The Past Week in Action 20 September 2016

 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 20 September 2016

September 15

 

Philadelphia, PA, USA: Welter: Dusty Hernandez Harrison (30-0-1) W PTS 10 Thomas Lamanna (21-2). Heavy: Ray Edwards (12-0-1) W PTS 6 Dan Pasciolla (8-1-1). Light: Devin Haney 10-0) W TKO 5 Mike Fowler (5-3). Welter: Kenneth Sims Jr (8-0) W PTS 6 Gilbert Venegas (14-25-5).

Harrison vs. Lamanna

Harrison gets unanimous decision over Lamanna. These two had sparred together often so the opening round saw both being cagey. Harrison edged the second round as he confidently dropped his hands and landed enough rights to outscore Lamanna over the three minutes. The fight heated up in the third with Harrison scoring well to the body and Lamanna letting his punches flow. A left hook from Harrison shook Lamanna at the end of the fourth but Lamanna was into his stride and took the fifth and sixth in what was turning into real war. Early in the seventh a right to the chin had Harrison badly hurt and holding to survive but then he did more than just survive but battled back to take the fight inside and initiated exchanges that had the crowd standing and applauding. The eighth went the same way with Lamanna dominating the early action but with Harrison banging back and having Lamanna rocking after a hard uppercut. The fight was close at that point with Harrison probably just in front. Over the ninth and tenth Harrison outworked a tiring Lamanna and took both rounds to cement his victory. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92 all for Harrison. The 22-year-old from Washington DC gets back on the winning track after his 100% record was muddied by a split draw with Mike Dallas in May and wins the vacant IBF USBA title. Trained by his father Harrison has a strong team of business men behind him including famous poker player Phil Ivey and Dallas Mavericks basketball player Monta Ellis. When he turned pro in 2011 at 17 Harrison was the youngest pro boxer in America. He has been carefully matched and now this win should get him an IBF rating. “Cornflake” Lamanna, 24, won his first 16 fights before being floored three times and stopped in six rounds by then unbeaten Antoine Douglas in 2015. He had rebounded with 5 wins and from his showing here can rebound again.

Edwards vs. Pasciolla

Edwards stays unbeaten with unanimous decision over Pasciolla. This was a slow-paced fight between two big men. Edwards had the strength and a harder punch and southpaw Pasciolla the better skills. Edwards just did enough to deserve the win and opened a cut over the right eye of Pasciolla with a punch late in the fight. Scores 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 all for Edwards. The 31-year-old 6’5” (196cm) “Cincinnati Kid” took to boxing when his career as an NFL player with the Minnesota Vikings and Atlantic Falcons came to an end. He skipped the amateur ranks and went straight into pro boxing. He is too limited to go far. “White Chocolate” Pasciolla also 31is 6’4” (193cm). He was 8-0-1 going into this including a victory over former IBF cruiser champion Imamu Mayfield but that was Mayfield’s first fight for eight years.

Haney vs. Fowler

Although I don’t think Edwards and Pasciolla will go far I think that Haney may do. The 17-yeard-old won all the way before forcing the stoppage in the fifth round. He turned pro just three weeks after his 17^th birthday and has 6 wins by KO/TKO. He was US national Youth and Junior champion and a quarter-finalist at the World Junior championships in 2013. A couple of his bios credit him with a gold medal at the World Youth championships but the records don’t support that but he is one to watch. Two losses in a row for Fowler.

Sims vs. Venegas

Sims continues his winning way. The tall Sims had things easy over the first four rounds as he used his height and reach and some flashing combinations to outscore experienced Venegas. He made it harder than it needed to be over the last two rounds by standing in the pocket and trading and got caught with a few needless right hands but won every round. Scores 60-54 from all three judges. The 22-year-old “Bossman” is a former Chicago Golden Gloves champion who at national level was twice a National PAL champion and won bronze medals at both the US national Championships and the NGG’s. A loss to Toka Khan-Clary at the US Trials ended his Olympic hopes but he represented the USA at the World Championships and is also one to follow.

 

September 16

 

Osaka, Japan: Bantam: Shinsuke Yamanaka (26-0-2) W TKO 7 Anselmo Moreno (36-5-1). Super Bantam: Hozumi Hasegawa (36-5) W RTD 9 Hugo Ruiz (36-4).

Yamanaka vs. Moreno

Yamanaka makes a successful 11^th defence of his WBC title with stoppage of former WBA champion Anselmo Moreno in a fight that saw both fighters on the floor. There was the usual cautious exchange of jabs at the start of the first round from these two southpaws. Moreno had some success with his jab and straight rights and became over confident leaving himself open. Yamanaka saw the chance and as Moreno started to throw a looping right hook Yamanaka stepped inside and landed a short right hook of his own to the chin which put Moreno down. He was up quickly and the bell went shortly after the eight count was completed. Moreno was winging rights again in the second with Yamanaka backing up and looking to counter. It was mainly a low action round until the last 10 seconds when they traded some hard punches. Moreno was again pressing the action in the third. Both landed some good lefts with difference being that Yamanaka was throwing straight punches and Moreno tending throw in a wide loop. With his side-on approach and crouching style Moreno was making in difficult for Yamanaka to land with his lefts and the champion’s more square on style meant Moreno was able to land his looping lefts. The fight got a little untidy but the referee kept the action flowing by separating them quickly. Yamanaka came forward more in the fourth but Moreno caught him with two right jabs and a right hook and Yamanaka went down on his back. He rolled over and was up quickly but when the action continued after the eight count a left from Moreno had Yamanaka stumbling and Moreno landed two more lefts to the head before the bell. After four rounds two of the judges had Yamanaka in front 38-37 and the other had the fight even. After the shock of hitting the canvas Yamanaka opened up more and they exchange some quality punches. Yamanaka got through with a nice right/left combination but a right from Moreno saw Yamanaka stumble again. The sixth saw the beginning of the end. Yamanaka landed a left over the low held right of Moreno, The punch sent Moreno tumbling back into the ropes and down. The Panamanian made it to his feet and after the eight count he managed to get inside and hold but Yamanaka scored with two more lefts to the head. In his hurry to finish things Yamanaka missed with a punch but threw Moreno face down on the floor. Since it was not a knockdown Moreno got some respite and the referee warned Yamanaka. The champion managed to land two more lefts before the bell and Moreno was in trouble again. Yamanaka is a good finisher. In the seventh a straight left sent Moreno down stretched out on the canvas with his head resting on the bottom rope. Somehow he beat the count but a series of rights and left sent him sprawling into a corner and as he slumped to the floor the referee quickly waived the fight over. Now 18 wins by KO/TKO for the 33-year-old Yamanaka who needed a split decision to get by Moreno when they clashed in September last year. Yamanaka lacks a really outstanding challenger within the WBC ratings but a unification match with WBO champion Marlon Tapales would be a good fight if it could be worked out.”Chemito” Moreno, suffers his fist loss by KO/TKO. He made 11 defences of his WBA title before losing it on a technical decision against Juan Carlos Payano in 2014. Before that he had challenged Abner Mares for the WBC super bantam title in 2012 but lost a wide unanimous decision. He earned this second shot at Yamanaka by winning the WBC Silver title with a victory over Thai Suriyan in April this year.

