Score 10-9 Navarette                                                         `                          Navarette 58-56

Round 7

Strange tactics from Navarette. In this round he boxed on the retreat which allowed Dogboe to get inside and score with jabs and uppercuts. Navarette’s punch output dropped and he was even being out jabbed in a round won by Dogboe

Score 10-9 Dogboe                                                                                       Navarette 67-66

Round 8

Really strange as Navarette took another round off. He never took a forward step and threw very few punches. Dogboe was able to get through with jabs and work inside with body punches. A gift round for the Ghanaian.

Score 10-9 Dogboe                                                            `                                   Tied 76-76

Round 9

A closer round. Dogboe scored well over the early part and looked to have knocked Navarette over with a right to the side of the head. Navarette complained it landed on the back of his head and the referee agreed not applying a count and warning Dogboe. That seemed to wake up Navarette and he went onto the attack storming forward with hooks and uppercuts forcing Dogboe back and doing enough to just take the round.

Score 10-9 Navarette                                                                                    Navarette 86-85

Round 10

Dogboe had swelling around his eyes and the referee asked the doctor to examine the Ghanaian but he was passed as OK. Dogboe made a lively start scoring with straight rights and Navarette was replying with swinging hooks from both hands. The referee had insisted that water be mopped up from Dogboe’s corner before the round started and as Navarette forced Dogboe back he slipped on the remaining water and slid to the floor awkwardly. That seemed to unsettle him and Navarette dominated the rest of the round landing three clubbing head punches that rattled Dogboe.

Score 10-9 Navarette                                                                                    Navarette 96-94

Round 11

Navarette pursued Dogboe throughout the round. He was almost running after the champion never letting him get set to fire any counters and pumping out left and right hooks with Dogboe just being outworked and outscored. Once again Dogboe slipped badly on water in his own corner. They both tumbled to the floor just before the bell but neither was hurt.

Score 10-9 Navarette                                                                                Navarette 106-103

Round 12

Dogboe fought the last round like a fighter who thought he only had to stay on his feet to be the winner. He was on the retreat for the whole three minutes doing more holding than punching. Once again Navarette was letting fly with hooks and uppercut and driving Dogboe back before throwing Dogboe to the canvas late in the round.

Score 10-9 Navarette                                                                                 Navarette 116-112

The 23-year-old “Cowboy” from Mexico City was a bit if a surprise package. He had won his last 20 fights and the last eight of those by KO/TKO and was No 2 with the WBO but there was not a single rated fighter anywhere in his record. He was just too big for the 5’2” Dogboe and it will be interesting to see how he handles some of the other champions/rated fighters. Diego De La Hoya is the WBO No 1 and that will be an interesting fight if it can be made. Dogboe’s loss will be a huge disappointment for boxing fans in Ghana who had celebrated and feted him for his upset victory over Jessie Magdaleno and his crushing of Hidenori Otake. With the form he showed in those fights the 24-year-old Ghanaian will be back looking for a title fight in 2019.

Besputin vs. Abreu

Besputin scores wide unanimous decision over a tough and rough Abreu. The Russian showed his power early putting Abreu down with a strong straight left in the first round. Abreu has never lost by KO/TKO and he survived this early scare. He wasn’t able to win any rounds but he did make things awkward for Besputin and looked to have shaken the Russian in the fourth. That was momentary success and Besputin had already done enough good work to take the round. Besputin was down in the fifth but he had been thrown there by Abreu. Besputin arose quickly with Abreu looking to land a punch as Besputin was on the way up but he got away with that. Besputin continued to boss the action and had a 10-8 round in the eighth when he knocked Abreu into the ropes and the referee ruled that the ropes had held Abreu up and gave the Dominican another count. There were no more scares for Abreu and Besputin was the winner by 100-88 on the cards and retains the USBA title. Not Besputin’s best performance but Abreu was tough if limited opponent

Lopez vs. Menard

Lopez scores a brutal kayo of Menard. After a few seconds of sparring Lopez landed a right to the head which rocked Menard. He quickly went on the retreat with Lopez tracking him along the ropes. Lopez landed a left hook to the body to the and then an explosive right to the side of Menard’s head that saw Menard  falling face down on the canvas so hard that he bounced. The referee started the count but quickly stopped and signalled for assistance to Menard. All finished in 44 seconds. The 21-year-ol Brooklyn-born Lopez wins the vacant NABF title with his ninth victory by KO/TKO. A former National Golden Gloves champion and US Olympic Trials winner he found his way to Rio blocked as fellow American Carlos Balderas had already qualified through the WBS. Lopez entered the America’s qualifier on behalf of Honduras having Honduran parentage and although he made it to Rio he went out in the first round. Going into this fight his only rating was at No 11 with the WBA but this performance should see him get some serious attention by all of the sanctioning bodies. Life has been tough for Menard since he moved into top level matches with this his third loss by KO/TKO in his last five fights. The other two losses were against Ray Beltran and Devin Haney

Ramirez vs. Perez

Good win for Ramirez as he rebounds from two losses in a row with stoppage of Perez. Ramirez had the perfect start flooring Perez in the first and forcing the fight. Perez fought his way back into the fight and floored Ramirez with a right in the fourth. Ramirez was back on top in the fifth and seemed to be on his way  to a points victory when he produced a couple of uppercuts early in the eighth which dumped Perez on the floor heavily and the fights was halted without a count being needed. Ramirez had an eight bout winning streak snapped by losses to unbeaten Eastern Europeans Ruslan Madiev and Maxim Dadashev. Perez had beaten Miguel Acosta and Martin Honorio and lost to Petr Petrov. He took a split verdict over 32-1-1 Marcelino Lopez in April last year and this was his first fight since then.

Vianello vs. Lyons

Former amateur star Vianello wastes no time in registering his first pro win. He floored Lyons late in the first with the bell saving Lyons. In the second a right put Lyons down and he was counted out. The 24-year-old 6’6” Vianello was Italian Youth and Senior champion and competed at the European Games and the Rio Olympics. Lyons just a novice and way out of his depth.

December 7

Brieve, France: Welter: Jordy Weiss (21-0) W PTS 12 Jose Del Rio (28-8-1). Cruiser: Jean Jacques Olivier (10-2) W PTS 10 Brendon Deslaurier (11-3-1). Heavy: Cyril Leonet (15-10-3) W PTS 10 Dennis Lewandowski (13-3).

