Tag Archives: results

Posted on 02/02/2019

By: Ken Hissner

Super Middleweight Ronald “Akeem” Ellis lost a majority decision to DeAndre Ware for the vacant NABA, USBO and WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight Titles. Vito Mielnicki’s GH3, Split-T Management and Greg Cohen Promotions promoted Friday night’s event over ShoBox at the Main Street Armory in Rochester, NY.

In the Main Event Super Middleweight Ronald “Reckless” Ellis, 15-1-2 (10), of Lynn, MASS, lost a majority decision to DeAndre “Axeman” Ware, 13-1-2 (8), of Toledo, OH, over 10 rounds.

In the first round Ware forced the action with Ellis looking over anxious not as busy. The shorter Ware seemed to use his jab better than Ellis. In the second round Ellis settled down more using his reach to an advantage. Ellis never backed up jabbing and using body punching. Ellis landed a long right to the chin just prior to the bell having a better round.

In the third round Ellis landed a chopping right to the head. Into a minute of the round Ellis landed a combination to the head. Ware landed several jabs followed by a right to the chin. Ellis landed a counter right to the chin.

Inside a minute left in the round Ware landed a solid right to the chin. Ware landed a double left hook to the body.

In the fourth round Ellis used a good jab. Ware landed a solid right to the chin. Ellis landed several jabs followed by a right to the chin. Too many clinches in the round for referee Michael Griffin.

Ellis had a better round using his jab. In the fifth round Ellis finally took the lead with Ware backing up for the first minute before Ware once again started moving forward. Ware walked into a right uppercut from Ellis. Ellis landed a solid right uppercut with half a minute left in the round. Ware with less of a reach seemed to land as many jabs.

In the sixth round more movement than punches landed for the first half of the round with Ware chasing Ellis. Finally getting inside Ware landed a right uppercut. Ware walked into a right uppercut. In the seventh round both went toe to toe for half a minute at the start of the round. Halfway through the round Ware landed a good uppercut. With less than a minute left in the round Ware landed a flurry having Ellis against the ropes. Ellis kept moving working his jab. Ware finished strong landing a flurry at the bell.

In the eighth round Ware came out throwing but Ellis matched him punch for punch. Halfway through the round Ware landed a flurry of punches to the head. Ware never stops coming forward. Ellis landed a combination. He kept using his jab but Wade landed several solid punches up to the bell.

In the ninth round Ellis is using his jab moving backwards. Ellis came into this fight recovering from a right hand injury and has only been using it sparingly. Ware punched Ellis to the ropes but got countered well from Ellis. Inside Ware landed a chopping right to the head of Ellis who was leaning in. Ware drove Ellis into the ropes with body shots.

In the tenth and final round with Ware pressing in Ellis landed a flurry of punches to the head. Inside Ellis landed a left hook to the chin. Ellis flurried to the body. Halfway through the round Ware and Ellis mixed it up inside. In the final minute Ware bullied his way in but was not throwing punches as Ellis had him walking into punches.

Scores were 96-94 twice and 95-95 as did this writer have it.

In the Co-Feature Lightweight Thomas “Gunna Man” Mattice, 13-1-1 (10), of Cleveland, OH, lost a mild upset to “Ill” Will Medera, 13-0-2 (6), of Albany, NY, over 8 rounds of action.

In the first round Medera pushed the action with several body shots. After a minute of mostly jabs Mattice opened up with a combination. Halfway through the round Medera landed a lead right to tht chin of Mattice. Mattice came back seconds later with a right of his own to the chin. Mattice used a good steady jab while Medera threw more heavier punches.
In the second round Mattice landed a good left hook to the head of Medera. Medera continued coming forward working the body. After a minute of action Medera landed a solid right to the head of Mattice. Mattice came back with a right uppercut to the chin of Medera. Medera missed with a right that was countered by a Mattice left hook on the chin. Medera landed a 3-punch combination ending with a right to the chin. Medera landed a solid left hook to the chin of Mattice just prior to the bell.

In the third round both fighters landed rights to the chin of one another. Mattice landed a flurry of four punches. Mattice finally stayed in the middle of the ring landing a solid right to the chin. Then he started moving once again. Inside a minute left in the round Medera landed several good body shots. With less than half a minute to go referee Charley Fitch had to break up the first clinch.
In the fifth round Medera kept coming forward working the body until he was countered by a right from Mattice on the chin. Mattice landed a lead right to the chin. Mattice landed a double left hook to the body and head. Medera landed a flurry of body punches but was countered with a left hook to the chin at the bell.
In the sixth round Mattice landed a double left hook ending with a right to the chin. Mattice landed his best punch of the fight a right after a lead jab to the chin of Medera. Mattice landed half a dozen punches without return to the head of Medera.

In the seventh round both fighters opened up with power punches with Medera still working the body while Mattice landed a good uppercut after a variety of jabs. Medera continued working the body with Mattice jabbing and landing counter rights. This was the closest round of the fight.

In the eighth and final round Medera continued going mostly to the body while Mattice landed jab after jab. Neither fighter seemed to go all out in a very close fight being it was the final round. Mattice landed a flurry at the bell.
Scores were 78-74 and 77-75 twice. This writer had it 76-76.

Middleweight Dominic Wade, 19-1 (13), of Largo, MD, returned to action since losing a title fight to GGG scoring a knockout over Martin Fidel Rios, 23-19-4 (13), of Parea, LaPampa, ARG, at 1:48 of the first round.

Ring announcer was Thomas Treiber.

Posted on 01/20/2019

By: William Holmes

The MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada was the host site for tonight’s pay per view offering by Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions. 

Several title fights were on this card in addition to the main event of Manny Pacquiao and Adrien Broner. 

The first bout of the night was between <strong>Hugo Ruiz (38-4) and Alberto Guevara (27-3)</strong> in the featherweight division. 

Ruiz was the taller and longer fighter of the two, and he had to face Guevara who had to step in as a last minute replacement, and his body looked like he hasn’t been training heavily in the past few weeks.

Ruiz was able to land two short right hands followed by two short left hooks in the first round that sent Guevara down to the mat, but he was unable to follow up on that and finish the fight early.

Photo Credit: Showtime Boxing Twitter Account

Ruiz was throwing a little more power into his shots in the second round, and was able to do good work to the body.  Ruiz continued to walk Guevara down in the third and fourth rounds, but he wasn’t throwing enough combinations to seriously hurt or threaten Guevara. 

Ruiz was warned for a low blow in the fifth round, but still landed more shots than Guevara despite the action slowing down.  Guevara was able to land some counters in the seventh round, but was fighting off his back foot in the eight round and was not throwing enough punches to win an otherwise winnable round. 

It looked like Guevara is fighting to just survive and not go for the win.  He has to know he’s behind on the scorecards but he didn’t take any risks in the final two rounds of the bout.

Ruiz wins a lackluster decision with scores of 100-89, 99-90, and 99-90.

The next fight of the night was between <strong>Nordine Oubaali (14-0) and Rau’shee Warren (16-2) (</strong> for the WBC Bantamweight title. 

Both Oubaali and Warren fought as southpaws, and they previously met in the Olympics when Oubaali was able to defeat Warren.

Warren showed good hand speed early on and Oubaali was a little short with his punches.  Warren’s jab was accurate early, and he may have had Oubaali a little hurt in the third round.

Photo Credit: Showtime Boxing Twitter Account

Oubaali began to turn the tide of the fight in his favor in the fourth round when he landed a counter left hand near the end of the round, and he had a strong fifth round with some check right hooks and lead right hands.

The sixth round was a close one, but Oubaali may have hurt Warren at the end of the round with a good left hand.  Warren unwisely got in a firefight with Oubaali in the seventh round and may have lost the round as a result.  Warren, to his credit, continued to exchange with Oubaali in the eighth round.

Warren pressed the pace in the ninth round but got tagged with some good power shots, and Oubaali was more accurate with his counter shots in the tenth round.

