The Past Week in Action 16 August

   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.

                                 The Past Week in Action 16 August 2016

August 12

 

Verona, NY, USA: Feather: Miguel Flores (21-0) W PTS 10 Ryan Kielczewski (25-2). Welter: Yordenis Ugas (16-3) W PTS 10 Jamal James (20-1).

Flores vs. Kielczewski

Flores keeps his 100% record going as he takes close unanimous decision over Kielczewski. The first round was all Flores as he had Kielczewski on the back foot and was firing hooks to the body with Kielczewski throwing very little in return. Kielczewski did better in the second landing a thumping right cross but again Flores was throwing more and landing more particularly with left hooks to the body. Both were focusing on the body in the third slamming home left hooks. Flores had been straying low and was given a warning but he went straight back to the left hook and took the round. The fourth was closer but Flores had quicker feet and hands and was outscoring Kielczewski who was stronger and loading up on his punches but not throwing enough. Kielczewski took over in the fifth he kept pressing and was finally using his jab and Flores work rate dropped. Flores came back on song in the sixth upping his work rate but although he was throwing more Kielczewski was by far the more accurate. Flores was firing quick combinations in the seventh but many of his left hooks were landing closer to Kielczewski knees than his ribs. Flores was winning on volume with Kielczewski closing the round strongly but not doing enough. The eighth was again close with Flores probably edging it and they fought the ninth as though it was the last just standing and throwing punches with defence left on the stool. Kielczewski provided a storming finish in the last landing head punch after head punch with an exhausted Flores just hanging on to the bell. Scores 96-94 twice and 97-93 all for Flores. It was close but the 97-93 looked about right with Kielczewski taking the fifth, sixth and the last but Flores taking the rest although some rounds were close enough for 96-94 also to arguably be a fair representation. Biggest win so far for 24-year-old Houston-based Mexican Flores. “The Polish Prince” Kielczewski won his first 22 fights before losing a split verdict to Danny Aquino in April last year and had won three in a row since then.

Ugas vs. James

A quiet open round saw James trying to use his reach advantage to score with Ugas working his way past it and probably doing just enough to shade the round. Both showed good skills in the second and were scoring with flashing combinations in what was looking to be a chess match affair with Ugas the more accurate puncher. Gradually he was negating the taller man’s reach and out-jabbing James and then scoring better on the inside. As the fight progressed Ugas was dominating more and more. Having had his jab taken out of the equation James had nothing else in his arsenal to turn the fight his way. Having come in as a late substitute James did well to last the pace but he naturally tired and was unable to stage any kind of late surge as Ugas boxed his way to a clear victory. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 96-94 with the last being much too generous to James. This was the first fight for over two years for 30-year-old Cuban Ugas who had faded away after unexpected back-to-back losses to Emmanuel Robles and Amir Imam. With his amateur pedigree he was expected to make waves as a pro but it did not happen. He had won gold medals at the World Championships and the Pan American Games and beaten Jose Pedraza, Everton Lopes, twice, Sadam Ali, Francisco Vargas twice, Rosniel Iglesias twice, Darley Perez twice, Terrence Crawford, Tom Stalker and many more top names. It remains to be seen if he can make it second time lucky. The 6’2” (188cm) James took a big risk by putting his unbeaten record on the line at such short notice. He has shown his potential in wins over Juan Carlos Abreau, Javier Molina and Wale Omotoso so this late sub loss should not be too much of a black mark against the 28-year-old from Minnesota,

 

Ashton under Lyne, England: Super Light: Jack Catterall (16-0) W PTS 8 Lukasz Janik (16-21-1). Super Welter: Kilrain Kelly (19-1) W PTS 10 Darryl Sharp (3-9).

Catterall vs. Janik

Catterall gets points victory. The 24-year-old Chorley southpaw was always in charge but Janik did his job. He never stopped trying and made Catterall work hard all the way but Catterall had too much class shaking Janik with a couple of left hooks in the last and was a comfortable winner. Referee’s score 80-73. I say comfortable but he did reportedly hurt both hands in the second round which hopefully will not affect his expected challenge to British & Commonwealth champion Tyrone Nurse later this year. “El Gato” is rated No 6 by the WBO. Pole Janik, 27, is now 2-11 in his last 13 fights and 0-7 in fights in Britain.