Hasegawa vs. Ruiz

Hasegawa becomes a three division champion with incident filled win over Ruiz. Both fighters started cautiously probing with their jabs. As Hasegawa moved in his head came up and crashed into the face of Ruiz. The champion immediately stepped back pawing at his nose. The referee stopped the action and examined a cut on the bridge of Ruiz’s nose and as per the WBC rules he deducted a point from Hasegawa. With only1:40 gone in the round it was not a good start for either fighter. Hasegawa was a point down and Ruiz had suffered a serious injury that would decide the eventual outcome of the fight. Heads clashed again before the end of the round which probably went to Hasegawa. Ruiz had height and reach over Hasegawa but the Japanese was quick so able to get inside Ruiz’s reach. After a cautious start to the second Ruiz landed a sharp left hook and later a long right seemed to hurt Hasegawa. The Japanese fighter scored with some straight lefts but just before the bell Ruiz landed three straight rights to take the round. In the third another clash of heads opened a vertical cut over the left eye of Ruiz. The referee stopped the fight to have the cut examined by the doctor. He took no further action even though Hasegawa pawed at his own forehead indication clearly that it was a head that caused the cut and another point should have been deducted. Both had some success as the round progressed but again Ruiz seemed to take the points with some long rights. Hasegawa had a better fourth landing with his long lefts including one that landed smack on the injured nose of Ruiz and he was ducking inside Ruiz’s counters. After four rounds the scores were 39-36 and 38-37 for Ruiz and 38-37 for Hasegawa.  Ruiz tried to force the fight hard over the next three rounds but was constantly walking into hard right counters from Hasegawa. The referee twice warned the fighters to be careful of their heads in the sixth and again Ruiz walked away from an exchange as Hasegawa’s head again crashed into his face. In the last 20 seconds of the seventh yet again their heads clashed with Hasegawa getting cut over his left eye. The referee did not see how it had happened so took no action. A replay showed the crowd the incident with their heads banging together. The referee took time out at the start of the eighth to consult the supervisor who informed the referee it was a clash of heads so Ruiz suffered a point deduction. The referee asked the doctor to look at Hasegawa’s cut in the eighth but the fight was allowed to continue. The referee had to tell them both to watch their heads as the round progressed. The action was about even but with just 13 seconds left in the round once again Hasegawa’s head crashed into the face of Ruiz. The Mexican walked away from the action. The referee gave him a few seconds to recover and the fight resumed but even allowing for the time given Ruiz to recover the clock ran well over. As they started the ninth Hasegawa had reversed the positions in the fight with two judges having him in front 78-72 and 76-74 and the third seeing Ruiz up 76-74.After a steady start to the ninth which again saw the referee warn the fighters about their heads Ruiz threw himself into a furious attack. He drove Hasegawa to the ropes and then within a second the fight became a wild slugging match. Both fighters threw furious punches from each hand and with both wide open every punch was getting home. The fight was decided by the fact that Hasegawa’s punches were landing time and again on Ruiz’s damaged nose and he was forced to back away in pain. Hasegawa followed up and landed some straight lefts and with Ruiz’s face a bloody mess from the blood pouring from his nose it was no surprise that he could not go on. It was an upset win for the 35-year-old Hasegawa, a former WBC bantam and feather champion. He had been floored three times and halted by Koko Martinez in a challenge for the IBF super bantam title in April 2014.He did not fight again for almost 13 months however he fought his way back into contention with a wide unanimous decision over Horacio Garcia 29-0 and is now a three decision champion.  Ruiz, 29, could count himself unlucky as the injury that eventually caused him to lose was as a result of a but from Hasegawa and he lost his title in his first defence. Hopefully he will get another chance as he showed his power in wiping out Jorge Ceja in just 51 seconds.

 

Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Welter: Ishe Smith (29-8) W PTS 10 Frank Galarza (17-2-2). Super Welter: Justin DeLoach (16-1) W PTS 10 Dominique Dolton (17-1-1). Super Middle: J’Leon Love (23-1,1ND) W TKO 6 Dashon Johnson (21-20-3,1ND). Super Bantam: Jose Cayetano (20-4) W PTS 10 Alexis Santiago (21-4-1). Super Light: Sharif Bogere (29-1,1ND) W TKO 8 Luis E Florez (21-5). Super Middle: Decarlo Perez (16-5-1) W PTS 8 Lanell Bellows (16-2-1).Light Heavy: Lionell Thompson (17-4) W PTS 8 Donovan George (25-6-2,1ND).

Smith vs. Galarza

Smith keeps his hopes of another title fight alive with a majority decision over Galarza. After just having the better of the first round Smith scored with a straight right in the second that put Galarza down. Smith is not a big puncher and Galarza survived without too much trouble. Smith tried to capitalise on that success but the third was a slow round and a close one. Galarza started the fourth well forcing Smith to the ropes and landing some good combinations and the round closed with some of the best action of the fight. Smith was back in charge in the fifth landing with good body shots and quick combinations and he was fired up enough to land a couple of punches after the bell but got away with it. Galarza showed better in the seventh with a body attack but he was not hurting or slowing Smith. The seventh saw Galarza again trying to force Smith to the ropes but he lacked accuracy with Smith blocking shots and using his skills to find punching room. Galarza tried to force the fight again in the eighth and ninth and had gone some way towards closing the points gap but Smith had a big last round as a desperate Galarza left himself open to counters. Scores 96-93, 95-94 for Smith and 95-95. Although he seemed to coast too much in the middle rounds the 38-year-old Smith looked a clear winner. Losses to Carlos Molina, Erislandy Lara and Vanes Martirosyan put the former IBF champion’s career in jeopardy but this victory plus a win over useful Tony Rainone in December means he still has a toe hold. Brooklyn’s Galarza, 31, gets his second loss in a row following a sixth round stoppage by Jarrett Hurd in November but should not be too discouraged. If you consider that the second was a 10-8 round then only the knockdown cost him a draw and if he had won the round he would have won the fight.

DeLoach vs. Dolton

DeLoach continues his run of useful wins with unanimous decision over Dolton although by widely different scores. As Dolton struggled to shed a year’s rust DeLoach pocketed the first two rounds to put himself on the way to victory. Dolton banged back in the third using pressure to overcome the better boxing of DeLoach and he evened up the scores landing with some heavy artillery. In the fifth a clash of heads saw Dolton suffer a bad cut on the bridge of the nose with the suspicion that the nose might even be broken. DeLoach boxed on the outside and countered a bloody visaged Dolton in the sixth and seventh. The fight was slipping away from Dolton but he stormed back to take the eighth but the success was short-lived as DeLoach had a big ninth landing hard uppercuts on a bloody Dolton. In the last Dolton made a huge effort but again DeLoach used his better boxing to ease his way to victory. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 96-94 all for DeLoach. An inside the distance loss to 7-2 Cesar Vila in February 2015 put a question mark over DeLoach but going into this one he had scored good wins over Santos Benavides and unbeaten fighters Dillon Cook and Junior Castillo. It was his first ten round fight and he is ready to move up. Kronk fighter Dolton, 26, had drawn with unbeaten Mexican Olympian Oscar Molina in September last year and this was his first fight since then. The nose will take some time to heal but he will be back.

Love vs. Johnson

Love gets his fifth win in a row as he stops the unpredictable Johnson. The end came in the sixth when a tremendous right uppercut put Johnson down. Somehow Johnson made it to his feet but was very wobbly and the follow up attack from Johnson saw his corner throw in the towel and the referee stop the fight .To say Johnson was angry would be an understatement. He chased his second out of the ring all of the way back to the dressing rooms. Love gradually rebuilding after a shock third round kayo loss to Rogelio Medina in 2014. The 28-year-old Mayweather Team fighter has 13 wins by KO/TKO and is No 9(8) with the IBF and will be hoping for a title fight before the end of 2017. “Fly Boy” Johnson had won 6 of his last 7 fights with the loss being on points against Jesse Hart.

