August 26
Phoenix, AZ, USA: Welter: Abel Ramos (17-1-2) W RTD 6 Juan Jesus Rivera (28-16). Super Middle: Andrew Hernandez (14-4-1,1ND) W RTD 6 Jorge Silva (21-12-2).
Ramos vs. Rivera
Ramos halts late substitute Rivera. Neighbourhood favourite Ramos made a steady start letting Rivera take the fight to him. Once Ramos got into his stride he dominated the fight scoring with flashy combinations and body punches countering Rivera’s attacks. The fifth saw Ramos in totally control and slowly grinding Rivera down. Rivera kept coming but he was eating too many punches and Ramos poured on the punishment. It was too much for a battered and exhausted Rivera and he retired at the end of the sixth round. The 25-year-old Ramos “The Fighting Pride of Phoenix” gets win No 12 by KO/TKO. His only loss is on a retirement against unbeaten Regis Prograis in December and this is his third win by KO/TKO since that loss. Ramos was a good level amateur but came up short in the big tournaments getting a bronze medal at the National PAL Championships and twice being a quarter-finalist at the NGG’s. Mexican Rivera, 35, is very much in the “match to lose” ranks having lost 4 of his previous 5 fights being beaten by Samuel Vargas and Mian Hussain in Canada and Silverio and Roberto Ortiz back home in México.
Hernandez vs. Silva
Hernandez makes it a double for local fighters as he forces Silva into retirement at the end of the sixth round. After an even first round Hernandez scored with some crunching body punches. Silva quickly went into survival mode trying to distract Hernandez with the odd spell of clowning but Hernandez stayed focused. The sustained body attack finally wore Silva down and after he was floored he decided he had earned his purse and retired at the end of the sixth round. Hernandez, 30, wins the UBF Inter-Continental title (yipeeeee) and extends his current run of victories to four as he rebounds from back-to-back losses to unbeaten fighters Kyrone Davis and Ahmed Elbiali. In the run of four fights he scored a huge win in May getting a wide unanimous decision over world rated Russian Arif Magomedov and also has a victory over Jeff Page Jr, (17-1). Mexican “Pantera” Silva, 24, is now 1-9 in his last 10 fights but there are some toughies in there including Joshua Clottey, Frankie Gomez and Luis Arias.
Corona, CA, USA: Super Bantam: Daniel Roman (20-2-1) W PTS 10 Enrique Quevedo (16-8-1). Heavy: LaRon Mitchell (14-0) W PTS 8 Mario Heredia (13-3). Welter: Roberto Arriaza (13-0) W PTS 8 Ben Whitaker (11-3).
Roman vs. Quevedo
Roman outboxes and outpunches Quevedo to retain his WBA-NABA title. Roman gave a good display of slick skills, fast hand speed and accurate combinations. The fight was one-sided over the first four rounds but as he shed some accumulated rust Quevedo pressed and landed enough body punches to make some of the middle rounds close. He was also switching guards but Roman adjusted whenever he did that and controlled the action with heavy counter-punching as he eased his way to another win. Scores 100-90, 97-93 and 97-94 all for Roman. The 26-year-old “Baby Faced Assassin” was making the fourth defence of his WBA-NABA title and makes it 12 wins in a row. He is No 8 with the WBA. Quevedo, 33, was having his first fight since scoring a victory over then unbeaten Cuban Yoandris Salinas (20-0-2) in July 2014.
Mitchell vs. Heredia
Mitchell has to climb off the floor and go the distance for the first time to get win over young Mexican Heredia. Neither fighter is high on skills so for much of the fight it was a brawl with both landing and catching some hefty punches. In the third a big right from Heredia put Mitchell down. He beat the count and survived the round and fought back unloading some heavy punches on Heredia in the fourth. Over the last four rounds the brawl continued and again both fighters were showing plenty of offence and very little defence. Mitchell had the edge in conditioning over the very overweight Heredia and took the late rounds and the decision. Scores 77-74 twice and 76-75. The 36-year-old Mitchell had previously scored six first round wins and had only once gone past the third round to win. A former high level College football player he is now a PE teacher who came to boxing late. He was a silver medallist at the US Championships and beat both Donovan Dennis and Dominic Breazeale at the final US Olympic Trials but lost twice to Lenroy Thompson (who has changed his name to Cam Awesome). Heredia, 23, was blown away in six rounds by Andrey Fedosov in June. He weighed 274lbs (125kgs) for this fight which was just too much for him to carry and go eight hard rounds.
