The Past Week in Action 9 February

Did you miss any of the heart-pounding action in the world of boxing this week? Fear not, as Eric Armit has got you covered with ‘The Past Week in Action’! Prepare to be thrilled as we dive into a comprehensive review of all the major cards from the past week, bringing you up to speed on every knockout, upset, and champion’s triumph in the ring.

HIGHLIGHTS:

-Brandon Figueroa stops champion Nick Ball in the last round to win the WBA featherweight title and Andrew Cain comes off the floor to stop Alejandro Gonzalez in WBC bantamweight final eliminator.

-Christian Medina successfully defends the WBO bantamweight title with points win over Adrian Curiel

-Dzmitry Asanau and Mehmet Unal continue their winning ways with victories in Montreal

MAJOR SHOWS:

FEBRUARY 7

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND: FEATHER: BRANDON FIGUEROA (27-2-1) TKO 12 NICK BALL (23-1-1). BANTAM: ANDREW CAIN (15-1) W TKO 9 ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ (19-7-3). SUPER FLY: JACK TURNER (14-0) W RTD 3 JUAN MARTINEZ (10-4-1). SUPER BANTAM: BRAD STRAND (14-2) W TKO 3 RUBEN GONZALEZ (12-7),

Figueroa vs. Ball vs. Figueroa

FIGUEROA scores a dramatic last round stoppage of BALL to win the WBA title. Ball made a good start quickly getting inside to rock Figueroa’s head back with an uppercut and finding the target with other rights. Southpaw Figueroa was 7 inches taller with a much longer reach but was not looking to use those advantages but  choosing to fight inside. Ball again scored well with uppercuts in the second with Figueroa landing with some good shots to the body but Ball responding with some sharp combinations.  Figueroa upped his work rate in the third and continued to attack Ball’s body with both having success with short punches inside in a close round. Figueroa was warned for a low punch in the fourth as he continued to focus on Ball’s body. Despite the difference in height/reach Ball was scoring well with jabs but Figueroa finished the round with a sustained attack. The rounds and the fight were close and after the fourth one judge had it 39-37 for Ball, one had it 39-37 for Figueroa and the third had it 38-38.  There was plenty of back-and-forth action over the middle rounds. Ball looked to have damage to his nose and swelling beside his left eye. Figueroa switched to orthodox and was the busier but with Ball landing the harder punches. The judges were finding the close rounds hard to score so that after the eighth they were again split with the scoring being 77-75, 75-77 and 76-76. Figueroa had a good ninth, his best round so far. He kept driving forward bombarding Ball with body punches forcing Ball to the ropes and connecting with uppercuts. Ball rebounded to have a strong tenth reaching the taller Figueroa with jabs and wide swinging counters. Ball also looked to have had the better of the action in the eleventh finding gaps for his hooks and closing the round connecting with a hard left hook. It looked as though the fight was going to be decided on the cards but Figueroa took it out of the judge’s hands. After just ten seconds of the twelfth round he nailed Ball with a left that sent Ball face down on the canvas. Ball climbed to his feet and after the count Figueroa forced Ball to the ropes and unloaded punches until Ball slid down to rest on the lower ropes hanging half way out of the ring as the referee waived the fight over. The cards at the end of the eleventh read 106-103 twice for Figueroa and 107-102 for Ball so Ball would have needed a kayo to win. Figueroa is being hailed as a three-time champion but his WBA super bantamweight title was the secondary one and only the WBC super-bantamweight and now this WBA featherweight title really count as full titles. Figueroa is now looking to face one of the other featherweight title holders Angelo Leo (IBF), Bruce Carrington (WBC) or Rafael Espinoza (WBO). It was a brave showing by Ball and hopefully he will get another title shot later this year.

