The Past Week in Action 9 May 2022

The Past Week in Action 9 May 2022

Highlights:

-Dmitry Bivol wins unanimous decision over Saul Alvarez to retain the WBA light heavyweight title

-Montana Love, Shakhram Giyasov all remain unbeaten after wins on the Bivol-Alvarez undercard.

– Ryan Rozicki gets very controversial points win over Yamil Peralta for the vacant WBC International title. The WBC review the fight and declare the title still vacant and order a rematch

-Cesar Tapia, Nathaniel May and Jack Bowen score wins in Brisbane

– Segolene Lefebvre retains the WBO Female super bantam title with victory over Melanie Sorroche

World Title/Major Shows

-Denis Radovan, Christina  Hammer and Leon  Bunn win in Cologne

 

WORLD TITLE SHOWS

 

May 7

 

Las Vegas, NV, USA: Light Heavy: Dmitry Bivol (20-0) W PTS 12 Saul Alvarez (57-2-2) Super Light: Montana Love (18-0-1) W PTS 12 Gabriel Gollaz (25-3-1). Welter: Shakhram Giyasov (13-0) W PTS 10 Christian Gomez (22-3-1). Fly: Joselito Velasquez (15-0-1) W TKO 6 Jose Soto (15-2).Heavy: Zhilei Zhang (24-0-1) W TKO 1 Scott Alexander (16-5-2). Super Feather: Elnur Abduraimov (9-0) W TKO 2 Manuel Correa (11-1).

Bivol vs. Alvarez

Bivol stops the Alvarez juggernaut with a unanimous decision to retain the WBA light heavyweight title.

Round 1

Bivol worked his jab hard stabbing it out often being blocked by Alvarez but also getting through. Alvarez launched himself forward with hooks but Bivol stepped back out of range and before the bell twice fired a succession of punches getting through to head and body.

Score: 10-9 Bivol

Round 2

Alvarez did a bit better. He was able to land with hooks to the body from both hands. Bivol continued to stick his jab in Alvarez’s face and follow behind it with straight rights. A close round but one Alvarez just edged it.

Score:  10-9 Alvarez                          Tied 19-19

Round 3

Alvarez looked to be getting into his stride. The trademark hooks to the body were getting through and he was also adding in uppercuts. Bivol continued to box behind his jab and was finding gaps for straight rights.

Score: 10-9 Alvarez                          Alvarez 29-28

Round 4

A close round. Alvarez was throwing hooks and uppercuts early forcing Bivol to the ropes. Bivol was whirling off the ropes before Alvarez could do any damage. Bivol then pinned Alvarez against the ropes and bombarded him with punches with Alvarez landing a couple of hooks before the bell. Very close

Score: 10-9 Bivol                               TIED 38-38

Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 40-36 Alvarez. Judge Dave Moretti 40-36 Alvarez, Judge Steve Weisfeld 40-36 Alvarez

Round 5

Clever boxing from Bivol. He was sticking Alvarez with the jab firing straight rights and then using slick footwork to slip away when Alvarez tried to force him to the ropes. Bivol landed a brief burst of punches to drive Alvarez to the ropes and then fired a dozen punches, most of which got through before backing off ignoring Alvarez’s invitation to pour on more.

Score: 10-9 Bivol                       Bivol  48-47

Round 6

Bivol outboxed Alvarez. He was still sticking Alvarez with the jab and then stringing together a flurry of punches. Alvarez was just following Bivol without catching him. Bivol went on the front foot and with Alvarez against the ropes picked his time to land clubbing rights. Bivol was unmarked and Alvarez face was showing bruising.

Score: 10-9  Bivol                       Bivol 58-56

Round 7

Bivol was pumping out his jab and then choosing his moment to fire a cluster of punches. He was forcing Alvarez to the ropes and belabouring Alvarez with punches. Alvarez was throwing one punch at a time and too slowly to catch Bivol.

Score: 10-9 Bivol                       Bivol 68-65

Round 8

Alvarez made a strong start coming forward chucking hooks. Bivol then went on to the front foot forcing Alvarez to the ropes with a succession of punches. He back off a couple of times but Alvarez stayed against the ropes allowing Bivol to step in with more punches. Alvarez tried to attack but Bivol moved easily away.