Kelly vs. Melis

Kelly continues his rebuilding after defeat in an overly ambitious shot at WBO champion Liam Smith. No real problems for the Manchester fighter but ten rounds of ring time which is always useful. Referee’s score 100-90 for Kelly. Third win for Smith since that loss to Smith in December. Southpaw Sharp came in as a late replacement and kept his record on not losing by KO/TKO despite this being a big step up on class.

 

Pigue, Argentina: Heavy: Olanrewaju Durodola (23-3) W KO 1 Yuberti Suarez Diaz (8-5). Durodola bombs out ancient Uruguayan inside two minutes. Durodola came out punching putting Diaz under pressure. The Uruguayan managed to escape from a corner but Durodola followed him and landed a left and a right to the body and a left to the head and Diaz went down clutching his body in agony and he was counted out. All over in 103 seconds. The 35-year-old Nigerian “God’s Power” was having his first fight since being stopped in 9 rounds by Mairis Breidis in May which cost him his WBC Silver title. He now has 21 wins by KO/TKO and is WBC No 7 cruiser. He was inside the cruiser limit for this one but Diaz was over it. Diaz, 43, gets his fourth loss by KO/TKO.

 

Surat Thani, Thailand: Super Bantam: Pipat Chaiporn (40-9-1) W TKO 2 Paulus Baransano (2-8). Fly: Komgrich (21-3) W KO 3 Demsi Manufoe (10-6).

Chaiporn vs. Baransano

Boxing as Mike Tawatchai, Chaiporn just rolls over poor Indonesian. Chaiporn was much stronger and bulled Baransano around the ring landing hefty right hooks to the body with Baransano lacking any punch power unable to keep him out. In the second Baransano tried to stand and trade but Chaiporn took him to a corner and landed a long right to the head and a left to the body. After the body punch Baransano turned away sticking his head out through the ropes. Initially the referee seemed about to start a standing count then he seemed to waive the fight off and Baransano’s second took the fighters mouthguard out- then put it back in and finally the referee waived the fight over. Win No 23 by KO/TKO for Chaiporn. The Thai is 14-2 in his last 16 fights with the losses to Japanese fighters Shingo Wake and Yukinori Oguni. Six losses by KO/TKO for Indonesian Baransano.

Komgrich vs. Manufoe

Rubbish fight as over the first two rounds Komgrich just pads after the poor Indonesian southpaw throwing token punches with Manufoe not even doing that. It was over in the third as Komgrich scored with two head punches which put Manufoe down. He got up but a long right put him down again and the referee just waived the fight over. Now 14 wins in a row for Komgrich but a meaningless fight as Manufoe had only the most basic technique.

 

August 13

 

Rosarito, Mexico: Super Welter: Antonio Margarito (40-8,1ND) W PTS 10 Ramon Alvarez (23-5-2,1ND). Super Bantam: Emanuel Navarrete (15-1) W PTS 10 Eleazar Valenzuela (12-5-2). Super Light: Pedro Campa (22-0) W TKO 7 David Bency (10-6-1,1ND). Welter: Jaime Munguia (17-0) W TKO 2 Fernando Valencia (7-3).