Warren likely stole the eleventh round with his activity and pressure, but it appeared to many he needed a knockout in the last round in order to pull out a win. 

That knockout didn’t come, but overall there were many close rounds.

The judges scored the fight 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111 for Nordine Ouaali.

The co-main event of the night was between <strong> Badou Jack (22-1-3) and Marcus Browne (22-0) </strong>for the WBA Interim Light Heavyweight Championship. 

Browne had the slight height and reach advantage on Jack and was able to use it to his advantage early on.  He pressed the pace more in the opening two rounds and kept control of the center of the ring.

Photo Credit: Showtime Boxing Twitter Account

Browne was able to land some good shots to the body in the third and fourth round, while Jack was unable to land any notable punches on Browne’s body or head.

Marcus Browne had a very good fifth round, he was able to land a strong left hook that had Jack hurt, but Browne didn’t press the pace and go for the knockdown.   Browne looked very confident going into the sixth round, and wasn’t bothered by Jack’s power at all

Browne opened up a cut in the middle of Jack’s forehead after a headbutt and was later deducted a point in the seventh round.  Browne was landing clean combinations in the eighth and ninth rounds, as the blood dripped from Jack’s forehead and he appeared to be losing his energy.

Badou Jack was able to make a brief comeback in the tenth round with a flurry of punches on Browne by the corner. Bit he wasn’t able to follow that up with any effective offense.

Jack looked like a defeated fighter going into the final two rounds of the fight, as Browne looked confident he was going to walk away the winner.  Browne went in for the kill in the final round as the blood was pouring out of Jack’s cut.  The ringside doctor came out to check Jack’s cut, but allowed him to continue.  Jack was able to finish out the fight, but he had a crimson mask of blood.

The final scores of the fight were 117-110, 116-111, and 119-108 for Marcus Browne.

Posted on 12/16/2018

By: Oliver McManus

A veritable curtain-raiser for the next Saturday’s show-stopper at the 02, Frank Warren promoted at the Brentwood Centre tonight (15th December) with a whole host of fighters looking to set up a huge 2019. Sam Bowen was scheduled to defend his British title against Ronnie Clark and Daniel Dubois was due to face Razvan Cojanu but both fights were pushed back due to injury / illness.

Headlining instead were a pair of WBO International title fights with Bradley Skeete taking on Diego Ramirez and Sunny Edwards facing Junior Granados. Both men were ranked 13th with the WBO prior to fight night – in the super-fly and welterweight divisions, respectively – and looked to build on this ahead of next year.

Edwards, fresh off the back of a dominant victory over Ryan Farrag, was originally slated to contest the WBC International belt against his Mexican counterpart but opted to strengthen his reputation with the WBO, instead.

Granados returned to British Isles for the first time since 2015 when he took on Jamie Conlan – that particular contest held in Dublin. A thrilling fight over 10 rounds, Granados dropped Conlan twice in the seventh round before narrowly losing on points. A classic display of Mexican grit and, you suspected, the blueprint for Granados’ fight at Brentwood.

The fight began with Edwards, newly a father, beating Granados to the jab as both men looked get it popping. Circling in the middle of the ring, it was a tepid opening three minutes but Edwards landed the more meaningful punches.

Having found his range in the first round, Edwards looked lighter on his feet in the second and registered some accurate right hands to signal his intentions. Having pawed out with the left hand, he left himself open to a clubbing right hand from Granados. The first punch of significance from the Mexican sent the home fighter to the canvas, bolt from the blue, but a flash-knockdown rather than anything serious.

Edwards seemed to regain composure quickly and the 22 year old showed maturity to stick to his gameplan, not letting the adrenaline alter his mindset. As with his fight against Farrag, Edwards was showcasing his fluid footwork that marks him out as a technical threat – capable of fighting in the pocket and on the back foot.

The Croydon-man was easing through the rounds, staying alert to Granados’ attempted aggression, and began to tee off when up close. Granados, if we’re honest, showed a fraction of the heart we had expected and, for the most part, was being out-boxed by his younger counterpart. Less of an explosive performance than against Ryan Farrag but, still, an impressive body of work from Edwards.

An argument could be made for an increased work rate as the fight rattled into the final third as Edwards, up on the scorecards, could have looked to force the case. All being said, there was no real need to do so but it would have been good to see how much he had left in the tank. A switch-hitter, Edwards was predominantly impressing from the southpaw stance and looked comfortable throughout.

A rhythm emerged throughout the rounds as Edwards continued to walk down his opponent, out-boxing the South American, with bursts of trading occurring periodically. A cruising night of work for the super-flyweight, Edwards added the WBO International strap to his collection via scorecards of 99-91, 97-92 and 98-91. But surely, surely, Jay Harris and the British title await in 2019?

Bradley Skeete was attempting to capture the first new title of his career since he won both the British and Commonwealth belts from Sam Eggington in March 2016 – though, of course, he defended the British belt three times thereafter. Against Diego Ramirez he faced a former WBO Latino champion who had amassed 48 rounds in the last 12 months.

Ramirez was fighting in his trademark camouflage shorts, Skeete in a coral blue. The opening bell rang and Skeete took to the centre of the ring, keeping his hands around the midriff and looking to work an opening. In his last fight, against Demian Fernandez, the Argentine was guilty of him planting his feet a little too firmly and Skeete was clearly the lighter-mover through the opening phases.

A confident left jab opened up the body of Ramirez, allowing Skeete to land a couple of hooks to the exposed region. Ramirez offered little resistance, keeping his head tucked behind the guard and simply trying to evade the shots of Skeete. With a minute to go of the second round, the Argentine suddenly sprung to life with a looping left hook landing plumb to the face of Skeete – good timing, more than anything.

The Brit hit the floor heavily, seemingly dazed, and sought to hold on for dear life having beat the count. Ramirez continued his onslaught but with Skeete in the corner, Bob Williams was forced to intervene as Skeete struggled to find his bearings. A freakish recreation of his bout against Kerman Lejarraga, almost shot-for-shot.

Diego Ramirez pulled out a performance of a lifetime as scars remain from Skeete’s contest with Lejarraga. A rebuild mission for 2019 but the remaining question is, how much does he want it?

For Sunny Edwards it is onwards and upwards, the super-flyweight looks technically world class but will do well to get experience before pushing on. Skeete, on the other hand, his future is up in the air. For such a nice guy it would be an awful shame were this to be his final memories in the ring. Who said boxing was a simple sport?

Posted on 12/09/2018

By: Hans Themistode

It was a clean sweep as Cecilia Braekhus (35-0, 8 KOs) and Claressa Shields (8-0, 2 KOs) both retained their titles with relative ease tonight.

For Claressa it was a dominant showing against the current Super Middleweight champion Fenke Hermans (9-2, 3 KOs). Fenke showed tremendous heart in finishing the bout upright but it was a clear victory for Claressa.

From the very beginning there was absolutely no feel out rounds for the reigning unified Middleweight champion. She came out of the gates fast looking to inflict damage on her opponent. Every round looked exactly the same as Claressa made her opponent miss while landing monstrous shots of own. It was the kind of performance from Claressa that showed exactly why she is a super star with only eight pro bouts.

For as dominant as Claressa was she takes a back seat to the current pound-for-pound queen and unified Welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus.

The aforementioned Braekhus put on an absolute clinic. Her opponent Aleksandra Magdziak-Lopes (18-5-3, 1 KO) kept fighting until the end but just didn’t have the skill necessary to dethrone the champion.

To demonstrate just how dominate Braekhus was tonight she only lost one total round according to one judge.

Yes one. That is not a miss print.

The two female headliners absolutely showed out tonight but let’s not forget about Juan Francisco Estrada (38-3, 26 KOs) who made a statement of his own tonight by stopping the tough Victor Mendez (28-4-2, 20 KOs). For Mendez it was the first stoppage loss in his career. The reason this is significant is because Mendez has shared the ring with several great fighters, most notably former WBC champion Luis Nery.