Cain vs. Gonzalez

CAIN climbs off the floor twice in the eighth and then drops GONZALEZ twice to win on a ninth round stoppage. Both fighters enjoyed some success in the opening round before Cain got into his stride in the second landing some powerful rights. Cain set the pace in the third again finding the target with rights and putting Gonzalez under plenty of pressure. Gonzalez started to get through with body punches in a close fourth. He continued to attack Cain’s body with sweeping hooks in the fifth but it was a fairly even round as Cain continued to get through with rights. The sixth was a good round for Gonzalez. He was again connecting with swinging shots from both hands and Cain seemed to wince from a body shot. Cain evened things up with a good seventh as his right hands were getting through and forcing Gonzalez onto the back foot. There was a dramatic change in the eighth as Gonzalez landed some hurtful body punches late in the round and Cain dropped to kneel on the canvas. He beat the count but was pinned against the ropes as González fired home overhand rights to the head and left hooks to the body. Cain slumped to the floor. He made it to his feet and as the bell had gone during the count he was saved from defeat. In the ninth Gonzalez was coming forward looking to finish Cain off but a left from Cain had him badly shaken and he weas sent into retreat and down. He beat the count but was floored again by a right and although he climbed to his feet the referee stopped the fight. Huge win for Cain as this was a WBC final eliminator which should assure him of a shot at champion Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of Naoya Inoue. Gonzalez had won his last 7 fights and was seconds away from a sensational win here.

Turner vs. Martinez

TURNER gets a win as MARTINEZ retires after the third round. Turner was warned for a low punch in the first 20 seconds of the fight but then floored Martinez with a left hook at the bell. He was hunting Martinez down in the second landing hooks to the body from both hands. Martinez was holding to survive under Turner’s attack. Turner piled forward in the third driving Martinez into the ropes and again the Nicaraguan clinched desperately having a point deducted. Martinez was again under fire and holding at the end of the round and did not come out for the fourth. Seventh consecutive inside the distance win for Turner who was defending the WBA International title. Martinez just a 6 and 8 round prelim fighter who was out of his depth.

Strand vs. Lezama

STRAND breaks down and stops LEZAMA in the third.

Strand quickly had southpaw Lezama on the back foot with accurate jabs and rights to the body. Lezama staged an attack in the middle of the round but Strand had the better of those exchanges and kept Lezama on his back foot. Lezama came forward firing punches in the second and forced Strand back but was being caught by hard counters from both hands. Strand was putting together some impressive combinations that had Lezama retreating and was snapping Lezama’s head back with uppercuts. Lezama came out swinging again at the start of the third but was again walking onto some stiff counters. A left hook to the body had Lezama backing off in pain and Strand bombarded Lezama along the ropes until Lezama’s corner threw in the towel. Strand’s losses have come against good level opposition in Dennis McCann and a split decision against Ionut Baluta. Fourth defeat in his last five fights for Lezama.

FEBRUARY 5

MONTREAL, CANADA: LIGHT: DZMITRY ASANAU (12-0) W TKO 7 CARLOS RAMOS (18-4-1). LIGHT HEAVY: MEHMET UNAL (15-0) W KO 9 ALTIN ZOGAJ (17-1). FEATHER: THOMAS CHABOT (12-1) W PTS 10 DOMINIC BABINEAU (13-3-1). LIGHT: WYATT SANFORD (6-0) W PTS 6 ALEXIS CAMEJO (10-6-2, 1ND).

Asanau vs. Ramos

The WBC No 4 ASANAU beats Spanish champion RAMOS. The Belarusian dominated the fight with his advantages in height and reach and better technical skills. He slowly broke Ramos down flooring him late in the sixth and Ramos did not come out for the seventh. Asanau was making the third defence of the WBC Continental belt. Ramos came in as a late substitute.

Unal vs. Zogaj

Montreal-based Turk UNAL batters a too brave

ZOGAJ to defeat in nine rounds. This was a brutal battle with neither fighter particularly concerned with defence. Unal had built a good lead before Zogaj began to fade badly from the seventh. Zogaj had nothing left but neither his corner or the referee saved him and he took a savage beating in the eighth. At the start of the ninth a series of rights from Unal drove Zogaj to the canvas where he slumped against the ropes with the referee finally waiving the fight over. Zogaj was receiving treatment but left the ring on his feet and was taken to hospital for observation. Unal retains the WBC Continental Americas title and wins the vacant WBA Continental Americas title. Unal, a former kick boxing champion and 2016 Boxing Olympian, has 13 wins by KO/TKO. Kosovan Zogaj is a former undefeated IBO European title holder.

