The Past Week in Action 11 August 2019

The Past Week in Action 11 August 2019
Highlights:
-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr returns with a quick win
-Vergil Ortiz continues his winning ways as he dismantles Antonio Orozco in six rounds
-Jason Sosa continues to rebuild as he stops Haskell Rhodes
-Joshua Franco and Oscar Negrete fight to a draw in the third bout of their series
-Argentinian puncher Marcelino Lopez puts away Daniel Echevarria in five rounds
-Middleweight banger Edgar Berlanga makes it twelve first round wins in a row

August 8

Tokyo, Japan: Super Bantam: Hiroaki Teshigawara (20-2-2) W TKO 12 Shohei Omori (20-3). Teshigawara retains the OPBF title with late stoppage of Omori. The challenger was competitive in the first round but Teshigawara was quicker and was scoring well with hooks from both hands and after four rounds was 40-36 up on two cards and 39-37 on the other. Omori was cut over the right eye in the fifth and Teshigawara continued to outscore him in the sixth. Omori connected well with jabs and body punches in the seventh but Teshigawara had a good eighth to stay in front 79-73 on two cards and 78-74 on the third. Omori stormed back scoring well with uppercuts and body punches over the ninth and tenth but Teshigawara was stronger at the finish and by the last was able to drive Omari to the ropes and beat on him until the referee stopped the fight. This victory in his second title defence gives “Golden Yasha” Teshigawara eight wins in a row, seven by KO/TKO. He is No 8(7) with the IBF. Former WBO bantam challenger Omori was No 15 with the WBC but this loss will knock him back as he suffers his third inside the distance loss.

August 9

Melbourne, Australia: Light Heavy: Blake Caparello (30-3-1) W TKO 8 Reece Papuni (13-3). Local southpaw Caparello makes it four wins on the trot as he stops New Zealander Papuni in eight rounds in a defence of the WBA Oceania belt. The former 32-year-old WBO light heavy title challenger is rated WBC 8/WBO 10/WBA 11 and his title hopes has to rely on getting selected as an opponent in a voluntary defence by one of the champions. Papuni was having his first fight in almost three years and suffers his third defeat by KO/TKO.

