The Past Week in Action 10 July 2023

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.

Highlights:

– Jaron Ennis retains the interim IBF welterweight title with stoppage of Roiman Villa and is waiting to see the outcome of Spence vs. Crawford

– Luis Nery destroys Froilan Saludar in two rounds and could face the winner of Steven Fulton vs. Naoya Inoue

– Marlen Esparza retains her WBA and WBO flyweight belts and wins the WBO with a points win over Gabriela Alaniz

-Diego Pacheco goes to 20-0 with stoppage of Manuel Gallegos

-There are wins for Floyd Schofield, Joseph Diaz, Marquis Taylor and Edwin De Los Santos

 

World Title/Major Shows

 

JULY 8

 

Atlantic City, NJ, USA: Welter: Jaron Ennis (31-0,1ND) W TKO 10 Roiman Villa (26-2). Middle: Marquis Taylor (15-1-2,1ND)W PTS 10 Yoelvis Gomez (6-1) W. Light: Edwin De Los Santos(16-1) W PTS 10 Joseph Adorno (17-3-2). Euri Cedeno W TKO 1 William Townsel (5-0).

Ennis vs. Villa

Ennis retains the interim IBF title as he breaks down and destroys Villa in another master class of skill and power.

Round 1

Plenty of movement from Ennis as he circles Villa probing with jabs to head and body. Villa just edging forward behind a high guard but not committing to his jab. Ennis slotting home jabs and catching Villa with a right. Villa too slow to cut off the ring and hardly  throwing a punch.

Score: 10-9 Ennis

Round 2

Ennis switches to southpaw and lets his hands go, Still getting through with jabs but now forcing Villa back and landing straight lefts. Ennis forces Villa to the ropes and bangs home lefts then switches guard back to orthodox. Villa just following Ennis around the ring and any punch he does throw Ennis just skips away from.

Score: 10-9 Ennis                       Ennis 20-18

Round 3

A frustrate Villa dives in and runs onto a left hook. Ennis stands in front of Villa and connects with hooks before stepping out again. Ennis again looks to trade and Villa scores with a left and right to the head then scores with hooks. Ennis stands to trade again and Villa lands the better shots

Score: 10-9 Villa                        Ennis 29-28

Round 4

Villa has upped his pace but as they exchange punches Ennis is the more accurate with his hooks. Villa walks forward but Ennis is sliding jabs through his guard and landing to head and body. Villa just can’t get near enough to land anything and Ennis is threading shots quick-fire shots through Villa’s guard.

Score:10-9 Ennis                        Ennis 39-37

Round 5

Villa tries hard to pin Ennis down but is eating counters and Ennis bobs and weaves around Villa’s punches or dives inside and ties him up. Ennis is on target with his jabs and straight lefts but when Villa tries to counter he is swishing air. Villa is marching forward throwing punches and leaving himself open to counters from Ennis.

Score: 10-9 Ennis                       Ennis 49-46

Round 6

Ennis feeding the oncoming Villa with jabs and counters with Villa not able to close the distance quickly enough to be able to counter. Ennis lands an overhand right to the head that shakes Villa and then fires a burst of hooks and uppercuts with Villa hurt and holding on

Score: 10-9                                Ennis 59-55

Round 7

Ennis takes the fight inside and is connecting with shots from both hand whilst weaving around Villa’s counters. Ennis is now the one coming forward and he rakes Villa with hooks and uppercuts looking to fight inside then whirling and twirling around Villa with Villa having no idea from which direction the next punch is coming and is rocked by an uppercut.

Score: 10-9 Ennis                       Ennis 69-64

Round 8

For the first half of the round Ennis in on the back foot spearing Villa with jabs and straight lefts. He then moves inside and forces Villa back connecting a series of left and rights snapping Villa’s head back and forth. Villa looks a dejected figure as he trudges back to his corner and the doctor comes in to check on him.

Score: 10-9 Ennis                       Ennis 79-73

Round 9

Ennis lets Villa come forward and just slips jab’s through his guard and hits him with single straight shots. Ennis then takes the fight inside and is scoring with hooks to the body. Villa gets through with a couple of punches but with no power. When Ennis throws a jab instead of trying to get past the jab Villa is taking a couple of steps back and it seems Ennis has taken all of the fight out of Villa and a right followed by a left uppercut dislodges Villa’s mouthguard.

