The Past Week in Action 3 August 2020

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:

-Angelo Leo collects the vacant WBO super bantamweight title as he outpoints late substitute Tramaine Williams

-Ted Cheeseman outpoints Sam Eggington for the IBF International title in a candidate for Fight of the Year

-Lyndon Arthur remains unbeaten and retains the Commonwealth title with decision against Don Spelman

-Former WBC super flyweight champion Srisaket outpoints former IBF flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng in an all-Thai clash

-James Tennyson wins the vacant British lightweight title with stoppage of Gavin Gwynne

 

World Title Shows:

 

August 1

 

Uncasville, CT, USA: Super Bantam: Angelo Leo (20-0) W PTS 12 Tramaine Williams (19-1). Super Bantam: Raeese Aleem (17-0) W TKO 10 Marcus Bates (11-2-1). Light Heavy: Joseph George (11-0) W KO 9 Marcos Escudero (10-2).

Leo vs. Williams

Leo wins the vacant WBO title with wide unanimous victory over Williams who makes a promising start and then falls away badly

Round 1

Williams was quickest off the mark. He used speedy southpaw jabs and straight lefts to score and used good upper body movement to get away from Leo’s punches.

Score: 10-9 Williams

Round 2

It was more of the same in the second. Williams was getting his punches off first and was on target with straight lefts then tying Leo up on the inside.

Score: 10-9 Williams                                  Williams 20-18

Round 3

This round was closer but it was Leo who was firing the quicker and more accurate jabs and connecting with rights to the body. Williams was not throwing many punches and holding inside.

Score: 10-9 Leo                                          Williams 29-28

Round 4

Clear round for Leo. He was outworking Williams who was waiting too long to counter effectively. Leo had success with lead rights and worked to the body inside.

Score: 10-9 Leo                                          Tied 38-38

Official Scores: Judge Don Trella 38-38, Judge Don Ackerman 38-38, Judge Glenn Feldman 38-38

Round 5

This was a poor round during which neither fighter really did much effective work but Leo’s lead rights and some body punches inside just gave him a slight edge.

Score: 10-9 Leo                                          Leo 48-47

Round 6

Williams handed this round to Leo. He chose to fight inside but again held more than punched and Leo was able to pile on the hooks to the body. Leo went low and the action was stopped whilst Williams got some recovery time and Leo continued to outland Williams in close.

Score: 10-9 Leo                                          Leo 58-56

Round 7

Williams did well when he jabbed and moved at the start of this round but then could not keep Leo out. The last two minutes of the round saw them brawling inside where Leo was landing bunches of punches and Williams doing very little work.

Score: 10-9 Leo                                          Leo 68-65

Round 8

Another round where instead of using his footwork and hand speed to score at distance Williams stood and mauled with Leo. Leo was pumping out bursts of punches with Williams throwing one at a time

Score: 10-9 Leo                                          Leo 78-74

Official Scores: Judge Trella 78-74 Leo, Judge Ackerman 77-75 Leo, Judge Feldman 78-74 Leo

Round 9

Williams was not using his right jab at all now and I wondered whether he had injured the hand but there was no comment on that. Leo was able to continue forcing the fight inside and pounding Williams to the body with Williams unable to find any space or leverage to counter.

Score: Score 10-9 Leo                                Leo 88-83

Round 10

Leo spent the tenth round hunting Williams down. Williams could not keep him out and again his jab was nowhere in sight. Leo was raking Williams with body punches with nothing much coming back. Leo was given a recovery break when Williams landed low.

Score: 10-9                                                 Leo 98-92

Round 11

Another three minutes of pressure from Leo. Williams was only throwing occasional lefts and not making any attempt to punch inside allowing Leo to totally dominate the action.

Score: 10-9 Leo                                          Leo 108-101

Round 12

No change to the pattern of the fight Leo was again marching forward throwing punches with Williams on the retreat just looking to stay out of trouble and still not using his right hand even when commonsense screamed out it was the logical punch.