Arriaza vs. Whitaker
Arriaza gets unanimous decision over Whitaker but fails to impress. Despite a good kayo percentage Arriaza showed little in the way of power. He made good use of his height and reach to box on the outside over the first half of the fight but there were also some fiery exchanges. Whitaker did better over the late rounds and Arriaza was cut over the right eye in a clash of heads in the sixth. He went on to win the decision but he had been helped by the slow start from Whitaker. Scores 77-75 twice and 79-73 all for Arriaza. The 26-year-old Nicaraguan is a ridiculous No 8 with the WBA. Texan Whitaker’s two losses have been to unbeaten fighters Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Keenan Smith
Philadelphia, PA, USA: Super Light: Milton Santiago (15-0) W PTS 8 Ken Alvarez (7-452). Light: John Joe Nevin (8-0) W PTS 6 Jesus Lule (8-19-1)
Santiago vs. Alvarez
Teenager Santiago remains a winner after tough eight rounds with Dominican Alvarez. Santiago used his superior skill set to take the first two rounds comfortably. Alvarez realised he could not win a boxing match so he tried to turn the fight into a wild punch-up. Santiago had little choice but to join in and he showed he could brawl as well as box. Alvarez had some success but he was not as accurate with his punches and Santiago was doing the better work inside. It was not pretty but the crowd loved it. Scores 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75 all for Santiago. The 19-year-old “El Santo” is still very much a work in progress and will need to be carefully matched as he builds his experience. Alvarez, 25, is in the “just another brick in the wall” category as he has lost 5 of his last 6 fights all to unbeaten opposition.
Nevin vs. Lule
Nevin stays under the radar as he tries to get his interrupted career back on track with his first fight in nine months. The former Irish amateur star was a class or two above Lule and won every round comfortably and just as important he got in some much needed rounds. Scores 60-54 for Nevin on all three cards. Shortly after turning pro in 2014 Nevin had both legs broken in an attack that saw him need extensive surgery and a spell in a wheelchair. Philadelphia-based Nevin, 27, was one of the most successful amateurs in Irish boxing winning a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics, bronze medals at both the 2009 and 2011 World Championships and a gold medal at the European championships as well as winning numerous other tournaments. Floridian Lule is 1-9-1 in his last 11 fights but usually goes the distance.
Perth, Australia: Feather: Nathaniel May (15-1) W KO 1 Ciso Morales (18-4-1). Middle: Wes Capper (16-2) W PTS 10 Wade Ryan (9-5-1).
May vs. Morales
Impressive win as May disposes of Filipino Morales inside a round. May had dictated the action before taking Morales to the ropes and landing a left hook to the body. Morales went down on his hands and knees in agony and was still there when the referee completed the count. The 21-year-old local was defending his IBF Australasian title and the Australian No 3 now has 11 wins in a row. When Morales, 28, challenged Fernando Montiel for the WBO bantam title in 2010 it was also a body punch that ended the fight in the first round. He had gone 4-1-1 since then.
Capper vs. Ryan
Capper wins the vacant Australian title with split decision over Ryan. Capper was the aggressor for most of the fight with Ryan doing his best work by counter-punching. Capper kept switching styles to confuse southpaw Ryan and it seems to have worked but Ryan made it a tough, close fight. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for Capper and 96-94 for Ryan. The 28-year-old Perth “Decappertator” splits his fighting time between Australia and the USA. He took a chance fighting as he suffered a fractured eye socket just six weeks before the fight which had seriously affected his preparation. Ryan, 26, was the Australian No 6.
Accra, Ghana: Feather: Isaac Dogboe (15-0) W PTS 12 Neil John Tabanao (13-2). Super Middle: Obodai Sai (29-2) W TKO 2 Idrissa Kabore (10-2). Super Middle: Agoe Ashong (11-1) W TKO 2 Charles Tetteh (2-18).
