Weekly Report

(PHOTO: JORGE NAJERA)

April 30

Tokyo, Japan: Light: Yoshitaka Kato (27-5-1) W TKO 7 Yuhei Suzuki (14-4). Heavy: Kyotaro Fujimoto (9-1) W PTS 8 Nobuhiro Ishida (25-10-2).
Kato vs. Suzuki

Kato retains JBC title with stoppage of previous victim Suzuki. Kato made a fast start working on the inside and piling up the points with his busy style to be ahead on all cards after five rounds. Suzuki almost ended it in the sixth when he stunned Kato with a left hook but despite furious effort just could not find the punch to end it. He paid for that in the seventh when a right from Kato put him flat out face first on the floor with the fight being stopped immediately. Successful sixth defence of the JBC title for 28-year-old former OPBF champion Kato who had outpointed Suzuki in a title defence in February 2013. Just one loss in his last eleven fights for Kato. Suzuki, 24 was JBC No 1 and this was his second loss by KO/TKO.

Fujimoto vs. Ishida

In this non-title fight Ishida, jumping four division, dominated the early rounds actually having height and reach over the heavier Fujimoto. He used those advantages to score with good jabs keeping Fujimoto on the outside. However, over the second half of the fight the unaccustomed additional weight he was carrying slowed Ishida and Fujimoto took the last four rounds to win on scores of 77-75 twice and 77-76. This was a non-title fight as the JBC had refused to sanction it as a defence for Fujimoto with Ishida being the JBC No 2 middleweight. Fourth win for Fujimoto since being halted in five rounds by Solomon Haumono for the vacant OPBF title in 2012. Ishida broke through in a big way with his 112 second blow out of James Kirkland in 2011 but one-sided losses to Paul Williams, Dmitry Pirog for the WBO title and Gennady Golovkin for the WBA title stalled his career. At 38 he may call it a day or might hope to have convinced the JBC he is a worthy challenger for Fujimoto.

May 1

Hialeah, FL, USA: Middle: Roberto Garcia (35-3,1ND) W TKO 6 Victor Cayo (32-5). Middle: Jonathan Gonzalez (18-0-1) W PTS 10 Rogelio Medina (32-6). Light Heavy: Yunieski Gonzalez (14-0) W TKO 1 Jason Palomeque (14-10-1). Middle: James McGirt (23-3-1) W TKO 1 Larry Smith (10-2121).
Garcia vs. Cayo

“La Amenaza” Garcia makes it 7 wins in a row with stoppage of Cayo. Garcia bossed the fight all the way. It took Cayo three attempts to make the weight which may have left him weakened and Garcia was the stronger man. He was forcing Cayo back with his jab and sometimes just physically pushing the Dominican onto the back foot. Garcia was pressuring Cayo and setting a high work rate stabbing home a stiff jab and banging away to the body. Cayo was slotting home counters but Garcia was able to ignore them as they lacked power and Cayo was just not able to get a foothold in the fight over the first four rounds. The fourth saw Garcia warned for pushing Cayo back with his shoulder but also saw a cut opened over Cayo’s right eye. The Dominican made a better start in the fifth getting through with some lefts hooks and rights but by the end of the round was suffering again as Garcia scored to the body and Cayo was being backed-up. The sixth saw Garcia slam Cayo into the ropes with a left hook and he landed a volley of punches with the final right sending Cayo reeling along the ropes and the fight was stopped. Physically Garcia had a big advantage. He was coming down from light middle whereas Cayo was coming up from light welter and that was a factor in the fight. Now 22 wins by KO/TKO for the Texas-based Mexican. He lost to Antonio Margarito in the former welter champion’s return to the ring in 2010 but has since scored wins over Antwone Smith and Norberto Gonzalez to put himself in line for a world rating. All of 29-year-old Cayo’s losses have come by KO/TKO against Marcos Maidana for the interim WBA title, Lamont Peterson in an IBF eliminator, Nate Campbell, Emmanuel Taylor and now Garcia. He loses the big ones.

Gonzalez vs. Medina

Gonzalez gets a split decision and remains unbeaten but again fails to impress. Mexican Medina was the busier and built an early lead by being first to the punch against a sluggish Gonzalez. Both fighters were willing to stand and trade on the inside with Medina scoring more often but Gonzalez landing the harder shots. The Puerto Rican began to eat into Medina’s lead in the second half of the fight but with many rounds being close. Medina still seemed to have the edge going into the tenth and did enough to edge that round. The judges saw it differently scoring it 97-93 and 96-94 for Gonzalez and 96-94 for Medina. It depended on whether you went for quantity or quality. The 24-year-old “Mantequilla” has stumbled along over the past 18 months. He came in 9lbs over the contract weight for a drawn fight with Serhiy Dzinziruk in 2012 and only just edged out Derek Ennis on a majority decision in January last year. He is IBF 7(6)/WBC 9 at light middle. As an amateur despite scoring wins over Kevin Bizier, Jessie Vargas and 2008 Olympic gold medal winner Felix Diaz and lifting a silver medal at the Pan American Games he failed at the 2008 Olympics. “Porky” Medina, 25, needed two attempts to make the weight. He won his first 23 fights before losing to Gilberto Ramirez S. but as the competition had gotten tougher he is now 9-5 in his last 14.

Gonzalez vs. Palomeque

Cuban Gonzalez moves to 10 wins by KO/TKO as he destroys poor Colombian Palomeque in a poor match. It took the 28-year-old Gonzalez just 27 seconds to stop his soft-chinned victim. Before his defection he was a good class amateur in Cuba at 91kgs but the best he managed was a silver medal in the National Championships as he kept running up against Osmay Acosta. Palomeque has lost 6 of his last 7 fights, 5 by KO/TKO.