Score: 10-9 Leo                                          Leo 118-110

Official Scores: Judge Trella 118-110 Leo, Judge Ackerman 117-111 Leo, Judge Feldman 118-110 Leo

The new champion from Albuquerque had scored useful wins over Mark John Yap and Cesar Juarez but other than those wins he is largely untested. Leo was to have faced Steve Fulton but Fulton tested positive for COVID-19 and was replaced by Williams. Leo adjusted to having to face a southpaw at such short notice. The super bantam division is not strong at this moment and if Naoya Inoue were to move up he could easily become a four-division champion. Williams was never able to keep Leo out or match his work rate and his failure to use his right over the late rounds was puzzling as there was no mention of an injury. He was to have fought Raeese Aleem on the card but was moved up to the main event after Fulton’s positive test for the virus.

Aleem vs. Bates

Aleem adjusts to a late change of opponent and registers his second win over Bates. Having fought each other before neither fighter needed much study time with Aleem dominating the centre of the ring and Bates circling and darting in with quick punches. They both landed good left hooks in the first and Aleem had the better of the exchanges in the second. Aleem began to find the range with rights to the head in the third and had Bates on the back foot as he doubled up his jabs in the fourth. Bates tried to get on the front foot to pressure Aleem in the fifth but by the end of the round Aleem was back in control. He outlanded Bates in the sixth and seventh and hurt him with a body punch in the eighth In the ninth Bates began to show signs of trouble with his right wrist and he took heavy punishment in the round with Aleem then in front 90-81 on all three cards. A hard left hook from Aleem had Bates turning away from the exchanges in the tenth and the referee stopped the fight. The 30-year-old Aleem has had some periods of inactivity but has now collected six KO/TKO victories on the bounce including a stoppage of useful Adam Lopez. Bates lost a wide points decision to Aleem back in 2018. Somehow, even though he had never been in a fight scheduled for eight round or contested a title the WBA had him No 8 in their ratings and this was labelled as an eliminator

George vs. Escudero

George gets his second win over Escudero as he comes from behind to score a dramatic kayo in the ninth round. George made a good start connecting with a lunging left hook in the first but Argentinian Escudero finished the round strongly with body punches and outworked George in the second.  Both did some good work in the third and fourth with Escudero working strongly to the body and he was throwing more and landing more in the fifth. Escudero continued to force the fight in the sixth and seventh and had built a solid lead. George put his punches together well at the start of the eighth but again more and harder punches were coming from Escudero. Before the start of the ninth two judges had Escudero ahead 79-73 and 77-75 and the third looked out with his score of 79-73 for George. It all became academic in the ninth when a devastating left uppercut put the advancing Escudero down and out. George had won a hotly disputed decision when they fought in November but there was no question over the impact of that left uppercut giving George his seventh win by KO/TKO. Big disappointment for Escudero who looked on the way to revenging his loss in November.

 

30 July

 

Minsk, Belarus: Light: Georgi Chelokhsaev (19-1-1) W PTS 10 Aik Shakhnazaryan (23-4). Middle: Andrey Sirotkin (18-1) W TKO 4 Artem Karpets (21-15). Light: Vladimir Myshev (10-0) W RTD 7Oscar Amador (10-26).

Chelokhsaev vs. Shakhnazaryan

Chelokhsaev gets a split decision over Shakhnazaryan but a very questionable one. Shakhnazaryan overcame Cheloksaev’s edges in height and reach to chug forward getting inside and bombarding Chelokhsaev with punches to head and body. Chelokhsaev countered with jabs and straight rights but just could not stem the attacks of Shakhnazaryan and spent most of the fight on the back foot and against the ropes with the bobbing and weaving Shakhnazaryan presenting a difficult target. Chelokhsaev managed to put Shakhnazaryan under some pressure over the last two rounds as Shakhnazaryan tired and his work rate dropped which may have influenced the judges but Shakhnazaryan had already done enough to look a clear winner. Scores 97-94 and 96-95 for Chelokhsaev and 96-95 for Shakhnazaryan. The 26-year-old Chelokhsaev, the Russian champion, extends his winning streak to 14 contests. He was inactive from November 2018 to November 2019 and this is his third win since returning to action. Armenian-born Russian Shakhnazaryan, 27, suffered consecutive losses in 2015 to Abner Lopez and to Eduard Troyanovsky in a fight for the vacant IBO title. He put together a good sequence scoring victories over DeMarcus Corley and 21-2 Fedor Papazov but then suffered an injury defeat against novice Elnur Samedov in his last fight in April 2019. He was rated No 10 in the EBU non European Union ratings.