Dogboe vs. Tabanao
Top Ghanaian prospect Dogboe continues his march with a win over Tabanao his best test so far. This one pitted the speed and skill of Dogboe against the tough aggression of the Filipino. Dogboe outboxed Tabanao over the first round and rocked him with good rights in both the second and third rounds. Tabanao was focusing his attacks on the body and did well in the fourth. He also made the middle rounds close with the local fighter showing some signs of damage in the form of a growing swelling below his left eye but Dogboe’s skill set was helping him put together a substantial lead. Both fighters tired but Dogboe had a big ninth as he rocked Tabanao with hooks to head and body and did enough to edge the tenth. That left Tabanao needing a kayo for victory but Dogboe had paced the bout well. They both fought hard over the last two rounds and although he was on the floor in the twelfth it was due to a slip and he did more than enough to assure himself of victory. Scores 120-109, 119-110 and 117-113 all for Dogboe. Tabanao’s effort was much better than those first two scores indicate but there was no doubt that Dogboe had won clearly. The young local said that he had injured his left shoulder early in the fight so the result looks even more impressive. The 21-year-old must be the only fighter to have won the British ABA title, have fought for Ghana at the Olympics and turned pro in Switzerland. He retained his WBO African title, took Tabanao’s WBO Oriental title and also won the vacant WBC Youth title. So far the opposition has been modest at best and he is still very much a work in progress but shows great potential. Tabanao, 22, lost a split verdict to Randy Braga for the Philippines title in July last year when a point deduction cost him a draw. He turned in his best performance so far when he floored and halted unbeaten Australian prospect Ibrahim Balla in June in Australia to win the WBO Orient title which saw him made “Fighter of the Month” by the GAB.
Sai vs. Kabore
“The Miracle” continues his rebuilding back home after a disastrous outing in the USA. Sai worked the body of the Burkina Faso fighter early and took the first three rounds. A problem with Kabore’s shoes saw him discard them in the third and he was competitive in the fourth. A clash of heads in the fifth opened a cut over Sai’s right eye but he was in total control and handed out heavy punishment in the sixth. Kabore suddenly went down on one knee complaining of an injured right shoulder and as he was unable to continue the referee stopped the fight. The 29-year-old lost a controversial decision to Jamie Cox for the Commonwealth title in 2011. He then won 7 domestic fights before going to the USA for a very short-lived campaign. In his first and only fight there in November 2014 he was stopped by Derrick Webster in 22 seconds. This is his fifth win since then and he collects the vacant WBO African title. Kabore’s record shows only one fight since January 2010 but I am not sure how complete it is.
Ashong vs. Amuzu
A disgraceful match saw Ashong outclass poor Tetteh with the loser’s corner throwing in the towel in the second round to save their man. “Odokor Tyson” Ashong gets his fourth win by KO/TKO. He had an inside the distance win in June which was his first fight in nine years. Tetteh now has 18 losses in a row all by KO/TKO. This was advertised as for the WBU (German Version) but Tetteh was a substitute for a substitute so whether even the WBU will stoop as low as associating themselves with this rubbish remains to be seen
Thailand: Bantam: Petch Sor Chitpattana (38-0) W PTS 10 Jhon Rey Lausa (13-10-3). Sor Chitpattana retains the interim WBC Youth title with unanimous decision over Filipino Lausa. It was far from easy for Sor Chitpattana. He had big edges in height and reach but again his defensive deficiencies were on show. He was able to stagger Lausa time and again with solid jabs and in the second floored the Filipino with a long southpaw left cross. Lausa beat the count and when Sor Chitpattana tried to follow-up Lausa landed a left that put Sor Chitpattana down heavily. He survived and he was on top when he worked off the jab but Lausa landed some hard punches of his own as both fighters were shaken over the late rounds. Scores 97-93 twice and 97-94 all for Sor Chitpattana. The 22-year-old WBC No 8 has yet to face any true tests but as his WBC rating keeps climbing why should he? Lausa had won his last six fights.
San Joaquin, Chile: Super Feather: Luis Parra (5-5-1) W PTS 10 Claudio Aguilar (2-18-3,1ND). Parra retains the Chilean title with unanimous decision over very limited challenger Aguilar. The basis for accepting this as a title fight was a slit draw these two shared in October but this time Parra dominated the fight. Aguilar had some good spells early in the fight but then faded away. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92 for 29-year-old “Motorcito” who was making the first defence of his title. Aguilar has lost only twice by KO/TKO.
August 27
Anaheim, CA, USA: Welter: David Peralta (25-2-1) W PTS 12 Robert Guerrero (33-5-1,2ND). Super Middle: Freddy Hernandez (34-8,1ND) W PTS 10 Alfredo Angulo (24-6). Middle: Terrell Gausha (19-0) W PTS 8 Steven Martinez (16-3).