McGirt vs. Smith

Another poor match sees McGirt return with a first round win over perpetual loser Smith. First fight for 31-year-old Buddy Jr. since defeat in nine rounds against Edwin Rodriguez in November 2010. No risk being taken here as Smith now has 17 losses and a draw in his last 18 fights. The notable thing is that this was the first time in the 18 bout streak that he has failed to last the distance so McGirt could take something out of the win.

May 2

Las Vegas, NV, USA: Feather: Jesus Cuellar (24-1) W PTS 12 Rico Ramos (23-4). Light Middle: Ishe Smith (26-6) W KO 2 Ryan Davis (24-14-3). Bantam: Rau’shee Warren (11-0) W PTS 10 Ric Alvarado (7-3). Light: Mickey Bey (20-1-1,1ND) W PTS 10 Alan Herrera (32-6). Light: Robert Easter (10-0) W PTS 8 Carlos Cardenas (20-8-1). Light: Jamel Herring (8-0) W TKO 2 Rogelio Casarez (6-2). Light: Raynell Williams (4-0) W PTS 4 Joshua Arocho (3-9-4).

Cuellar vs. Ramos

Cuellar retains the WBA interim title with unanimous decision over Ramos. Cuellar showed he had power as he floored Ramos with a southpaw straight left in the first round. Ramos survived, but Cuellar kept walking forward working on the inside and putting Ramos under pressure. Cuellar was particularly effective with his right cross and although Ramos was getting through with his own right he was just not letting his punches go enough and being outworked. Cuellar was not always accurate with that right and lost a point in the eighth when one caught Ramos on the back of his head. Ramos had the handicap of a cut over his right eye. He tried to step up the pace over the closing rounds but just seemed to lack snap and had too much to do to claw back Cuellar’s lead. Scores 117-109, 116-110 and 114-112 which but for the 10-8 first round would have made it a majority decision. First defence by 27-year-old Argentinian of the title he won by decisioning Claudio Marrero in August. Ramos, 26, a former WBA super bantam champion, ran up 20 straight wins including his title victory over Akifumi Shimoda. He then hit the rocks with 3 losses in 4 fights losing his title to Memo Rigondeaux and being defeated by Ronny Rios and Oscar Gonzalez. He had rebuilt with back-to-back wins over Carlos Ivan Velasquez and Jon Arrellano but is way down the queue now.

Smith vs. Davis

This looked a poor match on paper and it proved to be so on canvas. Smith handed out heavy punishment to head and body in the first before a crunching right/left combination put Davis down and out in the second. Win No 12 by KO/TKO for “Sugar Shay the former IBF light middle champion, and first fight since losing his title on a split decision to Carlos Molina in September. “Dangerous” Davis (to whom?) has lost 6 of his last 7 fights, 5 by KO/TKO but his brave management has put him in some tough matches.

Warren vs. Alvarado

You could never describe the talented Warren as a puncher but he scored two knockdowns on his way to a wide unanimous decision over Mexican Alvarado. Warren, an outstanding amateur, had Alvarado over in the second and ninth rounds on his way to a one-sided decision. Warren was just too quick for the aggressive Alvarado picking him off with fast, accurate counters. He put Alvarado down with a left in the second and it was a volley of quick hits that floored Alvarado in the ninth. The only blot on Warren’s copy book performance was the deduction of a point for low punches as he cruised to the win on scores of 99-88 from all three judges. First ten round fight for Warren. The 27-year-old from Cincinnati was US champion in 2005/6/7 and 2010 in which year he also won the NGG’s. He picked up a gold medal and two bronze medals in World Championships but failed to medal at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics he was the youngest member of the whole US Olympic team. Despite his short record “Scorpion” Alvarado was in his fifth ten round fight and already had a 12 rounder under his belt. He has not lost inside the distance.

Bey vs. Herrera

Good win for Clevelander Bey over useful Herrera but he has to climb off the floor for the win. The early rounds were low key with Bey using his height and reach advantages to box and counter the aggressive Herrera and with his edge in skill he was doing enough to take the points and build a good lead. The fight warmed-up from the sixth with Bey the quicker and Herrera concentrating on body shots. The Mexican switched to the head in the seventh and floored Bey with a left uppercut. Bey recovered well and paid Herrera back in kind in the eighth staggering Herrera with a right. Bey was shaken by a punch in the ninth but then boxed his way through the last round for a convincing victory. Scores 98-92 twice and 97-92. The 30-year-old Bey gets his second win since losing on a tenth round stoppage against John Molina in July. Bey was another outstanding amateur winning gold, silver and bronze medals in NGG competitions. He beat Brandon Rios twice in the US Trials for the 2004 Olympics but failed to get through the Americas qualifiers. This fight marks nine years as a pro which is a long time for so relatively little progress. Herrera, 24, lost on points in 2011to Bryan Vasquez and to Will Tomlinson for the vacant IBO title super feather title but had won 7 of his last 8 fights.

Easter vs. Cardenas

Easter made it hat-trick for Ohio as he outpointed late sub Cardenas. The Venezuelan gave the tall Easter eight good learning rounds and even managed to shake Easter with a right in the fourth. Apart from that instance the young prospect showcased some excellent skills and took the decision on scores of 79-73 twice and 80-72. After taking less than 13 rounds to win his first 8 fights the 23-year-old Easter has gone eight rounds in each of his last two fights. He was alternate/ first reserve for the US team at the London Olympics. Now three losses in a row for 29-year-old Cardenas who has done most of his fighting in Mexico his other two recent losses have been inside the distance against WBC No 1 Edgar Puerta and Mickey Bey.