Sirotkin vs. Karpets

Sirotkin gets count out win over Karpets but the finishing punch looked low. Sirotkin made a positive start shooting out jabs and trying some right crosses. In the second Karpets began to use his longer reach and was able to keep Sirotkin out. Sirotkin changed guards throughout the third and connected with some rights to the head of Karpets. Sirotkin went back to orthodox in the fourth forcing Karpets around the ring before trapping him on the ropes and connecting with a right to the body then a left hook to the body which looked low and dropped Karpets to the floor in agony. He tried to rise but never made it. Sirotkin, a 35-year-old southpaw, is a former police lieutenant who came to boxing after being a World and European champion in kick boxing. His loss was on a stoppage against John Ryder in 2018 but he recovered from that with a win over useful Apti Ustarkhanov in February this year. He is No 11 with the EBU. Poor Ukrainian-born Pole Karpets, 36, is 0-14 in his last 14 fights.

Myshev vs. Amador

Myshev moves to ten wins as Amador does not come out for the seventh round. The young southpaw from Moscow invested heavily in a body attack over the first three rounds with Amador countering but lacking the punch to halt Myshev’s from forcing him to the ropes where he could work inside. Myshev floored Amador with a straight left in the fifth but Amador was up at five and then fought back hard to force Myshev onto the back foot and Myshev seemed to run out of ideas. In the end it was a swelling around both eyes that forced Amador’s corner to withdraw their man at the end of the sixth round. Sixth win by KO/TKO for the 22-year-old Myshev. In the amateur he was champion of Moscow four times. A graduate of the Russian State University he is a member of The Money Team Russia a Floyd Mayweather Jr project. When still an amateur he competed in the Russian reality show “Fight in the Big City “where he lost in the final to Georgi Chelokhsaev. Spanish-based Nicaraguan Amador drops to eighteen losses in a row.

 

31 July

 

London, England: Light Heavy: Lyndon Arthur (17-0) W PTS 12 Dec Spelman (16-4). Middle: Caolmhin Agyarko (7-0) W TKO 9 Jez Smith (11-2-1). Super Feather: Nick Ball (13-0) W PTS 8 Jerome Campbell (6-1).

Arthur vs. Spelman

Good, solid show from Arthur as he shrugs off a hand injury suffered early in the fight and outpoints Spelman to retain the Commonwealth title. Spelman knew that to have a chance he would have to pressure Arthur in every round but the champion put on a classic exhibition of boxing on the back foot. Spelman’s fierce attacks gave him the edge in the first. Arthur then began to use his height and longer reach to outbox Spelman. He was connecting with sharp right uppercuts as Spelman came forward and the challengers face was looking bruised and busted. Spelman appeared to rock Arthur with a right in the third but he was taking punishment. Arthur’s work rate dropped over the middle rounds and he wasted energy with some showboating but then took control again. He speared Spelman with jabs and again connected with some hurtful uppercuts. Even when Spelman was able to force Arthur to the ropes Arthur was raking Spelman with left hooks and fierce body punches. Despite the punishment Spelman showed real grit to keep taking the fight to Arthur but the champion always looked composed and Spelman had no real answer to the superior sped and Arthur’s jab. Scores 119-109, 116-112 and 116-113 for Arthur with the first score looking harsh on Spelman. The 6’2” 29-year-old from Manchester was defending the Commonwealth title for the first time. He is trained by former British and European champion and WBO title challenger Pat Barrett. There is talk of a fight with Anthony Yarde but nothing signed yet. Former English champion “Kid Nytro” Spelman fought hard but came up short.