Weiss vs. Del Rio

Weiss retains the EU title with unanimous decision over Del Rio. The Frenchman won this with his excellent skills. He was quicker and more accurate with his punches. Southpaw Del Rio pressed hard knowing that Weiss would outbox him unless he could hustle Weiss out of his stride. Del Rio had some success over the first three rounds but by the fourth the stabbing jabs and quick combinations from Weiss had him controlling the fight. The Frenchman was cut on his right eyelid in a clash of heads but his solid defensive work and clean counters saw him outland the Spaniard. Weiss lacks power but makes up for it in speed and skill. Scores 117-111 twice and 118-110. First defence of the EU title for the 25-year-old “Gypsy” who is hoping to get a shot at the European title next year. Former Spanish champion Del Rio was challenging for the title for the second time and his constant aggression made this an entertaining match.

Olivier vs. Deslaurier

Unlike the main event power and aggression took this one with Olivier winning the vacant French title on a split decision. Deslaurier boxed neatly constantly switching guard but he lacked the power to keep Olivier out and the bigger stronger man although landing less landed the harder punches and that led two of the judges to score for him by 96-93 and 95-94 with the third going for Deslaurier 96-93. The 30-year-old from far away Martinique gets revenge for a points loss in 2016 and makes it 6 wins in his last 7 fights. “Gypsy Bomber” Deslaurier, 25, had put together a run of nine wins before losing on points to Mairis Breidis in July and will probably get a return with Olivier in 2019.

Leonet vs. Lewandowski

“Aldo” Leonet had no real trouble winning this one as he took every round against the vastly obese Lewandowski. Leonet was just too mobile for the glacial slow Lewandowski who looked like an over-inflated “Michelin Man”.  Leonet kept moving and firing home quick punches with Lewandowski too slow to counter or cut off the ring. Leonet won on scores of 100-90 twice and 100-91. The 35-year-old Leonet, a former French champion, wins the WBFederation International title. He has improved his record with a run of 9-2-1 in his last 12 fights. He put up a good fight against Tony Yoka in April before being knocked out in five rounds and that improved his stance with the French fans. German Lewandowski, 24, is just 6’2” but has been as high as 280lbs and he looked about that here.

Castlebar, Ireland: Light: Christian Uruzquieta (18-4-1,1ND) W PTS 10 Ray Moylette (11-1). Middle: Gary O’Sullivan (29-3) W PTS 8 Gabor Gorbics (26-14)

Uruzquieta vs. Moylette

Mexican Uruzquieta ruins the welcome home party for Moylette with a deserved split decision over the Irishman.  Both were finding the target early. Moylette was tending to land smart jabs and rights to the head. Uruzquieta was targeting the body. There were plenty of fiery exchanges with Moylette looking to have moved into the lead after three rounds. Uruzquieta staggered Moylette briefly in the fourth and then nearly finished the fight in the fifth. As they exchanged punches Moylette went down from a right. He only just beat the count and was floored again later in the round. Moylette survived and fought back hard over the second half of the fight with the rounds being close. Scores 96-92 and 95-94 for Uruzquieta and 95-94 got Moylette. Uruzquieta, 28, wins the vacant WBC International Silver title. Fighting in the other man’s back yard is nothing new for Uruzquieta. He has fought five times in Canada going 2-1-2 with upset victories over Steven Wilcox and Roody Pierre Paul and drawing with Mario Perez before losing to Tony Luis and unbeaten Mathieu Germain so he was a tough test for the Irish former amateur star.  Moylette, 28 was the first Irish boxer to win a gold medal at the World Youth Championships and later added both the Irish title and a gold at the European Championships. He competed at 2011 and 2013 World Championships and the 2013 European Championships. Now he will have to regroup and rebuild.

O’Sullivan vs. Gorbics

In his first fight since being crushed inside a round by David Lemieux O’Sullivan gets eight rounds of useful work against Hungarian Gorbics. O’Sullivan was his usual aggressive self and Gorbics spent most of the fight going backwards. He came out of his shell on a couple of occasions to stand and trade but O’Sullivan had much the harder punch and Gorbics would quickly go back on the defensive. O’Sullivan rocked Gorbics in the sixth and seemed to ease up over the last allowing Gorbics to last the distance. Referee’s score 80-72 for O’Sullivan. The 34-year-old from Cork has good wins over Nick Quigley and Antoine Douglas but lost a big fight when being stopped by Chris Eubank Jr in 2015. He is an entertaining fighter and there are plenty of good fights to be made for him. Gorbics usually goes the distance but was halted in five rounds by Anthony Fowler in October

Mexicali, Mexico: Super Light: Sergio Ortega (20-2) W TKO 2 Lizandro De los Santos (24-17-1). 

Local fighter Ortega gets quick victory. After dominating the first round just one minute into the second a hail of punches from Ortega sent De los Santos down. He made to his feet but was taking more incoming shots and the referee stopped the fight. Now 14 wins by KO/TKO for Ortega. He was inactive in 2016 and 2017 and this is his fourth win since returning to the ring. De los Santos slips to 2-7-1 in his most recent ten fights.

Mexico City, Mexico: Light: Antonio Moran (24-3) W TKO 2 Victor Zuniga (18-3). 

Moran halts substitute Zuniga in two rounds. In the first Moran was already digging in some hurtful body punches. In the second two left hooks to the body dropped Zuniga. He made it to his feet at seven and when the action resumed tried to take the fight to Moran. Very quickly hooks and uppercuts had Zuniga backing up and a series of punches to head and body had Zuniga tumbling to the ropes and the referee stopped the fight. The 6’0” tall 25-year-old Moran has wins over some useful and experienced fighters and lost a very close decision to Jose Pedraza in June with all three judges giving the decision to Pedraza by 96-94. He now has 17 wins by KO/TKO. Zuniga, 19, probably should not have taken such a tough fight at short notice and suffers his second inside the distance loss in a row having been stopped in one round by unbeaten Tajik fighter Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov in August.

Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico: Super Fly: Jeyvier Cintron (9-0) W DISQ 7 Marvin Solano (21-3). Heavy: Victor Bisbal (23-3) W KO 1 Edson Roberto Dos Santos Borges (30-4-2).