Chabot vs Babineau

In an all-Canadian bout southpaw prospect CHABOT bounced back from his first professional defeat with a split decision over BABINEAU. Chabot outworked Babineau and then held off a late charge from Babineau for the win. Scores 100-90 and 99-91 for Chabot and a strange 96-94 for Babineau

Sanford vs. Camejo

SANFORD eases his way to victory over Argentinian CAMEJO. Southpaw Sanforfd, a Pan American Games gold medallist and Olympic bronze medal winner, won every round as the 60-54 on the three cards shows.

FEBRUARY 6

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO: BANTAM: CHRISTIAN MEDINA (27-4) W PTS 12 ADRIAN CURIEL (26-7-1). SUPER FEATHER: ALBERTO MORA (14-0-) W PTS 10 JOSE GUERRERO (12-2-1,1ND). SUPER LIGHT: ABRAHAM CORDERO (17-2) W PTS 10 EDUARDO MARTINEZ (16-3).

Medina vs. Curiel

Fighting in his hometown MEDINA retains the WBO title with a unanimous decision over an aggressive CURIEL. From the start Curiel was looking to take the fight to Medina and make it an inside battle aiming to  stifle the more skilful work of  Medina. The champion boxed carefully aiming to keep Curiel at distance using clever lateral movement and accurate body punching. Medina was bigger than Curiel, a former IBF light fly champion, and that advantage plus his wider variety of punches saw, him establish a lead over the first five rounds. The non-stop pressure from Curiel paid off as he closed the distance more over the sixth, seventh and eighth often forcing Medina to the ropes so that Medina had to stand and trade. Medina took control again late in the ninth as he bombarded Curiel with uppercuts and hooks. The body punching slowed Curiel and although he kept attacking hard over the closing rounds Medina boxed his way to victory. Medina won on all three cards but there was a range of scores at 120-108, 116-112 and 115-113.  Medina was making the first defence of the WBO title he won with a fourth round stoppage of Yoshiki Takei in  September. Curiel won and then lost the IBF light flyweight title in fights against South African Sivenathi Nontshinga and lost a technical decision against Sunny Edwards in 2024

Mora vs. Amaro

MORA comes back from an early count to outpoint AMARO and win the WBO NABO title. A combination from southpaw Amaro saw Mora knocked off balance and put his gloves on the canvas in the first. Amaro looked to have taken the second round and the third was close. Mora finally started to up his work rate in the fourth and that, plus his harder punch, gave him the edge and he finished strongly to win on scores of 97-92 twice and 96-93.

Cordero vs. Martinez

CORDERO  makes it a double for Guadalajara as he wins a split verdict over southpaw MARTINEZ. Cordero’s higher work rate won this one for him. The rounds were closed with plenty of give-and-take exchanges. Cordero took the decision with scores of 97-93 and 96-94 and 96-94 for Martinez. Now eight wins on the bounce for Cordero. Martinez had won his last 6.

FEBRUARY 7

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM: WELTER: ANAS MESSAOUDI (18-0-1) W KO 5 LUCIEN ARAUJO (15-10-3).

Belgian MESSAOUDI beats Mexican ARAUJO on a fifth round kayo. Messaoudi had been in charge in every round and had hurt Araujo with body punches before a left to the body put Araujo down in the fifth and he was counted out. With Egidiju Kavaliauskas having relinquished the European title the EBU are saying Messaoudi and Samuel Medina will fight for the vacant title. These two fought to a majority draw for the title in August but it remains to be seen whether they will want to face each other again. Fourth inside the distance loss for former Mexican super welter champion Araujo.

BERLIN, GERMANY: LIGHT HEAVY: CHAMSEDDINE LEMJID (13-0-) W KO 2 BOSKO MISIC (32-32).