Cayetano vs. Santiago

Cayetano makes sure it is not a 100% night for the Mayweather team as he closes strongly to take a unanimous decision over Santiago. Santiago made the stronger start but with Cayetano keeping it close. A turning point came in the fifth when a right from Cayetano caused Santiago to sag at the knees and almost go down. Santiago fought back hard rocking Cayetano in the seventh but faded from there. They pounded away in the last round with Cayetano rocking Santiago time and again with head punches but Santiago showed grit and tried to keep firing back through the storm. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 all for Cayetano. The 29-year-old “El Tigre” from Tijuana wins the vacant NABF title. His career was rocking for a while after losses to Alejandro Gonzalez, Enrique Bernache and Leo Santa Cruz but he boosted it with a very good win over Felipe Orucuta in December. “Beaver” Santiago”, 25, was on a roll with ten wins on the bounce with some good level opposition in there so this was a big setback.

Bogere vs. Florez

The Ugandan “Lion” rolls on. Bogere was giving away a huge amount in height and reach with the Colombian almost a full head higher . However Bogere slowly broke down the reed-thin Florez forcing the referee to halt the fight in the eighth round. The 27-year-old Bogere lost the biggie when being defeated on points by Richar  Abril for the WBA light title in 2013. He then took 13 months out and is now 6-0,1ND in his last 7 fights but he has a long way to go to get back in the title picture. Florez sprang a huge upset when he crushed Miguel Berchelt in 99 seconds back in 2014. Still the only loss for the 30-1 WBA interim champion. However life has not been so rosy recently as he was coming of successive loses to Jamel Herring and Regis Prograis.

Perez vs. Bellows

Perez gets much needed win as he takes split decision over Bellows. Scores 78-75 twice for Perez and 75-74 for Bellows. The 25-year-old “3mendo”- a more inventive nickname than some-from Atlantic City. He had scored some useful wins over Ty Brunson 22-2-1 and Juan Ubaldo Cabrera 23-0 but was having a 2016 with a brutal kayo loss to Rob Brant in January and a unanimous verdict loss to Dashon Johnson. He will be hoping to kick on from here. Bellows, 30, had won 10 in a row and reversed his only loss but goes back down a couple of notches.

Thompson vs. George

With a sequence of W-L-W-L “Lonnie B” was due a win and he got one here as he took a unanimous verdict over George. Two of his losses have been to Sergey Kovalev and Radivoje Kalajdzic and he has a win over Ryan Coyne but he needs to be more active and find some consistency. “Da Bomb” George was a huge draw in Chicago when he when he went 20-0-1 with 17 wins by KO/TKO at the start of his career but then losses to Francisco Sierra, Edwin Rodriguez, Adonis Stevenson in an IBF eliminator, and Caleb Truax dealt his hopes heavy blows. Things went from bad to worse as he scored what looked a good win over Dyah Davis in August 2014 only to test positive for a banned substance and did not fight again until losing on points against Sean Monaghan in October last year. This is his first fight since then.

 

Frederiksberg, Denmark: Super Middle: Lolenga Mock (36-14-1) W PTS 10 Derrick Findley (24-21-1,1ND). Mock keeps his comeback alive with victory over Findlay. Mock is a slow starter and Findlay took advantage of that as he showed a tight defence and scored well over the first three rounds. Mock woke up in the fourth and although the pace was never quick he forced the fight more and by the sixth he had overcome Findlay’s early lead. From there the better conditioning of the much older Mock determined the outcome as Findlay tired and the home fighter swept the late rounds to take the unanimous decision. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92. The 44-year-old DRC-born Mock, a former EU champion, had mixed in top company such as David Haye, Lucien Bute and Gabriel Campillo but seemed to have retired after losing his EU title to Erik Skoglund in October 2013. However he returned to the ring in December 2015 and has scored five wins since then. The 32-year-old “Superman” Findley from Gary only gets tough assignments that he is not supposed to win. He is a tough character but 4 of his 5 losses over the last two years have been by KO/TKO.

 

New Plymouth, NZ, Light Heavy: Robert Berridge (28-5-1) W PTS 8 Sam Rapira (15-3). Berridge wins battle for local bragging rights as he takes unanimous decision over fellow-New Zealander Rapira. After a cautious first round Rapira tried to use his longer reach to box on the outside but southpaw Berridge was just too strong. Berridge worked on the body over the next three rounds with Rapira only really getting into the fight from the fifth. Even then Berridge continued to score well to the body and to be edging the rounds. With blood from a cut over his right eye leaking down the side of his face Rapira just could not find the power to turn things around and Berridge took the unanimous verdict. The 31-year-old “Butcher” lost important fights against Thomas Oosthuizen for the IBO title in June last year and to Eleider Alvarez in July so could not afford to lose at domestic level. Rapira had won 7 of his last 8 fights but not even fighting in his own neighbourhood was enough to propel the 32-year-old Rapira to victory. He was a good level amateur with a win over Vijender Singh to his name.

 

September 27

 

Arlington, TX, USA: Super Welter: Saul Alvarez (48-1-1) W KO 9 Liam Smith (23-1-1). Middle: Willie Monroe Jr. (21-2) W PTS 12 Gabriel Rosado (23-9,1ND). Feather: Joseph Diaz (22-0) W TKO 9 Andrew Cancio (17-4-2). Super Bantam: Diego De La Hoya (16-0) W PTS 10 Luis Orlando Del Valle (22-3,1ND). Welter: Sadam Ali (23-1) W PTS 10 Saul Corral (22-8). Super Light: Zach Ochoa (16-0) W PTS 8 Daniel Montoya (11-5).