Cintron vs. Solano

Solano proved an awkward opponent with his lunging attacks and Cintron was hustled out of his stride in the first but was landing some good counters. Cintron slowly settled and was outboxing the crude Solano but still having problems with the Nicaraguan’s crazy swinging. Cintron was landing right jabs, straight lefts and lead lefts with Solano dangerous but erratic. They almost came to blows after the bell to end the fourth when Cintron lightly tapped Solano on the head and an angry Solano launched himself at Cintron with the referee having to restrain him. Things began to get a bit wild in the fourth with Solano hefting Cintron onto his shoulders and slamming Cintron into the ropes and almost out of the ring. After that Cintron avoided Solano’s rushes and scored with right jabs and straight lefts. In the fifth Solano missed with a couple of punches and fell back to the floor. He was given a count but it had not been a punch. Cintron fired some flashing combinations and Solano was warned for both pushing Cintron to the floor and a low punch. Cintron continued to pick-off Solano with counter lefts in the eighth. Solano was warned for a couple of low punches and then came madness. Solano landed another low punch and as Cintron doubled up and turned away Solano reached around and landed another punch. Cintron immediately turned and threw himself at Solano and they wrestled and both fell to the floor. At that point the referee stepped in and disqualified Solano. Cintron gets the win but not a satisfactory one. Solano was a strong very awkward opponent but Cintron got the job done. The 23-year-old Cintron is the only Puerto Rican boxer to appear at two Olympic Games. His father was a pro and he is trained by former champion Ivan Calderon. Solano was 8-1 going into this one with the loss being to Russian Olympian Mikhail Aloyan.

Bisbal vs. Borges

This really was a farcical rubbish of a mismatch. Bisbal was 8” taller and 41lbs heavier than Borges. He drove Borges around the ring with heavy rights and then landed a four-punch combination that saw Borges slump to the canvas and the referee waived the fight over half way through the count. The 38-year-old Bisbal, a 2004 Olympian, has had long spells of inactivity and this was his first fight in almost two years. Borges, 45, was having only his fourth fight in three years-disgraceful

East London, South Africa: Bantam: Yanga Sigqibo (12-1-1) W PTS 12 Keyvin Lara (26-3-1).Super Fly: Athenkosi Dumezweni (11-2) W TKO 4 Ulises Lara (21-17-2). Super Light: Marios Matamba (9-0) W KO 4 Siseko Makeleni (7-2). Light Fly: Nkosinathi Joyi (27-5) W KO 7 Mpho Seforo (7-1-1).Light Fly: Nhlanhia Tyirha (4-0) W KO 3 Bongani Sillila (16-6-3).

Sigqibo vs. Lara

South African champion Sigqibo adds the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title to his collection with a points win over Nicaraguan Lara. In a messy, nasty fight Sigqibo’s better skills saw him outpoint the smaller Lara. With his longer reach Sigqibo tried to keep the fight an open one but Lara hustled and bustled and kept busy. There was too much holding for the fight to be entertaining. Lara committed a number of transgressions before finally being deducted a point in the last round for one of his many head butts. Sigqibo did the cleaner work and was the clear winner. Scores 117-112 twice and 116-112. Now nine wins in a row for Sigqibo. Lara, 24, was knocked out in eleven rounds by Kazuto Ioka for the secondary WBA title in 2016 and had since scored eight wins against weak opposition. Lara’s team were not happy with the scoring and felt Sigqibo should have been deducted a point for holding,

Dumezweni vs. Lara

Good win for Dumezweni as he halts Mexican Lara in four rounds. Dumezweni showed good skills and plenty of movement to take the edge off the charging attacks of Lara. The visitor was caught with a right uppercut in the third and forced to take a standing count and only just made it to the bell. Dumezweni continued his attacks in the fourth and put Lara down with a straight left. Lara made it to his feet but after the count another heavy left had Lara defenceless on the ropes and the referee stopped the fight. Dumezweni collects the vacant IBO International title and has won eight of his last nine fights. In two previous fight in South Africa this year Lara had beaten good level local opposition and collected the WBA Inter-Continental super flyweight and WBC International flyweight titles

Matamba vs. Makeleni

Congolese fighter “Machine” Matamba wins the vacant WBO African title with fourth round kayo of local fighter Makeleni. Matamba, who is based in South Africa, gets his seventh win by KO/TKO. Makeleni had won his last four fights.

Joyi vs. Seforo

In his first fight for two years former IBF minimumweight champion Joyi breathes some life back into his fading career with a seventh round kayo of previously unbeaten Seforo to win the vacant WBO African title. After six fairly even rounds a heavy southpaw left from Joyi put Seforo down on his back and he was counted out. After being 22-0,1ND in his first 23 fights the 35-year-old Joyi had gone 4-4 before walking away after a loss to Simpiwe Konkco for IBO minimumweight title in 2016.Seforo was having his first fight for almost a year.

Tyirha vs. Sillila

Teenager Tyirha wins the South African title with a third round kayo of champion Sillila. A big right from Tyirha ended the fight. Tyirha had less than fifteen rounds as a pro behind him so this was something of an upset against champion Sillila who had gone 5-1-1 in his last 7 fights and had over 100 rounds of experience. He suffers only his second loss by KO/TKO.

Belfast, NI, Middle: Conrad Cummings (16-2-1) W PTS 10 Ferenc Berki (11-1).

Cummings regains his WBO European title by outpointing substitute Berki for the vacant title. No real problems here for Cummings. Berki was competitive but never a threat. Cummings was already streets ahead when he floored Berki in the tenth to make the points gap a bit wider. Scores 99-90, 98-91 and 95-94. It needs to be noted that the 95-94 was from the Hungarian judge who without the knockdown would have scored his fellow-countryman the winner! Cummings, 27, lost the title on a unanimous decision against to Luke Keeler in April. Hungarian super welterweight champion Berki was a very late replacement after Brian Rose had to pull out through injury. This is only his second fight outside Hungary.

Tampa, FL, USA: Bantam: Melvin Lopez (18-0) W PTS 10 Aldimar Silva (21-15). 

Lopez marches on with win over Brazilian Silva. Lopez bossed the fight in every round and had Silva down in the second and sixth on his way to a comfortable victory. Scores 100-88 for Lopez on the three cards. The 21-year-old from Nicaragua is No 7 with the WBA but has yet to be in with any kind of testing opponent. Silva, 37 (don’t they have any young fighters in Brazil?) is 2-7 in his nine fights.

Las Vegas, NV, USA: Light: Ladarius Miller (17-1) W Ricardo Garcia (14-3-1). Super Middle: Ronald Gavril (19-3) W TKO 2 Antowyan Aikens (13-6-1).

