The Past Week in Action 11 January 2015

Miss any of this week’s action in the sport? Get caught up with “The Past Week in Action” by Eric Armit; with a review of all major cards in the boxing for the past week.

                                    The Past Week in Action 11 January 2015

January 9

 

Santa Ynez, CA, USA: Light: Darleys Perez (32-1) W PTS 12 Jonathan Maicelo (21-2,1ND). Welter: Francisco Santana (22-3-1) W TKO 1 Kendal Mena (20-1). Super Bantam: Roman Morales (19-0) W KO 3 Ernesto Guerrero (17-15). Heavy: Jarrell Miller (11-0-1) W PTS 6 Aaron Kinch (5-4-2).

Perez vs. Maicelo

An all-South American match sees Colombian Perez retain the interim WBA title with wide unanimous verdict over Peruvian Maicelo. Maicelo started aggressively but the champion is a natural counter puncher and was able to catch Maicelo with hard rights whenever Maicelo tried to get inside. Maicelo had some success in forcing Perez back and scoring with lefts and some of the early rounds were close but Perez had Maicelo’s face marking up by the fourth and from the sixth was in control. Perez was loading up on his punches and making more use of left hooks and Maicelo had no answer and very little defence. As Maicelo tired Perez began to look for an early finish and he landed a series of hard shots from both hands in the eleventh which put Maicelo down. The Peruvian made it to his feet and tried to rally in the last but was caught time and again with hard rights and staggered and nearly floored late by a left only just making it to the final bell. Scores 120-107, 118-108 and 118-109. Second defence by 31-year-old Perez of the title he won by outpointing Argenis Lopez in June. His lone loss was on points against Yuriorkis Gamboa for this same title in 2013. As an amateur Perez was a quarter-finalist at both the Olympics and World Championships. He showed the skills and power to be a force in a division which with Terrence Crawford moving up lacks a dominant figure.  North Bergen-based Maicelo, 31, was rated WBA No 6. He looked to have blown any chance of a title fight when being flattened after eight brutal rounds by Rustam Nugaev in April 2013 but had rebounded with a split decision over Art Hovhannisyan(17-1-2) in July last year.

Santana vs. Mena

“Chia” Santana wins the vacant WBA International title as he blows away Dominican Mena in 103 seconds. After flooring the lanky Mena with a left hook early in the fight Santana punctuated an exchange with another left hook which crashed into the chin of Mena who went down on his back with the referee immediately waiving the count. Now 11 wins by KO/TKO for the 28-year-old from Santa Barbara. In October 2011 he lost an eight round decision against current WBO No 1 light middle Jermell Charlo but since then has accumulated 10 wins including victories over Freddy Hernandez, Joachim Alcine and previously unbeaten Eddie Gomez. Mena was having his first fight for 13 months. His 20-0 record was to put it mildly deceiving.  Only one of his victims had a positive record (6-3) and 9 had never won a fight, so no real test for Santana.

Morales vs. Guerrero

Morales continues to impress as he halts Mexican Guerrero. After stalking Guerrero for the first two rounds the “Pride of San Ardo” ended it in the third with a vicious left hook to the body. Guerrero went down and stayed there for the full ten count. The 23-year-old Morales has ten wins by KO/TKO and includes Jon Arrellano, Roberto Castaneda and Khabir Suleymanov in his list of victims. Guerrero not strong opposition. He has now lost his last seven fights, the last three by early KO/TKO, but against unbeaten fighters with combined records of 54-0 so no one is doing him any favours.

Miller vs. Kinch

Miller makes it 7 wins in a row as he wins every round against Kinch. The 6’4” (193cm) “Big Baby” had height and reach over the limited Kinch. Although he had Kinch hurt early he could not close the fight out and Kinch fought back to go the distance. Scores 60-54 twice and 60-53. Brooklyn’s Miller was a former kickboxing/MMA professional before winning a silver medal at the New York Golden Gloves and turning pro. He had just one fight in 2009 and then did not fight again until 2011. He has served as a sparring partner for both Klitschko brothers. His draw was against Joey Dawejko in 2013. The 35-year-old Kinch has only failed to go the distance once and that was against world rated Charles Martin.