Alvarez vs. Smith

Alvarez wins the WBO title with stoppage of a brave Smith who gave it everything but just could not match the power of Alvarez. Alvarez took the first round. He was scoring with stiff jabs and with some quick combinations and overhand rights. Smith was staying behind a high, tight guard but was short with his jabs and a couple of combinations and making a slow, careful and intelligent start . Alvarez was letting his punches go at the start of the second throwing jabs, left hook and straight rights and that’s when the fight really broke. Smith was coming forward throwing combinations of his own. Alvarez was firing back but moving and not going toe-to-toe. Alvarez went back to the jab and landed some left hooks to the body until Smith forced Alvarez to the ropes and landed some body punches of his own. He was walking Alvarez down with the champion looking to draw the lead so that he could counter in a closer round that saw Alvarez with a small cut over his left eye from a punch. Smith made a confident start in the third until a left hook to the body had him backing up. Alvarez started landing some hard straight right/left hook combinations and was following Smith and getting home some left hooks and right uppercuts in a round he dominated although Smith was not totally passive and scored with a nice three-punch combination of his own. Smith was willing to stand and trade at the start of the fourth and as they exchanged body punches a left from Alvarez went low and he was given a warning. Smith took the fight to Alvarez twice trapping him on the ropes and scoring some good body punches but Alvarez was throwing more and landing more and had the edge in  power. Alvarez was letting go with left hooks and right uppercuts at the start of the fifth with Smith backing up Alvarez then changed his tactics and stood with his back to the ropes trying to lure Smith in. At the end of the first round Alvarez’s corner had told him to use the right uppercut more and he did so now forcing Smith to back off. Smith came forward again and bombarded Alvarez with left hooks and rights to the head and Alvarez fired back as they both battled away to the bell. Smith was showing two cuts over his right eye a vertical slanting one over the eye and one above the corner of the eye both caused by punches. Smith had the better of the first part of the sixth as Alvarez spent most of the time with his back to the ropes. Smith was able to score with left hooks and overhand rights but when Alvarez banged back his power was evident. Smith was given a warning for rubbing his glove down the face of Alvarez but he had blood trickling from the cut at the side if his eye and on his nose and things were looking ominous. Smith took Alvarez to the ropes in the seventh and scored with some good rights and left hooks. Alvarez was happy that he did not have to go looking for Smith and with his target right in front of him he landed a thumping right to the head a left hook and another right to the head which sent Smith backwards to the canvas. He was up at six and the blood was again running down his face. With Alvarez looking to finish it Smith boxed on the back foot and avoided further trouble and the round ended with Alvarez again with his back to the ropes as Smith slammed home rights and lefts to the bell. At the start of the eighth both fighters were stabbing out jabs. Alvarez again chose to go back to the ropes allowing Smith to score a series of uppercuts only for Alvarez to fire back with right uppercuts. Two of those uppercuts opened Smith up and then a left hook to the body saw Smith take a couple of steps back and  in a delayed action go down to the canvas on his haunches. He was up at eight and with only 20 seconds left in the round made it to the bell. Despite the knockdown Smith was not looking to hide in the ninth and on a couple of occasions was able to land some hard combinations until Alvarez landed a rib-bending left to the body which had Smith down and rolling in agony and after starting the count the referee just waived the fight over. The 26-year-old Mexican gets win No 34 by KO/TKO in his eleventh world title fight. He went to great pains after the fight to indicate that Gennady Golovkin had turned down a big offer to fight him but it is starting to sound like Mayweather-Pacquiao all over again. We want the fight not reasons why it is not happening. Alvarez is unlikely to fight again this year as he suffered a broken right thumb. Smith,28, was making the third defence of his WBO title. Obviously Alvarez was a giant step up from Jimmy Kilrain Kelley and Predrag Radosevic but he matched Alvarez for speed and power at times but Alvarez showed some clever defensive moves and too often Smith went to war with a guy with heavier guns. He has lost his title but raised his profile enormously and has the ability and the backing to come again.

Monroe vs. Rosado

Monroe wins unanimous verdict over Rosado but the fight lacks fire and nothing indicates Monroe was ready to fight Alvarez. From the first round Monroe showed some slick southpaw skills with Rosado trying to force the fight but finding Monroe an elusive target. Monroe was able to counter Rosado’s attacks with his right jab and straight left and built a good lead. It was the fifth before Rosado was able to effectively cut the ring off and force Monroe to trade but although Rosado had the higher work rate the accurate stuff was coming from Monroe as he slotted home counters. Rosado put in a big effort in the eighth forcing Monroe to the ropes and keeping him there for much of the round but he was not landing with enough power to get a foothold in the fight. Somehow Rosado had suffered a cut to the back of his head which interrupted the action and although Monroe went down at the end of the round it was a slip. Monroe had a better ninth round with Rosado stepping up the pressure again in the tenth but Monroe continued to score with his right jab and Rosado had fallen well behind. He needed a strong finish over the last two rounds but a clash of heads in the eleventh started a swelling under his left eye and as that began to close it was hard for him to be as effective as he needed to be and Monroe safely negotiated those last round to take a clear, well deserved decision. Scores 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 all for Monroe. He wins the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title. The 29-year-old “ Mongoose”, the great nephew of the great Philly fighter Willie “The Worm” Monroe, broke through by winning the 2014 ESPN Boxcino Tournament and then beat Brian Vera. That somehow got him a shot at Gennady Golovkin in May last year for the WBA, IBF and interim WBC middle titles but he was stopped in six rounds. He scored a useful win over John Thompson in June this year and he was No 14 with the WBO going into this one. “King” Rosado,30, seems destined to come up short in the big fights. He was stopped inside the distance by Golovkin for the WBA and IBO titles and by Peter Quillin for the WBO crown. Losses to Jermell Charlo and David Lemieux sent his stock into free fall but he battled back with victories over Joshua Clottey and Antonio Gutierrez 20-1-1 and was up at No 10 with the WBO before this fight. He is only 30 so not yet ancient but there will not be too many chances for him.

Diaz vs. Cancio

Onwards and upwards for the talented Diaz he breaks down a gutsy Cancio. Diaz did not rush the job he worked patiently using superior southpaw skills and quicker hand speed to hand Cancio a steady beating. Cancio was determined to come forward but was being caught with counters to head and body. A punch fro Diaz opened a cut on the bridge of Cancio’s nose in the third round and it was a problem for him for the rest of the fight. Diaz had been showing some nice defensive work but he stepped up the pace from the fourth and fifth. Despite the blood from his nose Cancio still had only one option and that was to take the fight to Diaz. He continued to do that over the middle rounds having some success but paying for it big time as Diaz worked him over. By the ninth with Diaz pouring on the punishment Cancio’s corner were looking to pull their man out and the referee stopped the fight. Another impressive win for the 23-year-old “JoJo as he makes a third defence of his NABF title. He was the youngest member of the US boxing team at the 2012 Olympics, twice a US National champion and a World Championships quarter-finalist.  He already has wins over good level opposition in Rene Alvarado Jayson Velez and Victor Proa and is rated WBC 3/WBO 7/IBF 8(6) but is not ready for a title fight yet. Cancio, 27, gets his first inside the distance loss. After going 15-1 in his first 16 fights he has had a see saw time beating Rocky Juarez and Jerry Belmontes but losing to Roger Gonzalez and Ronny Rios. He had steadied the ship with wins over Rene Alvarado in his last two fights but after a rest there are plenty of good fights around for him.

De La Hoya vs. Del Valle

De La Hoya comes through his toughest test so far with flying colours as he takes a wide unanimous verdict over Puerto Rican Del Valle. De La Hoya was pressing from the start with Del Valle looking to stand and trade. Del Valle was getting through with punches of his own but De La Hoya was blocking and avoiding those and scoring with hard counters. Those first two rounds were close but from the third De La Hoya took over. He had success with straight rights and shook Del Valle badly with an overhand left which saw Del Valle stagger into the ropes but stay on his feet. De La Hoya also had a big sixth round making Del Valle wobble with some hard combinations. Del Valle stayed in the fight over the last four rounds but De La Hoya was in control and eased his way to victory. Scores 99-91 twice and 100-90. The 22-year-old De La Hoya retains the WBC Youth title. He has good wins over experienced fighters in Jesus Ruiz and Arturo Badillo. He is No 10 with the WBC and if he continues to develop a title shot in 2018 must be a possibility. “Orlandito” Del Valle, 29 (again we have this stupid situation that only one fighter has to meet the criterion so a guy 29 can fight for the Youth title. On that basis I could fight for the middle age title-at a stretch) anyway Del Valle was unbeaten in his first 16 fights before losing to Vic Darchinyan in a match that came too early for him. His other loss was on points against Luis Rosa but he re-established his pride with four wins. After this fight he was treated for a hand injury suffered in the fourth round

Ali vs. Corral

Ali takes his first step along the road to recovery as he outpoints Corral. Ali breezed through the first half of the fight outboxing the game but limited Corral and scored a knockdown in the fourth round. Corral has lost only once inside the distance and over the second half of the fight he put in a good effort taking the fight to Ali. He wasn’t winning the rounds but he was making the talented “World Kid” fight a lot harder than he had in the early rounds. Scores 99-90 twice and 99-91 all for Ali. First fight for Ali since he was floored twice and stopped in nine rounds by Jessie Vargas in March for the vacant WBO title. Vargas gets Manny Pacquiao and Ali gets Corral, that’s the price of losing in boxing. Mexican “Navajo” Corral, 29, was a good level test for Ali at this time as he had won 10 of his last 11 fights with the loss being a third round kayo against Mike Alvarado in March.