Estrada punished Mendez all fight long until he was forced to throw in the towel. Estrada has been itching for a rematch with current champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. With a performance like he had tonight there is no doubt he will be getting his wish very soon.

All of the fights were entertaining tonight. Those who were supposed to win did so and in dominant fashion. As much as I would love to continue to heap praise on these fighters, the attention should be placed on something much more important at the moment. Let’s acknowledge HBO here.

The network has officially left the world of boxing after 45 plus years of coverage. Of course the sport of boxing will go on but something will forever seem as though it’s missing. Some of the very best to lace them up both past and present have graced that platform. From Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran to current great fighters in Canelo Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol. It is a sad day in boxing but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

Farewell HBO, you will be missed.

Posted on 12/01/2018

By: William Holmes

The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California was the host site for tonight’s Showtime PPV offering between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.

The opening bout of the night was between Joe Joyce (6-0) and Joe Hanks (23-2) in the heavyweight division.

Joe Joyce was a silver medalist in the 2016 Summer Olympics and has stopped every opponent he has faced as a professional.

Joyce was the taller fighter, but looked a little awkward around the ring and was stunned with some decent combinations by Hanks early on. However, when Joyce connected with a straight right hand it hurt Hanks and had him momentarily stunned. Joyce was able to follow that up with a jab and a left hook to the chin that sent Hanks crashing to the mat.

Hanks struggled to get up by the count of ten and protested when the referee waived the fight off, but he looked badly hurt at the time of the stoppage.

Joe Joyce wins by way of knockout at 2:25 of round one.

The next fight of the night was between Luis Ortiz(29-1) and Travis Kauffman (32-2) in the heavyweight division.

Ortiz is an elite fighter with a deep amateur background and the difference in talent was evident early on. Ortiz had Kauffman backing up early on with a stead streak of jabs and kept it up throughout most of the fight.

Kauffman got hit with a low blow in the third round and got some time to recover, but got tagged with a good combination by Ortiz after his break in what may have been the best shots of the night at that point.

Kauffman continued to get moved corner to corner in the fourth and fifth rounds as he was backwards. Ortiz landed a vicious straight left hand in the sixth round that sent Kauffman to the mat and Ortiz celebrating jumping in the corner. But it may have ben premature as Kauffman got back to his feet.

Ortiz picked Kauffman apart for the remainder of the sixth round and landed some solid straight right hands but wasn’t able to finish Kauffman off.

Ortiz had Kauffman backing up in the seventh round and sent him to the mat again in the eighth round with an overhand right to the temple. Kauffman got back to his feet again and took several more hard shots, including a left uppercut, but was able to survive the round.

Ortiz went for the stoppage in the final two rounds, an landed a low blow and a near knockdown in the ninth round that was ruled a push. He did land a left hand in the tenth and final round to score his third knockdown of the fight, but Kauffman got up to his feet again, only to get tagged with another left hook that had him badly hurt before the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

Louis Ortiz at wins by TKO at 1:58 of the tenth and final round.

The final fight on the undercard was between Jarrett Hurd (22-0) and Jason Welborn (24-6) in the super welterweight division.

Welborn was pressing the pace in the opening round and kept his head in the chest of Hurd and fought the fight in close and appeared to do well.

Hurd pressed behind his jab in the second round and appeared to throw a large number of left jabs and hooks. Hurd was rolling well with the punches of Welborn in the third round, but Welborn may have stolen that round with a flurry at the end.

Welborn opened up the fourth round with some heavy shots on Hurd by the ropes and connected with some clean hooks to the head while Hurd’s back was against the ropes. Hurd covered up and took the shots of Welborn before unloading a right uppercut to the body that sent Welborn to the canvas.

Hurd took some heavy shots in the process, but wins by knockout at 1:55 of the fourth round.
Rd 4: Weblron landed some heavy shots on Hurd by the ropes. Some hard combos. Hurt taking on some good shots. Hurd fighting back. Body shot sends him down. For ten. KO!!

Posted on 11/24/2018

The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey was the host site for tonight’s HBO Boxing card, one of the last ones before HBO closes the door in boxing.

The opening bout of the night was between Isaac Zarate (16-3-3) and Murodjon Akhmadaliev (4-0) in the junior featherweight division.

Akhmadaliev is a high level prospect with a deep amateur background, and was considered a heavy favorite despite only having four professional fights in comparison to the 22 of Zarate.

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account

Akhmadaliev showed good movement in the opening two rounds and was able to land the heavier and harder power shots. Akhmadaliev was getting a little reckless in the second round and was victim to some uppercuts from Zarate, but still likely won the rounds.

Akhmadaliev landed some heavy body shots in the third round and had a left hook that had Zarate seeing stars, but he managed to survive the round.

Zarate made a better showing in the fifth round, but Akhmadaliev was landing some heavy body shots this round. Akhmadaliev continued to press forward in the sixth round and had Zarate retreating to safety in the corner multiple times.

Zarate appeared to have no power in the seventh round and was badly hurt from a body shot. Akhmadaliev continued to land heavy blows in the eighth round that looked like it would have stopped several fighters from the past.

By the ninth round the main question was could Zarate last all ten rounds? The answer was no, as Akhmadaliev landed a vicious right hand to the chin followed by a combination that forced the referee to jump in and stop the fight.

Akhmadaliev wins by TKO at 1:17 of the ninth round.

The main event of the night was between Dmitry Bivol (14-0) and Jean Pascal (33-5-1) for the WBA Light Heavyweight Championship.

It was clear in the opening moments of the fight that Bivol had the height advantage and was a much more accurate puncher. Bivol’s combinations had Pascal a little hurt at the end of the first round, and kept Pascal off balance in the second round and unable to launch and effective attack.

Bivol continued to land accurate jabs in the third round and looked like he wasn’t missing many punches. Pascal brought some heat in the fourth round, but that was short lived as a slip at the end of the round probably could have been scored a knockdown.

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account

Bivol had Pascal backing up again in the fifth round and forced Pascal to be short with his punches. Body shots from Bivol in the sixth and seventh rounds appeared to suck the energy out of Pasal.

Pascal had a brief rally in the eighth round when he connected with a straight counter right, but Bivol remained calm and peppered Pascal throughout most of the round.

Pascal came out firing in the ninth round behind a steady stream of jabs, and may have stolen it from Bivol, who didn’t press the pace like he usually does.

Bivol landed a plethora of punches in the opening minute of the tenth round and he looked like he was going for the knockout, but Pascal was able to survive and throw back a flurries of his own. Pascal ended the round strong by pressing the attack, but Bivol still likely won the round.

Pascal needed a knockout in the final two rounds to win the bout, but that never came.

Dmitry Bivol wins the decision with scores of 117-111, 119-109, and 119-109.

Posted on 11/17/2018

By: Ken Hissner

Hard Hitting Promotions in association with Victory Promotions on a card at South Philly’s 2300 Arena Friday night televised live on ShoBox in an all Philly Main Event before a packed house.

In the main event Jaron “Boots” Ennis, 22-0 (20), destroyed Ray “Tito” Serrano, 24-6 (10), at 1:12 of the second round.

In the first round Ennis came out landing a solid right to the chin of Serrano. Ennis had Serrano backing up the entire round bewildered with the hand speed of Ennis who had him holding on at the bell. In the second round Ennis switching from southpaw to orthodox dropped Serrano with a left hook on the chin. Serrano beat the count but was out of it. Ennis dropped Serrano a second time with a right hand. He jumped on Serrano dropping him with a flurry for a third knockdown ending the mismatch.

Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME

In the co-feature Kenny Sims, Jr., 13-2-1 (4), of Chicago, IL, lost a lopsided decision to Sammy Teah, 15-2-1 (7), from Liberia, residing in Philly, over 8 rounds.

In the first round there was no feeling out as both fighters were throwing punches in bunches. Teah used an effective right while Sims used a good left. Round could have gone either way. In round two both fighters mostly used a body attack. Teah rocked Sims with a right hand on the chin. Sims fought back but was hurt. Big round for Teah.