Agyarko vs. Smith

Confident performance by promising Agyarko as he breaks down a tough Smith and scores three knockdown on his way to victory. Agyarko tried to overwhelm Smith with a storming first round as he drove Smith around landing with bursts of left hooks. Smith settled into the fight in the second using his longer reach to create some space but he was under heavy pressure again in the third from a whole stream of left hooks. Agyarko maintained the pressure in the fourth but Smith was responding with heavy rights to the head. The pace slowed in the fifth but in the sixth Smith was being forced to spend more time pinned against the ropes as Agyarko bombarded him with hooks and uppercuts. Smith looked to be wilting under the body battering. In the seventh a vicious left hook to the body and a neck-snapping right uppercut delivered by Agyarko saw Smith drop to one knee. He was up at eight and nearly went down again sitting on the middle rope. He stayed up and withstood another barrage of punches to make it to the bell. Agyarko attacked relentlessly in the eighth with a gutsy Smith finally being forced to go down on one knee after some rib-bending hooks. He got it to his feet and survived to the bell. Agyarko ended it in the ninth. He connected with a couple of head punches and an exhausted Smith dropped to the floor. He again dragged himself to the vertical but the referee made a good decision to stop the fight. The 23-year-old Croydon-born Belfast-based “Black Thunder” was impressive both in the ferocity of his attacks and the clever way he changed his punching angles. Definitely one to watch as a man who survived a slashed throat in a street incident that required emergency surgery and extensive rehabilitation to continue his career. Smith, 26, had moved up from welterweight and although he fought hard he was simply overwhelmed in the end.

Ball vs. Campbell

Ball a clear winner in this clash of unbeaten fighters. At just 5’3” Ball has no choice but to force his fights and try to work inside. He swarmed forward with two-handed attacks forcing Campbell to fight on the back foot and too often off the ropes. Campbell was cut over the right eye and bruised over the same eye in the second round but the cut was never a factor. Campbell did well when he could create some space and by the sixth Ball was bleeding persistently from the nose. Campbell was boxing well in the seventh until a lunging attack from Ball rocked him and he was sent flying into the ropes and slumped to sit on the middle rope. It saved Campbell from going down and the referee saw it as a knockdown and gave him a count. Referee’s card was 79-72 for Liverpudlian Ball who came into boxing through Thai kick boxing. First eight round fight for Campbell.

 

Brescia, Italy: Super Bantam: Alessio Lorusso (11-4-2) W PTS 10 Iuliano Gallo (9-4). An all-southpaw contest sees Lorusso outpoint Gallo in first defence of the national title. In a fast-paced fight Lorusso’s skills were too much for the limited Gallo. Lorusso was snapping out quick, accurate jabs and often switching guards and Gallo just could not apply enough pressure to threaten Lorusso. A left hook floored Gallo in the fourth. Gallo was not badly hurt and continued to try to take the fight to Lorusso but the champion eased his way to a wide points victory. Scores 98-91 twice and 99-90 for Lorusso. The 24-year-old heavily tattooed “Mosquito” was making the first defence of his title and has turned his career around with six consecutive victories.  In his last fight in May last year former champion Gallo lost a controversial decision against Terry Le Couviour for the European Union title.

 

Radom, Poland: Super Welter: Oskari Metz (12-0) W PTS 8 Michal Syrowatka (22-3).

A hugely disappointing performance by Pole Syrowatka sees him lose every round against unsung Finn Metz. For two rounds Syrowatka was competitive but Metz was connecting with strong rights and won both rounds. After that Syrowatka looked slow and out of shape. He just seemed to be focusing on surviving. Metz forced the fight working well with his left. He had no problem finding the target with hard rights and outworked Syrowatka to claim an easy victory. Scores 80-72 for Metz from all three judges. The 28-year-old Finn was moving up to eight rounds for the first time. There was nothing in his record to make him seem a threat to the much more experienced Syrowatka. For the Pole he was being lined up for a big domestic fight with the 19-1 Przemyslaw Runowski but may have blown it with the poor showing.