Accra, Ghana: Middle: Obodai Sai (35-3-1) DRE W 12 Mardochee Kuvesa Katembo (13-2). Feather: Felix Williams (28-1) W RTD 1 Waidi Usman (15-4). Super Bantam: Theo Tetteh (12-1) W PTS 12 Ray Commey (19-9) Super Light: Kpakpo Allotey (15-1) W KO 2 Deo Samwel (12-9-7,1ND).
Sai vs. Katembo
This one was declared a draw but ignore that. Katembo won this fight and won it easily. I have watched it twice and struggled to give Sai any round if I was feeling really generous I might have given him two at the most but even that was stretching things. Katembo ouboxed Sai from bell to bell. He was giving away lots of height and reach to the local fighter but since Sai was not using his jab that was never a handicap. Sai persisted in trundling forward behind a high guard and not throwing any punches on the way in. Katembo was constantly moving around the static Sai scoring both left and right jabs as he regularly switched stances. Apart from threading a pile of jabs though the guard of the advancing Sai he was also peppering Sai with other straight punches from both hands. For round after round Sai just walked into Katembo’s punches. They were not hard and Sai blocked many of them but Katembo landed more than Sai by quite a big margin in every round as Sai never managed to catch up with the fleet Katembo. In the last Katembo was dancing and still outboxing Sai and at the bell there was glee in Katembo’s corner and gloom in Sai’s-until the scores were read out. Sai did not celebrate like a winner and he was very fortunate to get a draw he did not deserve and retain his WBO African title. DRC fighter Katembo had won 5 of his last 6 fights. He is no world beater but Sai made him look like one.
Williams vs. Usman
This one was a farce as Williams had huge edges in height and reach and floored late substitute Usman three times with Usman retiring at the end of the opening round. The tall Ghanaian southpaw was landing with left hooks to the body with poor Usman going backwards at a fast lick hiding behind a high guard and hardly throwing a punch. Body blows saw Usman drop to the floor twice but he seemed to be looking for an excuse to go down. On the third knockdown even as the referee was kneeling in front of him giving Usman the count the Nigerian still held his gloves high in front of his face-did he think the referee was going to hit him?. After the third count Usman’s corner threw in the towel but the referee threw it out and then the bell went and Usman retired in his corner. Williams makes it 21 wins by KO/TKO and wins the vacant IBO International title. Usman was pathetic on this night but he was a late substitute and is a former ABU champion and has a decent record.
Tetteh vs. Commey
Tetteh retains the National title with wide unanimous verdict over more experienced Commey. No real problems for Tetteh apart from the second round. He had a much longer reach than the smaller Commey and outboxed him. Commey kept trying to take the fight to Tetteh but just never found a way of getting past Tetteh’s jab often enough to be in the fight. In the second Commey launches a fierce attack and had Tetteh pinned to the ropes for much of the round. He was bombarding Tetteh with punches and with little coming back from Tetteh the referee looked close to stepping in. Then Commey paid for his all-out attack as he left himself wide open and a right from Tetteh put him down. He made it to his feet and survived the round but his chance to win was gone. Scores 120-107, 120-108 and 119-109 for Tetteh. He has eleven wins in a row but against very modest opposition. Commey, 32, has won only one of his last six fights
Allotey vs. Samwell
Allotey knocks out Tanzanian Samwell in the second round. Little Samwell was coming forward aggressively in the first throwing lots of punches but Allotey stayed cool and looked dangerous with counters. In the second Samwell trapped Allotey in a corner but when he piled forward Allotey turned out of the corner and landed a series of head punches ending with right to the head that sent Samwell down on his side. He managed to climb up but had not quite made it all the way as the referee reached ten. Twelfth win by KO/TKO for former Ghanaian champion Allotey. His loss was a stoppage against unbeaten Robert Quaye in October which cost him his National title. First inside the distance loss for Samwell.

Hinckley. MN, USA: DeLorien Caraway (13-2) W PTS 10 Rondale Hubbert (13-9-2). Cruiser: Al Sands (20-4-1) DREW 8 DeShon Webster (12-2-1). Heavy: Mladen Miljas (12-0) W TKO 1 Aaron Chavers (8-9-1). Feather: Ramiro Hernandez W KO 1 Antwan Robertson (10-18-1).
Caraway vs. Hubbert
Caraway wins the Minnesota State title with unanimous decision over Hubbert. Their respective styles did not make for a good fight with too much feinting and too little fighting as they each tried to fool the other into making a mistake. Although smaller Caraway was much quicker and set a higher work rate and Hubbert never really got into the fight so there were very few highlights. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Caraway. He has won 6 of his last 7 fights. Fourth bout this year for Hubbert who is 1-2-1 in those matches.
Sands vs. Webster
Sands and Webster draw in a very low key affair. With his experience and physical edges Sands should have been able to box his way to victory but at times he was being out jabbed by the smaller man. There were plenty of exchanges but of the slow and ponderous kind with neither fight really taking control and neither able to rock the other and the draw was a fair result. Scores 76-76 twice and 77-75 for Sands. Haitian-born Sands was having his first outing for ten months after losing consecutive fights to Yury Kashinsky in Russia and Krzys Wlodarczyk. Webster has mostly spent his time in boxing backwoods such as Iowa, South Dakota and Kansas. He was3-2 in his previous 5 fights with the losses to unbeaten Ali Akhmedov and Steven Nelson.
Miljas vs. Chavers
A waste of time is the only way to describe this one. Miljas landed a couple of body punches and Chavers sped back across the ring to the ropes and quickly fell down as Miljas landed a couple more punches. He made it to his feet reluctantly and just tried to cover up. Miljas connected with a clubbing punch and Chaves slid along the ropes from one corner to another and was bent double by two more body punches and the referee stopped the slaughter. The 6’6” former undefeated Canadian champion Miljas has twelve wins by KO/TKO. A former law student he never defended the Canadian title which is unfortunate as with Simon Kean, Adam Braidwood and former victim Dillon Carman around there might have been some good fights for him but instead he is fighting some very poor opposition. Now six losses on the trot and five of those by KO/TKO for Chavers.
Hernandez vs. Robertson
Hernandez brushes aside poor little Robertson inside a round. After connecting with some left jabs Hernandez scored with a couple of rights to the body. He then forced Robertson to the ropes and landed two rights to the ribs and Robertson went down on one knee in some pain and indicated he was not getting up. Cleveland-based Hernandez goes to ten wins by KO/TKO but this was a mismatch. Robertson now has nine losses by KO/TKO.