In the third round Teah worked well inside while Sims seemed to play into his hands trying to switch back and forth from orthodox to southpaw but with little effect. In the fourth round Teah used uppercuts to the body hurting Sims. Teah simply outworked the out of town fighter Sims.

In the fifth round Teah kept the pressure on the back pedaling Sims. It was another good round for Teah. Referee Benjy Esteves, Jr., warned Sims at the end of the round for using a back hander. In the sixth round Teah rocked Sims with a combination to the head. Teah landed a double left hook to the body of Sims who came back with a chopping right to the head. Teah had Sims in trouble the last ten seconds of the round as the bell sounded.

In the seventh round Teah kept the jab in the face of Sims who was coming forward looking for the big punch being far behind in the fight. Teah was still the better of the two round after round. In the eighth and final round Teah came out looking for the knockout but Sims knowing he needed one stood his ground. Teah never looked better in this writers eyes.

Scores were Braswell and Weisfeld 77-75 and Poturaj 79-73 This writer had it 79-73.

Super bantam Arnold “Arni” Khegai, 14-0-1 (9), of Philly, defeated Jorge Diaz, 19-6-1 (10), of New Brunswick, NJ over 8 rounds.

In the first three rounds Diaz worked the body of Khegai. Diaz in the fourth round drew blood over the left eye of Khegai. Cut-man Joey Eye went to work on it between rounds.

In the fifth round Khegai finally started landing solid punches to the head of the ever ducking Diaz. Referee Rosato gave several warnings to Khegai for pushing the head of Diaz down but never took a point away. In the sixth round Khegai landed a solid left to the chin of Diaz dropping him. Diaz weathered the storm getting through the round.

In the seventh round Khegai had his best round trying to capitalize on the previous rounds knockdown. Diaz kept in the round as best he could. In the eighth and final round Khegai continued using dirty tactics and receiving warnings but landed solid punches to the fading Diaz. At the end of the round Khegai had Diaz out on his feet being saved by the bell.

Scores were LaRosa 79-72 while Weisfeld and Poturaj scored it 77-74. This writer had it 76-75 with the knockdown the difference.

Philly Lightweight Branden “The Gift” Pizarro, 13-1 (6), defeated Jerome Rodriguez, 7-11-3 (2), out of Allentown, PA, over 6 rounds for the NBA belt.

In the first round Pizarro landed several lead rights to the chin of southpaw Rodriguez. Pizarro landed a 3-punch combination to the body and head of Rodriguez. In the second round a right hook from Rodriguez put a welt under the left eye of Pizarro. Pizarro ended the round with a double left hook to the chin of Rodriguez. Cut-man Joey Eye went to work on the welt of Pizarro’s between rounds.

In the third round inside being held by Rodriguez Pizarro landed three chopping rights to the head. Rodriguez used his jab while Pizarro was throwing twice as many in return followed by rights to the head. In the fourth round Pizarro landed half a dozen unanswered punches. After landing a combination Pizarro got his head snapped back by a Rodriguez jab. Pizarro with his hands to his side ended the round with a combination to the chin of Rodriguez.

In the fifth round Pizarro landed a combination to the head but got caught with a Rodriguez right hook on the chin. Pizarro turned southpaw for about ten secons before returning to orthodox. In the sixth and final round both opened up getting the fans into it. Rodriguez landed a hard uppercut to the chin of Pizarro. Pizarro ended the round with a combination to the chin of Rodriguez.

Scores were LaRosa 60-54 while Braswell and Poturaj as well as this writer had it 59-55. Esteves was the ref.

Super Featherweight Gadwin “Abayarde” Rosa, 9-0 (7) of Ocala, FL, deated German Meraz, 61-51 (38), of Sonora, MEX, over 6 rounds for the NBA title.

In the first two rounds Rosa was on the offense going to the body of Meraz. Rosa landed a solid left hook to the chin of Meraz in the second round. In the third round there was too much clinching as referee Rosato handled it appropriately. Finally with 10 seconds to go Meraz got in his best punch of the night a left hook to the chin of Rosa.

In the fourth round Meraz unloaded with overhand rights to the head of Rosa. Rosa came back evening the score for the most part. In the fifth round Meraz switched to southpaw holding off Rosa for the most part. In the sixth and final round Meraz became the aggressor landing uppercuts to the body of Rosa. Meraz missed with an uppercut and was countered by a Rosa right to the chin.

Scores were LaRosa and Weisfeld 59-55, David Braswell 60-54 with this writer having it 59-55. Rosato was the ref.

Super Welterweight Kieran Hooks, 3-2-1 (1), of Philly, was stopped by Gledwin “Chico” Ortiz, 6-2 (5), of the Bronx, NY, at 2:27 of round one.

In the first round Ortiz landed a devistating right to the chin of Hooks who went down face first. Referee Esteves wisely immediately waved it over!

Super Featherweight Christian Tapia, 7-0 (6), of Coamo, PR, stopped Darnell Pettis, 3-13 (0), of Cleveland, OH, who couldn’t come out for the fourth round.

In the first two rounds it went back and forth. In the third and fourth Tapia took over hurting Pettis. By the end of the fourth referee Rosata with the advice of the ring physician stopped it in favor of Tapia.

Light Heavyweight Benjamin Sinakin, 2-0 (1), of Philly stopped southpaw Darren Gibbs, 1-6 (1), of Ferndale, MI, at 2:23 of the first round.

In the first round Sinakin dropped Gibbs with a right to the chin. Gibbs beat the count but Sinakin jumped on him having him hurt in a corner when referee Esteves wisely called a halt.

Cruiserweight David Stevens, out of Reading, PA, 1-0 (1), stopped Judd Brown, 0-2-1, (0), of Johnson City, TN, at 2:56, of the first round.In the first round Stevens was bombing Brown with solid shots landing a left hook followed by a straight right for a knockdown. The second knockdown was a right uppercut causing referee Rosato to call a halt.

Posted on 11/17/2018

By: Michael Kane

Oklahoma will continue to wait for their first world champion since Sean O’Grady in 1981. Alex Saucedo was hoping to become Oklahoma’s second ever champion but fell short in his bid against the champion Maurice Hooker.

4102 fans were in the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City to see if their man, Saucedo, could do it. Once again Hooker was on enemy territory, he won the WBO Junior Welterweight title in June when he travelled to Manchester to take on hometown favourite Terry Flanagan for the vacant title, winning by split decision.

There was to be no decision after this fight. Saucedo started well and landed a big right hand. This put Hooker on the canvas in the second, sending his fans into ecstasy. Hooker was bloodied but Saucedo didn’t finish him.

Photo Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Moving on to the 5th, Saucedo had Hooker against the ropes but the champ came back in the closing stages of the round.

In the 6th Saucedo’s eye was starting to look swollen.

The fight was over in the 7th as Hooker took control of the fight, Saucedo suffered a standing eight count after Hooker landed a right hand. Hooker went on to stop Saucedo later in the round, winning by TKO.

“Alex is a great fighter. He came to fight, and I came to fight,and I went right at him,” Hooker (25-0-3, 17 KOs) said. “I knew the first couple of rounds would be tough, but eventually it would be my time to take over.”

Saucedo (28-1, 18 KOs) said, “He’s a champion for a reason. Now I am going to rest, enjoy my family, and come back stronger. I gave it my very best in the ring.”

In the other big fight on the card, NABF Welterweight champion Egidijus Kavaliauskas (21-0, 17 KOs) defended his strap against undefeated Roberto Arriaza (17-1, 13 KOs).

It took the Lithuanian 3 rounds to put the Nicaraguan, Arriaza away to retain his NABF title and add the WBO Inter-continental title.

Kavaliauskas now wants a shot at World champion Terence Crawford, who was ringside.

“I want the best in the welterweight division, and the best guy right now is Terence Crawford.” Said Kavaliauskas. “I am ready for that fight next.”