 

 

1 August

 

Brentwood, England: Super Welter: Ted Cheeseman (16-2-1) W PTS 12 Sam Eggington (28-7). Light: James Tennyson (27-3) W TKO 6 Gavin Gwynne (12-2). Feather: Jordan Gill (25-1) W PTS 10 Reece Bellotti (14-4). Heavy: Fabio Wardley (9-0) W TKO 3 Simon Vallily (17-3-1). Light: Dalton Smith (6-0) W KO 5 Nathan Bennett (9-1).

Cheeseman vs. Eggington

Cheeseman gets unanimous decision over more experienced Eggington in a war that is definitely a candidate for Fight of the Year. Both men were looking to dominate from the start and stood and traded jabs and short hooks to the head with Eggington coming forward and Cheeseman countering. Cheeseman just did enough to take that opening round and he added the second to his tally when under pressure from Eggington he connected with a left hook and a big right counter that made Eggington’s legs quiver and almost put him down before he fell sent backwards to the ropes. Cheeseman bombarded Eggington with punches but Eggington worked his way off the ropes and was connecting with hooks and uppercuts at the bell. No clinches on show as they stood in close and traded punches. Cheeseman with a stream of hooks to the body again getting the better of some savage exchanges. The fourth was close with Eggington forcing the fight and landing chopping head punches and Cheeseman doing better at distance. Eggington was on top in the fifth until two rights to the head had him covering up under pressure and Cheeseman outscored Eggington for the rest of the round. The sixth was close and as the pace momentarily slowed Eggington had the edge in the seventh and had blood dripping from Cheeseman’s damaged nose. They traded on equal terms in the eighth until a right snapped Eggington’s head back and Cheeseman ended the round strongly. This was a savage battled as they bounced punches off each other, quality and powerful punches. Eggington kept himself very much in the fight as he took the ninth but Cheeseman battled back to the take the tenth. Eggington’s experienced showed as he had something left to take the last two rounds but it was just not enough to overcome the early lead established by Cheeseman. Scores 116-113 twice and 115-114 for Cheeseman who wins the IBF International title. Cheeseman had to win this one after suffering losses against Sergio Garcia for the European title and Scott Fitzgerald for the British title. He fought his heart out here and deserved the decision. Eggington had scored an impressive kayo victory over 31-2 Orland Fiordigiglio last year and was rated No 5(4) by the IBF so a huge setback for him.

Tennyson vs. Gwynne

The assassin strikes again as Tennyson halts Gwynne in six rounds. Tennyson was ripping in body punches and forcing the fight in the first. Gwynne stayed cool, boxed well and showed a willingness to punch with Tennyson. In the second Tennyson was pressing relentlessly coming in behind a high guard and the letting fly with hooks and uppercuts. Gwynne tried to get on the front foot late in the round but in doing that was fighting Tennyson’s fight. The third was a good round for Gwynne. He used a fast, accurate jab and clever footwork to frustrate Tennyson’s attempts to get inside and took the round. Fierce attacks from Tennyson in the fourth and fifth were getting him inside where he was scoring with vicious body punches. Gwynne landed some good counters but he was never going to be able to outpunch a puncher. Gwynne boxed and moved well in the sixth but Tennyson harried him until he connected with a couple of body shots and a right to the head that saw Gwynne take a couple of steps back and go down on one knee. He was up at eight but Tennyson poured on the punches driving him to the ropes and unloading heavy shots until the referee stepped in to save Gwynne. Tennyson collects the vacant British lightweight title with win No 23 by KO/TKO. After losing on a fifth round stoppage against Tevin Farmer for the IBF super feather title in 2018 Tennyson moved up to lightweight and has scored five straight inside the distance wins since then. He is rated No 9 by the WBO. With Luke Campbell, Lee Selby and Terry Flanagan in the lightweight there are some good domestic fights for Tennyson if they can be made. You always get entertainment with the aggressive style of Tennyson-he does not do boring! Welshman Gwynne had lost on points to Joe Cordina for this title in August with Cordina then relinquishing the title and moving down to super featherweight. Gwynne was the underdog but he made Tennyson fight hard for his victory