Guerrero vs. Peralta
Peralta gets split decision over Guerrero. Peralta was much taller and had a big advantage in reach but Guerrero was able to score with southpaw straight lefts and landed a good shot late in the first. There was very little in the way of clean work in the second. Peralta was short with his jabs and Guerrero was waiting too long to get his own punches off. Guerrero was drawing the lead and stepping inside in the third and Peralta landed a couple of right hand counters but neither was doing any real damage. Guerrero had probably edged those three rounds but not by any great margin. Peralta did better in the fourth landing some good right counters but Guerrero got through with some lefts and did enough to offset Peralta’s work to take another round. The Argentinian was growing in confidence in the fifth taking the fight to a hesitant Guerrero who was going backwards when he needed to be coming forward. Peralta was taking the fight away from Guerrero in the sixth. He was buzzing around the almost static Guerrero choosing his moment to leap in with a quick combinations and then getting out again before Guerrero could counter. Guerrero showed more determination in the seventh. He stepped up his pace threw more punches and pressed more but let the momentum slip over the last minute of the round and let another round go to Peralta as the Argentinian continued to chip away at Guerrero’s early lead. Guerrero came awake in the eighth doing just enough to edge the round. Peralta dominated the ninth with Guerrero again going back. Peralta scored with two long straight rights the second of which sent Guerrero tumbling back into the corner and almost down. He recovered and came back into the fight but was lucky as Peralta had though Guerrero was going down so did not follow in and press the attack. It was another round to Peralta. The tenth and the eleventh went the same way as the Argentinian scored with a series of straight rights with Guerrero being outboxed and outworked. It was puzzling that Guerrero chose to stay in the centre of the ring instead of trying to chase down the more mobile and quicker Argentinian who was never really put under any sustained pressure. For me Guerrero needed to win the last round to get a draw but for a fighter of his experience incredibly he did not raise his pace at all over the last three minutes and I gave the round and the win to Peralta. Scores 116-112 and 115-113 for Peralta and 115-113 for Guerrero. A huge win for Peralta who hit 34 four days after this victory. His statistics are misleading as in his four fights prior to this he had scored two low level wins, fought a draw in a four round bout and lost on points to a fighter with a 14-7-1 record who had won only one of his previous six fights. This should have been an easy night for Guerrero as it was also Peralta’s first fight for 15 months. Peralta is a tall awkward opponent who thinks hooks are for hanging up clothes-he hardly threw anything except straight punches over the twelve rounds-and I am afraid this result says more about Guerrero than it does about Peralta. The 33-year-old “Ghost” was a shadow of himself and on the evidence of this fight is on the down slope
Hernandez vs. Angulo
Things looked bad for Angulo from the first bell. Hernandez used his longer reach to score with stinging jabs and was able to slide inside and land left hooks and be out of distance when a much slower Angulo tried to counter. It was all so easy for Hernandez in the second. He kept jolting Angulo’s head with powerful jabs and then getting home with hooks from both hands with Angulo swishing air with his punches. Angulo looked to be getting into the fight at the start of the third as he had some success but over the last minute Hernandez was driving Angulo back and catching him with heavy rights to the head. Hernandez bossed every second of the fourth once again spearing Angulo with his jab and getting through with hooks and straight rights with Angulo resorting to lying back on the ropes and trying to lure Hernandez in but it did not work. Suddenly things looked brighter for Angulo in the fifth. He began to connect with some of his rights and one of those punches opened a cut over the left eye of Hernandez and the blood was dripping down the side of Hernandez’s face at the bell. Hernandez boxed his way through the sixth. He was not looking to stand and trade but slammed home jab after jab and fired light but quick combinations. Angulo managed to land a couple of rights late in the round and the blood was again running down Hernandez’s face and the referee had a long look at the damage during the interval. Hernandez could not miss Angulo with the jab in the seventh and as Angulo padded slowly forward he was eating bunches of short hooks. Hernandez was not loading up on his punches but they all counted. Hernandez looked to be tiring in the eighth and was standing and trading more. That was playing into Angulo’s hands and he was able to score with some heavy lefts and rights. An Angulo victory looked possible in the ninth. Hernandez was flat-footed and getting caught with heavy rights. Also the cut was bleeding heavily. Despite that by the end of the ninth he had Angulo backing up and was scoring with head punches of his own. The blood was running again in the last and both fighters were exhausted. Hernandez had just that little bit more left and just managed to edge the last round for a career revitalising win. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92. Hernandez’s big chance had ended in disaster when he was stopped inside a round by Andre Berto for the WBC welter title in 2010. A run of 6 losses in a row, all to high level opposition, seemed to have ended Hernandez’s time at the top table and he had dropped down to minor domestic six and eight round fights with the last being a majority decision over Todd Manuel (10-7-1) in August last year. At 37 it looked as though his career was over until he was dragged from that one year of inactivity to provide an easy win for Angulo and although this win may not get him a seat at the top table there are some good pay days out there for him on the strength of this win. As for Angulo consecutive losses to Erislandy Lara, Saul Alvarez and James De la Rosa left him with a major rebuilding job. He had scored a couple of low level wins in 2015 but this fight with Hernandez was his first for almost exactly a year. He is 34 but looked a spent force here. He is still a name so there is money to be made but not big money.