Miller vs. Garcia

Miller gets a majority decision over Garcia thanks to a strong finish. The fight turned into a harder test for Miller than expected. It was a fast-paced entertaining fight over the early rounds. Miller was quicker and slicker but Garcia was more aggressive and scored with some good rights against the southpaw Miller. In the later rounds it became a bit untidy with too many clinches. Miller had a good eighth landing some heavy lefts and outlanded Garcia over the ninth and tenth. Scores 98-92 and 96-94 for Miller and 95-95. The 25-year-old from Memphis is part of the Floyd Mayweather Jr group. He now has nine victories in a row including wins over useful opposition in Jamel Herring and Dennis Galarza. Dominican Garcia is now 0-1-4 in his last 5 fights.

Gavril vs. Aikens

Gavril floors Aikens three times for stoppage win. A cautious opening round saw Gavril shadowing Aikens around the ring. Aikens was prodding with his jab and trying an occasional right. Gavril upped his pace at the end of the round but could not land a telling punch. After tracking Aikens for almost two minutes of the second he finally threw a right cross which knocked Aikens sideward and down on one knee. A straight right put Aikens down again and although he beat the count another right dropped him and the referee waived the fight off without a count. First time back in the ring for the Romanian since his consecutive losses to David Benavidez in WBC super middle title fights. He has dropped out of the ratings but will be trying to work his way towards another title shot. Second loss by KO/TKO for Aikens and only three wins in his last nine fights.

Philadelphia, PA, USA: Super Middle: Kalvin Henderson (11-0) W TKO 7 Brandon Robinson (11-2).  

Henderson proves to be a surprise package as he outboxes local fighter Robinson and floors and stops him in seven rounds. Robinson made a fast start looking to sweep aside Henderson with his early aggression. Henderson just worked patiently with his jab. He was throwing fewer punches than Robinson but by the end of the second round his accurate jabs had started a swelling under Robinson’s left eye which quickly grew and almost closed the eye. Robinson continued to attack but was staggered badly in the third and was forced to go down on one knee under Henderson’s punches in the fifth. Robinson tried to turn the fight his way with a ferocious attack at the start of the seventh but Henderson saw out the storm and then dropped Robinson twice and the fight was stopped. Texan “Hot Sauce” Henderson gets his seventh win by KO/TKO. Robinson had won his last eleven fights but gets his second loss by KO/TKO and it is back to basics for him.

December 8

Levallois-Perret, France: Super Welter: Michel Soro (33-2-1) W TKO 2 Greg Vendetti (20-3-1). Super Middle: Petro Ivanov (10-0-2) W TKO 9 Louis Toutin (12-1). Super Welter: Mohammed Rabii (8-0) W PTS 8 Alex Zhuravskiy (13-5). Cruiser: Joel Tambwe Djeko (14-2-1) W PTS 6 Valery Brudov (44-15). Super Middle: Mickael Diallo (18-0-2) W KO 3 Genaro Quiroga (14-15).

Soro vs. Vendetti

Soro much too good for Vendetti and destroys the American inside two rounds with a brutal combination of shots to win the vacant interim WBA title. Soro had a considerable height and reach over Vendetti. Initially Vendetti was ducking under Soro’s jab trying to move inside but Soro was continuing to just probe with the jab and step back from Vendetti’s rushed attacks. Vendetti had some success as he hustled and bustled in the second. Soro was still just sticking to the jab but when he finally let fly with a right it landed high on Vendetti’s head and his legs wobbled and he backed into the ropes. Soro jumped on him and blasted home a tremendous left hook and two straight rights to the head the second of which had Vendetti out on his feet and as he dropped to the canvas Soro landed two more hooks as the referee jumped in and stopped the fight. The 31-year-old Ivory Coast-born Frenchman makes it 22 wins by KO/TKO. He lost on a split decision to Brian Castano for this same title in July last year. Castano has been “promoted” to secondary champion and Soro is looking for another fight with the Argentinian. Vendetti was out of his class. He was rated No 9 by the WBA after a creditable win over Yoshihiro Kamegai but was in way over his head with Soro.

Toutin vs. Ivanov

Big surprise and big disappointment for French fans as poster boy Toutin is stopped by Ivanov. Over the early rounds an inside the distance win for Toutin looked a good bet. He was his usual march forward punching self. Ivanov had a longer reach but Toutin’s attacks were threatening to overwhelm him. In the second round a left to the body had Ivanov hurt and another saw the Ukrainian backing off and going down on one knee in pain. He made it to his feet and moved and blocked to the bell. Toutin continued to pile on the pressure. He was snapping Ivanov’s head back with jabs and landing hooks from both hands. He was setting a fast pace but also walking onto some hard punches from Ivanov and a growing swelling over his right eye was starting to trouble him. Toutin had never gone past four rounds before having beaten eleven rivals inside four rounds and had one points win in a four round fight. By the end of the seventh Toutin was looking more and more tired. That gave Ivanov the impetus to start coming forward and he was starting to dominate the action. In the ninth Toutin was totally exhausted and only staying on his feet by grabbing Ivanov. He went down once and only just pulled himself up at nine. The fight should have been stopped and finally was when he dropped again. He made it to his feet but he was a shell and did not respond when asked if he wanted to carry on. Ivanov had been eight rounds three times and paced the fight better. He showed guts to fight on after being down in the second but he did not crumble and got his reward in the stoppage of a fighter being touted as a huge prospect. Toutin, 21, a member of the French Traveller’s community and a former European Junior Championships gold medallist will have serious thinking to do. He really should not have been sent out for the ninth round and in the totally exhausted state he was in it could have been dangerous. He will obviously fight on but there is a big rebuilding job required

Rabii vs. Zhuravskiy

Moroccan Rabii continues on his winning way with a points victory over Zhuravskiy. Score 78-74 twice and 79-73. Rabbi is the most successful amateur Morocco has had. He won the gold medal at the World Championships in 2015 beating eventual Rio gold medal winner Daniyar Yeleussinov in the final. He also won a bronze at the Rio Olympics and was a WBS Fighter of the year. Kazak southpaw Zhuravskiy drops to four losses in a row.

Djeko vs. Brudov

Popular “Big Joe” Djeko continues his run of good form with points win over Russian oldie Brudov. Scores 59-53 for the big Belgian on all cards. He has lost only one of his last thirteen fights and the loss was a split decision in Cardiff against Welshman Craig Kennedy. Brudov, 42, is really just a shell now of the fighter who challenged for the WBA and WBO titles and has won only two of his last twelve fights.

Diallo vs. Quiroga

Diallo gives another impressive power display as he uses some heavy rights to kayo Quiroga in three rounds. Although French the 27-year-old Diallo is known as “The Catalan Bomber” and this is his fifteenth win in a row and his fifteenth career victory by KO/TKO. Argentinian Quiroga has lost his last four fights, two in Canada and two in France.