Herring vs. Casarez

Herring, a fourth Ohio winner, has too much class and power for prelim fighter Casarez. After softening-up Casarez in the first round Herring shook him with an uppercut and then kept blasting away until the fight was stopped. The tall 28-year-old former US Marine had 5 wins by KO/TKO. He represented the US at the World Championships and the 2012 Olympics and won a silver medal at the World Military Championships. Casarez had won his last 4 fights but in a much lower league.

Williams vs. Arocho

Williams completes the sweep for Ohio with a points win over late stand-in Arocho. Williams just had too much of everything for the New Jersey fighter and won every round. Scores 40-36 from the three judges. Williams had won his previous three fight inside the distance. The 25-year-old from Cleveland was a quarter-finalist at the 2007 World Championships and competed at the 2008 Olympics. He had wins over Rico Ramos and Carl Frampton as an amateur, Now 3 losses and 2 draws in his last 5 fights for Arocho.

Gatteo, Italy: Middle: Matteo Signani (20-4-3) TEC DRAW 3 Istvan Szili (17-0-2). Heavy: Matteo Modugno (14-0) W TKO 2 Ferenc Zsalek (13-41-3). 2
Signani vs. Szili

The EU title remains vacant after this fight is stopped in the third round due to a bad cut suffered by Szili. The local fighter takes the first round with some good movement and fast combinations. Szili forces the pace more against his taller opponent in the second and “Jaguar” Signani has to stand and trade. Szili wins the round but both fighters are cut but Szili’s is the more serious, a bad gash on his left eyebrow. The referee informs the judges that it was accidental. In the third Szili picks up the pace and both are scoring freely. However, Szili’s cut is bleeding profusely and after an examination by a doctor the fight is stopped. Since the third round is not completed it is a technical draw. Szili complains that the cut was caused by Signani’s elbow, but no takers. Big disappointment for both fighters. Signani, 34, twice a holder of the Italian title, was having his second shot at this title. He has lost only one of his last 18 fights and was EBU No 17. “Spartan” Szili, 31, the EBU No 16, now has two draws in a row after ending all square with Goekalp Oezekler in August. He had better luck in EU championships as an amateur getting a silver medal in 2005 and a gold in 2006. A loss to James De Gale in the European Olympic qualifiers cost him a place at the 2008 Olympics. Hopefully these two will fight a return as soon as Szili’s wound heals.

Modugno vs. Zsalek

Italian champion “Breadstick” Modugno, 26, has his first fight in over 8 months and has no trouble in disposing of much smaller perennial loser Zsalek. The only highlight was when both big men fell out of the ring. Now 8 wins by KO/TKO for the 6’6 ½” (200cm) Italian including 5 in his last 6 fights. A good win over Fabio Tuiach (25-2) in August earned him an EBU 16 rating. Hungarian Zsalek, 5’11” (1890cm) now has 21 losses by KO/TKO.

Managua, Nicaragua: Light: Oliver Flores (25-1-2) W PTS 10 Moises Castro (31-22-4,2ND). Young Flores continues his restoration with a close unanimous decision over experienced fellow southpaw Castro. The 22-year-old from Leon had to work hard to eke out the decision. Scores 96-94 twice and 98-92. Second win for Flores since being flattened in two rounds by Mexican Miguel Berchelt in November 2012. Castro, 35, had bounced back from a run of 10 losses in a row to be 4-2 in his last 6 going in.

La Coruna, Spain: Super Middle: Xesus Ferreiro (11-3-1) W Ivan Salcines (8-2).
Local fighter Ferreiro wins the vacant Spanish title with unanimous decision over Salcines. With the exception of the second round when Ferreiro was hurt and in deep trouble he had the fight well under control. He was able to outhustle the fighter from Santander and keep him on the back foot. Salcines had one or two good spells but not enough to affect the verdict. Score 100-92, 97-92 and 97-93. Ferreiro, 29, was moving down from light heavy and picked-up his second national title. He has won 6 of his last 7 fights. Salcines, 32, was having his second shot at this title and had won 8 of his last 9 going in.

Hull, England: Light Middle: Joel Haigh (8-0-2) W PTS 10 Ibrar Riyaz (4-57-2).
“Gentleman” Haigh remains unbeaten and ends a run of two consecutive draws with points win over perennial loser Riyaz. Haigh was able to use his jab to dominate the fight and keep Riyaz on the back foot. The local tired over the late rounds and Riyaz was then able to get into the fight and push Haigh hard over those closing rounds. Referee’s score 98-93. The 23-year-old Haigh has good skills but lacks power. Riyaz has only failed to go the distance three times. His last 8 fights have all been against unbeaten fighters.

May 3

Las Vegas, NV, USA: Welter: Floyd Mayweather (46-0) W PTS 12 Marcos Maidana (35-4). Welter: Amir Khan (29-3) W PTS 12 Luis Collazo (35-6). Light Welter: Adrien Broner (28-1,1ND) W PTS 10 Carlos Molina (17-2-1), Super Middle: J’Leon Love (18-0,1ND) W PTS 10 Marco A Periban (20-2-1). Super Middle: Ronald Gavril (9-0) W TKO 3 Tyrell Hendrix (10-4-2). Welter: Ashley Theophane (35-6-1) W TKO 4 Angino Perez (15-5). Middle: Anthony Ogogo (6-0) W TKO 3 Jonel Tapia (8-5-1).