Gausha vs. Martinez
Gausha gets past Puerto Rican Martinez on a majority decision. Martinez made the more positive start coming forward behind his jab and throwing some combinations. Gausha was going back and just using his jab with neither fighter landing a punch of any consequence and it was hard to score the round. Gausha was standing his ground more in the second and mixing hooks and uppercuts in with his jabs. Martinez was throwing more but Gausha was blocking most of his shots and was more accurate with his work scoring with a chopping right just before the bell. Almost every left hook Martinez threw was landing low. Martinez tried to pick up the pace in the third he landed a good right to the body but Gausha was blocking most of the shots and was getting better leverage on his punches as it became obvious Martinez did not have the power to hurt Gausha. Martinez came forward throughout the fourth and probably took the round as Gausha was not letting his hands go. Again Martinez seemed to be constantly low with his left hook-perhaps he thought Gausha had a glass hip or thigh (it’s a glass chin, Steve, chin OK). They traded more at the start of the fifth with Martinez finally getting a warning for a low left hook. Gausha seemed to get the better of the exchanges as again it was Martinez throwing more with Gausha more accurate and landing the power shots. It was the same in the six with Martinez throwing a lot and getting through with a few but Gausha was just not throwing enough punches of his own. Gausha had just not worked hard enough in the fifth and sixth but he did better in the seventh and over the last minute of the round caught Martinez with a series of counters. In the eighth the quantity was coming from Martinez and the quality from Gausha but again Gausha was parsimonious with his punches as if he was being charged $1,000 for each one but his accuracy may have seen him edge the round and I had them even at that point. Gausha let his hands go more in the ninth and that along with his good defensive work offset the more aggressive Martinez and despite a big effort from Martinez in the last again the quality work came from Gausha who won a deserved majority decision without really impressing. Scores 97-93 twice for Gausha and 95-95. The 28-year-old from Cleveland has useful wins over Norberto Gonzalez, Luis Grajeda and Orlando Lora but really needs to work at a higher pace. He competed at the 2012 Olympics and was the only member of the US boxing team who did not compete at the US Trials qualifying through the America’s Qualifiers. He scored wins over Jesse Hart, D’Mitrius Ballard and Luis Arias but lost to Vijender Singh at the Olympics. Bronx-based Martinez had lost on points against Denis Douglin and Chris Pearson but was coming off a two round stoppage of Jorge Melendez.
Boksburg, South Africa: Light Heavy: Thomas Oosthuizen (26-0-2) W TKO 9 Daniel Bruwer (24-7-1). Middle: Barend van Rooyen (23-4-1) W PTS 8 Xolani Mvubu (10-9-2).
Oosthuizen vs. Bruwer
Oosthuizen returns with a win as he once again tries to put his stumbling career back on track. Both fighters were returning from long lay-offs but Oosthuizen seemed the least affected. For once he was up against a fighter his own height so he had to rely on a higher work rate and more accuracy. He was also that bit quicker than the pedestrian Bruwer and put his fellow-South African down in the fourth and the seventh rounds. When he floored Bruwer again in the ninth the referee immediately stopped the fight without a count. That infuriated Bruwer who had to be restrained from confronting the referee. The 28-year-old Oosthuizen seems to be a permanent resident in The Last Chance Street (better not use the word saloon due to the nature of his past problems) after seemingly throwing away his career a few times. He has been to rehabilitation and has found another promoter willing to back him but even The Last Chance Street can turn into Skid Row unless the lessons of the past are learnt. Oosthuizen, who was having his first fight for 14 months, wins the vacant WBA Pan African title but talk of meeting the winner of Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward is a pipe dream – bad choice of words again after Oosthuizen’s past problems. Bruwer, 31, a former South African champion, was having his first fight since losing to Olek Usyk in October 2014.
van Rooyen vs. Mvubu
A good eight round fight saw veteran van Rooyen score a split decision over Mvubu. The 38-year-old van Rooyen was 19-2-1 in his first 22 fights but fight No 23 saw him lose to Lucky Lewele for the South African super light title. That’s was in 2003! He did not return to the ring until 2015 and has now won 4 of his 5 fights since returning with the loss being to Chris Buthelezi for the national middle title in June. He is No 4 in the South African ratings. Southpaw Mvubu had been advised to forget his “Steady But Sure” nickname and hit a high pace but he just came up short. His management claimed Mvubu had won a fight on a fifth round stoppage two weeks ago but that does not show on his record. He is No 10 with the BSA.