 

Cabazon, CA, USA: Light Welter: Ivan Redkach (18-0,1ND) W TKO 6 Yakubu Amidu (21-6-2). Middle: Ievgen Khytrov (8-0) W TKO 3 Maurice Louishome (8-1-1). Light Middle: Alantez Fox (14-0-1) W PTS 8 Patrick Day (9-1-1). Light: Tevin Farmer (18-4-1) W PTS 8 Viktor Chernous (15-2-1). Super Middle: Francy Ntetu (14-0) W PTS8 Tyrell Hendrix (11-6-2).

Redkach vs. Amidu

Redkach just punches too hard for Amidu and forces the Ghanaian to retire at the end of the sixth round. Under trainer Robert Garcia Redkach is finally living up to his hype. The Ukrainian southpaw used superior skills and quicker movement to build a lead against the slow starting Amidu who was just not letting his hands go over the first three round. However, the strong, hard-punching Ghanaian came into the fight more in the fourth but Redkach was the more accurate and retained his edge. Amidu was also competitive in the fifth but his cause suffered a set back when he was penalized a point for a couple of low blows. That became irrelevant in the sixth as a straight left put Amidu down heavily for the first knockdown of his career. The Ghanaian got up and was immediately under fire again. The second knockdown came courtesy of flashing left hook/right cross combination which again sent Amidu down on his back. He fought back hard and with Redkach having put a lot into the round Amidu was pressing a tiring Redkach to the bell. In his corner Amidu complained that he had hurt his ankle on the second knockdown and did not want to continue. The 28-year-old Redkach makes it 13 wins by KO/TKO and is rated IBF 5(4)/WBC 11 but he needs more high level fights before he is ready to go for a title challenge. “Black Mamba” Amidu, 30, lost to Ricky Burns for the CBC super feather title in 2008 before moving his base to the USA in 2010. After losses to Ji-Hoon Kim and Haskell Rhodes he held WBO super feather title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos to a draw in July 2013 but was eliminated in last year’s ESPN Boxcino Tournament when he was all square with Chris Rudd over six rounds but Rudd took the tie-breaker round.

Khytrov vs. Louishome

Predictable inside the distance win for former Ukrainian amateur star Khytrov. The “Ukrainian Lion” almost made it three first round wins on the bounce when the tall Colorado fighter took a knee after being nailed with a right at the end of the first round. Louishome survived but was staggered a couple of times in the second with punches from Khytrov twice sending his mouthpiece flying. Khytrov continued the onslaught in the third and when another right dislodged Louishome’s mouthpiece the referee stopped the fight. The 26-year-old Khytrov has won all eight of his fights by KO/TKO. He was a gold medal winner at the European Junior Championships and the World Championships but had to settle for bronze medal at the European Championships after losing to Irish star Jason Quigley and was beaten at the London Olympics by Anthony Ogogo. Louishome, 37, really just a prelim level fighter and way out of his depths here.

Fox vs. Day

Fox wins match of unbeaten fighters on a majority decision with some stranger scoring. When I first started research for this fight I saw Fox described as 6’5” (196cm) I though it must be a misprint-a 6’5” light middle! However it was right and it was the story of the fight. Over the early rounds Day found it difficult to get past the huge reach advantage enjoyed by “SlyAza” and work inside. Fox is more awkward than accomplished and as the fight progressed Day had more success scoring with rights. Fox threw a prodigious amount of jabs and was fine in countering but tended to leave himself open when launching his own attacks, but he was busier than Day and finished the fight stronger.  The referees were very split on this one with the cards reading 80-72 and 78-74 for Fox and 76-76 with the middle score looking the more accurate reflection. The 22-year-old Fox drew with still unbeaten Frank Galarza in 2012 and this was his seventh win since then but he lacks power and although he finished strongly in this one with his height making 154lbs could give him stamina problems against better opposition. Big things were expected from Day as at one time he was rated No 1 in the USA in his division as an amateur. A draw with Urmat Ryskeldiev (6-3) in 2013 was disappointing but he then won 4 in a row 3 by KO/TKO and seemed to be finding his groove. He has some work to do now.