Mayweather vs. Maidana

Mayweather gets the win but with reputation dented by majority decisionb. Maidana came out fiercely focused and just threw punch after punch giving Mayweather no space or time. The Argentinian threw 100 punches in those first three minutes and Mayweather was caught out by the storm. Mayweather steadied himself in the second and got through with enough counters to edge the round. It was different in the third as again Maidana set a frantic pace and got through with a hard uppercut as he kept the pressure on Mayweather. The fourth round saw Mayweather working better but a clash of heads opened a cut over his right eye. Maidana just walked through Mayweather’s punches in the fifth but those punches were scoring for Mayweather and after five rounds two judges had him ahead by one point with the other having him in front by three points. The sixth was close but Mayweather took it with his counters and Maidana’s work rate dropped in the seventh again giving Mayweather the edge as he scored with rights and a good left hook. Maidana bounced back to take the eighth as he got his punch rate back up and was able to outscore Mayweather who was still depending on counters to score his points. It seemed to be anyone’s fight with four rounds to go. Two score cards reflected this with those two judges having it 77-75 for opposing fighters but one card being out of line with Mayweather 4 points in front. Those last four rounds were close with Mayweather doing enough to take three of the but Maidana having a strong last round. There was no doubt that Maidana had worked harder than Mayweather throughout the fight as illustrated by the statistics which showed that he had thrown more than twice and many punches as Mayweather. However the stats also showed that Mayweather’s accuracy and defensive abilities had blunted most of Maidana’s efforts. The scores were 117-110 and 116-112 to Mayweather and 114-114. The first score was way off the mark with the better reflection probably lying between the other two scores with Mayweather doing just enough to win but Maidana making it close enough to pose some questions and earn a return. Mayweather retains the WBC title and wins the WBA title in his 23rd world title fight. Only the third time that Mayweather has failed to garner the votes of all three judges. The other times were a split decision over Oscar de La Hoya and the majority decision (thanks to C.J.Ross) against Saul Alvarez. At 37 Mayweather may be finding the strain of having to go the distance in 9 of his last 11 fights starting to empty the well a little. A fired-up Maidana just let his work rate drop after the fifth round with two of the judges only giving the Argentinian only one of the next six rounds, and those were the guys who had the fight closest. There is talk of a return in September and it is no more than the 30-year-old “El Chino” Maidana deserves after giving Mayweather the biggest scare in his career.

Khan vs. Collazo

This was supposed to be a tough test for Khan but he outclassed southpaw Collazo and won a wide unanimous decision. Khan was just too quick for Collazo who was getting caught early and hard. Khan breezes through the first round landing some good rights with Collazo too slow to counter. In the second the Brit staggers Collazo with a right hook and is able to penetrate the New York southpaw’s guard with ease. Khan continues to dominate in the third and floors Collazo with a right early in the fourth. Collazo gets up and plows forward in the round but again is eating fast combinations from Khan. The former IBF and WBA light welter champion takes the fifth but Collazo finally has some success in the sixth with his southpaw jab and increases his work rate. Collazo is advancing trying to walk down Khan in the seventh and has a good eighth with Khan losing a point for holding and Collazo landing a good left late in the round. The ninth sees Collazo bleeding from a cut over his left eye and Khan edges the round with his quicker punches. Khan comes close to ending it in the tenth. He takes Collazo to the ropes and drops him with a left hook. Collazo gets up only to be put down again and is taking punishment on the ropes at the end of the round. Collazo tries hard for the knockout he needs in the last two rounds but again Khan is just too quick. Khan is down in the twelfth but from a low blow and he boxes his way to a convincing win. Scores 119-104 twice and 117-106. A top class display by the 27-year-old Brit which he had hoped would get him the next shot at Mayweather but after the showing Maidana put up Khan is back to No 2 in the queue again. He lifts Collazo’s WBA International title. Collazo, 34, had hit a low when he lost to Freddy Hernandez in 2011. However he took a year out and had rehabilitated himself with wins four wins including a kayo of Victor Ortiz in January and he was WBA 2/WBC 8. No indication of retirement at this time.

Broner vs. Molina

Broner starts slowly and then proceeds to handle Molina with relative ease. The first three rounds were close but from the fourth it was Broner’s fight. He scored with fast, hard combinations against a slower Molina, and his shots quickly raised a lump under the left eye of the Californian. The fight became very one-sided and Broner did his miniscule popularity no good by taunting Molina in the late rounds as he eased his way to the win without really putting out 100%. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92. Only 24, he is just a shadow of the fighter he was at 130lbs and 135lbs and he will have to improve if he is to get back into the title picture. He wins the vacant WBA International title which might improve his No 6 position with them. First fight for 28-year-old Molina since losing on a stoppage to Amir Khan in December 2012.

Love vs. Periban

Big win for Love as he beats WBC No 3 Periban. Love got off to a god start busting the Mexican’s nose in the second. Periban banged back to have Love hurt and in trouble from rights in the third. Love took the fourth with his superior skills but almost came apart in the fifth. A right had Love badly shaken. He tried to hold but Periban got through with more hard punches and Love went down on one knee. Periban was lucky not to get disqualified as he landed punches with Love on his knee. The referee actually pulled Periban off and accidentally threw the Mexican to the canvas. When action resumed Love had recovered and in the sixth he opened a cut by the left eye of Periban and it was the Mexican who was on shaky legs at the end of the round. From there Love was in command as the cut and pace of the fight seemed to drain Periban and although he rallied to take the last Love had done enough to take the decision. Scores 97-93, 96-93 and 95-93. Love, 26, the WBA No 14 had a split decision over Gabriel Rosado in May last year ruled out when he tested positive for a banned substance but had scored inside the distance wins over Lajuan Simon and Vladine Biosse. This is his biggest win by a long way. Periban, 29, lost a majority decision to Sakio Bika for the vacant WBC title in June and then drew with Badou jack for the NABF title in September.