Gill vs. Bellotti

Gill takes unanimous verdict over Bellotti in a competitive, fast-paced technical battle. Gill’s quicker and more accurate jab put him in control early with Bellotti just that bit slower. Gill frustrated Bellotti’s attempts to get inside with some good footwork and stiff jabs and turned away quickly when Bellotti tried to work inside. Bellotti began to get more into the fight over the middle rounds. He was moving in quicker cutting off the ring and forcing Gill to stand and trade and landed well to the body. Gill rocked Bellotti with a left hook in the sixth forcing Bellotti to hang on and with Bellotti cut over the right eye Gill was back in control by the seventh. Constantly moving he was slotting jabs through Bellotti’s guard cleverly side-stepping his attacks and countering with short right hooks. Bellotti just could not close the distance fast enough to be effective inside. Gill’s jab kept jerking Bellotti’s head back in the ninth and although Bellotti put in a big effort that probably gave him the last round it was nowhere near enough. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-95 for Gill. He put up a poor performance in being floored three times before retiring in an upset defeat against  modest Mexican Mario Tinoco in May last year so this is an important win for him. A set-back for former Commonwealth champion Bellotti as he suffers his second loss in a row and his fourth loss in his last six fights.

Wardley vs. Vallily

Powerful and skilful showing by Wardley as he halts Vallily in three rounds. A cautious opening round saw Vallily a bit more active but the best punch was a short left hook from Wardley one of the few punches he threw in the first. Wardley was much more active in the second. He started to put together some fast combinations and was quick enough to just lean back out of the way of Vallily’s punches and connect with some quick counters. Wardley opened the third with some stiff jabs. As Vallily came forward Wardley backed into a corner. He showed great reflexes in swaying to let Vallily’s punches swish air and then countered with a left hook that sent Vallily stumbling back across the ring to the far ropes. Wardley chased after him. He was unloading punches to head and body and with Vallily not punching back the referee stopped the fight. The 6’5” 25-year-old from Ipswich, who is managed by Dillan Whyte, makes it eight successive inside the distance victories as he wins the vacant English title and adds his name to the long list of outstanding heavyweight prospects. Vallily had won his last four fights but was blown away here for his third defeat by KO/TKO

Smith vs. Bennett

Smith wins with dramatic fifth round kayo. In the first Bennett used his height and reach to put Smith on the back foot. He was jabbing well and trying some long rights until just before the bell a right to the head from Smith sent him lurching to one side and made his legs quiver. Bentley boxed cautiously in the second still jabbing well but Smith was landing some hurtful left hook counters. Bennett worked hard behind his jab in the third and fourth but Smith displayed some excellent defensive skills and looked dangerous every time he threw a punch. The fifth was following the same pattern with Bennett getting frustrated at his inability to land a good punch when an overhand right from Smith crashed into the side of his head and put him down flat on his back. The referee started to count but then saw Bennett was not going to get up and stopped the count so that Bennett could get medical attention. The 23-year-old Smith was moving up to eight rounds for the first time but then made that irrelevant with his fifth consecutive inside the distance win. A former Elite level amateur he is an outstanding talent. Bennett suffers his first TKO/KO loss.

 

Neuwied, Germany: Welter: Ilhami Aydemir (18-1) W RTD 7 Ahmed El Hamwi (19-10-2). Turkish-born German Aydemir wins the vacant WBC Mediterranean title as Belgian El Hamwi is forced to retire at the end of the sixth round with a damaged right hand. El Hamwi was quick off the mark firing punches with both hands whilst Aydemir tended to look for openings that did not come. Aydemir was on the front foot in the second finding the target with sharp jabs and blocking most of El Hamwi’s punches. An overhand right from Aydemir sent El Hamwi stumbling into the ropes in the third but El Hamwi recovered. In the fourth El Hamwi looked to have injured his right hand as he often shook the hand after landing a punch. Aydemir was by then getting the better of the exchanges. After four rounds all three judges had the fight 38-38. Aydemir took the fifth with some excellent jabbing with El Hamwi in pain every time he used his right. The referee spotted El Hamwi’s distress but El Hamwi indicated he was willing to continue. El Hamwi actually connected with a couple of good rights in the sixth but Aydemir was doing most of the scoring with his jab and left hooks. At the end of the round El Hamwi retired with what was probably a broken hand. The scores at the retirement were 58-56 for Aydemir from all three judges. Now nine wins in a row for Global Boxing Union champion Aydemir. Belgian El Hamwi was giving Aydemir a real test until his hand injury which he said happened in the second round. He came in 1 ½ lbs over the contract weight so could not win the title.