With the main  event falling through LEMJID moved up from one of the preliminary bouts and demolished MISIC in two rounds. After a fairly cordial first round Lemjid landed a series of punches rounded off by a body punch that sent Misic down and the Croat was unable to beat the count. Tenth win by KO/TKO for Tunisian-born Lemjid. Misic has a finely balanced record of 32 wins and 32 losses

BAD HERSFELD, GERMANY: CRUISER: ARTUR MANN (23-5) W KO 1 GREGORY GARCIA (12-4-1). MIDDLE: VIKTOR TEMIROV (10-0) W TKO 5 DOMENIK ARNOLD (5-1).

Mann vs. Garcia

Kazakh-born German MANN cuts down overmatched Colombian GARCIA to win the vacant WBF title. A series of rights from Mann dropped Garcia to his hands and knees and he was counted out. Mann, 35, announced his retirement. He had lost in cruiserweight title fights against  Kevin Lerena for the IBO belt and Mairis Breidis for the IBF title. Venezuelan Garcia a very low grade opponent but at least he is consistent-three fights in Germany and three first round defeats.

Temirov vs. Arnold

TEMIROV proves too strong for local fighter ARNOLD and stops him in the fifth round. Southpaw Arnold, 21, offered some resistance early but was battered and bloody when the fight was stopped in the fifth. Kazak Temirov wins the vacant WBF title with his seventh inside the distance victory.

WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA: LIGHT HEAVY: DAVID KERKMANN (30-4) W PTS 10 MAONO ALLY (18-11-1).

German KERKMANN, 41, rebounds from an inside the distance loss against Alan Graves in Derby with a points win over Tanzanian ALLY. No scores available.

HELMOND, HOLLAND: SUPER MIDDLE: BESIR AY (21-2) W PTS 12 NIEKY HOLZKEN (15-2). CRUISER: KILAT HALLIE (16-1) W KO 3 THORSTEN FUCHS (14-3).

AY ruins the night for the home town fans as he wins a close unanimous decision over HOLZKEN on scores of 115-113 twice and 116-112 and wins the vacant WBF title. German Ay had a 17-bout winning streak snapped when he was stopped by Michael Zerafa in March. Holzken, 42, was attempting to become a two-discipline world champion as he was already a 7-time world kickboxing champion. He was inactive between 2018 and July last year.

Hallie vs. Fuchs

Tall southpaw HALLIE saved the night for Dutch fans as he knocked out German FUCHS in the third round. The 6’3” Hallie won the vacant WBF Inter-Continental title with his tenth inside the distance victory. Now 3  quick losses in his last 4 fights for Fuchs.

DIETIKON, SWITZERLAND: WELTER: SLAWA SPOMER (21-1) W KO 3 JAIME VILLEGAS (17-4).

Kyrgyzstan-born  SPOMER returns to the ring with a third round kayo of Colombian VILLEGAS. First fight for Spomer since losing on a ninth round stoppage against Xander Zayas in New York in February last year. Fourth loss in a row for Villegas.

BANGKOK, THAILAND: MIDDLE: YURI SAKUNTS (21-0) W TKO 1 MARK URVANOV (26-5-2).

Armenian southpaw SAKUNTS wipes out Russian URVANOV early in the first round. Inside the first minute a vicious left hook to the body sent Urvanov down writhing in agony. He made it to his feet although still crouching from the pain from the punch. Sakunts moved in and sent Urvanov down with another body punch. Urvanov bravely got up but a left to the body and a right to the head sent him down heavily and the referee waived the fight over. Sakunts has won 19 fights by KO/TKO including the last 16 in a row. He has won a number of minor titles but his opposition has been pitiful and Urvanov is probably the best he has faced. Urvanov was 20-2-1 but has lost inside the distance in 2 of his last 3 fights.

FIGHT OF THE WEEK: Nick Ball vs. Brandon Figueroa. A competitive high level fight with a dramatic finish

FIGHTER OF THE WEEK: Brandon Figueroa as he becomes a two-division champion

PUNCH OF THE WEEK: The left from Figueroa that was the beginning of the end for Ball

UPSET OF THE WEEK: None really it would be a stretch to call Figueroa an underdog against Ball

ONE TO WATCH: Lightweight Canadian Olympian Wyatt Sanford 6-0