Gavril vs. Hendrix

No contest this one as Romanian Gavril beats up Hendrix. Gavril handed out punishment for the whole fight until the referee had seen enough and saved Hendrix. Six wins by KO/TKO for the 27-yearold Gavril but no real tests so far and Hendrix had lost in one round to Jessie Hart in December.

Theophane vs. Perez

Comfortable win for Brit Theophane over useful Perez. Theophane had the much taller Perez down in the second and a series of shots which sent Perez tumbling into the ropes in the fourth saw the fight stopped. The 34-year-old “Treasure” lost a split decision to Danny Garcia back in 2010 but losses to Darren Hamilton and Pablo Cesar Cano have left him with some reconstruction work. Perez, 30, had won 8 of his last 9 with the loss being on points against Carlos Molina in 2012 and he had scored 5 wins by KO/TKO since then.

Ogogo vs. Tapia

Lanky Brit Ogogo gets his third win by KO/TKO as he dominates two rounds and then fires a hard combination early in the third and the fight is stopped. The 25-year-old 2012 bronze medallist is taking his time to adjust to the pros but is a good prospect. New York-born Puerto Rican Tapia has lost 4 of his last 5 fights with two of those being first round
defeats so no real test.

Berlin, Germany: Super Middle: Arthur Abraham (40-4) W PTS 12 Nikola Sjekloca (26-2). Welter: Timo Schwarzkopf (14-0) W TKO 1 Anzor Gamgebeli (17-6-3). Cruiser: Noel Gevor (11-0) W PTS 10 Gogita Gorgiladze (18-5). Light Heavy: Eduard Gutknecht (25-3-1) DREW 8 Pablo Sosa (3-3-3). Feather: Denis Ceylan (12-0) W KO 1 Dzmitri Agafonau (8-3).

Abraham vs. Sjekloca

Abraham retains WBO title with unanimous decision over Sjekloca despite hand injury. Sjekloca was able to use his height and reach to keep Abraham outside and take the first two rounds as Abraham seemed content to use his old tactic of hiding behind a high guard and look for openings. From the third Abraham was more active getting inside the jab of Sjekloca and throwing right hands, but Sjekloca was still pushing Abraham back and scoring with the old right left right cross combination. More of the same in the fourth with Abraham willing to let Sjekloca pound away, catching most of the punches on his high guard and then firing back with combinations to head and body and finally driving Sjekloca back. The fifth saw Abraham using his jab more and throwing more combinations but again with Sjekloca still using his strong jab and being allowed to pound away at Abraham’s high guard. Abraham had told his corner he had injured his right hand and from the sixth he used it sparingly doing most of his work with his left. Over the second half of the fight Sjekloca’s work rate dropped and he was ignoring the jab which had helped him dominate early. He seemed to tire and Abraham was able to score with hard shots to head and body in short bursts. Sjekloca was showing a swelling under his right eye and his confidence had drained away. Abraham was able to do enough to eat into and then overtake Sjekloca’s early lead to win a close but deserved decision. Scores 116-112, 116-113 and a ridiculous 119-110 from the Russian judge which drew the anger of Sjekloca’s seconds who remonstrated with him at ringside. Abraham did well to overcome his injury, a repeat of an injury to two fingers which he suffered when beating Robert Stieglitz for the title. The 34-year-old Armenian-born German was making the first defence in his second reign as WBO champion and this was the 18th world title fight for the former IBF middleweight champion. He is still a strong, clever boxer, but is looking vulnerable. Serbian-born Montenegrin Sjekloca, 35, showed excellent skills. He is tall with a strong jab but lost focus and went off his game plan. He lost a wide unanimous decision to Sakio Bika in a WBC eliminator in February 2013.

Schwarzkopf vs. Gamgebeli

Poor EBU-EE title match sees Albanian Schwarzkopf halt Georgian in the first round. Schwarzkopf attacked from the start and handed out punishment until the referee halted the fight. The 22-year-old Schwarzkopf (real name Festim Kryeziu, I will stick with Schwarzkopf as it is marginally easier to spell) has a good win over Ismael El Massoudi and beat Junior Witter on a majority decision last year. He makes it 8 wins by KO/TKO and is EBU No 16. Gamgebeli, also 22, was not rated in the EBU-EE ratings. He claimed an injured hand as a contributor to his loss.

Gevor vs. Gorgiladze

Gevor wins the vacant WBO Youth title with wide unanimous decision over Georgian. Fighting in his first ten round fight the tall 6’2 ½” (189cm) Armenian was able to control the fight with his jab. The fight was too one-sided to be entertaining and Gevor lacked the punch to put away the young Georgian so had to settle for the points victory. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91. The 23-year-old is the stepson of Khoren Gevor who lost to Abraham for the IBF middle title in 2007. Gorgiladze, 20, has only lost once inside the distance and that was to big banger Ilunga Makabu.

Gutknecht vs. Sosa

Gutknecht unimpressive as he only manages a draw with rugged Argentinian Sosa. The Kazak-born fighter had the skill but not the punch and Sosa kept rolling forward and making life awkward for Gutknecht who needed a strong finish to salvage a draw. Scores 77-75 Gutknecht, 77-75 Sosa and 76-76. The 32-year-old former EBU champion had lost to Robert Stieglitz for the WBO super middle title and after moving up won the EBU light heavy title only to drop the title in a points loss against Juergen Brahmer in February last year. Things went further downhill in November when he was stopped in five rounds by Dmitry Sukhotsky so this is another set back for a guy rated IBF 9(8) and EBU 3. Spanish-based Sosa, 26, has not lost inside the distance but in his previous appearance in Germany in 2012 had lost to debuting pro Enrico Koelling.