Lincoln, RI, USA: Super Light: Jamaine Ortiz (12-0) W PTS 8 Romain Couture (8-1-1). Heavy: Steve Vukosa (12-1) W PTS 8 Joe Cusumano (18-3).
Ortiz vs. Couture
Ortiz outclasses French visitor Couture. The local prospect had too much speed and skill for a determined but limited Couture. A sparkling performance from the WBC Youth champion as he outboxed and outworked Couture in every round. Scores 80-72 for Ortiz on all three cards. The 23-year-old from Worcester was an elite level amateur. Winning a bronze medal at the US Championships earned him a place at the US Olympic Trials for Rio where he finally lost out to Gary Antuanne Russell. Couture was 8-0-1 in his last 9 fights and this was his first bout outside of France.
Vukosa vs. Cusumano
Vukosa gets majority decision over Cusumano. It was a close fight all the way. Cusumano made the better opening moves and looked to have taken the first two rounds but that lead was wiped out when a right from Vukosa floored Cusumano in the third. Cusumano fought his way back in to the contest over the middle rounds but was in trouble in the seventh and Vukosa looked to have taken the last. Scores 76-75 twice for Vukosa and 77-74 for Cusumano so it was the knockdown that gave Vukosa the verdict and the vacant WBC USNBC belt. Now 42 Vukosa “The Gentle Giant” won the National Golden Gloves super heavyweight title way back in 2000 and turned pro in 2001. He won eight fights before being inactive from 2002 until 2014. After losing to Donovan Dennis in 2015 he did not fight again until July this year. Cusumano, 31, had won 17 of his last 18 fights and came close here.

August 9

Rogoznica, Croatia: Heavy: Mark De Mori (37-2-2) W KO 1 Laszlo Penzes (10-6).Light Heavy: Hrvoje Sep (8-0) W TKO 1 Sinisa Kondic (10-13).
De Mori vs. Penzes
Australian-born Croat De Mori wipes out Hungarian oldie Penzes inside a round. As Penzes tried to take the fight to De Mori he was met with a combination of head punches and went down on his back and was counted out. The 37-year-old “Dominator” gets his seventh inside the distance win in a row since being wiped out inside a round by David Haye in 2016. His recent opposition would be flattered to be described as poor. Penzes, 40, has six losses by KO/TKO. He was issued a licence by the Croatian Federation in June although there is still an indefinite suspension by the Ontario Commission showing against him.
Sep vs. Kondic
Sep gets his sixth win by KO/TKO as he stops poor Kondic in the opening round. The 33-year-old was a top level amateur but has left it far too late to turn pro. He competed at the 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 World Championships and the 2016 Olympics. Additionally he was a European bronze medal winner and had plenty of success fighting for the Paris United and Astana Arlans teams in the WSB. Kondic has suffered twelve losses by KO/TKO including four in his last four fights.