Score: 10-9 Ennis                      Ennis 89-82

Round 10

Villa plods forward eating jabs and then Ennis stands and scores with a burst of punches. Villa again tries to come forward but a series of hooks send him staggering back and slumping down against the ropes and the referee waives the fight over.

“Boots” makes it 27 wins by KO/TKO and a fight with the winner of Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford later on in the year would be a huge draw. Don’t count Ennis out as his combination of skill, speed and power give him a chance against anyone. Venezuelan-born Colombian Villa’s only previous loss was a dubious split decision against Marcos Villasana Jr in Mexico and he was coming off wins over unbeaten Janelson Figueroa Bocachica and Rashidi Ellis. But he is no Spence or a Crawford both of whom will be a very different  level of opponent.

Taylor vs. Gomez

Something of an upset as Taylor floors and outpoints previously unbeaten Cuban Gomez. Taylor just seemed to edge a low action first round against a rusty Gomez but then had a big second as he floored Gomez with right. Gomez was up quickly but under fire for the rest of the round. Gomez was having trouble figuring Taylor’s style and Taylor built on his success in the second by taking a close third round. The fourth was a balanced round as both worked well inside but Taylor had the better of the exchanges in the fifth scoring well at the start and the end of the round. Gomez had a better sixth landing some useful rights to keep a toe hold in the fight. Taylor scored well to the body at the start of the seventh with Gomez finishing the round strongly and getting through with a hard right late in the round.  Taylor was back in charge in the eighth forcing Gomez to the ropes and ending the round with a couple of hefty rights to Gomez head. Taylor was in uncharted territory in the ninth never having gone past eight rounds before and it was a round that Gomez ended strongly knocking Taylor off balance with a left and pressurising Taylor for the rest of the round. Gomez needed a knockout and although he shook Taylor with an uppercut Taylor avoided any farther trouble and ended a good winner. Scores 99-90 twice and 96-93 for Taylor. After an early career loss, the only blemishes were draws against Luke Santamaria and Paul Kroll. Southpaw Gomez was having his first fight for almost fourteen months.

De Los Santos vs. Adorno

Dominican southpaw De Los Santos easily outpoints a disappointing Adorno. De los Santos was in control of this fight from the first bell to the last. He had his jab working early and was finding gaps in Adorno’s guard. He continued the good work in the second jabbing strongly and accurately and forcing Adorno onto the back foot with Adorno already showing a swelling under his left eye. De Los Santos dialled up the pressure over the  third and fourth landing with jabs, withering hooks and hurtful body punches. Adorno just could not match the pace or power of De los Santos and the swelling under his eye was a continuing problem. De Los Santos continued to dominate connecting with a whole range of punches patiently breaking Adorno down. Despite his dominance and an impressive percentage of inside then distance wins De Los Santos never looked like turning that dominance into a stoppage but he outclassed Adorno as the scores of 100-90 twice and 99-91 show. Since losing a split decision against still unbeaten William Foster in January 2022 De Los Santos had scored wins over two unbeaten fighters in 2022 and hen was defending his WBC Continental Americas belt. Adorno had lost a majority decision against Elvis Rodriguez in March.

Cedeno vs. Townsel

Cedeno scores two knockdowns on thew way to a first round stoppage of Townsel. Both let their hands go from the start with Cedeno throwing rights and Townsel  left hooks to the body. A booming right from Cedeno sent Townsel crashing to the floor he was up quickly and did not look too shaken but Cedeno piled in and a succession of rights sent Townsel flying into the ropes and down. Then referee immediately waived the fight over with Townsel protesting the stoppage.

 

San Antonio, TX, USA:. Fly: Marlen Esparza (14-1) W PTS 10 Gabriela Alaniz (14-1). Light: Floyd Schofield (15-0) W PTS 10 Haskell Rhodes (28-5-1). Light: Joseph Diaz (33-4-1) W PTS 10 Jerry Perez (14-3-1).