Fallon, NV, USA: Feather: Miguel Marriaga (24-1) W TKO 6 Guy Robb (18-2). Light: Jose Felix Jr (34-1-1) W TKO 6 Robert Frankel (34-17-1).
Marriaga vs. Robb
Marriaga bombs out Robb in the sixth. The fight was fairly even in the first round as both landed heavy punches. Marriaga had the better of the second but flirted with a point deduction after being warned twice for punches to the back of the neck. Marriaga began to take control finding Robb an easy target for his right crosses and he had built a lead going into the sixth. When the end came it was dramatic. Marriaga snapped Robb’s head back with a jolting jab. Robb replied with a hard jab of his own but then never saw the following right from Marriaga which thudded into Robb’s forehead and put him down heavily. He managed to struggle to his feet but was still very wobbly and the fight was rightly stopped. The 29-year-old Colombian “Scorpion” wins the vacant WBO-NABO title and makes it 20 wins by KO/TKO. His only loss was on points against Nicholas Walters for the WBA title in June last year when Walters lost his title on the scales. Now 4 wins on the bounce for Marriaga who is No 4 with the WBO and is hopeful of a fight with Oscar Valdez for the WBO title next year. Californian Robb lost to unbeaten Joseph Diaz in an eight round fight back in 2012 but had won11 fights in a row going into this one. Marriaga was just too much of a step up for him.
Felix vs. Frankel
Felix is another fighter looking for a second title shot. The talented Mexican made a cautious start against veteran Frankel but once he got rolling in the second round there was only going to be one ending. Felix bombarded Frankel with body punches using a vicious left hook as his weapon of choice. Those tactics quickly tired Frankel and Felix then began to insert into his strategy rights to the head and in the fifth one of those rights sent Felix’s mouthguard flying. Another big right in the sixth had Frankel shaken badly and as Felix forced Frankel to a corner and was unloading more heavy punches the fight was stopped. The 24-year-old from Los Mochis turned in a disappointing performance in losing to Bryan Vasquez for the interim WBA super feather title in 2014. He then moved up to lightweight and a run of seven wins has seen him up at No 3 with the WBO. The injury to WBO No 1 Felix Verdejo has made the contender situation complex but 2017 should see Felix get his title fight. The 36-year-old Frankel is now 2-5 in his last 7 fights but the losses have been to Paul Spadafora, Anton Novikov, Jose Zepeda and Jose Carlos Ramirez. A tough schedule. The pre-fight records of those four plus Felix add up to 137-1-2.
Berlin, Germany: Super Middle: Avni Yildirim (13-0) W PTS 10 Aaron Pryor Jr. (19-10-2). Light Heavy: Serdar Sahin (26-2) W KO 1 Gordan Zoric (3-14).
Yildirim vs. Pryor
Yildirim far too strong for a disappointing Pryor and gets one-sided points decision. The Turkish “Mr Robot” just kept walking the tall Pryor down. Pryor had huge advantages in height and reach but did not have the power or the movement to keep Yildirim out. The Turk just kept walking through Pryor’s punches trailing him from corner to corner and banging home hooks to head and body. There were a couple of occasions when Pryor was in deep water with the referee looking closely to see if a stoppage was required but Pryor just did enough each time to survive but he was never in with a serious chance of victory. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91 all for Yildirim. The 25-year-old has done nothing of note to deserve his WBC No 4 rating. His next fight will be with WBC No 7 Schiller Hyppolite at the end of October and the hope is that will get him a place in the queue behind No 1 Callum Smith, No 2 George Groves and No 3 Anthony Dirrell to challenge for the title. Now 38, Pryor inherited very little in the way of boxing ability from his dad and has won only 3 of his last 12 fights.
Sahin vs. Zoric
“Bomber” Sahin wastes no time in this one as he puts Zoric down and out in the first round. The 34-year-old German makes it 17 wins by KO/TKO. His losses have been to Robin Krasniqi for the WBO International title in 2012 and to Tony Averlant for the WBFederation title in 2014. He is the WBC EPBC champion and has won his last three fights. Croatian Zoric does not do distance fights. Only two of his fights have lasted the full distance and all of his 14 losses have come by KO/TKO.
Lilliendaal, Guyana: Light: DeMarcus Corley (48-27-1) W PTS 12 Dexter Gonsalves (8-2-2). Welter: Richard Holmes (12-6,1TD) W TKO 2 Mark Austin (9-9-1).