Olavinlinna, Finland; Light: Edis Tatli (31-3) W Berman Sanchez (29-8-3). Tatli eases his way back with points win over Sanchez. After a couple of slow rounds Tatli picked up the pace in the third but there was still not a lot of activity. Tatli was getting some work but Sanchez was mainly looking to survive and both fighters were tending to throw single shots. Tatli rocked Sanchez in the fifth and had a good seventh. He had done enough to win the earlier rounds but it was a flat performance from Tatli and a passive one from Sanchez. Scores 80-73 twice and 79-73 for Tatli. Sanchez came in 2 kg over the contract weight and although he tried he could not make the weight so there was a mutual agreement to lift the target weight slightly. Not an impressive performance in Tatli’s first fight since losing in five rounds against Teo Lopez in April but he will get sharper and having lost and won in title fights against current European champion Francesco Patera a third fight might be the aim. Nicaraguan Sanchez has brave management which has put him in with both Miguel Berchelt and Jorge Linares.

San Juan de los Lagos, Mexico: Super Middle; Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (51-3-1) W KO 1 Evert Bravo (25-11-1).
Chavez vs. Bravo
Chavez returns with a win. Bravo was brave but foolish. The Colombian chose to stand and trade punches with Chavez. He had Chavez on the back foot for a short while but then hooks and uppercuts from Chavez forced Bravo to the ropes. They traded hooks until Chavez landed a brutal left hook to the ribs. For a split second there was no reaction from Bravo but then the pain kicked in and he turned away and dropped to his knees and was counted out after just 82 seconds. Chavez was given a celebratory kiss from Chavez Snr who was working for Box Azteca at the show. Chavez, 33, weighed 175 ½ for this fight 11lbs more than in his last fight in May 2017 when he was halted by Saul Alvarez. There was no chance tonight to see how the layoff had affected him but there will be tougher tests to come. Tenth loss inside the distance for Bravo, who gets well beaten whenever he faces quality opposition,

Philadelphia, PA, USA: Super Feather: Jason Sosa (23-3-4) W TKO 7 Haskell Rhodes (27-4-1). Middle: Edgar Berlanga (12-0) W TKO 1 Gregory Trenel (11-5-2). Feather: Adan Gonzales (5-2-2) W PTS 4 Robeisy Ramirez (0-1).
Sosa vs. Rhodes
Sosa hunts and hounds Rhodes to defeat. Sosa applied constant pressure focusing on the body. Rhodes was forced to try to match Sosa’s work rate and power but by the end of the fourth he was starting to weaken. A left hook put Rhodes down in the fifth and he went down heavily but somehow made it to his feet. Sosa landed a series of punches and Rhodes went down again. He was in a bad way when he arose but it was too close to the bell for Sosa to end the fight. Sosa attacked strongly again in the sixth but a clash of heads opened a cut over his left eye. A left uppercut dumped Rhodes on the canvas in the seventh which should have been the end but Rhodes got up and Sosa was allowed to pound on him some more until Rhodes trainer climbed onto the apron to call for the fight to be stopped. After consecutive losses to Vasyl Lomachenko and Yuriorkis Gamboa Sosa has a rebuilding job to do and this is his third win along that path. Rhodes had won 4 of his last 5 fights but when he has tried to move up he has lost to Sergey Lipinets, Edner Cherry and Omar Douglas. This is the first time he has failed to go the distance.
Berlanga vs. Trenel
Berlanga has yet to hear the bell for the second round and he makes it twelve first round wins with stoppage of Frenchman Trenel. Berlanga put Trenel over early with a left to the head and after the French fighter beat the count Berlanga bombarded him with punches and the referee had seen enough and halted the fight with 36 seconds remaining in the round. “The Chosen One” Berlanga, 22, a fighter of Puerto Rican antecedents who was brought up in Brooklyn, made a habit of having to settle for silver medals in the amateurs. He turned pro at 18 after losing out at the US Olympic Trials for a place in Rio. He needs better opposition before we can judge how far he can go. He also needs seven more first round wins in a row to equal the record of 19 first round wins in a row held by Tyrone Brunson. First inside the distance defeat for Trenel who was 9-1-2 in his previous 12 fights.
Gonzales vs. Ramirez
Oh dear! This was not supposed to happen as Gonzalez ruins the first appearance as a pro of 25-year-old Cuban Ramirez. The Cuban had won gold medals at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics beating both Michael Conlan and Shakur Stevens. Gonzales threw the script away from the outset as he landed a left to the head in the first which saw Ramirez topple back and put his gloves on the floor to stop going down and was given a count. Ramirez never seemed to recover and was well beaten. Scores 40-35 and 39-36 for Gonzalez and 38-37 for Ramirez.
The 22-year-old Gonzales just really a moderate prelim fighter looked a safe ask for Ramirez now the Cuban has some questions to answer.