Arriaza said, “I know I had him in trouble. I was the one who was dominating and was in control of the fight. I’m sure that I was going to finish him within six rounds, but he surprised me with a punch to the back of the ear and then connected with me while I was on the canvas.”

In other results:

Super Lightweight: Cletus Seldin (22-1, 18 KOs), KO 1, :26, Nelson Lara (17-11-4, 9 KOs).

* Left hook to the body put Lara down for the count

Super Bantamweight: Jonathan Guzman (23-1, 22 KOs), unanimous decision, 10 rounds, Roberto Castaneda (23-11-1, 16 KOs). Scores: 99-91 3X.

Middleweight: Tyler Howard (16-0, 11 KOs), KO 1, 1:30, Isiah Seldon (12-2-1, 4 KOs).

Light Heavyweight: Trevor McCumby (25-0, 18 KOs), unanimous decision, 8 rounds, Felipe Romero (20-16-1, 14 KOs). Scores: 78-73, 78-72, 77-73.

Lightweight: Albert Bell (13-0, 5 KOs),TKO 6, 3:00, Carlos Padilla (16-9-1, 10 KOs).

Bantamweight: Aaron Morales (5-0, 3 KOs), unanimous decision, 6 rounds, Francisco Lapizco (8-9, 2 KOs). Scores: 59-55 3X.

Super Welterweight: Paul Kroll (2-0, 2 KOs ) TKO 2, :13, Antonio Wattell (1-6-1, 1 KO).

Super Bantamweight: Rasheen Brown (2-0, 0 KOs), majority decision, 4 rounds, Sebastian Baltazar (1-3, 0 KOs). Scores: 38-38, 39-37 2X.

Lightweight: John Rincon (1-0, 1 KO) KO 1, 1:24, Emanuel Williams (0-1).

Posted on 10/21/2018

By: Michael Kane

Not many people gave Rob Brant much of a chance going into his WBA Middleweight title match against champion Ryota Murata. However Brant left the ring as the new champion.

Brant (24-1, 16 KO’s) showed he meant business right from the start, throwing punches, on the front foot. Murata (14-2, 11 KO’s) smiled through out the first round, as if bemused by Brant’s fast start, possibly expecting Brant to slow down.

Photo Credit: Top Rank Boxing Twitter Account

Brant continued the fast pace until the 4th round when Murata started to land some heavy body shots, this led to a 5th round in which the Japanese Olympic gold medallist sensed he was gaining the upper hand and was throwing more punches however Brant weathered the storm and ended the round landing several right hands.

Murata had the power however Brant was landing frequently. Brant had now slowed down from his fast paced earlier rounds but was still appearing busier than Murata and landing point scoring shots.

As the championship rounds came, Murata sensed he had to up his game but Brant had his second wind and landed a couple of good right hands in the final round that appeared to hurt Murata.

The judges all scored the bout in favour of Brant, 118-110, 119-109, 119-109.

The statistics showed Brant threw 1262 punches, landing 356 compares to Murata throwing 764 and landing 180.

“This is one of the best moments of my life,” Brant said in the press conference afterwards. “I wasn’t thinking about punch output. I was thinking about winning.”

“This was a great middleweight championship fight,” said Top Rank CEO Bob Arun. “Both fighters showed tremendous heart. Congratulations to the new champion. He deserved the win.”

Top Rank are putting a brave face on this defeat for Murata as they had big plans for him, with a fight against GGG or Canelo Alvarez rumoured to be on the horizon. However Brant remains undefeated in the middleweight division, his only defeat coming at super middleweight.

Also on the card at Park Theatre at Park MGM in Las Vegas was Maxim Dadashev defending his NABF super lightweight title against former world champion Antonio DeMarco.

DeMarco (33-7-1, 24 KO’s) showed his champion credentials as he stunned Dadashev (12-0, 10 KO’s) on several occasions throughout the fight. Dadashev had enough about him to survive these scares and come through and retain his belt. Dadashev won the last three rounds to secure the win.

The scorecard was 96-94, 97-93, 98-92.

The bout was a good learning experience for Dadashev, which he said so in the press conference.

“This was a great learning experience for me. DeMarco is a true champion and he thought with great heart and determination.”

Highly rated Irishman, Michael Conlan made his Vegas debut on the card against Italian Nicola Cipolletta, who was making his American debut.

Conlan pressured from the start, with Cipolletta on the defensive through out. Conlan landed several good shots to the body and head in the 7th which forced the referee to stop the fight.

Conlan moves on to 9-0 and is due back in the ring on the undercard of Josh Warrington v Carl Frampton bout in Manchester, England on December 22nd.

“When you fight a guy who is negative and trying to survive, those guys are the hardest guys to look good against,” Conlan said. “He was just negative. Now I want real opponents. I want top 10, top 15 opponents. These are the guys who are going to make me look good. These are the guys who are going to bring out the best of my technical ability. When you see guys trying to survive, it’s a lot easier to survive than fight it out.”

Other Results:
Middleweight: Esquiva Cacao (22-0, 15 KO’s) defeated Guido Porto (25-6-2, 8 KO’s) by unanimous decision 100-90 x3.

Lightweight: Joseph Adorno (10-0, 9 KO’s) defeated Kevin Cruz (8-1, 5 KO’s) by unanimous decision over 6 rounds, 59-53, 59-53, 58-54.

Super Lightweight: Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (6-0, 3 KO’s) won by 2nd rd TKO against Wilberth Lopez (23-10, 15 KO’s).

Featherweight: Vladimir Nikitin (2-0, 0 KO) won by unanimous decision over 6 rounds against Clay Burns (5-5-2, 4 KO’s). 59-55 x3.

Featherweight: Adam Lopez (11-1, 5 KO’s) defeated Hector Ambriz (12-8-2, 6 KO’s) by 8th round TKO.

Middleweight: David Kaminsky (3-0, 2 KO’s) won by 2nd round TKO against Noah LaCoste (2-1, 2 KO’s).

Posted on 10/21/2018

By: Ste Rowen

In an intriguing night at Orlando’s CFE Arena, IBF champion, Emmanuel Rodriguez scored a competitive 12-round decision over Jason Moloney; while Yunier Dorticos of Cuba, earnt a tough, but dominant, unanimous decision over Mateusz Masternak, both to progress to the final four of the World Boxing Super Series.
Tonight’s results mean Puerto Rican bantamweight, Rodriguez will fight Naoya Inoue next, and Dorticos, former cruiserweight ‘Regular’ champion, takes on Andrew ‘The Beast’ Tabiti, in their respective WBSS semi-finals.

Photo Credit: World Boxing Super Series Twitter Account

First up were the cruiserweights. Dorticos and Masternak started off their bout with a lot of jabs thrown but very little intent by either until, towards the end of the 2nd round, ‘The KO Doctor’ Dorticos lay on an onslaught of 1-2’s, forcing his Polish foe further and further back. The Pole survived but the pace of the fight was being firmly set by the Cuban.

Masternak sustained two cuts in round 3, one below his right and another above his left, but the former European champion regained composure as the fight unfolded into the middle rounds of the scheduled 12. Yunier, now 23-1-0 (20KOs), was mixing up his shots well. The frequent body attack in the early rounds let the crowd know that the former WBA ‘Regular’ champion was thinking long term for this matchup.

‘The Master’ may have taken punishment early, but through the 8th and 9th, Mateusz was showing that he wouldn’t be intimidated by Dorticos’ power. Even when the European touched the canvas in the 7th due to a slip and maybe a hint of fatigue, he rose calmly and initiated his own string of attacks. Miami resident, Dorticos, with the Orlando crowd audibly in his favour, tagged Masternak with a short right hand in the final 10 seconds of round 9. Once again, Masternak displayed his resoluteness to survive and come out swinging into the 10th.

The final rounds gave us more of the same dominance from ‘The KO Doctor’ and counters from the Polish Master. Both fighters went tit-for-tat in the 12th but the blooded face of Masternak seemed to tell the tale by the time the final bell rang.