Margarito vs. Alvarez

Margarito continues his comeback with split verdict over Alvarez but he was a clear winner. Alvarez started quicker moving forward against the taller Margarito drawing the jab and then moving inside to score with both hands. Margarito had his jab working better at the end of the round but his corner was already treating a bump under his right eye in the interval. Alvarez scored with some good combinations early in the second but then Margarito had his jab working and was able to slot home his punches with Alvarez throwing wild swings and missing but his early work probably saw him edge the round. The third and fourth were Margarito’s rounds clearly. Alvarez had no answer to the jab and was constantly on the back foot and launching crude swings with Margarito swaying out of range and then countering. The fight was becoming one-sided. Over the fifth and sixth Margarito scored with almost every jab he threw and was also banging home long rights and left hooks with Alvarez being out-boxed and coming up short with his punches. Strangely for an all-Mexican fight there was very little body punching or extended exchanges. Alvarez needed to get inside but was not trying to force his way there and was now showing a bump under his right eye. Alvarez had a better seventh. He was still eating jabs, with Margarito almost using only the jab, but Alvarez shortened his punches and landed some heavy head punches from both hands to make it a close round. Margarito was in command again in the eighth forcing Alvarez around the ring with his jab and rights. He scored a knockdown as after a left from Margarito they both landed rights with Alvarez falling back stumbling along the ropes and going down on one knee. He was up immediately and Margarito settled for banging home jabs to the bell. Both were very tired in the ninth. Margarito started the round well but Alvarez came on strong at the end. In the last Alvarez just had that bit more left and landed some hefty thumps to take the round but it was not enough. Scores 97-92 twice for Margarito and a strange 95-94 for Alvarez. After losing to Miguel Cotto in December 2011the 38-year-old Californian-born former IBF/WBA/WBO welter champion was out until returning with a win over Jorge Paez Jr. in March this year. He is still a name but his speed and skills have faded. “Inocente” Alvarez just never had an answer or a defence against Margarito’s jab and paid the price. He was 9-0,1ND in his last 10 fights with victories over Omar Chavez and Vivian Harris and was rated WBO 11/WBC 12. Brother Saul kept coming out of his seat to Ramon’s corner to offer advice but it did no good. Nothing Margarito showed would cause Saul any sleepless nights.

Navarrete vs. Valenzuela

“Cowboy” Navarrete wins unanimous decision over Valenzuela. The 21-year-old Navarrete makes it 10 wins in a row 8 by KO/TKO with useful victories over Enrique Bernache and Oswaldo Castro. Valenzuela came in as a very late replacement and was coming off losses in tough asks against unbeaten Eduardo Ramirez and world ranked David Sanchez.

Campa vs. Bency

Campa gets another inside the distance win. Campa was forcing the fight in the first scoring with his jab, left hooks to the body and straight rights. Bency realised he could not win on the outside so he then took the fight to Campa. He looked the stronger and was working the body with left hooks as the fight became a brawl. Bency lost a point in the third for careless use of his head and Campa found some room and rocked Bency with a left hook. Campa took the fourth using his jab more and Bency looked to be tiring. Campa let himself be drawn into a brawl again in the fifth but he was landing the harder and cleaner punches and Bency was caught by a series of left hooks just before the bell. Bence was again looking tired in the sixth as Campa scored throughout the round with clubbing head pinches. In the seventh a left hook from Campa saw Bency stagger to the ropes. Campa landed a right to the head and Bency forced his way off the ropes and trotted across the ring with his back turned to Campa wanting no more and the fight was stopped. The 24-year-old “Roca” from Hermosillo makes it 17 wins by KO/TKO with victories over Aaron Herrera and former holder of the secondary WBA light title Jose Alfaro. Nicaraguan Bency had won his last 8 fights.

Munguia vs. Valencia

Tijuana prospect Munguia just rolls over Valencia. The unbeaten 19-year-old Munguia put Valencia down in the first and twice in the second forcing the stoppage. Munguia has 14 wins by KO/TKO including eight in a row. Poor opposition so far but worth watching. Fellow-Mexican Valencia had won 7 of his last 8 fights,

 

Veracruz, Mexico: Fly: Juan Hernandez (33-2) W RTD 3 Dixon Flores (13-5-2). Feather: Tomas Rojas (48-14-1,1ND) W DISQ 6 Jose Sanmartin (20-4-1).