Sheffield, England: Super Welter: Kell Brook (38-2) W PTS 12 Michael Zerafa (25-3). Super Feather: Jono Carroll (16-0-1) DREW 12 Guillame Frenois (46-1-1). Middle: Anthony Fowler (9-0) W KO 1 Jose Paz (23-8-1). Feather: Kid Galahad (26-0) W PTS 8 Brayan Mairena (10-5-1). Super Bantam: Qais Ashfaq (4-0) W TKO 5 Jay Carney (5-4-2).

Brook vs. Zerafa

Brook outpoints Zerafa in a WBA final eliminator. Brook was quickly into his stride. In the first he out jabbed Zerafa and then began to connect with some swift uppercuts bringing blood from Zerafa’s nose and also banged home straight rights. In the second Brook continued to score with his jab and move inside Zerafa’s jab to land rights. He rocked Zerafa with a straight right left uppercut. Zerafa was throwing jabs but was usually coming up short. Zerafa was being forced to box on the retreat but he began to land some rights and a left hooks in a more competitive third. Brook continued to keep Zerafa on the retreat in the fourth and fifth and was still penetrating the Australian’s guard regularly with his jab and getting through with right crosses but Zerafa was starting to find the target with his jab and in the fifth landed two hard rights his best punches so far. Brook was back in control in the sixth and seventh again dominating with his jab and landing heavy rights. Zerafa fought back hard in the eighth. He was standing his ground more and connecting with some powerful rights and he had Brook under fire in the ninth driving him to the ropes with a powerful right cross and then working Brook over. Brook picked up the pace again in the tenth but was no longer as dominant. A confident Zerafa was willing to trade. Brook was just that bit quicker and was again finding the range with his jab and that just gave him the edge over the closing rounds but Zerafa fought all the way coming forward with right crosses and looking to turn the fight his way. Scores 120-108, 119-109 and 117-111 although Zerafa made it look a lot closer than that. The win makes Brook the mandatory challenger to Jarrett Hurd (in the WBA’s eyes-Julian Williams is Hurd’s No 1 challenger with the IBF). Despite that a fight with Amir Khan would be Brooks preferred fight but with talk of a shot at Terrence Crawford for Khan the way forward is far from clear. Three fights outside of Australia and three losses for Zerafa although they have all been tough assignments and he had won his last eight fights.

Carroll vs. Frenois

As we learned from the Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury fight draws solve nothing. This was intended to identify a mandatory challenger for IBF champion Tevin Farmer but since it ended in a draw it leaves Carroll, Frenois and Farmer not knowing what happens next. Although both fighters are southpaws there were a couple of very contrasting styles on show here with Carroll a strong, aggressive fighter and Frenois a classic boxer. Carroll attacked the body hard in the first. In the second he was cut over the left eye but banged back strongly to rock Frenois. In the third it was the Frenchman’s turn to shed blood as he was cut over the right eye. As with the cuts so with the action. Both fighters had good spells and the fight swung one way and then another. When Carroll could hunt Frenois down he was scoring with hard body shots but when Frenois was able to use his jab and could counter Carroll on the way in things went his way. The rounds were close but Frenois seemed to outscore Carroll over the closing rounds with his superior skills and faster hands but he just did not convince the judges so it ended even. Scores 115-113 for Carroll, 115-113 for Frenois and 114-114. Carroll had scored a good domestic win over Declan Geraghty although that hardly seemed to justify a No 4 rating with the IBF (the No1 and 2 slots were vacant as none of the rated fighters had a win over another rated fighter so could not go to either of those two slots) and Frenois was No 3 so the highest rafted fighter. He had won his last 15 fights but there were no rated fighters in his list of victims. Now it is a case of wait and see for them both.

Fowler vs. Paz

Fowler blows away Argentinian Paz with a body punch in just 93 seconds. Fowler quickly found his range with his jab and connected with a couple of quick hooks as Paz tried to move inside. Paz looked painfully slow and predictable with very little mobility. Paz tried a couple of lunging attacks but Fowler countered with a left hook to the body and Paz dropped to one knee spitting out his mouthguard and taking the full count.  The former English and British amateur champion won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the World championships and after five wins in a row by KO/TKO is ready for tougher opposition. In fairness to Paz and to put this win in perspective for Fowler Paz was coming off wins over Omar Chavez and Jorge Paez Jr in Mexico.

Galahad vs. Mairena

Really just some paid sparring practice for Galahad who won every minute of every round as he outclassed a game Mairena. Galahad was constantly switching guards and was penetrating Mairena’s guard with stinging jabs and unloading with rapid combinations. Mairena made an effort to be competitive but he was too slow. Galahad did not really start to get serious until the sixth round when he drove Mairena back with a series of lefts with the Nicaraguan looking likely to fall but he stayed on his feet. Galahad was switching guards again in the seventh and driving Mairena back with a sequence of head punches. Galahad was not loading up on the punches which helped a beleaguered Mairena last out the round. Mairena soaked up punishment throughout the eighth but just threw enough punches to keep the referee from stopping the fight. Score 80-72 for Galahad on the referee’s card. The 28-year-old Sheffield fighter is No 1 with the IBF which puts him in place for a shot at the winner of the Josh Warrington vs. Carl Frampton fight (that can’t be a unification fight as Frampton is only the interim WBO champion) so another big fight night to look forward to in 2019. As usual with the Nicaragua travelling punch bags for Mairena it is four fights in three months and four losses.

Ashfaq vs. Carney

Ashfaq was too classy for Carney. Carney tried to come forward in the first but southpaw Ashfaq landed some hard straight lefts and later in the round a right uppercut started blood flowing from Carney’s nose. Carney continued to try to come forward in the second and third but had to soak up some hurtful jabs and powerful body punches. In the fourth Ashfaq was putting together some flashing combinations but to his credit Carney kept coming back for more. In the fifth some more rapid combinations shook Carney and were enough to have the referee stop the one-sided fight. The 25-year-old from Leeds is another from the conveyor belt of star amateurs moving into the pros. Ashfaq was a Commonwealth Youth gold medallist and won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games losing to Michael Conlan in the final.  He also lost to Conlan in the European Championships final, won a bronze medal at the European Games and competed at the 2016 Olympics. One for the future.

Kempton Park, South Africa: Cruiser: Thabiso Mchunu (20-5) W PTS 12 Thomas Oosthuizen (28-2-2). Welter: Thulani Mbenge (15-0) W RTD 9 Miguel Vazquez (40-7). Middle: Walter Dlamini (16-6-4) W TKO 1 Wade Groth (7-1).