Ceylan vs. Agafonau

Ceylan finishes late sub Agafonau with a body shot. No test at all for the Danish prospect. The 25-year-old 2012 Olympian has 6 wins by KO/TKO. Belarusian Agafonau has lost three in a row and was way out of his class here.

Hangelsberg, Germany: Light Middle: Rico Schultz (12-1) W KO 2 Joe Sinkala (8-4).

No problem for Schultz as he retains his Global Boxing Council title with a second round kayo of Tanzanian Sinkala. First defence of his title for the 27-year-old hometown fighter and 7th win in a row. Sinkala had won his last three but against very modest opposition back home in Tanzania.

Caseros, Argentina: Light Welter: Cesar Rene Cuenca (47-0, 2ND) W PTS 12 Albert Mensah (27-5-1). Cuenca finally puts himself in line for a title shot as he easily outpoints Mensah in typical classy performance. Cuenca is a very quick, clever southpaw with great skills but no power. From the outset he was using superior hand speed, quick footwork and plenty of upper body movement to confuse Mensah. Cuenca was continually circling to his right to nullify Mensah’s attempts to utilize the traditional answer to a southpaw. He would spear the Ghanaian with sharp jabs and leap in with fast combinations and be away before Mensah could counter. The Ghanaian was bigger and strong but was made to look pedestrian. He rarely managed to catch Cuenca on the ropes and was relegated to plodding after the speeding Argentinian. The pattern was the same for round after round. Mensah had brief success in the last when he finally nailed Cuenca and shook him with a right, but even then Cuenca fired back with fast combinations to provide a flourish at the end. Scores 119-110 twice and 120-108. By winning this IBF eliminator the 33-year-old from Chaco rated at No 3(1) should have assured himself of a title shot. He needed to get a win over a rated fighter-which despite his rating he did not have-and Mensah got a sudden improvement from No 7(6) to No 5 (3) to help Cuenca’s case. His lack of power is obvious from his record of only two wins by KO/TKO. “Tornado” Mensah, 31, just did not know how to deal with the speed of the Argentinian. His biggest win was a majority verdict over Mike Katsidis in April 2012 but he then lost to Denis Shafikov in an IBF eliminator in December of the same year.

Floreffe, Belgium: Cruiser: Bilal Laggoune (15-0-1) W TKO 9 Chris Dufaux (14-9).

Laggoune retains his Belgium title with stoppage of former champion Dufaux. The 21-year-old champion was fighting in Dufaux hometown but it made no difference. He handed out a one-sided beating to Dufaux forcing three standing counts before the fight was finally and mercifully halted in the ninth. Second defence of his title for Laggoune and eighth win by KO/TKO. He had won a wide points verdict over Dufaux in 2013 to lift the Belgian title. He is not currently in the EBU ratings but is EU No 24. Dufaux, 31, is 3-5 in his last 8 fights. The show was held in the hall of the 850 year old Abbey of Premonstratensian.

Mississauga, Canada: Middle: Brandon Cook (12-0) W Phil Ross (5-2-1). Light Welter: Andre Gorges (12-3) W KO 4 Tamaz Avdiev (8-4). Light: Steve Wilcox (8-1) W Saul Mendoza (10-7-1).

Cook vs. Ross

Cook wins the NANB Canadian title with split decision over Ross. This one was close all the way. Cook edged enough early rounds to have a lead but he needed it. In the sixth Ross had Cook in deep trouble for the full three minutes battering Cook around the ring but failing to find the final punch he needed. That effort had more of an effect on Ross who tired over the next two rounds with Cook doing enough to just earn the split decision. Scores 77-74 and 77-75 for Cook and 77-74 for Rose. Not an impressive display from the local boxer 27-year-old “Bad Boy” Cook who says he will now move back down to light middle where he holds the Canadian title recognized by the National Championships Committee. Ross, 31, did much better than expected. He took 18 months out after losing to veteran Futz Vanderpool in September 2012 returning with a win over Adam Trupish in January.

Gorges vs. Avdiev

Gorges returns after two years out with a kayo of Frenchman Avdiev. The 29-year-old Iraq-born southpaw had scored good wins over Lanardo Tyner and DeMarcus Corey but back-to-back losses to Albert Mensah and Terrence Crawford saw him take time out. Avdiez, 28, the FFB No 7 welter had won his last 5 fights.

Wilcox vs. Mendoza

Canadian Wilcox was given all sorts of problems by Mexican Mendoza before getting a majority decision. First fight for the Canadian No 5 since losing his unbeaten record to Mexican Chris Uruzquieta in November. Mendoza, 27 had sprung a surprise in November defeating previously unbeaten Canadian prospect Baha Laham.

Troyes, France: Light Middle: Jaoid Chiguer (7-0) W PTS 8 Jean Bernard Vanderbussche (10-3-1). Chiguer gets hard fought unanimous decision over Vanderbussche to remain undefeated. The 28-year-old former top amateur moves on to fight in the final of the annual French League tournament. He was No 8 with the FFB but this win over No 7 Vanderbussche will see him move up

Rumilly, France: Light Middle: Sebastien Madani (35-2-1) DREW 12 Anderson Clayton (42-8-1). Madani fails to regain the WBFed title as he only manages a draw with holder Clayton. Maidana started well forcing the pace and scoring with good rights. The fight turned and almost ended when a thunderous left hook from the Brazilian put Madani down. He made it to his feet but was reeling along the ropes when the bell saved him. Clayton then staged a strong finish and the judges were unable to split the fighters. Frenchman Madani thought he had done enough to win, but if you can’t convince the judges of that in your hometown then perhaps you haven’t. A cuts loss to Clayton in April last year cost 33-year-old Madani his title, his only loss in his last 30 fights. He is EBU No 12. “Pantera” Clayton, 35, was making the second defence of his title. He is much better class than the typical Brazilian travelling loser4.