Ochoa vs. Montoya

Golden Boy prospect Ochoa gets unanimous decision over Montoya. Ochoa was always the boss in this one but Montoya stayed with him and fought hard all the way. Montoya did have a bit of success early but Ochoa was too strong and punching too hard and was a winner by a long way. Scores 79-73 twice and 80-72 all for the 23-year-old from Brooklyn. He is the classic case of a kid on his way to trouble until he took up boxing. Mexican Montoya had won 4 of his last 5 fights.

 

Gdansk, Poland: Cruiser: Olek Usyk (10-0) W PTS 12 Krzys Glowacki (26-1). Super Welter: Patryk Szymanski (17-0) W PTS 10 Jose Villalobos (9-2-2). Heavy: Andrzej Wawrzyk (33-1) W TKO 6 Albert Sosnowski (49-7-2). Cruiser: Michal Cieslak (14-0) W TKO 2 Giulian Ilie (21-11-2).

Glowacki vs. Usyk

Usyk boxes his way to the WBO title with unanimous victory over fellow-southpaw Glowacki. Usyk handed out as boxing master class in the first. He was constantly on the move sliding home his jab. He was gone before Glowacki could block or counter and catching the champion with short hooks when he tried to get inside. The second was closer.  Usyk constantly pierced the champion’s guard with his jab kept moving and was also landing with short lefts but Glowacki also had his share of success. Usyk bossed the third with his jab. He was throwing them 4, 5, 6 at a time and Glowacki could not get in a position to launch his own attacks. At the end of the round Glowacki was showing a cut on his right eyelid caused by a clash of heads. Glowacki did much better in the fourth and fifth. He managed to get closer and land with some lefts as Usyk used his jab less and was not as accurate or as mobile. Usyk took the sixth and seventh. There was less action but Usyk just did enough to edge them finishing each round with a flourish. Usyk also took the eighth. He was up on his toes again and using the jab to control the action. The ninth was closer. Usyk was scoring with the jab and Glowacki with long lefts and may have done enough to pocket the round. Usyk struck back in the tenth outboxing the champion with his jab and movement leaving Glowacki swishing air. Usyk  was even more dominating in the eleventh. He was following the jab with straight lefts and every punch in a six-punch combination landed and had Glowacki’s head jerking from side-to-side. A fierce attack from Glowacki saw Usyk go down in the last but it was ruled a push and not a punch and Glowacki was lucky to get away with landing two punches when Usyk was down. The Ukrainian got up and boxed and countered a desperate Glowacki to emerge a clear winner. Scores 117-111 twice and 119-109. The 33-year-old Usyk is another former top amateur to get to the top in relatively few bouts. He won gold medals at the European and World Championships and Olympics and twice scored wins over Artur Beterbiev .He has great talent and as a 6’3” southpaw would be a difficult opponent for IBF/WBA champion Denis Lebedev and WBC champion Tony Bellew but he may not be looking for unification. Glowacki had sprung a big surprise with his kayo of Marco Huck to win the WBO title in August last year and flooring Steve Cunningham on his way to a successful defence in April but Usyk was just too quick and slick for him.

Szymanski vs. Villalobos

Szymanski gets a scare as he only just edges out Argentinian Villalobos who fights the late rounds with an injury.  The first round saw some heated exchanges as Villalobos took the fight to the Pole. The Argentinian dominated the second scoring with left hooks with one to the body seeing Szymanski grimacing in pain. Szymanski fought back hard in the third forcing a standing count and opening a cut on the right eyebrow of Villalobos. There was plenty of action in the fourth with both scoring well. Villalobos slipped to the canvas and it was stated later he had suffered a torn tendon in his right thigh. He fought on and had the better of the action in the fifth with Szymanski banging back in the sixth. After being under pressure for the early part of the round Szymanski scored with a right and then staggered Villalobos with left hook. Szymanski finally began to use his skills in the seventh boxing at a distance but Villalobos is an awkward fighter to face and he got back into the fight as Szymanski’s work rate dropped in the eighth and in the ninth a punch from Villalobos opened a cut on the left eyelid of the Pole. The fight was in the balance and they both fought hard in the tenth with Villalobos just looking to have done enough to shade it and deserve at least a draw. Scores 96-94 and 95-94 for Szymanski and 95-94 for Villalobos.  The tall 23-year-old Pole wins the vacant WBC Youth title but only. Szymanski has good wins over Richard Gutierrez and Wilky Campfort but there are some lessons he needs to take on board after this fight. Tsunami” Villalobos, 22, is really just a 4 and 6 round prelim fighter back home but he performed way above that level here.

Wawrzyk vs. Sosnowski

Wawrzyk wins over veteran Sosnowski. The more experienced former European champion tried to get inside and work the body in the first but Wawrzyk was just too quick for him. In the second a left/ right combination staggered Sosnowski and Wawrzyk landed another right before the bell. Sosnowski showed he was still in the fight in the third by shaking Wawrzyk with a left hook and with another right late in the round. In the fourth Sosnowski was cut over his left eyebrow and Wawrzyk started to take control of the fight outboxing Sosnowski. Wawrzyk was on top in the fifth with Sosnowski spending much of the round in trouble with his back to the ropes and he was still leaking blood from his cut. After five rounds Wawrzyk was in front on all three cards with two judges having it 49-46 and the third 48-47. Wawrzyk was handing out punishment in the sixth and with Sosnowski’s cut worsening and nothing coming back the referee stopped the fight. Big win for the 28-year-old 6’5” (195cm) Wawrzyk and it moves him to 19 wins by KO/TKO including 6 in his last 6 fights. His loss came against Alex Povetkin for the secondary WBA title in 2013. He has beaten Frans Botha and fellow-Pole Marcin Rekowski 17-2 since then. He is at No 13 with the EBU. “The Dragon” Sosnowski, 37, gets his sixth loss by KO/TKO. With careful management he was 45-2-1 in his first 48 fights before being knocked out in ten round by Vitali Klitschko for the WBC title in 2010 and is now 4-5-1 in his last 10 fights.

Cieslak vs. Ilie

Cieslak blows away Romanian veteran Ilie inside two rounds. Cieslak made a fast start and despite a tight, high guard from Ilie he managed to land some thumping body punches in the first round. In the second Cieslak landed a right and Ilie went down complaining that the punch had landed on the back of his head. The referee did not agree and gave Ilie an eight count. Ilie stayed out of trouble for a short spell but another right put him down. He only just beat the count but on the third knockdown the referee stopped the fight. The tall 27-year-old 6’3” (190cm) Cieslak has 10 wins by KO/TKO including 7 that way in succession. He has wins over Shawn Cox and Francisco Palacios and was twice a silver medal winner at the Polish Championships. Ilie, 39, now based in Italy, has now lost 4 of his last 5 fights but has been given tough jobs against Rakhim Chakhkiev and Dmitry Kudryashov.

 

Goppingen, Germany: Cruiser: Firat Arslan (38-8-2) W PTS 12 Nuri Seferi (37-8). Light Heavy: Karo Murat (30-3-1) W TKO 12 Yevgeni Makhteienko (8-5). Heavy: Manuel Charr (30-4) W PTS 10 Sefer Seferi (21-1). Heavy: Odlanier Solis (22-3) W PTS 8 Alek Todorovic (8-10-1). Welter: Faith Keles (5-0) W TKO 3 Paval Mozga (0-2).