Mchunu vs. Oosthuizen

Mchunu gets revenge for a controversial loss to Oosthuizen in September and leaves no room for dispute with a wide unanimous decision. From the first round it was obvious that Mchunu was a man on a mission. He pressured Oosthuizen from first to last. He was able to walk through Oosthuizen’s southpaw jabs and score inside with ripping body punchers. Oosthuizen showed little movement providing Mchunu with a static target for much of the fight. In fact instead of trying to use his height and reach Oosthuizen too often stood and traded with the much stronger Mchunu. By the end of the fourth round Mchunu had already but a good lead and he kicked on from there. He outworked his fellow southpaw and as Mchunu’s output increased so Oosthuizen’s dropped. It was a one-sided fight and the only thing to Oosthuizen's credit is that he soaked up the punishment and lasted the distance. Scores 119-109,119-111 and 118-111 all for Mchunu. He wins the vacant ABU title and puts himself in line for some high level international fights. Oosthuizen a former IBO super middle and light heavyweight champion has wasted chance after chance to get back into the international mix and may have just blown his last

Mbenge vs. Vazquez

Mbenge retains the IBF title with a stoppage of Vazquez who is on the downward slope. Mbenge was the bigger, stronger man but Vazquez is a wily character and an expert at messing up opponents and breaking up the rhythm of their attacks. There is a large gap in their respective experience but really that was all Vazquez had going for him. Mbenge was tending to try to put Vazquez away with one big punch and rushing rather than working his openings. He used his strength to keep Vazquez pinned to the ropes and slowly broke down the Mexican’s resistance. A body punch dropped Vazquez in the ninth and his corner sensibly pulled him out of the fight at the end of the round. Not an impressive showing

by Mbenge but he and Scot Josh Taylor are the only fighters to have beaten the former IBF lightweight champion inside the distance and Mbenge will hopefully take away some lessons from facing such an experienced campaigner and have many more better nights. Vazquez’s future is to be a test bed for young climbers.  

Dlamini vs. Groth

Age is just a number. Dlamini proved this with a first round blitz of champion Groth to win the South African title at the age of 38. It took Dlamini just 42 seconds to blast his way to victory in his second shot at the title. Dlamini also wins the vacant WBA Pan African title. This did not look too hard a defence for Groth as after winning his first twelve fights Dlamini had gone 3-6-4 including two inside the distance losses this year. However Groth’s experience had been very limited with only 30 rounds behind him and with his seven victims having only 14 wins between them.

Zagreb, Croatia: Heavy: Filip Hrgovic (7-0) W PTS 8 Kevin Johnson (33-12-1).  Super Middle: Leon Bauer (15-0-1) W PTS 8 Jorge Silva (16-7).

Hrgovic vs. Johnson

Hrgovic wins every round against seasoned spoiler Johnson and shows his strengths and his weaknesses. He used a strong jab to quickly put Johnson on the back foot with Johnson as usual just backing to the ropes and letting Hrgovic punch away. Hrgovic showed his inexperience by constantly throwing overhand rights. Johnson just kept leaning to his right and punch after punch went over his head. Hrgovic continued to make the same mistake in the second with Johnson tapping his chin to show Hrgovic where the target was. Hrgovic finally landed one of those rights and Johnson’s knees buckled. He did not go all the way down and his gloves did not touch the canvas but he was given a count with the bell going just as the count was completed. In the succeeding rounds Hrgovic started to throw his right straighter and landed more often but Johnson was never really in trouble and fired enough occasional counter for Hrgovic to be a bit more cautious. The Croat tired a bit later in the fight and looked slow and predictable at times but this is early in his career and he will get better. Scores 80-71 from the judges for the home city fighter. The 26-year-old Rio bronze medallist is credited with being the reason for the cancellation of the proposed David Haye vs. Tyson Fury fight in 2013 when he cut Haye in a sparring session. Now 39 Johnson who came into this one weighing a career high weight of 260lbsis just filling the role of a clever punch bag for young hopes.

Bauer vs. Silva

Young German prospect Bauer gets a win but only after being on the floor. Bauer was taking the fight to Silva in the first with his hands held low as is his style. That presented the Portuguese fighter with an opening and he landed a hefty right which put Bauer on the floor. Bauer had no trouble beating the count and from there he dominated the action but was a bit more circumspect. He out jabbed and out landed Silva the rest of the way for a comfortable victory. Scores 78-74 twice and 78-73 for Bauer. The 20-year-old was the youngest ever German professional when he started out at the age of 16. He turned in a poor performance in drawing with 3-1 Atin Karabet in October last year and although he stopped Karabet in June it illustrated that it would not be wise to rush his career. Silva, 35, was having only his second fight in two years and suffers his third loss by KO/TKO.

Carson, CA, USA: Juan Francisco Estrada (38-3) W RTD 7 Victor Mendez (28-4-2). 

The taller Mendez made a good start scoring with some stiff body punches and hurtful hooks with Estrada not forcing the fight hard. Estrada finally started to roll in the third. He was ducking under Mendez’s punches and raking Mendez with strong jabs and straight rights with Mendez looking shaken. Estrada dominated the fourth and fifth stinging Mendez with jabs and putting together some sharp combinations. In the sixth Mendez was on the back foot with Estrada getting through with left hooks to the body and Mendez starting to come apart. In the seventh Estrada was marching forward and landing thudding rights to the head and firing fast bunches of left hooks to the body which took all of the fight out of Mendez who retired at the end of the round. A routine victory for Estrada as he just keeps busy whilst waiting for his next big fight hopefully a return against Srisaket. Mendez has had some good results in the past against quality opposition having only lost on split decision against Luis Nery and Arthur Villanueva and this is his first inside the distance defeat.

Indio, CA, USA: Super Feather: Rene Alvarado (30-8) W PTS 12 Carlos Morales (17-4-3). Light: Hector Tanajara (16-0) W PTS 10 Robert Manzanarez (36-3). Super Light: Jonathan Navarro (16-0) W PTS 10 Manuel Mendez (16-4-3). Feather: Joet Gonzalez (21-0) W TKO 2 Javier Gallo (25-17-1,1ND).