Hernandez vs. Flores

Hernandez outclasses Flores who retires after three rounds. Hernandez easily took the first and was handing out more punishment in the second and Flores lost a point for using an elbow. He did not need to but Hernandez decided to switch to southpaw in the third and rocked Flores with left to the head and later in the round also landed a combination signalling off with a hard hook. That was enough for Flores and he retired at the end of the round. “Churritos” Hernandez, 29, goes to 24 wins by KO/TKO including victories over Saul Juarez, Ramon Garcia and Jesus Silvestre. He lost on points to Kazuto Ioka for the WBC minimum title in 2011but has now won 15 in a row and is at No 2 at flyweight with the WBC so in line either for a shot at Roman Gonzalez or the vacant title if Gonzalez beats Carlos Cuadras and moves up. Nicaraguan Flores, 22, lost in five rounds to Cuadras for the WBC super fly title in August last year and was knocked out in one round by Brit Khalid Yafai in March.

Rojas vs. Sanmartin

“Worm” Rojas gets win in his hometown but Sanmartin made it a tough fight. He took the fight to the Mexican with Rojas using a stiff southpaw right jab and a wealth of experienced to outbox the Colombian. In the fifth Sanmartin increased the pace putting more pressure on Rojas. In the sixth Sanmartin’s head rammed into the face of Rojas. The Mexican suffered a cut on his right eyelid. The doctor decreed that the cut was too bad for the fight to continue and the referee disqualified Sanmartin. The 36-year-old former WBC super fly champion lost on a seventh round kayo against Shinsuke Yamanaka for the WBC bantam title in 2012. Since then he has scored nine wins on the bounce but is currently No 24 with the WBC at feather so some way to go to another title fight. “El General” Sanmartin lost on points to Carlos Zambrano for the interim WBA feather title in August last year and had won 3 of 4 since then.

 

Flemington, Australia: Super Middle: Blake Caparello (23-2-1) W TKO 5 Rogerio Damasco (24-5-2). Super Welter: Anthony Buttigieg (12-0) W PTS 6 Paitoon Jaikom (5-20). Feather: Joel Brunker (29-2) W PTS 6 Phum Kunmat (24-18-2). Cruiser: Damien Hooper (11-1) W PTS 5 Kyle Brumby (4-11-3). Bantam: Robert Trigg (2-0-1) W PTS 10 Mark Quon (12-6-1).

Caparello vs. Damasco

Caparello gets back into the winning column with stoppage of Damasco. Caparello wins every round before stopping Damasco in the fifth. The 29-year-old southpaw “Il Capo”, a former WBO light heavy title challenger, continues his campaign at super middle as he rebounds after loss to Andre Dirrell in April. Brazilian Damasco, 33, does not like visiting the Antipodes as in previous visits he has lost inside a round to both Robert Berridge and Zac Dunn.

Buttigieg vs. Jaikom

Buttigieg gets another win as he takes wide unanimous decision over Aussie-based Thai Jaikom. Buttigieg had Jaikom down in the first but could not put away the durable Thai and had to go the distance for the victory. Scores 60-53 from all three judges. The27-year-old from Melbourne, the Australian No 2, has a good win over Samuel Colomban. Jaikom, 30, is 2-8 in his last 10 fights but has always gone the distance.

Brunker vs. Kunmat

Brunker returns with a win. In his first fight since losing to Josh Warrington in September for the Commonwealth and WBC International titles he gets in six rounds of work against experienced Thai Kunmat. Scores 60-54 twice and 60-55 all for Brunker. The 30-year-old Australian ANBF No 1had scored good wins over Ivan Hernandez and Mike Oliver to build an unbeaten record of 27 fights before being stopped in two rounds by Lee Selby in 2014 so both of his losses have been against world class opposition. Kunmat came in as a late replacement.

Hooper vs. Brumby

Good to see Hooper back in action. He wins every round easily against fellow-Australian Brumby in a fight cut to five rounds. Scores 50-45 twice and 50-44 all for Hooper. The 24-year-old from Queensland was considered a red hot prospect when he turned pro but in his tenth fight he suffered a brutal one-punch 21 seconds kayo against Rod Powdrill. Although returning with a win in 2015 this is his first fight in 15 months. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the World Youth Olympics and a silver at the World Youth Championships and competed at both the World Championships and 2012 Olympics. He scored wins over Zac Dunn, Alfonso Blanco, Enrico Koelling and Tyron Zeuge and many others so some good pedigree. After an awful start to his career Brumby is now 3-2-2 in his last 7 fights.