Farmer vs. Chernous

“American Idol” Farmer continues his winning streak with unanimous decision over Chernous. The 24-year-old southpaw has flourished under new management and has turned a 7-4-1 record into a more than respectable 18-4-1 with a run of 11 wins including victories over unbeaten fighters in Camilo Perez and Emanuel Gonzalez. Two of his losses have been to Polish prospect Kamil Laszczyk and current IBF No 1 Jose Pedraza but he looks to have put those well behind him. Ukrainian Chernous, 30, turned pro in Australia and won 14 of his 15 fights there collecting the Australian welterweight title but in his first fight in the USA fought a disappointing draw with Ivan Zavala in July.

Ntetu vs. Hendrix

DRC-born Ntetu continues unbeaten with a unanimous decision over Hendrix. Scores 79-73 twice and 78-74. The 32-year-old Canadian-based fighter beat Schiller Hyppolite in a clash of unbeaten fighters in 2012 but does not seem to have kicked-on since then. “Hollywood” Hendrix is 2-5 in his last 7 fights but can point to an upset win over Dennis Hasson (16-0) in June which will get him work.

 

New York, NY, USA: Middle: Tureano Johnson (18-1) W TKO 5 Alex Theran (17-2). Welter: Dusty Hernandez Harrison (25-0) W PTS 10 Tommy Rainone (22-6-1). Welter: Chris van Heerden (22-1-1) W PTS 10 Cecil McCalla (20-1). Super Middle: Andrew Hernandez (8-0-1,1ND) W DIS 4 Jerry Odom (12-1,1ND).

Johnson vs. Theran

Bahamian Johnson uses all-out pressure to overwhelm Colombian hope Theran. Johnson gave Theran no room to work and set a work rate of his own that Theran could not match. Johnson was on top of him and scoring with clubbing rights with southpaw Theran trying to move and work from the outside. Instead he was constantly finding himself on the back foot, on the ropes and being bullied inside. Theran did find some space in the second and third rounds but not much as Johnson was forcing him into a brawl that suited the Bahamian. A right from Johnson late in the fourth had Theran pitching forward to the canvas and taking a count on one knee. In the fifth a left to the body put Theran down again. The Colombian broken his ankle as he went down but got up and limped his way to the bell before retiring in his corner. The 31-year-old Johnson wins the vacant WBC Silver and WBA International titles which should do wonders for his ranking with those bodies. He is currently WBC8/IBF 12(11)/WBA 12. This is his fourth win since losing to Curtis Stevens on a controversial stoppage in the last round of their fight in April where Johnson only had to last out the remaining 51 seconds to get a points win. He was the outstanding member of the Bahamas amateur boxing team having won numerous Caribbean Championships and competed twice at the World Championships and at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics. “The Prince” Theran, 24, was just out-gunned here and together with his stoppage loss to Arif Magomedov in April it looks as though he will come up short as a pro after an outstanding amateur career in which he reportedly beat Johnson.

Harrison vs. Rainone

Harrison gets wide unanimous decision but finds it hard to shine against crafty southpaw Rainone. After an even first round Harrison took over as he was doing most of the pressing, landing the better punches and outworking a passive Rainone who relied mainly on counters which kept him in the fight but down on the cards. Hernandez was harvesting the rounds without being able to nail, down the defence-minded Rainone. When Rainone did turn aggressor he was being caught by counters from Harrison and did not sustain the action. Harrison shook Rainone with a right in the seventh and tried to end it then but Rainone was able to duck, weave and hold his way out of trouble. Over the last two rounds Harrison was able to keep Rainone on the ropes for most of the time and was getting through with hard combinations with Rainone just doing enough to stay in the fight and go the distance. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91. Only 20 the tall Washington prospect will have better nights but this was a good test of his patience against a fighter who posed some problems that the relatively low quality of his opposition to date has not done. He collects the vacant WBC Continental Americas title. He is WBO 14 but may soon creep into the ranking of some of the other bodies with tougher opposition. “Razor” Rainone, 35, had lost only one of his last eleven fights and was WBO USBO champion but the opposition had been non-threatening.