Alvarado vs. Morales

Alvarado outworks Morales in WBA eliminator. Less than a minute into the fight Alvarado launched a fierce attack. Their heads banged together and Alvarado was cut high on his forehead with the blood already running down onto his face. Morales rocked Alvarado with a short right but Alvarado was busier and throwing plenty of punches and by the end of a frantic first round Morales was bleeding from the nose. Alvarado set a fast pace. He was constantly launching attacks and although not always landing Morales was finding it hard to get his own punches off under the pressure. When he could make some space Morales was not throwing as much as Alvarado but was more accurate. Blood continued to trickle from the cut on Alvarado’s forehead but it was tending to run outside of his left eye so was not a factor. Alvarado just kept on attaching wildly with Morales looking to either counter him on the way in or get up close to smother his punches.  Morales was physically the bigger man and he was trying to tire Alvarado with the inside work and keep him on the back foot. After a couple of close rounds which Morales probably edged Alvarado picked up the pace again in the tenth with punches flowing from all sorts of angles and Morales being swamped. They were not power punches but Alvarado just kept pumping them out to the final bell. Scores 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113 all for Alvarado. This win puts the Nicaraguan in line for a shot at the secondary WBA title against Alberto Machado. Wins over unbeaten Roger Gutierrez and Denis Shafikov have seen Alvarado go to No 1 with the WBA and given him a chance to make it a family double. Twin brother Felix, who fights with the same limitless ferocity, is IBF light flyweight champion. Mexican Morales has now lost three of his last four fights having been outpointed by Machado before Machado became champion and dropping a majority verdict to un beaten Ryan Garcia.

Tanajara vs. Manzanarez

Tanajara scores unanimous decision over Manzanarez. Tanajara was giving away some height and reach but was very quick and accurate with his jab. Despite that Manzanarez caught him with a left uppercut in the second and dropped him but Tanajara managed to stay there to the bell. Over the third and fourth good movement and sharp jabs gave Tanajara the edge and a swelling was building on the right cheek of Manzanarez. Both were rocked by hard punches in the fifth and Tanajara just did enough to take the sixth. There was too much wrestling in the seven with Tanajara doing what good work there was and Manzanarez getting a stern warning for a low punch. Both fighters slipped to the canvas in the eighth avoiding a punch but the referee considered that a punch from Tanajara had in fact landed and Manzanarez was given a count. The last two rounds were close but in the tenth Manzanarez lost a point for a low punch. Scores 95-92 twice and 97-90 for Tanajara. The 21-year-old from San Antonio was in his first ten round fight. He had a good win in June outpointing 19-1-1 Roger Gutierrez. Manzanarez, 23, turned pro at 15 and lost only one of his first thirty-seven fights but was coming off a majority decision loss to Mercito Gesta in June.

Navarro vs. Mendez

Navarro wins majority decision over Mendez. This was a tough gruelling fight. It was fought at close quarters without much footwork from either fighter but plenty of in close body punching. Mendez had the harder punch but Navarro outworked him throwing and landing more but there was never much between them with Navarro just having the edge. Scores 97-93 twice and 95-95.  Navarro, 27 had scored a stoppage win over unbeaten Damon Allen in August whereas Mendez gets his second loss in a row have been outpointed by 19-1 Sonny Frederickson last month.

Gonzalez vs. Gallo

Gonzalez has it easy in this one and knocks out poor Gallo in the

second round. Little Gallo was giving away too much height and reach to ever really be competitive against Gonzalez. His face was soon bright red from the attention of Gonzalez jabs and he was twice rocked by rights and hurt with a couple of body punches. He had no choice but to surge forward throwing punches but Gonzalez had no trouble blocking them. In the second Gallo rushed Gonzalez to the ropes and punched away to the body. Gonzalez blocked the punches and then staggered Gallo with a left hook and hit him with five quick punches that sent poor Gallo down and out. Gonzalez gets his fifth win by KO/TKO in his last six fights. The 25-yerar-old former US national champion who beat Gervonta Davis on the way to the gold medal was coming off a split decision win over 25-1-2 Rafael Rivera. The gutsy little Gallo has suffered seven losses by KO/TKO.

Brisbane, Australia: Heavy: Demsey McKean (13-0) W RTD 4 Roger Izonritei (12-8-1). Light Heavy: Josh Frederiksen (8-1-2) W PTS 10 Quintin Carey (4-5). Welter: Tysinn Best (9-0) W PTS 10 Nathan Webber (6-1) Light: Jacob Ng (9-0) W TKO 4 Gaige Ireland (5-2-2).

McKean vs. Izonritei

Southpaw McKean retains the Australian title with win over Nigerian-born Izonritei. McKean was too young and hit too hard for the elderly Izonritei. After four one-sided rounds Izonritei’s corner retired their man. The 6’6” 28-year-old McKean was making the second defence of the national title and has seven wins by KO/TKO. Izonritei, 43, turned pro way back in 2004. He has had four shots at the Australian title spaced out over a 16 year period. Is that some sort of record?

Frederickson vs. Carey

Frederickson wins the Australian title with majority decision over champion and local fighter Carey. Scores 97-95, 96-95 for Frederickson and 95-95. It was the first ten round fight for the New South Wales State champion and his third win in a row. Carey, 22, was making the first defence of the title.

Best vs. Webber

In an all Queensland fight Best wins the vacant Australian title with yet another very close fight as he gets the decision on scores of 97-92 and 97-93 with the other judge seeing it 95-96.Webber is one of Jeff Horn’s main sparring partners.

Ng. vs. Ireland

Ng too smart and punches too hard for southpaw Ireland and impressively lifts the Australian title on a unique night of four national title fights on one show. After taking the first three rounds some rights to the head followed by a couple of wicked body punches dropped southpaw Ireland to one knee. He made it to his feet but the follow-up attack from Ng had him doubling up and falling back to the ropes and the referee stopped the fight. The tall 24-year-old “Flamingo” Ng put on a victory dance that was more spectacular than the fight as he registers his seventh win by KO/TKO. Ireland was making the first defence of the title.

Brussels, Belgium: Super Light: Samuel Gonzalez (20-5) W DISQ 6 Mohamed El Marcouchi (20-2). 

Unfortunate loss for Belgian El Marcouchi sees him suffer his second defeat. With his fight against Venezuelan fairly evenly poised a clash of heads in the sixth badly dazed El Marcouchi and sent him down. He was in some distress and his second entered the ring to help him leading to immediate disqualification. Italian-based Gonzalez wins the vacant IBO Inter-Continental title and El Marcouchi sees an 18 bout winning streak snapped.

Haemin, Germany: Super Welter: Predrag Radosevic (33-2) W PTS 10 Ronny Gabel (23-6-1,1ND). Light Heavy: Emil Markic (29-2) W PTS 10 Kavin Gebhard (18-2).