Esparza vs. Alanis

Esparza retains her WBA and WBO titles and wins the WBO with a close majority decision over Alaniz. It was Alaniz who was the busier from the start with an all-action style going for volume over power. Esperanza had the better skills and constantly found a home for overhand rights. Alaniz was taking the fight to Esparza with Esparza boxing and countering well with left hooks to the body but she was cut over her left eye in the fourth which became a target for Argentinian Alaniz. The visitor kept up her high work rate  and it was really a battle between the volume of Alaniz’s punches and the more varied and more accurate attacks from Esparza. Alaniz looked to have taken the eighth with Esparza battling back to take the ninth and Alaniz just getting the better of the exchanges in the last to finish marginally in front. It was desperately tight and the judges came up with widely different scores with one scoring it 95-95 one giving it to Esparza 97-93 and the third a very weird 99-91 for Esparza. First fight in eleven months for Esparza and her seventh win since losing a technical decision against Seniesa Estrada in November 2019. Alaniz was making the first defence of her WBO belt.

Schofield vs. Rhodes

Schofield scores three knockdowns but in the end has to settle for a points win over a negative Rhodes. He was just too slick and too quick for the pedestrian Rhodes constantly switching to southpaw and spearing Rhodes with jabs and combinations. He staggered Rhodes with a left in the fourth and continued to land shots consistently with not much in the way of a response from Rhodes. Schofield upped his pace and floored Rhodes with a left hook on the seventh. Rhodes was up at eight but Schofield jumped on him and drove him around the ropes until Rhodes slumped to the canvas. Rhodes made it out of the round but was down again in the eighth. He was actually taking the fight to Schofield when Schofield landed a left hook to the head and another to the body. Rhodes took a few steps back and then went down to his hands and knees only getting up at the count of eight. He survived and there was a sting in the tail for Schofield as a clash of heads in the ninth opened a cut on his left cheek bone. The ringside doctor examined Schofield at the start of the tenth and Schofield then boxed his way through the round. The classy 20-year-old was making the second defence of the WBA International title and is No 6 in their ratings. After being stopped in seven rounds by Jason Sosa in August 2019 Rhodes did not fight again until winning a six round fight in March this year.

Diaz vs. Perez

Diaz rebounds from a run of three losses in a row with a unanimous decision over tough Perez. The first round saw both fighters just probing without any great commitment. Diaz opened up in the second letting his hands go and connecting with a series of hard southpaw lefts but with Perez countering effectively. Diaz had a big third as he raked Perez with punches with Perez resorting to clinching to try to smother Diaz’s attacks. The fourth was close but Diaz shook Perez with a left in the fifth. Perez fought back to make the sixth tight and had a good seventh as Diaz’s output sagged. The action picked up again over the closing three rounds with the heavy-handed Diaz getting the better of the exchanges abut with Perez competitive to the last. Diaz won on scores of 97-93 twice and 98-92. The former IBF super feather champion lost clearly in successive fights against Devin Haney for the WBC light title and then William Zepeda and in Mach Filipino Mercito Gesta so a win here was crucial. Perez’s two defeats had also come in tough matches against Frank Martin and Michel Rivera

 

JULY 7

Monterrey, Mexico: Super Middle: Diego Pacheco (19-0) W TKO 4 Manuel Gallegos (19-2-1): Light: Eduardo Hernandez (34-1) W TKO 3 Hector Garcia (20-8-4)Super Fly: Jonathan Rodriguez (24-2-1 DREW 10 Israel Gonzalez (28-5-2). Super Light: Carlos Villareal (15-3) W TKO 2 Miguel Martinez (15-6-1). Heavy: Federico Pacheco W RTD 2 Oscar Heredia (2-3). Light Flyweight:  Neider Valdez (9-0-2) W TKO 3 Isaias Ortiz (5-4).

Monterrey, Mexico: Bantam: Luis Nery(35-1) W TKO 2 Froilan Saludar (33-7-1).