Rosarito, Mexico: Light Welter: Antonio Lozada Jr. (34-2) W TKO 5 Cris Solano (28-22-4). Super Feather: Enrique Tinoco (11-2-2) W TKO 2 Antonio Torres (1-18-1).

Lozada vs. Solano

Lozada and Solano went at it from the first with both fighting hard in every round. Solano had a slight edge in height and reach but choose to stand toe-to-toe with the harder punching Lozada. Eventually the attrition caught up with the experienced “Olympic” and the referee stepped in to halt the fight in the fifth. The 5’10” (178cm) 24-year-old Lozada has 29 wins by KO/TKO and is rebuilding after losing an upset decision to Ramiro Alcaraz in September. The first step was to get a revenge win over Alcaraz in December. Former Mexican champion Solano, 32, is 2-9-1 in his last 12 fights.

Tinoco vs. Torres

Mexican champion Tinoco gets back in the winning column as Torres takes a beating and sufferers a bad cut on his left eyebrow which rules him out. “Torito” Tinoco suffered a crushing three round loss in a non-title fight against Miguel Roman in February

Culiacan, Mexico: Bantam: Light Middle: Omar Chavez (32-2) W PTS 10 Daniel Sandoval (34-3). Tomas Rojas (43-14-1,1ND) W TKO 8 Jose Cabrera (22-4-2). Straw: Carlos Velarde (26-3-1) W PTS 10 Jose Argumedo (13-3-1). Welter: Ramses Agaton (13-1-3) W PTS 10 Alejandro Barrera (23-2).

Chavez vs. Sandoval

This was a big fight for both contestants and the war started early. They exchanged heavy shots in the first with Sandoval straying low for the first of many times. Sandoval had height and reach and Chavez had to use his superior hand speed to work his jab but Sandoval was scoring with hard shots of his own due to Chavez holding his hands too low. The cumulative effect saw a big bump form on the right cheek of Chavez. The fight turned when Chavez began to work the body of Sandoval. The fourth saw Sandoval landing low again but getting away with a warning so Chavez extracted his own revenge by repaying Sandoval in kind with both getting a warning to stop infringing the rules. The fifth started out as Sandoval’s round as he punished Chavez before again straying low and this time losing a point. Chavez fired back at the end of the round and had Sandoval wobbling. Chavez dominated the sixth, seventh and eighth with Sandoval spitting out his mouthpiece to get some respite. Sandoval needed a knockout and tried hard over the last two rounds but Chavez had the verdict in the bag. Scores 96-92, 96-93 and 95-93. The 24-year-old “El Businessman” wins the vacant WBO International title. He is No 8 with the WBC. His two losses were points defeats against Jorge Paez Jr. and he has won his last four now including victories over Pablo Vazquez, Charlie Navarro and Joachim Alcine. A third world champion in the Chavez family is unlikely but not impossible. The 23-year-old Sandoval, the WBO No 14, was unbeaten in his last 15 fights.

Rojas vs. Cabrera

Southpaw Rojas is a class above Cabrera. The former WBC super fly champion floored Cabrera heavily in the third. The rusty Cabrera already seemed to be blowing hard by the fourth and Rojas was content to outbox and chip away at his slower opponent. By the eighth an exhausted Cabrera was an easy target and Rojas was landing without anything coming back when the fight was stopped. “The Worm”, 33, makes it 29 wins by KO/TKO and gets his third win since losing to Shinsuke Yamanaka for the WBC bantam title in 2012. The 27-year-old Cabrera drew with Daniel Rosas for the interim WBO super fly title in 2011 and lost to Omar Narvaez for the full title in 2012 but had had only one fight in the last 17 months and the rust showed.

Velarde vs. Argumedo

Local fighter Velarde only just squeezes past less experienced Argumedo on a split decision and wins the IBF Latino title. The 23-year-old “Chapito” was halted in five rounds by Ryo Miyazaki in a challenge for the WBA title in May last year. He is IBF 8(6) and WBC 12. Argumedo’s previous losses had both been on points to current WBC champion Osvaldo Novoa.

Agaton vs. Barrera

Southpaw “Pharaoh” Agaton climbs off the floor to take a split decision over favourite Barrera. A left hook to the chin put Agaton down in the first but he got up, got his act together and won. He used his southpaw jab to keep the hard punching Barrera out and took the decision on scores of 97-92 twice and 95-94 to Barrera. The 24-year-old Agaton had drawn 3 of his last 5 fights. In his first ten round bout in December he drew with Luis Uribe (27-1-1), so two good results in a row. “The Chosen” Barrera was not chosen by the judges this time as he loses for only the second time in his 25 fights.

Cebu City, Philippines: Light Fly: John Riel Casimero (20-2) W KO 1 Mauricio Fuentes (16-3). Super Feather: Harmonito Dela Torre (13-0) W TKO 3 Gadwin Tubigon (10-9-2). Super bantam: Jack Tepora (10-0) W TKO 10 Jo-as Apericio (11-12). Light: Ray Labao (26-5) W TKO 5 Rodel Wenceslao (7-8-1). Feather: Jessie Cris Rosales (14-0-1) W PTS 10 Tony Sabalde (8-4).

Casimero vs. Fuentes

Casimero drops his IBF title when he is 5lbs overweight and is not willing to make any effort to reduce. The Filipino went after Fuentes and dropped the Colombian at about the two minutes mark. Fuentes was badly hurt but made it to his feet but was in a bad way. Casimero dropped him again and although Fuentes bravely beat the count a flurry of punches ended by a huge right put Fuentes on the floor again and the fight was stopped immediately. The 24-year-old Casimero had trouble making weight for his previous defence against Felipe Salguero and will now move up to flyweight. First loss by KO/TKO for 24 year-old Fuentes. He was IBF No 12(10) but had never been in a ten round fight!