Trigg vs. Quon

Trigg overcomes his lack of experience and wins vacant Australian title with wide points victory over Quon. Trigg had Quon down in the second round but had to go the distance for the victory. Scores 99-89, 99-91 and 98-90 all for Trigg. He had floored and beaten Quon over four rounds in May. Quon, a former Australian super bantam champion was halted in four rounds by Carl Frampton in 2011 for the Commonwealth super bantam title and was then inactive for four years.

 

Melbourne, Australia: Middle: Mike Zerafa (20-2) W TKO 5 Istvan Zeller (32-12). Light: Hurricane Futa (21-6-1) W KO 1 Will Tomlinson (25-3-1). Light: Qamil Balla (9-0-1) W PTS 8 Terdchai (14-5).

Zerafa vs. Zeller

Zerafa’s rebuilding going well as he halts experienced Hungarian loser Zeller. It was a one-sided fight with Zerafa constantly stalking the retreating Zeller. The Hungarian showed plenty of footwork but only prodded out the occasional jab just looking to survive. Zerafa was not throwing that many punches himself but was landing some hard right crosses and he slowly broke down the Hungarian and then floored him three times in the fifth round to force the stoppage. Zerafa is gradually putting his career back on track after suffering a scary knockout against Peter Quillin last September. This the third win in a row for the 24-year-old “Pretty Boy” and his eleventh win by KO/TKO. He is No 3 in the Australian ratings. Zeller, 26, now has nine losses by KO/TKO and in a previous visits to Australia has been stopped by Zac Dunn and lost on points to Bilal Akkawy.

Futa vs. Tomlinson

Futa blows away Tomlinson inside one minute to win the interim WBA Oceania title and may have ended the Australian’s career. The fight had a messy start with both fighters immediately tangling and almost tumbling out of the ring. They then both threw left hooks with Futa’s landing first and the fight was over in just 40 seconds. Futa. 28, was a risky choice he was always going to be willing to stand and trade punches and although losing by a wide margin he had given Jhonny Gonzalez twelve hard rounds in December. He now has 12 wins by KO/TKO. Local fighter “Wild Will”, 30, a former undefeated IBO champion, had lost important fights against Jerry Belmontes and Francisco Vargas and had not impressed in 2015 getting majority decisions over modest opposition in Adonis Aguelo and Hero Tito. Now he has to decide whether to go back to basics or give up the sport.

Balla vs. Terdchai

Balla eases back into the ring with wide unanimous decision over modest Thai Terdchai. Scores 80-71, 80-72 and 79-70. The 27-year-old “Golden Boy” a former unbeaten Australian champion was having his first fight for nine months. He has been plagued by injuries to his left arm and it has needed two operations to sort it out. Balla, 27, was Australian champion at schoolboy, cadet and senior level and competed for Australia at the World Championships and will be looking to make up for time lost due to the injury. Third loss in a row for Terdchai.

 

Olavinlinna, Finland: Light: Edis Tatli (28-1) W PTS 12 Cristian Morales (14-2-1). Light Heavy: Niklas Rasanen (13-0) W TKO 10 Emmanuel Feuzeu (8-4-2). Super Feather: Tuomo Eronen (17-4) W PTS 6 Rey Cajina (14-36-5).

Tatli vs. Morales

“Prince” Tatli retains his European title with comfortable victory over Spanish champion Morales. Tatli was forcing the fight from the off but Morales showed excellent defensive skills. Tatli had trouble landing anything heavy as Morales showed clever movement and countered whenever the opportunity arose but Tatli was taking the rounds and had built a good lead by the half-way point. From there Tatli seemed to slow which let Morales into the fight and the roles were reversed with Morales coming forward and Tatli countering. Over the closing rounds Tatli took over again and landed some hefty punches but Morales was never in real trouble as Tatli ran out a clear winner and retained his title for the second time. Scores 119-109, 118-110 and 118-111.The 28-year-old Kosovo-born Finn lost a majority verdict to Richar Abril for the WBA title in 2014. Wins over Yvon Mendy and Massimiliano Ballisai have seen him rated WBC 4 and IBF 8(6) and in typical WBA reasoning he is not in their ratings at all. Morales, 30, was 13-0-1 in his last 14 fights and down at No 17 with the EBU and he showed some good skills here without ever looking like winning.