  Former two-division belt holder Nery blows away Saludar in two rounds. Saludar made a positive start scoring with some long rights and matching Nery when they stood and traded punches in a heated exchange and Nery lost his mouthguard when Saludar connected with another right. Nery exploded into action in the second driving forward and dropping Saludar with a left hook. Saludar was up quickly and did not look too shaken and when the action resumed he was again firing rights and forcing Nery to retreat. Nery fired back and forced Saludar to a corner and then bombarded him with punches until Saludar dropped to his knees. Saludar was up at five and when the eight count was completed Nery again forced Saludar into a corner and pounded Saludar with punches and the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. An important win for Nery as he is looking to get a shot at the winner of the Stephen Fulton’s defence of the WBC and WBO belts against Naoya Inoue on 25 July.

Pacheco vs. Gallegos

Pacheco punches too hard for a gutsy Gallegos and stops him in four. Gallegos rolled forward in the first taking the fight to Pacheco who met Gallegos with jabs and landed some strong counters but Gallegos took them and continued to march forward. There were some good exchanges in the second with both landing well but Pacheco’s  additional power was evident. The third again saw Gallegos determined to put Pacheco under pressure and Pacheco making Gallegos pay with heavy counters from both hands. In the fourth a left hook to the body sent Gallegos down. He made it to his feet but was pinned against the ropes soaking up heavy punishment when the referee stopped the fight. Pacheco, 22, has won his last eight fight by KO/TKO and only three opponents have managed to last the distance. He has been in impressive form but His No 3 rating by the WBO is not due to the quality of his opposition but some dubious rating changes by the WBO and he is No 30 in the Box Rec super middleweight ratings(see observations). Gallegos gave it a go but was overpowered in the end.

Hernandez vs. Garcia

Hernandez blows away substitute Garcia in three rounds. Hernandez started in his usual free swinging wide-open style throwing hooks from both hands with Garcia willing to trade. In the second Garcia was caught by a counter and went stumbling back. Hernandez jumped on him and rained punches on Garcia scoring with hooks and uppercuts. Garcia tried to walk through the storm but was caught with savage shots and pinned against the ropes soaking up punches when the bell saved him. Garcia again marched into the storm in the third but an extended series of punches had him helpless and the referee came just as Garcia slumped to the floor. Hernandez, the WBC No 1, now has 31 wins by KO/TKO. Garcia was 8-0-2 in his previous 10 fights.

Rodriguez vs. Gonzalez

This one ended as a split draw although Gonzalex looked to have done enough to just take the decision. Gonzalez made a fast start immediately putting Rodriguez under pressure and although rocked in the second he looked to have swept most of the early rounds with his higher work rate and effective body punching. Rodriguez upped his work rate over the second half of the fight to slightly close the gap but Gonzalez stayed strong and looked to have done enough to take the decision. Scores 96-94 Gonzalez, 96-94 Rodriguez and 95-95. Four of Gonzalez’s defeats have come in super flyweight title fights against Jerwin Ancajas for the IBF title, Khalid Yafai for the WBA title, Roman Gonzalez, again for the WBA title, and Jesse Rodriguez for the WBC title. Rodriguez also lost to Ancajas for the IBF title

Villareal vs. Martinez

Villareal scored a win for Monterrey as he stopped Martinez in two rounds. The 36-year-old local makes five wins in a row by KO/TKO with all five finishes coming within the first three rounds. Martinez was inactive in 2020, lost ion a first round kayo against Jezzrel Corrales in 2021 and on points against Steven Wilcox in May last year.

Pacheco vs. Heredia

Pacheco, the younger brother of Diego, gave the Pacheco family a winning start as he beat an obese Heredia.  A left hook to the body dropped Heredia in the second and he did not come out for the third. The 6’5”, 19-year-old Pacheco has won his last three fights by KO/TKO in a total of less than four minutes.

Valdez vs. Ortiz

Valdez, 22, also won in front of his home fans as he put Ortiz down and out with a left hook to the body in the third to extend his winning run to seven fights.

 

Cutral Co, Argentina : Super Light: Agustin Quintana (19-2-1) W PTS 10 Axel Isla (8-3). Super Welter: Lucas Bastida (20-3-1) W PTS 10 Diego Martinez (9-4). Super Feather: Karen Carbajal (21-1) W PTS 10 Lucrecia Manzur (8-3).