Corley vs. Gonsalves
Corley’s experience is the main factor in his majority decision victory over Gonsalves in a fight that saw both fighters on the floor. Gonsalves from Trinidad and Tobago was a little quicker to the punch in the first round and a hard right rocked Corley badly with the referee giving the veteran a standing count. Corley was doubling up his jab in the second and seemed to be settling into the fight. However in the third a right uppercut from Gonsalves put Corley down. He got up and took the eight count but was still shaky in the fourth. At the end of that round Gonsalves was up on all three cards 38-36 twice and 39-35. Corley started to take the fight in close and dominated the next four rounds landing a heavy combination that forced Gonsalves to take a standing eight count and later floored him with a southpaw left. At the end of the eighth Corley had reversed the position and was up on all three cards 75-73 twice and 76-74. Gonsalves tried hard to play catch up over the closing rounds and did well in the ninth and tenth but Corley had used his experience to save something for the end and did enough to deserve the decision. Scores 115-110 and 113-112 for Corley and 113-113 as Corley wins the vacant WBC Fecarbox title. At 42 there is still plenty of life left in the former WBO super light champion. He has won 6 of his last 7 fights with the loss being a majority decision against Adrian Estrella in Estrella’s back yard. Guyanan-based Gonsalves had won his last 7 fights and came close to a big win but he had no experience of going beyond eight rounds.
Holmes vs. Austin
The Jamaican “Frog” Holmes keeps his promise to blow away local fighter Austin. It was almost over in the first as a left from Homes knocked the mouthguard out of Austin’s mouth. That got Austin a few moments respite but a straight right put him down at the end of the round and only the bell saved him. A painful second saw Holmes stun Austin repeatedly with the referee applying three standing counts before stopping the fight. Holmes has 7 wins by KO/TKO but was stopped in 7 rounds by Corley in July. Four losses in a row for Austin.
Abbasanta, Italy: Middle: Alessandro Goddi (27-1-1) W TKO 3 Laszlo Kovacs (7-4). Just an easy keep busy fight for Goddi against Hungarian novice Kovacs. The 28-year-old Highlander, a former undefeated Italian champion, is unbeaten in his last 17 fights and has 12 wins by KO/TKO. The opposition has not been strong so he is down at No 13 in the EBU ratings. Second loss by KO/TKO for Kovacs.
Mexico City. Mexico: Feather: Giovanni Caro (27-19-4) W DISQ 2 Enrique Angeles (16-3-2). Super Feather: Eduardo Hernandez (20-0-3) W TKO 2 Rey Juntilla (21-8-5).
Caro vs. Angeles
Disappointing end to what would have been a good test for young local fighter Angeles. Things started badly for Angeles when late in the first round a left from Caro had him staggering and he had to hold desperately to the bell. In the second a bad cut was opened on the right eyebrow of Caro. It was too bad for the fight to continue and as it was ruled that it came about due a deliberate butt from Angeles he was disqualified. Any win is welcome for the 33-year-oold “El Ruso” as he was 2-8 in his last 10 fights going into this one. Angeles, 20, had lost only one of his last 20 fights but he had been meeting only very modest opposition.
Hernandez vs. Juntilla
Hernandez continues unbeaten as he destroys Filipino Juntilla inside two rounds. Juntilla was the aggressor in the first pressing Hernandez who boxed cautiously looking for openings. In the second he found what he was looking for and floored Juntilla early in the round. Juntilla beat the count but was put down twice more and the fight was stopped. The requirement to stop the fight came from the ringside doctor pushing a button to spark amber lights on each of the corner posts which is quite common in Mexican rings. Hernandez, just 18 (he turned pro at 14), is trained by former WBC minimum champion Isaac Bustos. Hernandez is known either as “Rocky” or “Child with the murderous fists” and he now has 13 wins by KO/TKO on the bounce all scored inside four rounds. Juntilla, the Philippines No 11 feather, falls to three losses by KO/TKO.
Managua, Nicaragua: Light Fly: Byron Rojas (18-3-3,1ND) W PTS 10 Omar Ortiz (12-5,1ND). Rojas returns to action with a win but Ortiz makes him work hard. The former WBA minimum champion had too much of everything for Ortiz but was not putting in 100% effort and Ortiz did enough to edge a round here and there. Scores 97-92 twice and 97-94 all for Rojas. The 26-year-old “Gallito” had sprung a big surprise by beating Hekkie Budler for the WBA and IBO titles in March but lost the WBA title on a wafer-thin decision to Knockout CP Freshmart in June. He is No 2 with the WBA so in line for chance to regain his title. Back in 2013 Ortiz had lasted less than three rounds against Rojas but had won 3 of his last 4 fights.