Score: 10-9 Bivol                       Bivol 78-74

Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 76-76 tied. Judge Dave Moretti 76-76 Tied, Judge Steve Weisfeld 76-76 tied.

Round 9

A good round for Alvarez. He used his jab, found the target with hurtful shots to head and body and then bob and weaved away from Bivol’s punches with Bivol’s output declining. Alvarez was looking tired and continually dropping his arms.

Score: 10-9 Alvarez                    Bivol 87-84

Round 10

Dominant round for Bivol. He was firing his jab adding in straight rights and left hooks. Alvarez was too slow to land anything and Bivol forced him to the ropes. Alvarez stayed their bobbing and weaving but not throwing punches. Bivol missed a few but was throwing them. As Alvarez lunged off the ropes Bivol nailed him with a right and scored with another batch of punches.

Score: 10-9 Bivol                       Bivol 97-93

Round 11

Alvarez attacked at the start marching forward throwing hooks and uppercuts. Bivol rode the minor storm and then took control. He was striding forward firing jabs, hooks and uppercuts forcing Alvarez to the ropes and then letting go with blazing salvos. Alvarez managed to come forward late in the round lifting Bivol off his feet as if to body slam him but when balance was restored it was Bivol in the ascendancy.

Score: 10-9 Bivol                       Bivol 107-102

Round 12

Alvarez attempted a strong finish but it did not come off. Bivol speared him with jabs then put together some rapid-fire combinations and Alvarez was backing off a defeated fighter and the fight ended with an exhausted Alvarez trapped against the ropes.

Score: 10-9 Bivol                       Bivol 117-111

Official Scores: Judge Tim Cheatham 115-113 Bivol, Judge Dave Moretti 115-113 Bivol, Judge Steve Weisfeld 115-113 Bivol.

Bivol retains the WBA title and boosts his profile into the boxing stratosphere. His wins over Jean Pascal, Joe Smith Jr Craig Richards and Umar Salamov were all quality performances and this was a weight too far for Alvarez. The extra weight he carried did him no favours and he looked tired over the last half of the fight. He wants a return and that would be a huge money fight for Bivol more so than unification contests with Artur Beterbiev or Joe Smith Jr. A third Golovkin fight would be a big money fight for Alvarez and a better choice.

Love vs. Gollaz

Love continues his good form with unanimous verdict over Gollaz in which both fighters are on the floor early. Love went into a quick lead after dropping Gollaz with a counter in the opening round. Gollaz repaid Love in the second flooring him with a booming left. Love beat the count and was fighting back by the bell. Love took the third, fourth with plenty of smart movement and quick, accurate punches but Gollaz jabbed well and scored to the body to edge the fifth. The pace slowed in the sixth and although Love just had the better of the exchanges in the seventh Gollaz landed a big left hook in the eighth. Other than that the action was slow and the crowd showed their displeasure. Gollaz was way behind but was starting to push Love back hurting him with a left in the ninth only for Love to rebound and make the tenth close. Gollaz put in a big effort and outfought Love over the last two rounds to reduce the gap-but not enough. Scores 114-112 on the three cards for Love. His wins over former IBF title holder Ivan Baranchyk and 29-1 Carlos Diaz have seen Love rated No 11 with the IBF and with Gollaz No 9 this is a significant win over another rated fighter which is important in the way the IBF do their ratings. Gollaz had a 23 bout unbeaten streak going so a big blow for him.

Giyasov vs. Gomez

Uzbek ”Wonder Boy” Giyasov floors Mexican Gomez three times but has to settle for a points victory. Giyasov swept the first three rounds. He had his jab working well and was scoring with left hooks to the body Gomez kept trying to take the fight to Giyasov but was finding hard to get past Giyasov’s jab. Giyasov floored Gomez with a left hook in the fourth but Gomez made it to his feet and survived the round. Gomez fought hard to make the fifth and sixth close rounds but as he piled forward in the seventh he was put down by a right uppercut. Gomez beat the count and then shook Giyasov with an uppercut. They battled hard in the ninth before a left hook from Giyasov sent Gomez down in the tenth. Scores 99-88 twice and 99-89 for Giyasov. The Uzbek 28-year-old won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics and gold at the 2017 World Championships. Gomez had won his last six contests by KO/TKO.