Rasanen vs. Feuzeu

Strong Finnish southpaw Rasanen gets a very late stoppage win. The Finn had the upper hand from the first round against returning pro Feuzeu. Rasanen floored Feuzeu in the fourth but had problems sorting out the Cameroon-born Feuzeu’s style. He gradually broke Feuzeu down and forced the stoppage with just six seconds left in the fight. The 29-year-old “Drummer Boy” makes it 8 wins by KO/TKO. He was runner-up in the Finnish Championships in 2011 and 2012 but went one step further in 2013 and won the national title. He was under pressure to win as his fiancée Eva Wahlstrom, the WBC Female champion at super feather, scored a win in a non-title fight. Feuzeu, 35, based in Spain, was having his second fight this year but only his fourth fight in almost seven years. In April he was halted in four rounds by Mustafa Chadlioui for the vacant Spanish title.

Eronen vs. Cajina

Southpaw Eronen struggles to get split decision over touring loser Cajina. Scores 59-56 and 58-56 for Eronen and 58-56 for Cajina. Eronen had put together 11 wins in a row but then faced tougher opposition and lost to unbeaten Kamil Laszczyk and world rated Oleg Yefimovych. He had won his last two fights. Nicaraguan Cajina is now 1-19-2 in his last 22 fights but he usually goes the distance.

 

Topeka, Kansas: Welter: Danny O’Connor (27-3) W PTS 8 Jerry Thomas (11-1-1). O’Connor returns with a win but a painful one. The journey to Topeka was tough but the fight was even tougher. O’Connor got the split decision over the unbeaten local fighter on scores of 78-74 and 77-75 for O’Connor and 78-74 for Thomas. Thomas may have lost but it was O’Connor who looked like the loser as he ended up with two black eyes and a broken nose but he deserved the nod. O’Connor was having his first fight since a brutal 41 second kayo loss against Gabriel Bracero in October. He had retired but he has a boxing wellness youth mentoring project “Off The Canvas” and took the fight as he wanted money to help the project along. Thomas, a former wrestler, had won his last 8 fights.

 

Pensacola, FL: Cruiser: Roy Jones (64-9) W PTS 10 Rodney Moore (17-12-2).

12

Jones wins every round in his hometown in a miserable excuse for a fight and also incurs an injury to his right bicep. The fight was “fought” at walking pace with Jones rarely throwing more than one punch at a time and Moore rarely throwing more than one punch per round. Jones was just too quick for Moore although the word quick is a relative term. Jones won every round and Moore’s only contribution was a pair of “shorts” that almost reached to his ankles. Rubbish! Scores 100-90 from all three judges for 47-year-old Jones who continues to drag his legacy through the dust. Texan Moore was having his sixth fight in 11 years and has not won a fight since 2002.

 

Quito, Ecuador: Middle: Jeyson Minda (10-0-1) W KO 1 Miguel Angel Cobas (13-3-5). Minda blows away Cobas in just 20 seconds. The young local landed just one punch and Cobas went down and out cold and needed medical attention before recovering. The 23-year-old local retains his South American title. He won bronze medals at both the World Youth and Pan American Youth Championships and has 6 wins by KO/TKO. Argentinian Cobas, 30, lost only one of his first 18 fights but after losing to Isidro Prieto for the South American light heavy title in 2014 he was inactive before returning with a win in June. This his third loss by KO/TKO.

 

Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico: Super Light: Yomar Alamo (11-0) W TKO 2 Edgardo Rivera (7-4-2).

Fighting in his home village Alamo wins the vacant WBC Fecarbox title with stoppage of fellow-Puerto Rican Rivera. “The Magic” Alamo has 8 wins by KO/TKO including 6 first round finishes. This was the first ever boxing show in Aguas Buenas. Rivera has lost both of his fights this year by KO/TKO.