Quintana vs. Isla

Quintana wins the Argentinian title with a split decision over champion Isla. A good mix of styles between fleet-footed Quintana and the aggressive Isla made for an interesting and close fight. Quintana outboxed Isla early but Isla kept forcing the pace and eventually Quintana was having to stand and trade. Isla’s strong finish was just not enough to claw back Quintana’s early lead and Quintana won on scores of 97-93 and 96-94 against a 96-94 card for Isla. Good win for former South American champion as he rebounds from a loss in December. Isla was defending the title for the first time.

Bastida vs. Martinez

Bastida outpoints Martinez to win the vacant Argentinian title. This one almost ended in the first round. Bastida landed a left and a right that sent Martinez sliding sidewards along the ropes and as he put his glove on the canvas to steady himself he was given a count. Martinez did not look too shaken but he was down from left hook to the body dropping to his hands and knees and getting up at eight and only the bell saved him. That was all of the excitement as from there Bastida never really managed to build on the early success and southpaw Martinez lacked the punch to trouble Bastida and Bastida had to settle for a points victory on scores of 98-91, 97-92 and 96-92. Bastida, another former South American champion had lost on points to Josh Kelly in July last year.

Carbajal vs. Manzur

Carbajal just squeezes past Manzur to win the vacant South American title on a close unanimous decision. Manzur tried hard to shake the taller and classier boxer out of her stride piling forward head down just pumping up punches trying to overwhelm Carbajal with strong aggressive tactics. Carbajal settled and then began to control the action with her jab and bounce right hand counters off the head of Manzur. Carbajal controlled the action although a right from Manzur sent her flying into the ropes in the ninth she stayed cool and won on scores of 96-94 from all three judges. Carbajal won her first 19 fights before losing on points against Katie Taylor for the four lightweight title belts last October. Manzur lost in a challenge for the vacant Argentinian super feather belt in May.

 

Florence, Italy: Super Bantam: Mohammed Obbadi (24-2) W PTS 6 Maicol Velazco (10-8).

Former European Union and WBC International flyweight champion Obbadi return to action and wins every round against modest Colombian survivor Velazco. First fight in fourteen months for Obbadi. He has suffered crucial losses against Cristofer Rosales and Jade Bornea so has some rebuilding to do. Sixth loss n a row for Velasco.

 

Rosemont, IL, USA: Heavy: Andrzej Wawrzyk (34-2) W TKO 1 Kamil Bodzioch (6-3-1).

Pole Wawrzyk bludgeons Bodzioch to defeat inside a round. Bodzioch came forward jabbing and putting the 6’5” Wawrzyk on the back foot. Wawrzyk jabbed and then unleashed a burst of punches before Bodzioch again forced him to back up. Wawrzyk then connected with a right to the head that made Bodzioch stumble and two rights to the head sent Bodzioch tumbling into a corner and down. He got up but did not come forward when asked and looked unsteady and the referee stopped the fight. Wawrzyk, 35, lost on a third round stoppage against Alex Povetkin for the secondary WBA heavyweight title in May 2013, He retired in 2016 but returned to the ring last year being knocked out in two rounds by 3-4-2 Michal Boloz. Bodzioch is o-3-1 in his last 4 fights,

 

JULY 8

 

Barrie, Canada: Super Light: Josh Warner (16-0) W PTS 10 Williams Herrera (15-2,1ND). Super Light: Mark Smither (12-0) W PTS 10 Jose de Leon Jasso (12-3-1). Light: Josh O’Reilly (18-1) W PTS 8 Alexis de la Cruz (7-2-2).

Warner vs. Herrera

Warner maintains his 100 % record with a wide unanimous decision over Argentinian Herrera on scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 97-93. Warner wins the vacant IBO Americas belt and is ready for sterner tests. Herrera’s record looks good but the level of his opposition doesn’t.

Smither vs. Jasso

Local boxer Smither wins the vacant IBO Americas belt with a unanimous decision over Mexican Jasso. The Canadian champion is making steady progress. Jasso had won his last four fights.

O’Reilly vs. de la Cruz

O’Reilly gats his second win since returning to the ring as he decisions Mexican de la Cruz. Scores 78-74 twice and 79-73. O’Reilly was out of action for two years after a first round stoppage by James Tennyson in December 2020. De la Cruz drops to 5-1-1 in his last 7 outings.