Velasquez vs. Soto

Velasquez breaks down and halts Soto in the sixth. Velasquez was stalking the taller Soto willing to take jabs and straight rights as he came forward so that he could scores with slashing hooks inside. Soto was quick and clever but getting caught with rights. By the third Soto was slowing from the body punches and being forced to stand and trade. He switched to southpaw in the fourth but was still soaking up body punches. A series of punches ending with lovely left hook dropped Soto in the sixth. He managed to get up but the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight. Ten wins by KO/TKO for WBO No 12 Velasquez. Soto had lost on a disqualification against former WBC light flyweight title holder Ganigan Lopez in October his only previous defeat.

Zhang vs. Alexander

A farce of a fight sees Zhang stop substitute Scott in the first round. Zhang padded after the ever retreating Scott pushing out jabs with Scott throwing a couple of long shots to the body. When Scott finally moved away from the ropes a powerful straight southpaw left to the head sent him down heavily and the referee waived the fight over without a count after just 114 seconds. Zhang was to have faced Filip Hrgovic in an IBF final eliminator but Hrgovic withdrew due to the death of his father and Scott came in as a short notice replacement. He was giving away three inches in height and 64lbs in weight and looked as though he did not want to be there. Zhang, 39, looked his usual strong but ponderous, glacially slow self.

Abduraimov vs. Correa

Southpaw Abduraimov was hunting down Correa from the start and landing some heavy shots particularly some vicious lefts to the body. Correa went on the attack in the second but was put down by a straight left. He was up quickly but a series of blows sent him down again. When he was up his legs were unsteady and when a straight sent him slumping onto the bottom rope the fight was stopped. Eight victories by KO/TKO for Abduraimov. He was a quarter-finalist at the Tokyo Olympics , won a bronze medal at the World Championships and competed in the WSB.

 

May 5

 

Toronto, Canada: Super Feather: Bryan Acosta (17-0,1ND) W TKO 10 Benito Sanchez (16-6-2). Super Light: Lee Reeves (9-1) W PTS 8 Sebastian Diaz (17-5-1). Super Light: Steven Wilcox (23-3-1) W PTS 6 Miguel Martinez (15-5-1).

Acosta vs. Sanchez

Mexican Acosta steps up to ten round status and finishes Sanchez half way through the last round. Great start for Acosta as he dropped Sanchez with left hook in the first round. Sanchez survived and tried to take the fight to Acosta but was under pressure and was hurt again in the third. He had a better fourth but was badly shaken by a right in the sixth. He rallied in the eighth but was being weakened by body punches. A big attack from Acosta in the tenth resulted in Sanchez being pinned against the ropes and not firing back and the fight was stopped. Seventh successive victory for Acosta who wins the vacant WBC Continental America’s belt.  Third inside the distance defeat for Sanchez.

Reeves vs. Diaz

In a clash of southpaws Irishman Reeves wins the vacant NABF title with comfortable victory over Mexican Diaz. Reeves used his longer reach to control a fight that never really caught alight. Maldonado just did not have the skill to trouble Reeves and although Reeves scored heavily in the fourth and sixth rounds and Maldonado paid regular trips to the canvas-all ruled slips-the fight always looked likely to go the distance. Scores of 80-72 for Reeves on all three cards. He has won his last four fights as he puts behind him a loss against 1-4 Artur Davydenko in 2020. Diaz had won 4 of his last 5 bouts.

Wilcox vs. Martinez

Wilcox, 32, celebrates his birthday as he returns to action for the first time since November 2019 and outpoints Mexican Martinez. Wilcox took a couple of rounds to wipe away the cobwebs but clearly won. Scores 60-54 twice and 58-56. In his last fight in May last year Martinez was knocked out in 44 seconds by Jezreel Corrales.

 

May 6

 

Mar del Plata, Argentina: Light Heavy: Franco Acosta (11-0) W TKO 3 Nestor Campos (5-3).

Acosta retains the national title with spectacular third round win over Campos. Acosta, 4” taller and with a longer reach, started out by boxing on the back foot measuring Campos with jabs and long rights. He stepped up the pace in the third and just before the end of the round unleashed a perfect short left hook that sent Campos crashing to the canvas with his head bouncing off the floor and the referee instantly stopped the fight. Eighth win by KO/TKO and first defence of the Argentinian title for Acosta. Campos had won his last four fights.