van Heerden vs. McCalla

van Heerden shook off nearly nine months of rust to get a split decision despite yet more weird scoring. McCall came in 2lbs 5ozs over the contract weight but that did not help him. The South African southpaw needed to make this an inside fight to counter the skills of McCalla and he succeeded. He stayed inside working the body which gave McCalla no room to get leverage and McCalla lacked the punch power and the strength to change the fight. McCalla did enough scoring to make some rounds close but was unable to keep van Heerden out long enough to take control of the fight. Scores 97-93 and 96-94 for van Heerden and an incredible 99-91 for McCalla! Van Heerden wins the vacant IBF International title. The 27-year-old “Heat” had relinquished his IBO title to try to land a shot at one of the other titles but in a star studded welterweight division that is a big ask. He suffered a broken ankle which had kept him out of action since April and his return gave him the honour of being the first South African fighter to fight at the MSG since Willie Toweel back in 1960. McCalla had done most of his boxing in the backwaters with no names of note on his record.

Odom vs. Hernandez

“The King’s Son “Odom found a pretty stupid way to lose his unbeaten tag. The hot prospect was being given a good test by Hernandez but was on his way to a win probably inside the distance. He broke through in the third round and floored Hernandez with a series of punches. Unfortunately he continued the series with Hernandez on the canvas and was rightly disqualified. The 21-year-old is one of those kids saved from the streets by boxing and he had a stellar time as an amateur winning gold and silver medals at the NGG’s and a silver in the US Championships but lost out at the US Olympic Trials. He has skill, speed and power so hopefully he can put this aberration behind him. Phoenix prelim fighter Hernandez gets a lucky win.

 

Tacoma, WA, USA: Middle: Mike Gavronski (16-1-1) W PTS 10 Dashon Johnson (15-19-3). Gavronski gets unanimous decision over late sub Johnson. The local fighter Gavronski made a good start taking the fight to Johnson and outscoring him over the opening round but with Johnson finding enough openings for his jab to show Gavronski he was in a fight. From the second the tactics became clear with Gavronski going to the body and Johnson to the head. Gavronski was edging the rounds with his higher work rate but Johnson was landing enough head shots to stay competitive. Johnson had a good fifth starting the round by forcing Gavronski to the ropes and landing rights to the head. Gavronski did some good work when he moved to ring centre but Johnson closed the round with some good head shots. The sixth was again close with again Gavronski going to the body and Johnson to the head and both fighters had their moments in a seventh and eighth with Johnson coming on strong but Gavronski edging the rounds with a higher work rate. In the ninth Gavronski pushed Johnson down to the canvas. It was an offence he had committed before and this time the referee deducted a point from the local fighter. Gavronski boxed his way through the last using a sharp jab and good movement to prevent Johnson staging a strong finish and got the deserved decision. Scores 98-91twice and 95-94. Gavronski a clear winner but the 98-91scores did not do justice to Johnson’s work. “Imagine Me” Gavronski, 29, had seen an unbeaten 15 bout streak snapped by a points loss to world rated Tureano Johnson in July and this was his second win as he rebounds from that set back. He had prepared to fight Californian Louis Rose so had little time to adjust to the change of opponent. “Fly Boy” Johnson, 26, was a six day notice fill-in and again showed how difficult an opponent he can be despite a 2-14 record in his last 16 fights. Many of those losses were late notice fights against top class opposition in the other man’s backyard and the wins over Adam Trupish and Craig McEwan show he has ability.

 

January 10

 

Tijuana, Mexico: Light Fly: Javier Mendoza (23-2-1) W TKO 2 Mauricio Fuentes (17-4). Super Bantam: Edivaldo Ortega (20-0-1) W KO 3 Chris Esquivel (27-6). Light Welter: Abner Lopez (21-4) W TKO 2 Jose D Mosquera (16-5-1). Straw: Mario Rodriguez 19-9-4) W TKO 5 Armando Torres (21-14).