 

Castro, Chile: Super Bantam: Jose Velasquez (32-8-3) DREW 10 Edixon Perez (27-9).

Velasquez holds off a strong challenge from Venezuelan Perez to retain his WBO Latino belt on a split draw. In an entertaining contest Perez attacked hard from the start and built an early lead. Velasquez began to roll from the fourth and finished strongly to make it close. The judges scored it 96-94 for Perez, 96-94 for Velasquez and 95-95. Velasquez, who lost on points against  Murodjon Akhmedov for the IBF and WBA super bantamweight titles in November 2021, was making the first defence of the Latino belt. Perez had won his last three contests.

 

Valdivia, Chile: Super Fly: Daniela Asenjo(14-3-3) W PTS 8 Natalia Alderete (4-14).

IBO champion Asenjo has a stay-sharp fight against Argentinian Alderete. Asenjo won all the way handing out severe punishment in the fourth and seventh but Alderete competed well without ever threatening Asenjo’s dominance. Scores 80-72 twice and 78-74 for Asenjo as she prepares for a defence of her IBO belt in September. Ninth consecutive defeat for Alderete.

 

Korrie Gonno, Ghana: Light: Sherrif Quaye (23-3-1) W TKO ? Bright Ayala (16-2-1).

Quaye retains the WBO African title with stoppage of Ayala. No round given but Quaye dropped Ayala with a left hook. Ayala made it to his feet but was trapped in a corner under fire when the referee stopped the fight. Quaye was defending the WBO African title for the second time. Ayala had drawn with Patrick Aryee in January.

 

Thiene, Italy: Feather: Luca Rigoldi (30-2-2) W PTS 6 Milan Savic (4-55-3).

Rigoldi gets in six rounds of work in his home town as he wins every round against Serb Savic. The former European super bantamweight champion is keeping busy. He is the official challenger for the European super bantam title so is waiting to see whom comes out the winner of champion Liam Davies fight against Jason Cunningham later this month. Poor Savic is 0-1-33 in his last. 34 fights.

 

Tokyo, Japan: Welter: Jin Sasaki (16-1-1) W TKO 11 Hiroto Hoshi (5-3-3). Minimumweight: Yuni Takada (12-8-3) W PTS 10 Tatsuro Nakashima (11-5-1).

Sasaki vs. Hoshi

Sasaki defends the WBO Asia Pacific title with stoppage of inexperienced Hoshi. Sasaki led in this one from start to finish. He outboxed Hoshi early and scored with accurate jabs hooks and uppercuts, Hoshi worked hard but was outscored and Sasaki was 40-36 up on the cards after the fourth round. Hoshi put in a big effort and took the fifth but the body work and uppercuts from Sasaki saw him back in control. Hoshi was slowly broken down and when a burst of punches sent him into the ropes in the eleventh the referee stopped the fight. Sasaki, 21, was making the second defence of the title and gets win No 19 by KO/TKO. His only loss was a stoppage against Andy Hiraoka when he came in 4lbs over the contract weight for a fight for the Japanese super lightweight title. Hoshi had never been in a ten round fight and was out of his depth here.

Takada vs. Nakashima

Takada retains the national title with a unanimous decision and gains revenge for a stoppage defeat in 2016. The taller Nakashima tried to use his longer reach to box at distance but the aggressive attacks of Takada had him under strong pressure and Takada was scoring inside with strength sapping body punches. A punch from Nakashima opened a small cut over the right eye of Takada in the fourth but Takada landed heavily inn the fifth and was in front 50-45 on two cards and 49-46 on the third. A right from Nakashima dropped Takada in the sixth and he built on that to take the seventh and eighth but Takada dominated the last two rounds and won on scores of 96-93 twice and 97-92. First defence of the title for Tanaka. Fourth loss in a row for Nakashima all in fights for the national title.

 

 

Managua, Nicaragua: Super Light: Ernesto Mercado (11-0) W PTS 10 Xolisani Ndongeni (31-3). Super Light: Santos Reyes (13-1,1ND) W RTD 3 Jorge Mendez (5-9-1).