Radosevic vs. Gabel

Radosevic just too quick and clever for Gabe. He repeats a previous victory and wins the vacant WBO European title. Gabel kept pushing forward behind a high guard making an easy target for Radosevic who was constantly moving, firing fast, accurate  jabs and hooks to the body and Gabel was too slow to counter. When Gabel did get inside Radosevic either tied him up or blocked his punches and then pushed Gabel off and worked from the outside. Gabel never stopped coming forward but that just made it that much easier for Radosevic to score with counters and he was just too slick for Gabel to ever really threaten and he won every round. The Montenegrin’s two losses have both been by KO/TKO and against high top class opposition in Felix Sturm and Liam Smith. German Gabel was having only his second fight in two years. He lost an early fight to Billy Joe Saunders in 2001 and was outpointed by Radosevic in 2012.    

Markic vs. Gebhard

Markic also picks up a WBO European title as he outpoints Gebhard. Markic had the edge in hand speed and movement and was throwing more and landing more. Gebhard was the harder puncher but had no real answer to the accurate jabbing from Markic who was doubling and tripling his jab and connecting with straight rights Gebhard slowed as the fight went on and became wilder with his punches. In the last round as Gebhard went to throw a wild right Markic nailed him with a three-punch combination that sent him down heavily. He was very shaken but beat the count and survived some heavy shots to make it to the bell with Markic the obvious winner. Bosnian Markic was stopped in four round by Umar Salamov  in May last year and in May this year stopped 23-1 German Denis Liebau to win the WBFederation title. German Gebhard, 37, turned pro in 2003 but was inactive from 2007 to 2016 and won his last seven fights.

Montichiari, Italy: Heavy: Ivan Di Berardino (9-1-1) W TKO 2 Fabio Tuiach (29-6). 

Di Berardino wins the Italian title with second round stoppage of champion Tuiach. After an even first round Di Berardino landed a right to the side of the head that had Tuiach backing to the ropes. Di Berardino followed him and landed two more clubbing rights that turned Tuiach sideward’s hanging out over the top rope and Di Berardino threw another right that landed on the back of Tuiach’s head. The referee stepped in and gave Tuiach a standing count. Di Berardino then landed more heavy rights and when a left uppercut snapped back Tuiach’s head the referee stopped the fight. The 36-year-old Di Berardino gets his sixth win by KO/TKO and wins the national title at the second attempt. Tuiach, 38, was making the first defence of the title in his second reign as champion.

Nogales, Mexico: Super Bantam: Aaron Alameda (24-0) W RTD 9 Breilor Teran (25-17-1). Bantam: Karim Arce (15-0-1) W TKO 2 Carlos Rodriguez 9-4( ). Super Fly: Pedro Guevara (33-3-1) W TKO 2 Jorge (7-13). Super Light: Lindolfo Delgado (8-0) W KO 5 Ricardo Rico (4-7).

Alameda vs. Teran

Alameda pleases his home town fans with inside the distance win over seasoned Venezuelan Teran. The local southpaw controlled the fight from the start with Teran spending much of the time pinned to the ropes. Alameda continued to hand out serious punishment but Teran had a tight defence and a good chin. From the sixth Alameda went into more of a countering role trying to lure Teran out of his shell. It worked and at the end of the ninth round Teran stayed in his corner. Alameda wins the vacant WBC Latino title. Despite his impressive statistics Alameda has only beaten very modest opposition and this was his first fight scheduled for ten rounds. Teran has been in with good opposition such as champions Omar Narvaez, Juan Reveco and Julio Ceja and this is only his fourth loss by KO/TKO.

Arce vs. Rodriguez

Teenage hope Arce much too good for Rodriguez and floors and halts him in the second. Rodriguez made it to his feet but the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight. The 19-year-old nephew of the great Jorge Arce now has six wins by KO/TKO and was coming off a career best win over former WBA champion Alex Munoz. Rodriguez slips to 1-4 in his last 5

Guevara vs. Guerrero

Former WBC light fly champion Guevara just keeps turning over with stoppage of overmatched Guerrero. Guevara lost a majority decision to Ken Shiro in a challenge for his old title in October last year and is hoping for a revenge fight but despite his six wins in his last seven fights has somehow dropped out of the WBC top 15. Guerrero no threat as he has now lost 6 of his last 7 fights 5 by KO/TKO.

Delgado vs., Rico

Delgado maintains his 100% record of wins inside the distance with fifth round kayo of overmatched Rico. The 23-year-old Rio Olympian gave Rico a broken jaw but is yet to face a real test. Third loss by KO/TKO for Rico.

Santa Barbara, Philippines: Minimumweight: Pedro Taduran (13-2) W KO 2 Jeffrey Galero (17-6).  

Southpaw Taduran defends his Philippines title with second round kayo of Galero. The 22-year-old “Rattle Snake” gets his tenth win by KO/TKO. This is his first fight since losing on points in August to WBC minimum champion Wanheng in the fight that moved Wanheng to 51 wins to put him clear of Floyd Mayweather Jr’s 50 wins. Galero, who lost on points to Wanheng in a title challenge in 2015, has slipped away and is 7-6 in his last 13 fights.

Bowie, MD, USA: Super Middle: Demond Nicholson (20-3-1) W KO 2 Fernando Castaneda (26-13). 

Local fighter Nicholson crushes Castaneda in two round. Nicholson repeatedly found the target in the first with some hurtful shots from both hands. In the second a crunching right uppercut put Castaneda down and out. Nicholson, 25, retains his WBC United States title. He does not do distance fights with only three of his bouts having gone to the cards. This is win No 19 by KO/TKO. He lost a split decision to Steve Rolls last year and was stopped in seven rounds in April by Jesse Hart. Castaneda lost inside the distance to Frank Buglioni and Hosea Burton if fights in England.

Fight of the week (Entertainment): Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Jose Pedraza

Fight of the week (Significance): Lomachenko vs. Pedraza as it could open the way for a Lomachenko vs. Mikey Garcia fight to unify the lightweight titles.

Fighter of the week: Lomachenko

Punch of the week: The right to the head from Teo Lopez that sent Mason Menard face down on the canvas

Upset of the week: Petro Ivanov was not expected to beat Louis Toutin let alone stop him and unknown quantity Emanuel Navarette’s win over Isaac Dogboe was unexpected.

Prospect watch: Frenchman Mikael Diallo 18-0-2 (15 wins by KO/TKO) was impressive as was Anthony Fowler 9-0 (8 wins by KO/TKO)

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