Grand Prairie, TX, USA: Welter: Vergil Ortiz (14-0) W TKO 6 Antonio Orozco (28-2). Bantam: Joshua Franco (15-1-2) DRE W 10 Oscar Negrete (18-3-1). Light: Hector Tanajara (18-0) W PTS 10 Ezequiel Aviles (16-4-3). Super Light: Marcelino Lopez (36-2-1) W KO 5 Daniel Echeverria (21-9).
Ortiz vs. Orozco
In front of his home town fans Ortiz marches on as he stops Orozco although for three rounds Orozco attacked hard and was a good test. Ortiz made a strong start in the first marching forward behind his jab and landing with a couple of left hooks to the body. He had Orozco under fire on the ropes and as Orozco dropped to his haunches it could have led to a count as Orozco was sitting on the bottom rope. Orozco then took the fight to Ortiz and they traded body punches to the bell. In the second Ortiz wanted to box and Orozco wanted to brawl and they both had some success. Ortiz used his jab and lots of movement to frustrate Orozco’s swarming attacks in the third and was hooking well to the body. Late in the round Orozco managed to pin Ortiz on the ropes and connected with body punches. Ortiz really found the range in the fourth as he upped his pace and began to land with heavy rights and Orozco was finding it difficult to get inside. The fifth was a slower round with Ortiz still sticking with the jab and some left hooks to the body and a lot of the fire seemed to have gone out of Orozco. Ortiz went to work in the sixth. He connected with two fierce left hooks to the body and Orozco went down on one knee. Orozco only just beat the count and then Ortiz bombarded him with lefts and rights to the head until a wicked right to the head forced Orozco to take a knee. Again Orozco was late getting up and when the action resumed another right had him dipping at the knees. He did not go down but another series from Ortiz ending with a right to the head floored Orozco and the referee waived off the fight. The 21-year-old Texan is an outstanding prospect and the way he took Orozco apart in the sixth was impressive. He has wins over experienced fighters in Jorge Salgado, who once stopped Jorge Linares inside a round, Roberto Ortiz and Mauricio Herrera and this is the first time he had had to go past the third round for a victory. Orozco lived up to his “Relentless” nickname over those first three rounds but was then just overpowered. His only other loss was on points against Jose Carlos Ramirez in a challenge for the WBC title.
Franco vs. Negrete
This is one of those pairings where they could fight each other ten times and they would all be close fights. In their two previous meeting Franco Had won the first on a split decision and they then fought to a split draw. There was never much between them here. All of the rounds were close and neither fighter was really able to dominate and the draw looked the right outcome. It was the swarming attacks of Negron against the lower punch rate but more accuracy from Franco as they traded punches from bell to bell. Scores 96-94 Franco, 96-94 Negrete and 95-95. Texan Franco was making the second defence of his NABF title and the first of his WBA International title so he still has two belts. Colombian Negrete lost on points to Rey Vargas for the WBC title in December 2017 and is now 1-1-2 in his four fights since then
Tanajara vs. Aviles
Stylish boxing from San Antonio’s Tanajara sees him outbox Aviles and retain the WBC USNBC belt. In the early rounds Aviles tried to pressure and hustle Tanajara out of his stride but the youngster stuck to his boxing using a powerful jab and clever movement to frustrate Aviles. Over the middle rounds as Aviles continued to come forward Tanajara was landing heavy counters. He is not a big puncher but had Aviles hurt a couple of times as Aviles left himself open in his desperation to land a big punch to swing the fight his way. Aviles never found that punch and Tanajara cruised to victory. Scores 100-90 for Tanajara on all three cards. The 22-year-old Tanajara already has impressive wins over 19-1-1 Roger Gutierrez and 36-2 Roberto Manzanarez so is worth following. After putting together a 14-bout unbeaten streak Aviles has now suffered three consecutive defeats.
Lopez vs. Echeverria
Seasoned Argentinian puncher Lopez makes it four inside the distance wins in his last four fights as he knocks out Mexican Echeverria. For a couple of rounds southpaw Echeverria by far the taller man boxed well on the outside against the dangerous Lopez. The Argentinian finally found openings in the fourth and put Echeverria down twice and on each occasion he also knocked Echevarria’s mouthguard out. A thumping straight right put Echeverria down in the fifth and this time he was counted out. Lopez, 33, a former Argentinian and South American champion who went 29-0-1 in his first 30 fights, has now won 7 of his last 8 contests with all seven wins coming by KO/TKO and the loss being a split decision against Michael Perez. Echeverria also made an impressive start to his career by winning his first 18 fights before tasting defeat against Jorge Paez Jr. He then lost his next seven fights but coming into this bout had scored two wins.