Mercado vs. Ndongeni vs. Mercado

Mercado gets past his first real test as he outpoints former IBO champion Ndongeni. Mercado boxed well behind his jab and was quicker with his hands and sharper with his movement. He landed some strong rights with the smaller Ndongeni having to reach with his punches leaving himself open to counters. Ndongeni connected with some heavy rights to the head in the sixth that shook Mercado and it was Ndongeni’s best round of the fight. Mercado was back in control in the seventh landing jabs at distance and straight rights with Ndongeni swinging wildly. There was a break in the ninth after Mercado landed a punch to the back of Ndongeni’s head and then Mercado boxed his way to the final bell stabbing Ndongeni with jabs and dropping rights over the top of Ndongeni’s guard. Mercado won 99-91 on all three cards. Good learning fight for the Californian as his previous ten wins had taken him less than 24 rounds. South African Ndongeni had lost a decision against Devin Haney and then suffered a shock kayo defeat against Prince Dlomo in  2020 but had rebounded with five wins.

Reyes vs. Mendez

Reyes beats Mendez in three rounds. Reyes was much the bigger and stronger man and handed out plenty of punishment to Mendez who just continued to walk into punches. Mendez made little use of his right and at the end of the third round he retired due to an injury. Reyes was floored and outpointed by Adam Aziz in London in February. Costa Rican Mendez has won only one of his last eight fights.

 

Wroclaw, Poland: Middle: Karol Welter (14-1) W PTS 10 Kristaps Bulmaistars (11-1). Super Welter: Przemyslaw Runowski (20-2-1) DREW 8 Vladyslav Gela (13-5-1).

Welter vs. Bulmaistars

Welter outboxes Latvian Bulmaistars. No trouble here for the Polish hope. He won all ten rounds with Bulmaistars never posing a threat. If there was a down side it is that despite his superiority Welter never looked like stopping Bulmaistars. Sixth victory in a row for the Polish champion.

Runowski vs. Gela

A very patchy  performance from Runowski in his first fight for sixteen months as he is held to a majority draw by Ukrainian Gela. Perhaps due to the long period of inactivity Runowski was sluggish over the opening rounds allowing Gela to edge in front. Runowski then picked up the pace and boxed well but did not kick on from there letting Gela back into the fight. Gela found plenty of gaps in Runowski’s defence and the local fighter needed a strong last round to get the draw. Two judges had it 76-76 but somehow the third judge had it 80-72 for Runowski!. Runowski has lost tough fights against Josh Kelly and Michael McKinson but had beaten Sammy Vargas in Toronto in his last fight in March 2022. Gela had been 0-4 in fights in Poland.

 

Portsmouth, England: Super Light: Lucas Ballingall (17-2) W TKO 7 Billy Pickles (13-1).

Ballingall stops Pickles in the seventh. Pickles quickly took the fight to Ballingall over the first two rounds pouring out punches and constantly switching guards with local fighter Ballingall on the back foot scoring with some wicked left hooks to the body and right uppercuts. The fight changed in the third. Suddenly Pickles was looking  arm weary and Ballingall was driving him around the ring landing some solid body punches. Pickles fought hard in the fourth and fifth but Ballingall was the one doing most of the scoring. Ballingall dominated the sixth and with Pickles almost exhausted the referee made a good stoppage in the seventh. Ballingall successfully defends his English title with his fifth win by KO/TKO. Pickles lacked the punch to back up his aggression.

 

Wakefield, England: Super Bantam: Zahid Hussain (18-2) W PTS 10 Andre Grant (10-2).

Hussain scores a unanimous decision over Grant in defence of his English title with Hussain winning on scores of 98-92, 98-93 and 97-94. Second victory for Hussian since being stopped in two rounds by Hopey Price in 2021. Grant was in his first ten round fight and performed well.

 

Fight of the week (Significance): Jaron Ennis keeps himself in the mix for a fight against the winner of Spence vs. Crawford with his stoppage of Roiman Villa

Fight of the week: No real wars with most fights going as expected

Fighter of the week: Jaron Ellis  with honourable mention to Luis Nery

Punch of the week: Right from Euri Cedeno that dropped William Townsel in the first round was a beauty

Upset of the week: Marquis Taylor was not expected to beat Yoelvis Garcia

Prospect watch: No new names

 

Observations

Rosette: No outstanding candidates

Red Card: No real sinners this week.