 

Glasgow, Scotland: Super Light: W Kane Gardner (14-2) W PTS 10 Marios Matamba (12-2).

Gardner gets narrow decision over Matamba. Gardner took the first two rounds jabbing well and outscoring Matamba inside. Matamba was busier in the third but Gardner took control again in the fourth and fifth with some good body punching. Matamba shook Garner early in the sixth but again Garner rebounded to outscore Matamba in the seventh. He had built a lead but with the rounds close. Matamba came on late and he took the late rounds to make it a tough call. Referee’s score 96-94 for Gardner who gets his fifth win in his last six fights. South African based DRC fighter Matamba just failed to swing the fight his way as his experience in pacing longer fights came through.

 

Wolverhampton, England: Welter: Kristie Bavington (6-2-2) W PTS 10 Timea Belik (5-5).

Bavington wins the vacant EBU Female belt as she takes a unanimous decision over Belik. Dominant performance from the teacher from Wolverhampton as she wins on scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 99-92. Three wins in a row for Bavington who also plays football at a high level. Hungarian Belik is a former IBF title challenger.

 

May 7

 

Brisbane, Australia: Super Middle: Cesar Tapia (14-0) W TKO 8 Rolando Mansilla (18-10-1). Super Feather: Nathaniel May (22-3) W KO 2 Rivo Rengkung (37-32-6). Super Middle: Jack Bowen (6-0) W KO 2 Les Sherrington (38-17).

Tapia vs. Mansilla

Tapia stops Mansilla in the eighth round of a WBA Oceania title defence. Apia boxed on the back foot in the first with the very crude Mansilla trying to brawl his way inside and hustle Tapia out of his stride. It was a similar scene in round d two but with less than ten seconds to go Tapia nailed the advancing Mansilla with a short right that sent him down. He made it his feet and there was no time for Tapia to follow upon the knockdown. Mansilla rebounded well continuing to stamp forward walking through Tapia’s punches   throwing overhand rights and too often pulling Tapia into a maul. Tapia was scoring with powerful rights but could not keep Mansilla out and was having a hard night. That changed in the seventh. Again with less than ten seconds remaining in the round Tapia uncorked a powerful right that put Mansilla down. He beat the count with the round over. In the eighth a right to the head had Mansilla stumbling and another right sent him down and the fight was stopped. Impressive finish from Tapia but it needed to be as he had more trouble than he should have had in handling the smaller, cruder and older Mansilla who had lost over ten rounds against Rohan Murdock in 2019.

May vs. Rengkung

In his first fight since December 2019 May destroys Indonesian Rengkung in two rounds. May scored heavily in the first with hooks to the body. Rengkung landed a strong right at the start of the second but a left to the body saw him drop to his hands and knees and he stayed there for the full ten count. May looking to rebuild after consecutive losses against James Dickens and Bruno Tarimo. Only one win in his last nine fights for Rengkung.

Bowen vs. Sherrington

Assured performance from Bowen as he knocks out a worn Sherrington in two rounds. Bowen had the faster hands and very much stuck to his jab in the first. Sherrington tried some rushing attacks but Bowen covered up well. Bowen really let his punches flow in the second landing a left hook and a right uppercut before dropping Sherrington with a booming right cross with Sherrington counted out as he tried to make it to his feet. All six of Bowen’s wins have come inside the distance taking less than 13 rounds to achieve. Seven defeats in his last eight fights for 39-year-old Sherrington.

 

Sydney, Canada: Cruiser: Ryan Rozicki (15-1) W PTS 10 Yamil Peralta (13-1). Super Light: Lucas Bahdi (11-0) W TKO 3 Rodolfo Flores (14-7)

Rozicki vs. Peralta

Rozicki wins the vacant WBC International title with hugely controversial split decision over Peralta. From the first the speed and mobility had Rozicki struggling.  Peralta was peppering him with jabs and the slower local was finding the Argentinian a difficult target and walking into to accurate counters. It was the fifth before Rozicki was able to score enough to feel he had won the round but Peralta was back in charge in the sixth. Rozicki did enough to make the seventh close but he was not throwing enough punches to be a real threat to Peralta. The Argentinian rocked Rozicki in the ninth but tired and was deducted a point in the last round for holding. Scores from the three local judges, all from Nova Scotia, 97-93 and 95-94 for Rozicki and 95-94 for Peralta. Robbery! A sporting Rozicki showed what he thought of the decision. He stood a dejected figure with his head down as the scores were read. He did not celebrate but immediately reached past the referee’s body and lifted Peralta’s hand! The result stands but the WBC reviewed the video of the fight and decided that the title would remain vacant and ordered a rematch which will be held on October 15 again in Sydney but with neutral officials.