 

Bank Phun, Thailand: Super Fly: Srisaket (48-5-1) W PTS 10 Amnat Ruenroeng (20-4). Srisaket outpoints oldie Ruenroeng in a rare clash of Thai former world champions. Srisaket (Wisaksil Wangek) was taking the fight to Ruenroeng early with a slightly tubby former champion boxing adroitly on the back foot. Srisaket seemed a bit rusty and Ruenroeng was accurate with his counters and did the scoring in the opening round. Ruenroeng boxed well again in the second and third as Srisaket struggled to find his rhythm and a clash of heads in the third opened a cut on Srisaket’s left eye lid. The cut was in a bad place with the blood running into Srisaket’s eye and it hampered him throughout the fight. He picked up the pace from the fourth round and with Ruenroeng dangerous only in bursts Srisaket clawed back Ruenroeng’s early lead and took control. He marched forward for the rest of the fight sending out a steady stream of punches with Ruenroeng backing up and relying on occasional counters as age caught up with him. Srisaket’s cut was bad enough for the fight to be halted but it was never again examined by the doctor and he ground down Ruenroeng over the late rounds for a clear victory. Scores a too wide 99-91, 97-94 and 96-93 all for Srisaket. First fight for Srisaket since losing his WBC super fly title to Juan Francisco Estrada on a close decision in April last year taking the score between these two to one win apiece. He is No 1 with the WBC so should get a chance to regain the title in early 2021. Former IBF flyweight champion Ruenroeng, now 40, who competed at the 2016 Olympic Games, showed there is life in him yet and gave Srisaket plenty of trouble until he slowed.

 

Kiev, Ukraine; Super Middle: Petro Ivanov (12-0-2) W PTS 8 Roman Shkarupa (28-11-2). Middle: Andrii Velikovskyi (17-2-1) W TKO 5 Ruslan Shchelev (16-17-1) Heavy: Olek Zakhozhyi (14-0) W PTS 8 Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko (7-7-1). Feather: Oleg Malinovskyi (26-0) W PTS 8 Andrei Isayeu (30-17). Heavy: Vladyslav Sirenko (13-0) W RTD 5 Pavlo Krolenko (3-6) Heavy: Viktor Vykhryst )1-0) W Semen Pakhomov (2-10).

Ivanov vs. Shkarupa

On Olek Usyk’s first outing as a promoter Ivanov was just too young and too quick for a shop-worn Shkarupa. He was threading jabs through Shkarupa’s guard and curing rights around Shkarupa’s gloves with Shkarupa too slow to block or effectively counter. Shkarupa had some success when Ivanov chose to stand and punch with him but even then he was being outlanded. As Shkarupa tired and Ivanov ran out of ideas there was too much clinching for this to be an entertaining fight. No scores but Ivanov looked to have won every round. The 24-year-old Ukrainian, the WBC Youth champion, is rated No 11 in the EBU non-European Union ratings. Now 40 Shkarupa is a tired old fighter and is now 1-7 in his last 8 fights.

Velikovskyi vs. Shchelev

German-based Ukrainian Velikovskyi halts Shchelev in five rounds. After an even first round Velikovskyi took control and bossed the fight from there. Shchelev just could not match the pace set by the younger and busier Velikovskyi. Under continuous pressure Shchelev resorted to spitting out his mouthguard and after a couple of warnings the referee stopped the fight late in the fifth when Shchelev repeated the offence. Velikovskyi, 25, is 8-0-1 in his last 9 outings including fights in Finland, Estonia, France and Poland, where he scored an upset win over 20-2 Patryk Szymanski, and Ukraine. Only one win in his last eight fights for Shchelev