And so, we waited for the final scorecards which returned as, 116-112, 115-113 (x2), all for Yunier Dorticos. The KO Doctor had prescribed a unanimous decision, and spoke post-fight via translator,

‘‘I came ready, I was prepared for 12 rounds. I gave the fans the best of everything I bring to the table.’’

And his thoughts on facing Andrew ‘The Beast’ Tabiti in the semi-finals,

‘‘Tabiti, be ready, The KO Doctor’s back and it aint gonna be easy. The Muhammad Ali Trophy, this time around, is mine, so you better make sure you train.’’

The final two cruiserweight WBSS quarter-finals are happening three weeks from now in Chicago when former WBC champion, Mairis Briedis comes up against Noel Gevor, and former WBO titlist, Krzysztof Glowacki fights Maksim Vlasov.

Emmanuel Rodriguez vs. Jason Moloney

In a candidate for fight of a stacked weekend, IBF titlist, Emmanuel Rodriguez roughed and toughed it out with unbeaten contender, Jason Moloney to earn a split decision over 12 rounds.

The IBF champion led with a heavy jab, multiplied his attack with swift overhand shots and evaded significant attack from his Australian opponent. Moloney is no pretender, 17-0, the Australian is undoubtedly a bantamweight contender, but unfortunately for Jason, ‘Manny’ seems to be in a class of few fighters that includes WBSS semi-finalist, Naoya Inoue, who was in attendance tonight.

Though perhaps lacking the power of Japanese phenom, Inoue, Rodriguez, now 19-0 (12KOs) is clinical in his offence. When he throws, he lands. When he dodges, he counters. Into round 4, Moloney began to find a little rhythm. The Australian became more mobile and freed up his shots, but, though there wasn’t much wrong with the tactics, ‘Manny’ figured it out as the bout headed into the middle rounds.

Moloney was more active through to round 9, the messages he was getting from his corner of Rodriguez’ legs ‘going’ were more hopeful than truthful. As the two fighters fought out round 8, the IBF champion, making his first defence, looked mean, almost annoyed that Jason was still hanging in. By the finale of the 9th, as Jason returned to his corner, the left-uppercut/right hand combo towards the end of the round from the Puerto Rican, had clearly left a lasting impression.

The bout entered the final three rounds, and though Moloney, was going all out, he struggled to do anything more than test Manny’s stamina. The blood thirsty crowd were appeased, with all-out action in the final two rounds but heading into the 12th, it looked as if Moloney would need the stoppage if he was gonna be the man to face Inoue next.

The Australian undoubtedly went for it, but the story of the fight seemed to be reoccurring as Moloney had the volume of punching, but the champ had the accuracy. The final scorecards, 115-113 for Moloney and 115-113 (x2) for Rodriguez came back closer than expected, but Rodriguez said he always felt confident, post-fight,
‘‘It took Moloney to bring the best out of me, but I knew I won the fight. We knew the fight was close, but my corner told me I was in front so, that’s what happened.’’

And Emmanuel’s thoughts on his future Japanese foe,

‘‘He’s a top fighter. I know he likes to finish his bouts with a KO…It’s gonna be a good fight and I can’t wait for it.’’

Semi-finalist and Emmanuel’s next opposition, Naoya Inoue joined Rodriguez in the ring and said,

‘‘I would like to congratulate Rodriguez on winning his fight today. I’m really excited that I’ll be facing Rodriguez in the semi-finals probably early next year.’’

The 4th 118lb quarter-final bout takes place in two weeks, when WBA champion, Ryan Burnett fights Filipino Flash, Nonito Donaire at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro. The winner of that matchup progresses on to fight WBO champion, Zolani Tete.

Posted on 10/21/2018

By: Sean Crose

DAZNs main undercardcard from Boston’s TD Garden arena on Saturday began with England’s 24-0 Kid Galahad making his US debut against fellow featherweight, Toka Kahn Clary; 25-1, of Rhode Island, in a scheduled 12 round affair.

Photo Credit: Matchroom Boxing Twitter Account

The first portion of the bout was surprising in that Clary, trained by Freddie Roach, was landing more effectively than his European adversary. Perhaps even stranger, Galahad never seemed to be able to get into a rhythm with the counter punching southpaw. Galad gained steam at the end, though perhaps not enough to warrant the UD win he was rewarded with.

Next up, the 26-4-1 Tevin Farmer defended his junior lightweight title against the 22-2 James Tennyson in a scheduled 12 round affair. Farmer looked like he was having a hard time with Tennyson’s pressure but then dropped his man with a body blow in the fourth. Tennyson beat the count but it was a surprising turn from Farmer, a man not known for power punching.

Yet Farmer continued to surprise by stopping his man with yet another body shot the following round.

Afterwards, Katie Taylor entered the ring to the loud jubilation of the many Irish fans in the crowd. Taylor, 10-0 was then set to face off against the 27-5-3 Cindy Serrano in a 10 round bout for her lightweight titles.

Taylor easily dominated the first two rounds with sound footwork and effective aggression. Things essentially stayed the same through to the midpoint of the fight. Serrano did so little that by the 7th Taylor literally motioned her forward. Later in the round, Serrano actually threw punches at air, inches away from a relatively stationary target. it was a truly dreadful affair. Taylor couldn’t finish Serrano…and Serrano simply refused to fight.

Taylor walked out with a UD win after the bell mercifully sounded to end the final round.

Posted on 10/20/2018

By: Oliver McManus

The Brentwood Centre played host to a fiddle of fine fights this Saturday night as Frank Warren promoted some of his most hotly-tipped talents with Anthony Yarde defending his WBO Inter-Continental belt against, Argentine champion, Walter Sequeira; Gary Corcoran and Johnny Garton went at it for the British Welterweight strap; and Umar Sadiq and Zak Chelli put their unbeaten records on the line over eight rounds.

Anthony Yarde, looking to move 17 and 0, was in the ring against Walter Gabriel Sequeira – a man who’s record is composed of 21 wins and 4 losses, although his comprehensive loss to Avni Yilidrim tells you all you need to know – in what was widely expected to be a routine victory.

The WBO’s #2 ranked light heavyweight entered the ring just before 23:00 UK time and the Hackney-born man needed to dispatch with his opponent in double-quick time in order to prove he is of the calibre that he is sold as.

The Beast looked monstrous in comparison to the visiting fighter – officially 5ft10inches but looking a fair sight smaller than that – and Yarde bounced out of his corner immediately, swaggering into the centre of the ring, throwing out a meaningful jab from early doors.

Sequeira offered no genuine counter-artillery during the course of their opening exchanges but was offering some shots back as a reminder of his presence, Yarde controlled the tempo of the fight with a relative ease and, whilst not pushing the cause, was on top of the contest from the off.

The Argentine sought to get in close to the body of Yarde at every possible opportunity, working the inside, forcing Yarde to create the space and angles in order to land convincing shots of his own, some strong body shots were landed by the home favourite as a tentative reminder of the power he carries.

Three rounds in and Yarde started to up the pressure, landing some strong uppercuts to check the chin of Sequeira before a couple of battering shots to head started to take their toll on the man from Argentina – rather tame and underwhelming stuff, in all honest, if truth be told.

“This is the round”, we were told between the third and fourth round, the round for Yarde to look for the finish off the back of a convincing third round but Anthony Yarde got caught up in the clinch far too often, almost refusing to find space of his own, to take a step back and explode into the shots.

Having spent a minute trying to paw around to create the angle, he landed a downwards right hand to Sequeira, from the clinch in order to send his man to the canvas before the contest started and Yarde moved through the motions, dropping Sequeria a second time.

Up again and a calm, composed shot selection from Yarde with two “big” rights and lefts sending the challenger to the canvas for a third and final time with the contest duly waived off – a stoppage victory, sure, but the underwhelming opposition will do little for his reputation.