Bahdi vs. Flores

Former Canadian amateur champion “Prince” Bahdi sent Mexican Flores down in the second and again in the third with the referee then stopping the contest. The Niagara Falls boxer was Canadian champion in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and has won all eleven of his fights inside the distance. Third inside the distance defeat in a row for Flores.

 

Brampton, Canada: Welter: Zsolt Daranyi (17-1) W TKO 2 Flavio Michel (9-7).

Toronto-based Hungarian Daranyi gets his sixteenth inside the distance win as he stops Michel. A punch that landed behind Michel’s ear in the second round seemed to daze him and Daranyi unleashed a volley of punches to force the stoppage and win the vacant Canadian title. Lennox Lewis has a gym in Brampton and acts as Daranyi’s advisor and oversees his training there. First fight for two years for Montreal-based Michel.

 

Douai, France: Super Bantam: Segolene Lefebvre (16-0) W PTS 10 Melanie Sorroche (18-3-2). Welter: Houcine Moulahi (4-10-1) W PTS 6 Mehdi Mouhib (20-3).

Lefebvre vs. Sorroche

Fighting in her home town Lefebvre makes a successful first defence of her WBO Female title as she takes a unanimous decision over a combative former undefeated European champion Sorroche. The challenger forced the fight all the way with a strong body attack but Lefebvre made good use of her longer reach boxing cleverly on the back foot with a solid defence and sharp and precise jabbing. Pressure won Sorroche a round here and there but Lefebvre’s superior boxing saw her a clear winner. Scores 97-93 for Lefebvre on the three cards.

Moulahi vs. Mouhib

Big upset as Moulahi snaps a three-bout losing streak as he beats home town fighter Mouhib with the referee scoring the fight 58-56. Former undefeated European Union title holder Mouhib was No 4 with the EBU with a good chance of a shot at the European title later this year. Moulahi won only one of his first eight fights and was a late choice as an opponent for Mouhib

 

Cologne, Germany: Middle: Denis Radovan (16-0-1) W TKO 2 Rafael Bejaran (30-7-1).  Feather: Arnold Khegai (18-1-1) W TKO 2 Ruben Tostado (25-10). Super Middle: Christina Hammer (27-1,1ND) W Luiza Davydova (6-3). Light Heavy: Leon Bunn (18-0) W KO 2 Islam Teffahi (22-11-2,1ND)

Radovan vs. Bejaran

Easy defence of the IBF European belt for Radovan. He scored with hurtful, accurate punches in the first with Bejaran’s contribution being some pointless showboating. Radovan floored Bejaran with a body punch early in the second. Bejaran took some more hits and went down on one knee. After getting up he went down again. The referee was about to rule it a slip but Bejaran’s corner tossed in the towel.  Eighth win by KO/TKO for Radovan and third defence of the IBF European title. He is vastly inflated No 4 with the IBF –Box Rec have him as No 53! Dominican Bejaran, 40, has plenty of experience but loses badly whenever he moves up.

Khegai vs. Tostado

Khegai dismisses Tostado in three rounds. Khegai scored heavily in the first and put Tostado down twice in the second. Another knockdown in the third saw the fight stopped.  A Ukrainian with Korean antecedents Khegai’s loss was to current WBC/WBO super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton in January 2020. Mexican Tostado, a former WBO super flyweight title challenger, drops his third decision in a row.

Hammer vs. Davydova

Hammer wins every round against a willing but very limited Davydova. With Hammer’s five inch height advantage and a corresponding edge in reach this was never much of a test. Davydova proved awkward but never really threatened and all three judges gave it to Hammer 80-72. The 5’11” Kazak-born German, a former WBC and WBO middleweight and IBF super middleweight title holder, lost to Clarissa Shields in April 2019 and is looking to get back into some big fights in the USA. Davydova out of her depth with the six opponents she has beaten only having two wins between them.