Arslan vs. Seferi

Arslan keeps his hopes of another title shot alive with decision over tough Seferi and wins the WBO European title. Seferi made the better start. Arslan was walking forward with a high guard and not throwing many punches. Seferi was able to land some left hooks to the body. Arslan land a left and a right to the head and Seferi dropped his hands indicated for Arslan to bring it on and then ended the round with a good combination. Arslan was better over the next three rounds letting his punches go and slotting home right jabs and left uppercuts. Seferi kept trundling forward but there were too many gaps in his defence. Arslan rattled a series on Seferi’s’ head in the fifth with Seferi dropping his hands to say he was not hurt but he had no answer to Arslan’s right jab. It was the same in the sixth with Seferi hanging his gloves at thigh level and letting Arslan have free shots and just trying to catch Arslan with huge swings. Seferi pressed more in the seventh and eighth and the punches he did land were heavy but he was too slow. Arslan’s work rate dropped in the ninth and tenth and Seferi was able to land some clubbing shots drawing Arslan into a maul. Seferi also had a good eleventh with Arslan visibly tiring. In the last round Seferi was launching heavy punches with both hands they were wild but heavy. Arslan tried to stick to he is boxing but at times was being caught with those swings and he looked a very tired fighter at the bell. Scores 115-113 twice and 118-111 all for Arslan. By winning the WBO European title the 45-year-old German southpaw will put himself back in the ratings. He still has skill but stamina could be a problem. Although Macedonian-born the 39-year-old Swiss-based Seferi is known as “The Albanian Tyson” and he co-promoted the show. He has been a pro for 17 years and faced Marco Huck, Herbie Hide and Krzys Glowacki always going the distance. He is strong but slow

Murat vs. Makhteienko

Murat wins the vacant WBA International title with late stoppage of Makhteienko. This proved a tougher fight than anticipated. Makhteienko made an impressive start as he used his longer reach to spear Murat with quick, light jabs and found the target with long rights. In the third Makhteienko totally dominated most of the round. He was scoring with fast combinations getting through Murat’s defence with ease. Murat was getting caught with a collection of head punches and floundering under the storm. That made Makhteienko careless and when he had Murat on the ropes again he was too busy throwing punches to defend himself and two thumping rights to the head put him down heavily. He was badly shaken but made it to his feet. At the end of the eight count he then threw himself at Murat and as a result got through with some of his punches but took much harder shots from Murat. The eighth was a big round for Murat. Makhteienko again chose to stand and trade and a right and a left hook put him down. He was up and after the eight count again he just walked into Murat and scored with punch after punch until a straight right from Murat put him down. He got up and at the bell he had Murat on the ropes and taking punishment. Over the ninth, tenth and eleventh Murat tried to press more but every time he landed a big punch Makhteienko fired back with 6 or7 with Murat wide open and usually finally having to back off under the sheer volume of punches from Makhteienko. In the twelfth Makhteienko was giving Murat a torrid time but left himself wide open again and a left hook shook him. Murat landed a series of rights which saw Makhteienko stumble back to sit on the bottom rope. He was given an eight count but the follow up attack from Murat saw the referee stop the fight with just 14 seconds to go. Murat gets the win but if Makhteienko had any power at all the result would have been very different. The 33-year-old Armenian Murat has lost to Nathan Cleverly in a WBO eliminator, to Bernard Hopkins in truly dire IBF title fight and finally on a fifth round kayo to Sullivan Barrera in December. This is his third win this year against minor opposition but he did not impress. Makhteienko, 29, has lost four hard fights on the road but had always gone the distance. Although being streets ahead in punches landed he would not have got the decision anyway but he lost through lack of power and careless courage. A promoters dream import a guy who does not back down gives 100% to make the fights exciting but cant punch.

Charr vs. Seferi

Charr continues his amazing comeback with unanimous decision over Seferi. Despite his impressive looking record Seferi was in over his head here as in the past the opposition has been hand-picked to protect the Macedonian. Charr was much the bigger man and had a 28lbs weight advantage. As usual Charr just walked forward behind a high guard letting Seferi throw punches which lacked power. Whenever Charr took Seferi to the ropes he let go a short burst of hooks to the body and Seferi was holding whenever he could. The pattern never really changed expect in the number of punches Charr allowed Seferi  to throw before coming out from behind his guard to score with hooks to the body and uppercuts. Charr had a reach advantage but rarely threw a jab. Seferi simply lacked the power to hurt Charr or stop his forward march. Seferi was almost too exhausted to raise his hands over the last two rounds. In the tenth a body punch put Seferi down. Charr went to Seferi’s corner instead of the neutral corner so the referee stopped the count which gave Seferi a few extra seconds to recover. Charr tried to finish it and landed some hefty lefts and rights but Seferi ran and held and made it to the bell. Scores 98-91, 97-92 and 96-93 all for 31-year-old Charr who wins the vacant WBA International title. He has made an impressive recovery from a gunshot wound suffered last year that might well have ended both his career and his life. Inside the distance losses to Vitali Klitschko for the WBC title and Alex Povetkin for the vacant WBC International title were followed by a see saw set of results that saw him beat Mike Grant, lose to Johann Duhaupas, beat Alex Leapai and lose in five rounds to Mairis Breidis in August last year. The gunshot wound saw him inactive until June when he returned with a low level win. He is still a name and is being rebuilt slowly. The Swiss-based “The Real Deal” Seferi, 37, had won 18 of his last 19 fights inside the distance but against poor opposition.

Solis vs. Todorovic

Solis gets unanimous decision in a non-event. The Cuban was carrying a considerable spare tyre and was very slow. Todorovic started each round coming forward and throwing jabs but by 15 seconds into the rounds he was on the retreat and in survival mode. Solis was very slow and when he did manage to catch up with Todorovic he was throwing light arm punches with no venom in them in fact the elastic around his considerable girth had more snap in it the Cuban’s punches. Solis roused himself at the start of the last round coming forward with more purpose and putting some heft in his punches but that petered out before the final bell. Solis the winner but he is miles away from being fit enough to face an opponent of any quality. The 36-year-old Cuban needs better opposition than this to prepare him for some tougher fights that may lie ahead. Todorovic is really just a cruiser so he was giving away a lot of weight and was never in with a chance.

Keles vs. Mozga

Former Turkish amateur star Keles gets his fourth win by KO/TKO. Late substitute Mozga stood up to his punishment bravely but after he was floored in the third round the referee stopped the fight. The 26-year-old Turk (BoxRec shows him born in Germany but he was born in Trabzon, Turkey), was a gold medallist at the 2011 European Champion ships, won a silver medal at the Mediterranean Games and competed at both the World Championships and the 2012 Olympics so worth watching.

 

Weissenfels, Germany: Light Heavy: Dominic Boesel (23-0) W PTS 12 Tony Averlant (24-9-2).Super Light: Felix Lamm (13-1-1) W PTS 10 Andrea Carbonello (13-2-1).