Yarde looked in control and heavy-handed but not necessarily explosive and dyanamic, a good finish but there’s definitely work to be done.

Johnny Garton and Gary Corcoran were the co-main event as the pair faced off for the vacant British welterweight title – Garton, a patient man, had waited nearly three years for this opportunity having been in the shadows of his stablemate Bradley Skeete, who formerly held the belt whilst Corcoran was in the second British title fight of his career.

The crowd were bouncy and so were the fighters, looking eager to get to battle as soon as the fight began and both men came to the centre of the ring, boxing busy, and establishing their respective jabs with Garton edging the initial exchanges with solid one-twos.

Corcoran, the former world title challenger, was showing grit and standing firm at the centre of the ring – true to his words, Corcoran was delivering on his promise to go toe-to-toe with Garton and was throwing some lovely combinations to the body of The Pexican.

Taking a shot to land two, three, four of his own, Corcoran landed good left hooks to the body of Garton before varying up with uppercuts and landed with a dominant flurry in the corner of the rope to sign off the second round in signature fashion.

Fights began to erupt in the crowd in what was a boisterous and ferocious atmosphere as the scraps began to turn ugly but, back in the ring, quality work by both men who were doing their best to remain undistracted by events outside of their control and it was Corcoran who continued to land impressive body shots before a heavy shot cut Garton underneath the eye.

Garton paid little notice to the nick, walking forward himself and taking advantage of the Corcoran’s lack of head movement, firing in some good shots and ensuring Corcoran wasn’t having it all his own way – only three rounds in and it was shaping up to be a cracker.

A former English, Southern Area and IBF European title holder, Garton has been no stranger to pressure fights against an array of strong domestic contenders but it was Corcoran who, arguably, was landing the stronger shots as he pushed Garton to the ropes in a relentless fashion with shot after shot being thrown at the Peckham man.

The cleaner work and more crips shots were being landed by Garton but Corcoran was eye-catching in his work, fighting true to his nature and turning the fight into a real battle.

This rhythm continued as we neared the middle portions of the fight with both men standing their ground at the centre of the ring – no quarter asked and no quarter given – throwing their shorts and absorbing the punishment that was coming their way. A thrilling bout that ebbed and flowed with both men finding pockets of success, Corcoran the more rugged man whilst Garton looked to piece things together in a calmer fashion.

Calmer in this fight, make no mistake, was still ferocious in any other. Garton received a large cut to the head in the sixth round but came out fighting in the seventh as he continued to put together the more composed work.

Claret seeped across the face of Garton throughout the round with Corcoran looking to seize his opportunity, rallying with successive shots to the head of Garton but the fight was mainly being fought to the body with both men landing some brilliant punches.

Warriors, at the core of it, they kept on coming forward with each and every round, embroiling each other in physical warfare but the shots, as punishing as they were, took little toll on either man with both digging in and continuing the pace they began with.

If you were to be hyper-critical you could say Garton looked a little ragged in the eighth round as Corcoran found more openings more angles for success; Garton returned to the safety of the jab whilst Corcoran continued to march forward and throw solid right hands.

That criticism could be flipped completely on its head in the following round as Corcoran began to look the more scruffy fighter, conceding ground for the first time in the bout and being beaten to the punch on numerous occasions as Garton simply refused to relent, swinging the full weight of his body into the punches to force Corcoran onto the back foot.

Blood now decorated the face of both men, the shorts once white with blue trim and white with red, respectively, were gradually turning a pale shade of pink.

After the middle rounds saw Corcoran working his way into the fight and taking the upper-hand, it was Garton that rallied from the ninth round on with storming left hooks seemingly landing at will to snap the head back of his younger opponent but, regardless, Corcoran kept on coming back with fire of his own to keep Garton in check.

Stunning work, simply sensational work from both men who were showing just what the Lonsdale belt means to these guys in a fight full of heart that and as we entered the eleventh Corcoran staggered, almost, to his customary position at the centre of the ring but a ferocious left sent his legs stiffening to the ropes, he ducked and weaved but Garton kept on landing.

A left hook, that trademark shot, forced Steve Gray to step in and halt the bout with Corcoran deemed to be taking too much punishment, Johnny Garton claimed the British welterweight strap with a breath-taking display of guts and glory via an eleventh round TKO.

WHAT A FIGHT!

Umar Sadiq and Zak Chelli – three and four fights without defeat, respectively – were pitting their unbeaten records against each-other over the course of a scheduled eight rounds in a genuine 50-50 fight.

Chelli, the more explosive of the two, began the fight in the centre of the ring as he bounced in and out of the pocket before landing some right hands to the body of Sadiq – Chelli looked relaxed in his body language and comfortable in his footwork but Sadiq, himself, was staying busy with his footwork, staying at range.

A positive start from Chelli, still in full-time education, who retained the higher work rate whilst staying patient and composed in the process – the mild-mannered man was landing full-blooded right hands, seeking to unload with real bad inentions.

Sadiq, 10 years the elder fighter, looked to grow into the fight as he landed the rangy left hand with an increased frequency though an argument could be made for him using the jab more often in order to disrupt the rhythm of his, more combative, opponent.

Towards the halfway stage we went and Chelli maintained the more aggressive fight style but Sadiq was landing with more consistency now and landed a decent right hand as the bout began to warm up – a tepid start from the older fighter, an incredibly down-to-earth man, but things were starting to heat up as Sadiq began to push forward on his lead foot.

Neither fighter was landing with arrow-like precision but the sixth round saw a delightful over-hand right connect from Chelli, a punch that Sadiq walked onto in the process of trying to land a heavy shot of his own, and dropped his man to the canvas but the thirty year old shock it off, got back up and straight back into the fight. Around forty-five seconds later, the Ilford man landed a strong over-hand right of his own with Chelli scampering around the ropes.

A nip-and-tuck fight in which neither man solidified their individual advantages, it was Chelli who fought the more aggressive fight but, as rounds went on, Sadiq started to come forward more and walk his opponent down, popping out shots more frequently and bringing the pace of the bout back into his control.

The eight round saw the Umar Sadiq that many expected to see emerge as he began to impose a physically-commanding gameplan on that of Chelli, bullying his man around the ring, trading leather before a smacking left hook from Chelli, in the final seconds, saw the tide turn and the 20 year old began to unfurl an endless parade of shots, trying to take Sadiq out, but the bell rang to signal the end of a cracking eight rounds between two classy, classy, super-middleweights.

Zak Chelli won the bout by 77 points to 74 on the scorecard of Chas Coakley but that only just begun to whet the appetite… a rematch, for the vacant Southern Area belt, has surely got to be on the table?

It’s fair to say that the headlining fight as underwhelming, it was always going to be, but boy we were treated to some cracking fights on the undercard – Johnny Garton, he’s been patient, he’s bided his time, but now it’s his opportunity to seize everything that his talent and heart will bring.

Posted on 10/19/2018

By: Ken Hissner

Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions promoted a card at the Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino in Indio, California on ESPN2. It featured a NABF Middleweight Title bout between Jason Quigley and Freddy Hernandez.

In the Main Event of a NABF Middleweight title defense by Ireland’s Jason “El Animal” Quigley, 15-0 (11), of Woodland Hills, CA, defeated Freddy Hernandez, 34-10 (22), of Mexico City, MEX, over 10 rounds.

Photo Credit: Brandon Magpantay-Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions

In the first round Quigley was throwing punches using the jab followed by left hooks and lead rights to the head of Hernandez, who was walking into punches. Quigley landed a left hook followed by a right cross to the chin of Hernandez. In the second round Quigley became even more aggressive against the 39 year-old Hernandez landing jabs followed by rights to the chin of Hernandez. Quigley landed a solid right to the mid-section of Hernandez that was heard throughout the arena. Quigley missed with a right but followed with a left hook to the body. While inside, Hernandez landed a double left hook to the body of Quigley.