Mendoza vs. Fuentes

Mendoza blows away Flores in two rounds. The IBF champion ended this non-title fight in quick time. The Mexican “Cobra” had Flores under pressure in the first and wrapped it up in the second. A left/right combination saw Flores take a knee. He was up quickly and took the eight count. When the action resumed another series of shots from Mendoza put Flores down again. He made it to his feet but was shipping more punishment when his second entered the ring to save him further punishment and the fight was stopped. It was proposed that this be a title fight but the IBF rightly refused to sanction it so it went ahead as a ten round non-title fight. Now 19 wins by KO/TKO for the 23-year-old southpaw. Mendoza won the vacant IBF title in September with a points victory over Ramon Garcia. Fuentes, 25, loses by KO/TKO for the second time. He was knocked out inside a round by Joel Casimero in an IBF title fight in May where Casimero came in overweight and lost his title on the scales. In refusing to sanction this fight it shows that the IBF do actually have standards-sometimes.

Ortega vs. Esquivel

“Indio” Ortega continues to look a top prospect as he destroys experienced Esquivel inside three rounds. The aggressive local southpaw was the aggressor from the start with Esquivel willing to stand and trade but getting the worst of the exchanges. The end came in the third round when a torrent of punches from Ortega sent Esquivel to the ropes and an overhand right put him down to finish the fight. Ortega wins the interim WBO NABO title and goes to 11 wins by KO/TKO. He is meeting a good level of opposition with fellow-Mexicans Carlos Jacobo and Enrique Bernache and Filipino Rey Perez beaten in file. “Italiano” Esquivel, 28, a former WBC Silver title holder and WBC bantam title challenger was knocked out in four rounds by unbeaten Japanese prospect Shohei Omori in May so suffers consecutive losses for the first time in his career.

Lopez vs. Mosquera

Lopez again shows his power and makes it a bad night for Colombian boxers as he halts Mosquera in two rounds. The lanky Mexican had Mosquera hurt in the first but failed to finish it. In the second a hard combination put Mosquera down and although he made it to his feet at the end of the eight count the referee stopped the fight. “Jaeger” Lopez, 24, has 19 wins by KO/TKO and is rebuilding after a loss to Alejandro Barrera (23-2) in August. He has good wins over former WBC champion Humberto Gutierrez and Ric Dominguez. After suffering only one loss, to Diego Chaves, in his first 16 fights Mosquera, 31, is 2-4 in his last 6 fights and coming off a loss to Aaron Herrera in July.

Rodriguez vs. Torres

Former IBF champion Rodriguez gets stoppage win over Torres. The “Little Dragon” ended this in the fifth with two knockdowns which saw the referee stop the fight. He lost to Donnie Nietes in a challenge for the WBO title in 2010 but has a draw with new IBF champion Pedro Guevara and a kayo won over Nkosinathi Joyi. Torres, 33, the nephew of former WBC champion German Torres turned pro in Japan and is a former NABF and WBC Silver champion but is 2-5 in his last 7 fights.

 

Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Bantam: Jessie Magdaleno (20-0) W PTS 8 Erik Ruiz (13-2). Light Middle: Rodrigo Garcia (17-0) W KO 1 Jailton De Jesus Souza (13-4). Feather: Vic Pasillas (9-0) W PTS 6 Karl Garcia (4-4).

Magdaleno vs. Ruiz

Magdaleno cancelled his last fight after he was emotionally thrown by a burglary at his apartment but no one was going to rob him in this fight as he won every round against Robert Garcia trained Ruiz. From the first round the brilliant young southpaw was too quick and accurate for Ruiz getting his punches home and being away before Ruiz could counter. Ruiz managed to get into the fight in the fourth and fifth but Magdaleno was still the one scoring most controlling things with his jab and slotting home hard rights. The unbeaten youngster scored with some heavy punches in the eighth as he tried to extend his run of wins by KO/TKO to seven but Ruiz was still there at the bell. Scores 80-72 from all three judges. Magdaleno, 23, wins the vacant NABF Junior title. He is rated WBO 2/IBF 4(3)/WBA 7 despite never having had a fight scheduled for more than eight rounds which is a case of rating on potential rather than achievement but he is a future champion. It is worrying for other boxers that there is a third Magdaleno brother coming through the amateur ranks who is supposed to be even better than Diego or Jessie! Ruiz had won his last 4 fights but had no answer to the sparkling skills of Magdaleno.