Dela Torre vs. Tubigon

Another win for “El Huracan de Gensan”. The 20-year-old prospect had poor Tubigon down in the third and also split open a cut on Tubigon’s top lip. The referee had the doctor take a look at Tubigon at the end of the round and decided he was in no condition to continue. Dela Torre, the GAB No 2, wins the vacant WBFed International title and has eight wins by KO/TKO. The unrated Tubigon is 2-8-1 in his last 11 fights.

Tepora vs. Apericio

Southpaw Tepora overcomes an early cut to halt Apericio late in the fight. The 21-year-old Golden Boy suffered a bad cut in a clash of heads in the fourth round. He did not let it bother him and gradually wore down Apericio to force the stoppage in the tenth. Tepora wins the vacant WBFed Asia-Pacific title. He will be hoping to get into the GAB top 15 on the back of this win. Apericio has won only 2 of his last 8 fights

Labao vs. Wenceslao

Labao looks on his way to an early win only to later find himself in deep water before producing a dramatic finish to retain his national title. The hard punching southpaw had Wenceslao down in the first round but failed to finish the fight then. He almost paid the price in the fifth when Wenceslao put the champion down with a right. The challenger went after Labao hard only to get nailed himself and a series of unanswered shots from Labao saw the fight stopped. Second defence of his GAB title for 28-year-old Labao and win No 17 by KO/TKO. He has won 7 of his last 8 with the defeat being a close points defeat by Yoshitaka Kato for the OPBF title in October. GAB No 7 Wenceslao is an inconsistent performer winning only 2 of his last 6 fights but beating useful Anthony Marcial (19-2) in October.

Rosales vs. Sabalde

“Jimdomar” Rosales wins the vacant WBA Asia Pacific Youth title with paper-thin verdict over southpaw Sabalde. It was a great little scrap between two youngsters fighting for a minor title but with plenty of local Cebu City pride to fight for. It was a close fight all the way. Rosales had to deal with a cut by his right eye from the sixth round but he had a big eighth round and then did enough to just edge out Sabalde. All three judges had it 96-94 for GAB No 3 Rosales who now has 10 wins in a row. Sabalde had won 4 of his last 5.

Davao City, Philippines: Super Fly: Jerwin Ancajas (20-1-1) W KO 1 Petchwanchai (14-7). In an all-southpaw fight prospect Ancajas floors Thai twice on the way to a first round kayo to win the vacant IBF Pan Pacific title. A hard combination put Petchwanchai down early and a right to the body finished the job. The 22-year-old IBF No 15 has found a punch as this makes it 7 wins in a row by KO/TKO since losing a majority verdict to WBO No 6 Mark Anthony Geraldo in 2012. He is now guided by Manny Pacquiao’s team. One to watch. Only the second loss by KO/TKO for Petchwanchai with the other being to world rated Noknoi.

Abbreviations
ABC=Asian Boxing Council an affiliate of the WBC
ABF=Asian Boxing federation. I assume this is an affiliate of the IBF
ABU=African Boxing Union an affiliate of the WBC
ACC=WBC Asian Council Continental title
ANBF=Australian National Boxing Federation who administer Australian titles
BBB of C=British Boxing Board of Control
BBB of C Southern/Central/Midlands/Scottish Area etc. British Area titles
BDB= Bund Deutscher Berufsboxer one of the German boxing bodies
B & H=Bosnia & Herzegovina
BSA=Boxing South Africa responsible for administering boxing in South Africa
CBC=Commonwealth Boxing Council a sanctioning body for titles competed for by citizens of Commonwealth countries
CISBB-WBC title covering the rump of the USSR and the Slovenian Boxing Board
DRC=Democratic Republic of the Congo
EBU=European Boxing Union
FAB=Argentinian Boxing Federation
FFB=French Boxing Federation
GAB=Philippines Games & Amusement Board responsible for administering boxing in the Philippines
IBA=International Boxing Association a sanctioning body
IBF=International Boxing Federation a sanctioning body
IBO=International Boxing Organisation a sanctioning body
JBC =Japanese Boxing Commission
NABA=North American Boxing Association, a WBA affiliate
NABF=North American Boxing Federation a WBC affiliate
NABO= North American Boxing Organisation, a WBO affiliate
NGG=US National Golden Gloves
NZPBF=New Zealand Professional Boxing Federation a national sanctioning body
OPBF=Orient & Pacific Boxing Federation
PABA=Pacific & Asian Boxing Association, a WBA affiliate
PBF=Philippines Boxing Federation, a sanctioning body in the Philippines
UBF=Universal Boxing Federation a sanctioning body
UBO=Universal Boxing Organisation a sanctioning body
USBA= United States Boxing Association, an IBF affiliate
USBO=United States Boxing Organisation an WBO affiliate
WBA=World Boxing Association a sanctioning body
WBC=World Boxing Council a sanctioning body
WBFed=World Boxing Federation, a sanctioning body
WBFound=World Boxing Foundation, a sanctioning body
WBU=World Boxing Union, a sanctioning body
IBF WBA Rating=Both bodies leave vacancies in their ratings so when showing a IBF or WBA rating for a fighter where there is a vacant position ahead of them in the rankings which affects his rating I will put his numerical rating i.e. No 6 and in brackets and his rating based on the number of fighters ahead of him so IBF 6 (5) shows his numerical position is 6 but there are in fact only 5 fighters listed ahead of him due to one or more of the higher rating positions being vacant.