The Past Week in Action 7 February 2021

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:

-Former champion Austin Trout returns with a win

-Former champion Carlos Molina scores a win on own promotion

-Argentinian banger Matias Rueda moves his % of inside the distance wins to 86.11 with kayo of Claudio Echegaray

6 February

Chihuahua, Mexico: Welter: Austin Trout (33-5-1) W PTS 10 Juan Armando Garcia (21-8-2). Fly: Bryan Mosinos (20-2) W PTS 10 Jesus Lemus (11-3).

Trout vs. Garcia

Former WBA super welterweight champion Trout returns with a win. The veteran southpaw looked sharp against the modest Garcia. Trout dominated all the way and finished strongly looking to end the fight inside the distance but Garcia lasted the full distance. Scores 99-91 for Trout from all three judges. First fight for Trout since a low level win in February last year. Garcia’s last fight was a one round stoppage loss against Canadian Jessie Wilcox in June 2018.

Mosinos vs. Lemus

Mosinos extends his winning run to eight with a points verdict over Lemus. Mosinos had no problems handling the tall Lemus but his lack of power allowed Lemus to survive to the end.

Patzcuaro, Mexico: Middle: Carlos Molina (37-11-2) W PTS 10 Edgar Ortega (18-12). Super Welter: Adrian Granados (21-8-2,1ND) W KO 2 Nestor Garcia (23-23-1).

Molina vs. Ortega

Molina takes unanimous decision over Ortega in ten entertaining rounds. Molina adopted a hands down style using upper body movement to sway under Ortega’s punches. Ortega was more upright with a strong jab. They traded punches throughout the fight with hardly a clinch. Molina’s faster hands and greater accuracy gave him the edge but Ortega fought back hard with strong jabs and right crosses finding the target. The longer the fight went the more of a war it became. Molina was throwing bunches of punches with Ortega taking the punishment and then coming straight back with shots of his own. At times it looked as though Molina might overwhelm Ortega but that never happened and he was still there and punching at the final bell although Molina was the clear winner. Eight wins in a row for the former IBF super welterweight champion. This was another show which Molina also promoted. It had been 5 losses in his 6 fights for Ortega but he made Molina work hard for his victory.

Granados vs. Garcia

Easy win for Granados. He had no trouble dealing with the crude attacks of Garcia and in the second a wicked left hook to the ribs sent Garcia down rolling in agony and he was counted out. In his first fight since October 2019 the Illinois-born “Tigre” returns to the winning column after consecutive losses to Danny Garcia and Robert Easter. Now eight defeats in a row for Garcia six by KO/TKO.

Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina: Super Feather: Matias Rueda (35-1) W KO 4 Claudio Echegaray (22-5-2). Light: Fidel Ruiz (15-1) W KO 2 Sergio Blanco (9-40-4)

Rueda vs. Echegaray

“Little Cobra” Rueda stops “Snake” Echegaray in four rounds. Rueda was coming forward in the first but southpaw Echegaray was scoring with crisp uppercuts and rocked Rueda with a left hook and took the round. Echegaray connected with a left at the start of the second which knocked Rueda off balance. Rueda looked to have touched the canvas with a glove to steady himself but no count was applied. They then traded punches with Echegaray going down on one knee. He protested it was a slip but the referee gave him a count. Rueda attacked hard in the third and then dropped Echegaray early in the fourth with a left hook to the body. Another left to the body saw Echegaray go down on his hands and knees and the towel came in from Echegaray’s corner but the referee completed the ten count. Rueda lifts the vacant WBO Latino title with win No 31 by KO/TKO as he rebuilds with his ninth victory since being stopped in two rounds by Oscar Valdez for the vacant WBO featherweight title in 2016. Echegaray goes to 1-5-1 in his last 7 fights.

Ruiz vs. Blanco

“King” Ruiz returns to the ring for the first time in almost three years and floors and kayos Blanco in two rounds. The former South American champion moves to twelve wins by KO/TKO. Poor Blanco has lost his last ten fights but this is only the third time he has lost inside the distance.

Perez, Argentina: Bantam: Kevin Munoz (11-0) W PTS 10 Carlos Sardinez (16-4).

“The Diamond” Munoz retains the South American title with wide decision over southpaw Sardinez. The first round saw Sardinez drop briefly to one knee under pressure from Munoz but he was not seriously shaken and easily beat the count. In the second a clash of heads resulted in Munoz suffering a cut but it never really troubled him in the fight. His speed and accuracy saw him win by a wide margin on the three cards with scores of 100-89, 100-91 and 100-93. First defence of the title for 22-year-old Munoz the Argentinian No 2 super flyweight. Sardinez a former South American champion slides to 4-4 in his last 8 fights.

Fight of the week (Significance): There may be some good paydays out there for Austin Trout after his win over Juan Armando Garcia

Fight of the week (Entertainment): Carlos Molina and Edgar Ortega provided plenty of action

Fighter of the week:  Austin Trout as he wins on his return

Punch of the week: The body punch from Adrian Granados was a vicious fight finisher

Upset of the week: None

Prospect watch: No new names

Observations: Quietest week since the return of boxing

Next Week:

Saturday 13

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: Light Heavy: Joe Smith (26-3) vs. Maxim Vlasov (45-3) vacant WBO title. Light: Richard Commey (29-3) vs. Jackson Marinez (19-1). Feather: Adam Lopez (14-2) vs. Jason Sanchez (15-2).

Indio, California, USA: Super Feather: Joseph Diaz (31-1) vs. Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (15-0). Diaz defending IBF title. Super Welter: Patrick Teixeira (31-1) vs. Brian Castano (16-0-1) Teixeira defending WBO title. Super Bantam: Ronny Rios (32-3) vs. Oscar Negrete (19-2-2). Super Bantam: Azat Hovhannisyan (18-3 vs. Enrique Bernache (24-12). Middle: Shane Mosley Jr (16-3) W Cristian Olivas (20-7).

London, England: Feather Leigh Wood (23-2) vs. Reece Mould (13-0) for vacant British title. Feather: Josh Warrington (30-0) vs. Mauricio Lara (21-2) first fight for Warrington since relinquishing the IBF title. Super Feather: Zelfa Barrett (24-1) vs. Kiko Martinez (41-9-2)