Garcia vs. Souza

Mexican prospect Garcia wipes out Brazilian Souza inside a round. One solid left hook put Souza down and out after just 71 seconds. Now 12 wins by KO/TKO for the 25-year-old Garcia, the last 6 on the bounce. One to watch. After 11 wins Souza is 2-4 in his last 6 fights with all four losses by KO/TKO.

Pasillas vs. Garcia

Pasillas remains unbeaten as he takes every round against Garcia. The Californian southpaw, a former NGG bronze medalist, floored Garcia in the third and won on scores of 60-54 twice and 60-53. Puerto Rican Garcia is trained by former WBO straw and light fly champion Ivan Calderon but is 2-4 in his last 6 fights.

 

Arezzo, Italy: Light Middle: Orlando Fiordigiglio (20-0) W KO 2 Jose Del Rio (18-6). Super Middle: Roberto Bassi (7-1) W PTS 10 Fabrizio Leone (6-6).

Fiordigiglio vs. Del Rio

Fiordigiglio retains his EU title with kayo of Spaniard Del Rio. Fiordigiglio was attacking from the start scoring well with body punches and although Del Rio defended well he was under pressure throughout the round. Fiordigiglio took Del Rio to the ropes in the second and although the Spaniard again covered well and tried to counter Fiordigiglio pulled the trigger first and nailed Del Rio with a short left hook. The Spaniard went down heavily and despite a brave attempt by Del Rio to get up the fight was over. The tall 30-year-old champion was making his third defence of his EU title and goes to 11 wins by KO/TKO. He is rated No 1 by the EBU and is waiting in line for a shot at the winner when Jack Culcay defends the title against Cedric Vitu. He is an intelligent boxer with power who could move into the world ratings in 2015. Former Spanish welter champion Del Rio, 29, had lost on points on the road against Jackson Osei Bonsu, Jussi Koivula and Sebastien Maidana ( a close decision for the WBFed world title) and this was his first loss by KO/TKO. He had won his last 3 fights but was rated down at No 27 in the EU ratings.

Bassi vs. Leone

Bassi wins the vacant Italian title with unanimous verdict over Leoni. Bassi was the quicker and better boxer and Leoni who was reduced to trying to find one big punch to turn the fight his way. Bassi was able to avoid those attempts and score with hard combinations and stop Leoni’s efforts to get inside and work the body. A dispirited Leoni tried to stage a big finish but with both fighters tiring Bassi was able to box his way to a clear victory. Scores 98-93 twice and 96-94 with the latter being generous to Leoni. The 31-year-old Bassi answered questions over his stamina as he stayed the course well in his first fight scheduled for more than six rounds. Now 5 losses in a row for Leoni. This was very much a low level national title fight with neither fighter considered to be in the top 10 Italian’s at this weight.

 

Gapyeong, South Korea: Super Bantam: Sun Jung Moon (3-4-3) W PTS 10 Sung Hwan Kim (2-1-3).

Moon wins the vacant national title with split decision over unbeaten Kim. Although both fighters are relative novices they put on a real scrap with lots of offence and not much defence. Both were on the floor. Kim put Moon down with a hard right cross but Moon was up immediately and took the eight count. Later it was Moon’s turn and a hard right made Kim touch down briefly. They battled away over the late rounds with Kim’s face a mask of blood from a bad nose injury. Scores 97-95 twice for Moon and 97-95 for Kim. The 18-year-old winner had lost in a previous challenge for the national feather title. All of Kim’s previous fights had been over four rounds so he did well to last the pace.

 

Kampaengsan, Thailand: Super Fly: Petchbarngborn (30-7-1) W TKO 4 John Bajawa (12-9).

Petchbarngborn much too good for Indonesian Bajawa and on his way to a win when Bajawa retired after the fourth round citing an arm injury. The 29-year-old Thai retains his PABA title. He is rated WBO 6/WBA 9. After a 4-5-1 start to his career he has lost only two of his last 28 fights. Those losses were both in Japan to current WBA champion Kohei Kono and world rated Sho Ishida and he has won 8 in a row since the kayo loss to Ishida in 2013. Bajawa has lost 7 of his last 8 fights.