Bayonne, NJ, USA: Welter: Juan Rodriguez Jr (13-4) W PTS 8 Alex Perez (18-3,1ND) W. Rodriguez gets decision over Perez in a fire fight despite some confusion at the end. Both of them had some rust to shed with Perez in the worst position as this was his first fight for 18 months. It showed as Rodriguez made a great start as a right saw Perez go off balance and touch the canvas with his gloves allowing Rodriguez to claim a first round knockdown. Perez fought back hard over the remainder of the round but was already two points down. Both came out firing in the second. Perez had the better of the early action but Rodriguez exploded late in the round and Perez was in deep trouble and glad to hear the bell. The third went the other way with Rodriguez starting strong and Perez coming on at the end of the round. Both fighters are southpaw but Perez had an edge in reach and finally used that in the fourth. He was probably 3-4 points behind already but in this round he started to claw that back landing heavy punches to take the round. Things were close in the fifth and sixth so Perez was still behind. He had a great seventh flooring Rodriguez with a series of punches. Rodriguez beat the count but he was badly shaken and only just made it to the bell. Now it was anyone’s fight and Rodriguez looked to have just edged a close round. Scores 76-74 for Rodriguez, 76-75 for Perez and 76-76 so a split draw. A later examination of the cards showed that the 76-76 was in fact 76-75 for Rodriguez who finally took a well earned split decision in a great little fight. Rodriguez, 29, wins the IBU title. After being 12-1 in his first 13 fights he suffered consecutive losses to unbeaten fighters Taras Shelestyuk, Nick DeLomba and Ivan Golub and this was his first fight since the loss in January to Golub. Perez, the 34-year-old “Brick City Bullet”, had a similar story. He was unbeaten in his first 17 fights before being stopped in six rounds by Antonin Decarie in 2012. He had only one fight in both 2013 and 2014 before being halted in five rounds by Brandon Adams in the ESPN Boxcino Tournament in February 2015 and did not fight again until this fight with Rodriguez.
Washington, PA, USA: Light: Rod Salka (23-4) W PTS 8 Justin Savi (28-7-2).
Salka has little trouble in beating late substitute Savi but is not in top form. Salka made a strong start taking the first round and then flooring Savi in the second. From there it was a more pedestrian effort from Salka. He won every round but was not sharp. Savi resorted to wild swings which Salka had no trouble avoiding and he boxed his way to winning every round. Scores 80-70 from all three judges. The 33-year-old “Lightning Rod” took a lot of unfair criticism when it was proposed he should be allowed to challenge Danny Garcia for the super light title as if it was his fault his name was put forward and as though he should turn down the biggest purse of his career. The outcry forced the fight to be changed to a non-title fight and Salka was knocked out in two rounds. This is his fourth win in a row and he has good support locally. He is running for state representative in his district so let’s hope he gets a win there. Savi from Benin but based locally won his first 23 fights including a victory that garnered him the WBC Silver title and a high world rating. Some realism has crept in since then and he is 5-7-2 in his last 14 fights.
Lusaka, Zambia: Welter: Charles Manyuchi (19-2-1) W PTS 8 Deo Samwell (9-6-6). Super Light: Twaha Kiduku (7-0) W KO 3 Mbia Kanku (5-3-1).
Manyuchi vs. Samwell
Just paid sparring really for Manyuchi as he takes it easy on overmatched Tanzanian Samwell. The Zambia-based Zimbabwean did not need to put effort into the fight and had time to clown and taunt his opponent. He only became serious in the last round as he floored Samwell but left it too late to finish the fight before the last bell and he settled for the unanimous decision. Wins in their own backyard against Gianluca Frezza and unbeaten Dmitry Mikhaylenko (21-0) have seen Manyuchi win both the WBC International and WBC Silver titles and rise to No 4 in the WBC ratings but his profile is still not high enough to get him a shot at guys such as Danny Garcia, Kell Brook etc. so it is difficult to see how he can progress. Samwell was 4-1-1 in his last six fights and can proudly claim he has still not lost inside the distance.
Kiduku vs. Kanku
Kiduku came with the reputation of a puncher and the Tanzanian proved he had power. After two close rounds Kiduku put the DCR boxer out cold. There was considerable concern over the condition of Kanku with some signs of panic before he finally recovered. Kiduku, the Tanzanian champion, has 4 wins by KO/TKO. Third loss by KO/TKO for Kanku but he took Manyuchi into the tenth round before being stopped in their 2013 fight.