Boesel vs. Averlant

Boesel overcomes a slow start to beat Averlant and now dreams of Sergey Kovalev or Andre Ward. No feeling out here as both tried to assert domination in the first. Averlant was firing jabs and straight rights with Boesel throwing left hooks to the body. Averlant was bleeding lightly from the mouth at the end of the round. Averlant took the second round using the jab, straight rights and right uppercuts with Boesel only fighting in short bursts. The third and fourth were close. Boesel started them better with body punches but again only in short burst whereas Averlant was throwing more and landing more and fighting for three minutes in each round. Significantly the TV replays only showed the punches landed by Boesel and that together with the huge crowd support for the German showed what Averlant was up against. Averlant had Boesel in a corner and was throwing plenty of punches at the start of the fifth but Boesel had the better of the second half of the round. Boesel then began to motor. He took the sixth, seventh and eighth. He was up on his toes boxing using his jab and sustaining his attacks through the rounds with Averlant still getting through with his jab but not as often and the Frenchman seemed to be tiring. Averlant tried to rally in the ninth but was visible hurt by body punches from Boesel and looking a beaten fighter. The tenth was even until the last 20 seconds when Boesel cut loose with a series of two-handed attacks jarring Averlant’s head with uppercuts. Boesel had a bit of home fighters luck in the tenth. He had already been given a final warning for pushing Averlant’s head down. When he did it again in the tenth instead of losing a point he was given another “final” warning. Averlant did better in the eleventh going back to the jab and straight rights but he did not have the strength to sustain the attacks and Boesel made a stronger finish to the round. Amusingly in the eleventh Boesel went to push Averlant’s head down again. Just as he was about to do it he looked across at the referee who raised his eyebrows and Boesel took the hint. The German had more left and clearly took the last round. Scores 118-111, 117-111 and 116-112 all for 26-year-old Boesel. He was making the seventh defence of his WBO Inter-Continental tile and second of his WBA Continental title. He is No 2 with the WBO so in theory the challenger for the winner of the Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward fight but is not in their class (who is?). His EBU No 9 rating is probably more accurate based on his opposition but if the money is there he will get his title fight. Frenchman Averlant, 32, the WBFederation champion was halted in two rounds by Juergen Braehmer  for the European title in 2013 but had bounced back well with six wins.

Lamm vs. Carbonello

Lamm wins the vacant WBO European title with controversial split verdict over Belgian Carbonello. Both were quick but light punchers but they started at a high pace and both landed some hefty punches in the first. Carbonello was a little taller and had a slight edge in reach and switched to southpaw occasionally. There was never much between them in any round.  The fight was close with Lamm edging the sixth and seventh to get his nose in front but Carbonello staged a stronger finish and looked to have done enough to earn the decision but it went to the home fighter. Scores 96-94 and 96-95 to Lamm and 96-95 to Carbonello. The 26-year-old Lamm lost an early fight but is now 10-0-1 in his last 11. He is miles away from top class at this time but will probably get a world rating from the WBO as that’s the way they try to boost their lower level European tile . Carbonello, 27, the BeNeLux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg) was having only his second fight in almost two years and had been inactive for nine months but was sharp enough to give Lamm more problems than he could handle.

 

Varpalota, Hungary: Cruiser: Imre Szello (14-0) W PTS 10 Hamilton Ventura (15-4-1). Light Heavy: Richard Baranyi (17-1) W PTS 10 Giorgi Beroshvili (27-12-2). Cruiser: Tamas Toth (7-4-4) W TKO 9 Jozsef Darmos (2-1-1).

Szello vs. Ventura

Szello wins the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title with unanimous verdict over Brazilian Ventura. The former amateur stand out controlled the fight most of the way but Ventura had shown against Rakhim Chakhkiev that he was a useful fighter and he gave Szello a good argument. Szello came near to finishing it just a bit early when he floored Ventura with a right hook in the last round but Ventura has a good chin and was still there at the bell. Scores 100-89, 99-90 and 97-92 all for Szello. The 33-year-old Hungarian left it late to turn pro and although he is making progress it is perhaps too late for him to break into the big time. Ventura, also 33, was blown away inside a round by Yunier Dorticos in 2014 but had Chakhkiev down when losing to the Russian on points in April this year.

Baranyi vs. Beroshvili

Baranyi gives his career a boost as he wins the vacant WBO European title with a very close points victory over Georgian Beroshvili. The Georgian had been picked as a very beatable opponent for the Hungarian but in the end Baranyi could count himself lucky that he was on home ground as he just scraped home with Beroshvili looking unlucky not to get at least a draw. Scores 96-94 twice for Baranyi and a way out 98-92. They have been hand-picking Baranyi’s opponents after he was knocked out in four rounds by Pablo Sosa 3-4-3 last year. Beroshvili, 24,usually plays the part of the anvil whilst the local fighter does the hammering but not here.

Toth vs. Darmos

Toth springs an upset as he halts Darmos in the ninth to win the vacant national title. Darmos took the lead over the first four rounds but then began to fade. Toth took over and broke down the former top amateur until the fight was stopped in the ninth round with Darmos out of his feet. The 32-year-old “Barbarian” Toth had suffered his four losses on his travels but was 1-0-2 in his last three fights and this is his fifth win by KO/TKO. Darmos dominated the Hungarian 91kg ranks as an amateur winning the national title seven times, competing at three World Championships and winning bronze medals at both the European and European Union Championships but does not look like making it as a pro.

 

President Roxas, Philippines: Bantam: Glenn Porras (29-4) W PTS 8 Renante Suacasa (7-18).  Porras makes a winning return as he floors Suacasa three times on his way to a unanimous decision. The experienced southpaw took a couple of rounds to shake off some rust and then went to work. He floored Suacasa with a body punch in the fifth and again in the seventh with the bell saving Suacasa on each occasion. Porras scored the third knockdown late in the last round with a left to the body but just ran out of time to get the stoppage. The 30-year-old “Rock”, earned a world rating with a run of 15 wins in a row before suffering a dramatic kayo loss against Puerto Rican Jose Nieves in December 2012. This is his first fight since then. Suacasa, 28, has now lost 9 of his last 10 fights but usually goes the distance.

 

Caguas, Puerto Rico: Feather: Jesus M Rojas (24-1-2,1ND) W TKO 5 Jesus Valdez (16-2-1). Alberto Mercado (13-0-1) W PTS 10 Braulio Rodriguez (19-2).

Rojas vs. Valdez

Rojas returns home to Caguas and halts tough Mexican Valdez to win the vacant WBA Fedecaribe title. Rojas was able to score throughout the fight with hard punches to head and body but Valdez replied with good body punches of his own and remained competitive-and dangerous- with his head. Rojas continued to work to head and body and despite a brave effort from Valdez a sustained series of combinations in the fifth forced the stoppage. Rojas was fighting in front of his hometown fans for the first time in 10 years. He is 6-0-1Tec Draw in his last 7 fights and the No Decision was due to a cut suffered by the great scrapper Jorge Arce in their fight in 2012. Mexican Valdez has impressive looking statistics and had won his last six fights but those six opponents had only mustered 15 wins between then so this was a big step up in quality of opposition for Valdez.

Mercado vs. Rodriguez

Mercado gets the win but it was far from popular. The Dominican fighter put Mercado down in the second round and although southpaw Mercado fought back hard he did not seem to have done enough although the judges gave Mercado the split decision. Scores 76-75 twice for Mercado and 77-74 for Rodriguez. The 28-year-old Puerto Rican keeps his unbeaten tag and his WBC Fecarbox title but is riding his luck as his title defence in March saw him only squeeze past Braulio Santos with a split draw. Perhaps he should avoid anyone with the first name of Braulio.  “El Chavo” Rodriguez, 28, had scored 17 of his 19 wins by KO/TKO including victories inside the distance against  former WBC champion Francisco Lorenzo (although the WBC never agreed to recognise him) and Argentinian Marcos Martinez 17-2. His loss was in Mexico in 2014 against the still unbeaten Carlos Diaz R.