Zakhozhyi vs. Dovbyshchenko

The 6’9” Zakhozhyi eases his way to victory over the 6’1” Dovbyshchenko. Other than his height and reach Zakhozhyi doesn’t really have that much to offer. He was able to find Dovbyshchenko at distance and connected with some hard straight rights but Dovbyshchenko was usually able to rumble past the jab throwing roundhouse swipes at which point Zakhozhyi grabbed and held until the referee pulled them apart. Lots of holding and no highlights as Zakhozhyi took the decision. At 231lbs he is mobile for his height with his best win to date being a points verdict over Kevin Johnson but I can’t see him developing into a threat. Dovbyshchenko overweight and slow but takes a punch well.

Malinovskyi vs. Isayeu

Ukrainian southpaw Malinovskyi floors Belarus oldie Isayeu on the way to a unanimous points victory. Malinovskyi put Isayeu down in the fourth. After over eight years as a pro and twenty-five victories Malinovskyi has yet to make any real impression and time is running out for him. Time ran out a long time ago for forty-year-old Isayeu who challenged for the European title back in 2010. Ten consecutive losses tells its own story.

Sirenko vs. Krolenko

Sirenko beats Krolenko in four rounds. Krolenko shook Sirenko and the audience when he landed a heavy overhand right less than a minute into the fight. Sirenko was rattled but he dug in and worked his way through the crisis. From that point it was one-sided as Sirenko pounded Krolenko with jabs and banged home left hooks to Krolenko’s ample body. In the fourth Sirenko threw a left hook to the head that skimmed past Krolenko’s chin and banged against Krolenko’s left elbow. Krolenko turned away in pain shaking his left arm and knelt by the ropes. The referee had the doctor examine Krolenko but Krolenko insisted he was able to continue. With Krolenko unable to use his left arm Sirenko bombarded him with punches and wisely Krolenko retired at the end of the round. The 25-year-old 6’ 3 ½” Ukrainian now has 13 victories by KO/TKO. He served overtime in this one as ten of his previous fights have ended in the first round. In the amateurs he was Ukrainian Youth champion and a silver medallist at the European Youth Championships as well as competing at the World Youth Championships and the European Games. Fist loss by KO/TKO for Krolenko.

Vykhryst vs. Pakhomov

A farcical mismatch sees Vykhryst stop Pakhomov. With height advantage and huge edge in reach Vykhryst was able to do much as he liked. He followed Pakhomov around the ring connecting with jabs long rights and lefts to the ribs. You did not need a computer to keep score of the punches Pakhomov threw you could do it just using the fingers on one hand. Vykhryst continued to batter Pakhomov around the ring in the second with Pakhomov not throwing a single punch. He backed into a corner and then knelt down and stayed there until he was counted out showing no inclination to get up. The 6’5” Ukrainian former amateur star is boxing as Victor Faust in Germany . Six losses by KO/TKO for Pakhomov

 

Fight of the week (Significance): Angelo Leo vs. Tramaine Williams adds another factor to the super bantamweight division

Fight of the week (Entertainment): Ted Cheeseman vs. Sam Eggington

Fighter of the week: Joint award to Cheeseman and Eggington for a playing their part in an outstanding contesting combining quality and brutality

Punch of the week: The left uppercut from Joseph Geroge that flattened Marcos Escudero just wins out over the right to the head from Dalton Smith that put Nathan Bennett down and out. Dalton right, George left uppercut

Upset of the week: Eggington was favoured over Cheeseman so a bit unexpected

Prospect watch: British heavyweight Fabio Wardley 9-0 8 wins by KO/TKO looked good

 

Observations

COVID-19 strikes again as Stephen Fulton tests positive and is pulled out of the WBO super bantamweight title fight against Angelo Leo

A novel approach sees Eddie Hearn stage a show in his back garden it looks to be about the size of Wembley Stadium). We have had them in hotels, car parks, lakeside venues and now a Fight Camp in a back garden. Necessity is the mother of invention.

Oleg Usyk put on his first show in Kiev with a full crowd, no social distancing and not a mask in sight worn by any official or the crowd.