Bunn vs. Teffahi

Bunn gets this one over early. He found the target with some heavy rights in the first and then put Teffahi on the floor with a body punch in the second and Teffahi was counted out. Bunn is No 11 with the EBU. One win in his last eight fight for Belgian-based Tunisian Teffahi

 

Landau, Germany: Cruiser: Fatih Altunkaya (27-0) W TKO 2 Deniz Altz (11-3). Super Welter: Antonio Hoffmann (24-2) W PTS 10 Yeison Gonzalez (16-6). Light Heavy: Diyab Dabschah (19-0,1ND) W RTD 3 Ibrahim Yildirim (9-1).

Altunkaya vs. Altz

Turk Altunkaya stops Altz in two rounds. Altunkaya hurt Altz with body punches in the first and floored and stopped him in the second. Altunkaya, 37, has a ridiculously padded record with sixteen of his victims never having won a fight and the rest being only marginally better. Tenth fight this year for Altz.

Hoffmann vs. Gonzalez

Hoffmann gets ten round split decision over Venezuelan Gonzalez who recovers from a slow start to be competitive. Hoffman boxed well to edge the first two rounds and had Gonzalez rocking in the third and a stoppage seemed possible as he took the fourth and fifth. Gonzalez came alive over the sixth and seventh with Hoffmann slowing and under pressure on the ropes. Despite a swelling by his right eye Hoffman recovered in the eighth but Gonzalez had a strong ninth and the tenth was close with Hoffman just the stronger. Scores 98-92 and 97-93 for Hoffmann and 97-94 for Gonzalez with Hoffmann looking a deserved winner. Angolan-born German Hoffman wins the IBO Ibero-American belt. His losses have come on points against Steven Butler and Nick Klappert. First fight in Germany for Gonzalez,

Dabschah vs. Yildirim

Dabschah continues undefeated as Yildirim retires after three rounds.  Dull first round saw neither boxer really throw many punches. Dabschah did better in the second scoring with some jabs but again activity was low. He also edged the third and Yildirim retired t the end of the round due to an injury probably suffered in the first round. Dabschah’s record built on carefully selected very modest opposition and he is going nowhere. But for the injury Yildirim might have tested him.

 

Timisoara, Romania: Super Welter: Flavius Blea (21-1) W PTS 10 Ricardo Villalba (20-6-1).Middle: Catalin Paraschiveanu (21-1) W TKO 3 Gyorgy Mizsei (27-32-1).

Blea vs. Villalba

Definitely not a good night for Argentinian boxers on their travels. As with Yamil Peralta Villalba looked unlucky to lose a split decision against Blea on scores of 96-94 and 97-93 for Blea and 96-94 for Villalba. Blea was defending the IBA Inter-Continental title and gets his ninth win in a row. Former Argentinian and South American champion Villalba was out for three years before returning and going 2-1 last year.

Paraschiveanu vs. Mizsei

British-based Romanian southpaw Paraschiveanu floored Hungarian Mizsei three times before their fight was stopped in the third round. First fight since October 2019 for Paraschiveanu and seventh successive victory.  Only two wins in his last fifteen bouts for Mizsei.

 

Hialeah, FL, USA: Cruiser: David Light: (18-0) W TKO1 Anthony Martinez (12-2) Heavy: Lenier Pero (10-0) W TKO 3 Hector Perez (7-5).

Light vs. Martinez

Light demolishes Martinez in the first round. Martinez certainly looked the part as he flitted speedily around the ring stabbing out jabs. Light just shadowed him not wasting a punch. He backed Martinez to the ropes with jabs and then landed a clubbing right to the head that unhinged Martinez legs. Martinez stumbled along the ropes and Light followed and landed two more shots that sent Martinez down. He was on his knees with his trunk bent forward so that his face was squashed against the canvas. He managed to climb to his feet but could hardly stand and stumbled into the ropes with the referee waiving the fight over after a totally unnecessary count. Nicknamed “The Great White” Light collects the WBO International belt with his eleventh win by KO/TKO. He was rated No 15 by the WBO. Martinez was No 14. He has won his last six fights by KO/TKO but was crushed here.