Accra, Ghana: Heavy: Ebenezer Tetteh (20-0) W RTD 6 Morris Okolla (11-4). Tetteh gets a win but is very far from impressive. Against an aging and portly Okolla Tetteh did not look good. Okolla proved to be a better fighter than he looked and at times out jabbed the taller Tetteh and although Tetteh downloaded some big rights in every round Okolla never really seemed to be really shaken in the fight. It was a slow paced bout with Tetteh clearly the harder puncher but lacking footwork and throwing one punch at a time. He slowly broke Okolla down and the Kenyan failed to come out for the seventh round due to bruising around his eyes and a nose injury. The 31-year-old Tetteh gets his seventeenth win by KO/TKO but he will have to improve a very great deal if he is going to give Daniel Dubois any kind of fight. Okolla, 37 had scored a low level win in December but that was his first fight in almost two years. This was a curious fight. Tetteh was to have fought Okolla on this night on the undercard of a fight between Patrick Allotey and Eric Kapai Mukadi for the WBO African super welter title at Accra Sports Stadium. However it was announced on the morning of the 10th that the show was cancelled due to “some unfortunate health issues with regard to the main bout on the card”. However the Tetteh fight did take place but in a gymnasium or small hall and not at the Stadium and I can only assume it went ahead as it was being billed as a Commonwealth title eliminator with Tetteh already announced as fighting Daniel Dubois on 27 September for the vacant title. As for the cancellation of the Allotey fight it is not impossible with Allotey just having been announced as the next challenger for Jamie Munguia that it was too risky to take this fight.

Fight of the week (Significance): I guess the return of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr might count but it was a very low key week.
Fight of the week (Entertainment): Even if it was the third time they had met Joshua Franco vs. Oscar Negrete provided plenty of action
Fighter of the week: Vergil Ortiz was impressive in halting Antonio Orozco
Punch of the week: The left hook from Chavez that ended his fight with Evert Bravo was a rib-bender
Upset of the week: Only a four round fight but there is no way Adan Gonzales was supposed to beat Cuban Robeisy Ramirez
Prospect watch: lightweight Hector Tanajara 18-0 has class