 

Blackpool, England: Welter: Adam Little (17-1) W KO 3 Martin Gethin (26-8-1).

Important win for Little as he knocks out experienced Gethin. Local fighter Little took charge immediately using a sharp accurate jab to take the first round. In the second Little began to get through with some hard rights and in the third a right to the body put Gethin down and he was unable to beat the count. The Blackpool-born “Big Man” gets his fifth win by KO/TKO in what was a Commonwealth title eliminator which puts him in line to challenge world rated Bradley Skeete. Gethin “The Quiet Man” a former British lightweight champion, missed his big chance when he lost on a seventh round kayo to Ammeth Diaz in an IBF final eliminator in 2013. He has had a rocky time since then losing on a split decision against Derry Mathews and being beaten inside the distance by Terry Flanagan for the British title and Tommy Coyle.

 

Jauregui, Argentina: Light Heavy: Ezequiel Maderna (24-3) W KO 6 Walter Sequeira (17-4). Maderna continues to rule the roost in Argentina. He almost ended this early flooring Sequeira with a left to the head in the first round. Sequeira was hurt but after the eight count tried to take the fight to Maderna but could not get past “El Olympico’s” long reach. Over the next four rounds that continued to be a problem for Sequeira. Maderna kept him on the outside with his long jab and good movement and found Sequeira an easy target for counters. A frustrated Sequeira bit Maderna twice in the fifth round and was given a warning. In the sixth a series of lefts to the chin and a right put Sequeira down and he was counted out. First fight for the 24-year-old Argentinian super middle champion since being stopped in four rounds by Artur Beterbiev in June He now has 16 wins by KO/TKO. He has never lost to an Argentinian as a pro and his other two losses are a unanimous decision defeat against Edwin Rodriguez and a majority verdict against Tommy Oosthuizen for the IBO title. Sequeira gets his second loss in a row having been beaten in Germany by Avni Yildirim for the WBC International silver title in February.

 

Villa Constitucion, Argentina: Super Light: Emiliano Rodriguez (16-0) W KO 8 Damian Yapur (11-5-3). Super Feather: Hugo Santillan (11-0-1) W PTS 12 Mauricio Munoz (31-9).

Rodriguez vs. Yapur

Rodriguez wins this contests between two fighters from Santa Fe State with an eighth round stoppage. The 27-year-old “Little Cobra”, the Argentinian No 9 gets his sixth win by KO/TKO. “El Chino” Yapur continues a slide and is now 0-4-1 in his last 5 fights.

Santillan vs. Munoz

Good win for the local fighter over the more experienced Munoz. Santillan used his speed to box his way to winning the first two rounds but Munoz warmed up by pressing the youngster hard and taking the next three rounds to edge in front. The impetus swung back to Santillan who managed to work some space and swept rounds six to nine. He had an added bonus when Munoz was deducted a point in the eighth for a butt. Again the experience of Munoz came into play as Santillan had never been past the sixth round before and Munoz made a late surge winning the tenth and eleventh rounds. It was not enough has Santillan dredged up the energy to take the last round and the unanimous decision. Scores 119-108, 116-113 and 115-113 all for Santillan with the middle score an accurate measure of the fight. The 20-year-old “Dinamita” Santillan wins the South American title. The Argentinian No 8 showed maturity in the way he paced himself. “Chucky” Munoz, 31, had mixed in much higher company losing to Toshiaki Nishioka for the WBC super bantam title in 2011 on points to Evgeny Gradovich for the IBF super feather title in 2013 and on a stoppage against Brit Stephen Smith in 2014. He was No 4 with the FAB so promotion now due for Santillan.

 

Seinajoki, Finland: Cruiser: Juho Haapoja (27-7-2,1ND) W PTS 10 Tamas Lodi (18-8-2). This was all about revenge for Haapoja as Hungarian Lodi had scored an upset third round kayo win over Haapoja in April. Haapoja was a bit tense in the first round and Lodi looked dangerous throwing rights. Once Haapoja settled down he began to outbox the Hungarian using a stiff jab to control the action showing a much tighter defence and some good footwork. Lodi had a good fourth round landing a hard head punch but other than that Haapoja was never really troubled although Lodi remained competitive to the end. Lodi had been hoping for a more aggressive approach from the Finn but Haapoja boxed conservatively paced the fight well and was a good winner. Scores 98-94, 98-95 and 96-94.The 35-year-old former EU champion has lost big fights to Mateusz Masternak, Silvio Branco and Rakhim Chakhkiev but back-to-back losses to Lodi would have been hard to rebound from. Lodi has also had some hard fights handed to him and after the April win over Haapoja he lost on points to Chakhkiev in May.

 

Manchester, England: Super Feather: Alex Rutter (10-0) W PTS 10 Brad Botham (4-5-1). Rutter wins the vacant BBB of C Central Area title. The local fighter was very much the favourite but Botham came to fight and made Rutter work hard for his win. Rutter focused on the body and that paid off eventually as Botham began to tire from the eighth round allowing Rutter to cement his win with a strong finish. Referee’s score 97-94 for “Big Al”. The 23-year-old Rutter had never gone past six rounds before so the was a valuable experience. The 22-year-old “Beefy” Botham had come up short in a shot at the Central Area lightweight title last year but showed Yorkshire grit and has not lost inside the distance.

 

London, England: Welter: Johnny Garton (18-1-1) W PTS 10 Tyler Goodjohn (12-5). Super Welter: Bradley Pryce (38-20) W TKO 3 Justice Menzie (3-1).

Garton vs. Goodjohn

Garton retains his English title with wide unanimous decision over Goodjohn but that does not fairly reflect the stirring small hall battle these two put on. Both showed good boxing skills early working their jab and Goodjohn may well have edged it. Garton was boxing well on the back foot over the next two rounds scoring with good left hooks in some fiery exchanges. Garton had a big fourth as he hurt Goodjohn with a right and landed a series of hard shots which shook Goodjohn. Garton continued to get the better of the exchanges as time and again they stood and traded punches. They fought hard through the eighth and ninth with the better boxing and body punches seeing Garton pocket the rounds but with Goodjohn fighting hard all the way. Garton had just that bit more left and he took the tenth. Scores 99-91 twice and 98-92 for Garton as the 29-year-old “Pexican”  (he hails from Peckham) edges towards a British title shot. His only loss was to future British champion Sam Eggington in a 2014 Prizefighter Tournament and he cleared up the draw with Martin Welsh with a stoppage in their return fight. Goodjohn, 25, a former English champion, lost to Tyrone Nurse in 2014 and John Wayne Hibbert in 2015 but has a good win over Ricky Boylan and played his past here in a great scrap. They have a tradition of great fights at Bethnal Green an iconic boxing location.

Pryce vs. Menzie

Pryce makes it three wins in a row as he halts unbeaten Menzie. The former Commonwealth champion was having trouble dealing with the clever southpaw boxing of Menzie over the first two rounds. In the third he rocked Menzie with a left hook and then poured in the punches until the referee stopped the fight. Some felt the stoppage was premature but the referee made the judgement as he saw it. The 35-year-old Welshman was a good Commonwealth champion making seven defences of his title. He then lost more than he won but went the distance with Frankie Gavin, Chris Eubank, Bradley Saunders and Sergey Rabchenko and his depth of experience helped him here. Menzie was taking a big step up in opposition here but showed good skills over those first two rounds.