Pero vs. Perez

Pero batters a crude and overweight Perez to defeat in three rounds. Perez’s tactics, if plodding forward behind a high guard letting Pero use him for target practice counts as a tactic, made things easy for Pero. In the first two rounds Pero scored with bunches of shots to head and body with Perez offering an occasional wild swipe. It was more target practice in the third until Perez finally went down on one knee and the referee mercifully stopped the one-side battering. The 29-year-old Cuban had 120 amateur fights, was Cuban champion four times, was twice a gold medallist at the Pan American Games and scored wins over Jose Larduet and Erislandy Savon and beat Frank Sanchez five times. He has fast hands but slow footwork. Third defeat in a row for Perez including a first round stoppage by Jared Anderson.

 

New York, NY, USA: Super Bantam: Maureen Shea (30-2-1, 1 ND) W PTS 8 Calista Silgado (19-14-3). Welter: Paulo Galindo (12-5) W PTS 8 Daniel Gonzalez (20-4-1).

Shea vs. Silgado

Southpaw Shea outboxes Colombian Silgado over eight rounds. Plenty of frantic exchanges but the better skills of Shea gave her the edge with experienced Silgado making her fight hard for the win. Scores 79-73 twice and 77-75 for Shea. The 41-year-old “Real Million Dollar Baby” has lost and drawn in shots at Female titles but with a current 18-bout unbeaten run could land another title shot later this year. Third consecutive loss for Silgado who was beaten in shots at the WBA superb feather and IBO bantam titles in her last two fights.

Galindo vs. Gonzalez

First fight in the USA for Brazilian southpaw Galindo who climbs off the floor to win a split decision. A series of punches from local fighter Gonzalez sent Galindo down in the opening round. He survived and then out fought Gonzalez over the other seven rounds to take the decision on scores of 77-74 and 76-75 to 76-75 for Gonzalez. Good win for the former undefeated South American title holder. Second close defeat in a row for Gonzalez who lost on a majority decision against Petros Ananyan in October.

 

May 8

 

Johannesburg, South Africa: Super Light: Prince Dlomo (14-11-1)W Xolani Mcotheli (19-6). Super Feather: Siphosethu Mvula (15-4-1) W Prince Ndlovu (12-11-4).

16

Dlomo vs. Mcotheli

Dlomo gets a second win over former national champion Mcotheli in defence of his South African title. Scorers 117-111 twice and 116-113 for Dlomo. He won the title with a split decision over Mcotheli in March 2021

Mvula vs. Ndlovu

Former South African super flyweight champion Mvula returns with a win as he outpoints Ndlovu. Scores 77-75 twice and 78-74.

 

Fight of the week (Significance): Dmitry Bivol vs. Saul Alvarez

Fight of the week (Entertainment): Bivol vs. Alvarez

Fighter of the week:  Dmitry Bivol

Punch of the week: Left hook from Joselito that put Jose Soto on his back was a beauty tied with the one from Franco Acosta another stunner

Upset of the week: Houcine Moulahi 3-10-1 was not expected to be a problem for EBU No 4 welterweight 20-2 Mehdi Mouhib but took the decision in Mouhib’s home town.

Prospect watch: Uzbek super feather Elnur Abduraimov 9-0 8 by KO/TKO looks tasty

 

Observations

Rosette: To the three judges in the Alvarez vs. Bivol fight. They all scored every round the same. Not often that happens in a competitive big fight. Also to Ryan Rozicki who knew he had lost to Peralta and refused any celebration instead lifted Peralta’s hand to acknowledge the real winner. Not often you see that in any fight.

Red Card To the Nova Scotia judges who saw local fighter Ryan Rozicki the victor over Yamil Peralta.

-Only in boxing do you find such madness, Raul Villalba who lost to Flavius Blea in Romania, had previously lost to Russian Edgar Ghukasyan. That loss cost Villalba his WBA Asian title. How can an Argentinian be an Asian champion-only in boxing!!

-An unusual occurrence on the show in Mar del Plata on Friday. It was a family win double. No not two brothers but Franco Acosta and his dad Ruben, a former Argentinian and South American champion, both won

-Italian Luigi Mantegna, 45, celebrated fight No 100 on Friday. He turned pro back in 2006 and is now 2-96-2 with one win inside the distance and only six losses by KO/TKO. Boxing needs losers and Luigi has done his bit for the sport!