In the third round Quigley returning to the ring after a year after breaking his right hand was having no problem landing it. A left hook in the previous round put a mouse under the left eye of Hernandez. Quigley missed a left hook but followed through with a right to the chin of Hernandez. Hernandez just couldn’t contend with the foot and hand speed of Quigley through the first three rounds. In the fourth round Quigley landed a combination to the head but got caught with a solid left hook to the chin from Hernandez. Quigley suffered a small cut outside the left eyebrow. In a clinch Hernandez landed half a dozen left’s to the head of Quigley.

In the fifth round heads clashed with Fernandez coming out of it with a nasty gash on his right eyebrow. The ring physician examined it. It seemed to spur Fernandez on as he had Quigley against the ropes slipping most of the punches by Hernandez. Fernandez countered with a solid right to the chin of Quigley. Both threw left hooks with Fernandez getting there first. In the sixth round Quigley was bleeding from the mouth. Fernandez has been very active since getting cut. Fernandez ended the round with a solid right to the chin of Quigley.

In the seventh round Fernandez landed the first punch a left hook to the body of Quigley. Fernandez had Quigley against the ropes landing body shots while the flood is flowing from his cut. Quigley came back with combinations of his own. Quigley landed a solid right to the head of Fernandez. Fernandez had Quigley against the ropes at the bell. Quigley seemed to be breathing heavy going to his corner while Fernandez seemed fresh. In the eighth round Quigley landed a good left hook to the body of Fernandez. Quigley countered Fernandez well as the latter walked in.

In the ninth round Quigley became more aggressive landing lead rights to the chin of Fernandez. Quigley landed a solid left hook to the chin of Fernandez. Fernandez landed a right to the chin with seconds to go in the round while it was Quigley who landed a hard right to the chin at the bell. In the tenth and final round Quigley landed a solid left hook to the head of Fernandez. Fernandez kept chasing Quigley getting countered. Fernandez landed a right cross in the final minute of the fight to the chin of Quigley. Quigley used his foot speed well in the final round.

Scores were Alejandro Rochin and Zac Young had it 98-92 while Edward Hernandez, Sr. had it 99-91 while this writer had it 97-93.

In the co-feature Welterweight Japan’s Shoki Sakai, 22-9-2 (12), of Mexico City, MEX, lost to Eddie Gomez, 22-3 (12), of the Bronx, NY, over 8 rounds.

In the opening round Gomez was the busier in a feeling out until a minute left in the round when Gomez landed several right uppercuts to the chin of Sakai. A double left hook from Gomez on the jaw of Sakai sent him back several steps. In the second round Gomez landed a lead right to the head of Sakai. Sakai came back stalking Gomez using his jab following him. Gomez countered with a right to the chin as Sakai was coming in. Gomez backed into the ropes ducking a right from Sakai that landed on the top rope.

In the third round Sakai continued to follow Gomez around the ring until Gomez would stop in the middle of the ring when they would exchange punches before clinching. Gomez landed a chopping right to the head of Sakai while inside. Gomez landed a combination to the chin of Sakai. Sakai has thrown few right hands through three rounds. In the fourth round Gomez countered to the body of Sakai while the latter never threw a punch. Sakai missed a left hook while Gomez countered with a left hook to the chin. Gomez continues to slip punches and lands a left hook to the face of Sakai drawing blood from his nose.

In the fifth round Gomez immediately landed a left hook to the chin of Sakai. Sakai missed with a double jab and a follow-up left hook. Gomez countered a Sakai jab with a right to the chin. Gomez landed a double jab followed by a right to the body of Sakai. Just prior to the bell both exchanged jabs. In the sixth round both boxers exchanged left hooks to the chin. Gomez landed a left hook to the chin while Sakai countered with a left hook to the chin. Gomez landed a double left hook to the head of Sakai. Gomez landed a right to the head of Sakai. Gomez was warned by referee Cantu for using his head inside. Sakai finally landed a solid left hook to the chin of Gomez.

In the seventh round Gomez landed a lead right followed by a left hook to the head of Sakai. Sakai landed a rare combination to the body of Gomez. Gomez continues to be a step ahead of Sakai who kept following him. Gomez slipped to the canvas while referee Cantu called it exactly that. In the eighth round Gomez landed a combination starting with the right to the head of Sakai. Sakai was warned for a head butt. Sakai showed a slight cut under the right eye. Sakai ducked into a left hook from Gomez. Gomez landed a roundhouse right and got cornered by a Sakai right to the head just prior to the bell.

The scores were 80-72 by all 3 judges and this writer.
“It was real hard (very emotional having lost his father days before). Daddy took a week off from work to come out here in camp. He would have been proud today. He might not be here physically but will always be with me. Love you Pop’s,” said Gomez.

Posted on 10/14/2018

By: William Holmes

The CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska, the hometown of welterweight champion Terence Crawford, was the host cite for tonight’s Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card.

The main event of the night was between Terrance Crawford (33-0) and Jose Benavidez Jr. (27-0) for the WBO Welterweight Title.

But before the main event, undefeated former Olympian Shakur Stevenson (8-0) met Viorel Simion (21-2) in the junior lightweight division.

Stevenson, a southpaw, used a steady jab early in the first and was able to find his range early with his check right hook. Stevenson landed a crisp two punch combination that sent Simion down to the mat in the first half of the round. Simion got back to his feet but on wobbly legs, and Stevenson landed another combination on Simion who fell face forward again.

Simion got back to his feet again and had to try and withstand an onslaught from Stevenson. Stevenson landed another hard combination that ended with a hard left hook that sent Simion spinning to the ground again.

Simion arose on wobbly legs, and the referee waived off the fight as the round came to an end.

Photo Credit: Top Rank Twitter Account

Shakur Stevenson wins by TKO at 3:00 of the opening round.

Terence Crawford and Jose Benavidez Jr. were involved in a scuffle at the previous night’s weigh ins, and appeared to have some legitimate bad blood leading into the fight

Benavidez entered the ring first to a loud chorus of boos while Crawford had the support of the crowd behind him.

Both fighters came out in an orthodox stance with Benavidez finding some success early on walking Craword down behind his jab. Crawford switched to a southpaw stance before the end of the first.

Benavidez continued with his jab in the second round, but Crawford began to the target the body. Neither boxer took many risks in the second and could have been scored either way.

Crawford began to land his combination both to the body and head of Benavidez in the third round, but Benavidez’s straight right hand was finding it’s home in the fourth round and he briefly caught Crawford off balance as the round came to an end.

Crawford was landing from unique angles in the fifth but Benavidez was landing some stiff straight right hands in the sixth. Both of these rounds were close, though Benavidez looked like eh was beginning to tire.

Crawford had a strong seventh and eighth rounds as he was continuing to get hit less and less while landing at a progressively higher clip. Benavidez wasn’t able to come forward effectively and looked hampered by his right knee.

Photo Credit: Top Rank Twitter Account

Crawford looked like he was close to knocking Benavidez down in the ninth round and had Benavidez’s back to the ropes in the tenth. Benavidez attempted to lure Crawford into an exchange in the tenth and eleventh rounds with his back to the ropes, but when they did exchange Crawford looked like landed the better and more accurate punches.

Benavidez needed a knockout in the final round to win the bout and pressed forward in an attempt to finish the bout, but he got hit with a vicious right uppercut that sent him crashing to the mat in a violent fashion.

Benavidez somehow got back to his feet, but was hit with several hard combinations before the referee jumped in to stop the fight and award Crawford the TKO victory.

Terrance Crawford wins by TKO at 2:42 of the 12th round.

Posted on 10/13/2018

By: Ste Rowen

It was a night made for the travelling fighters in Ekaterinburg as bantamweight Zolani Tete and cruiserweight, Andrew Tabiti overcame Russian opponents, both in unimpressive decision victories, to progress to their respective WBSS semi-finals.

Zolani Tete, 27-3 (21KOs) heading into tonight, started the fight as we hoped he would, on the front foot looking to impress his power upon Mikhail Aloyan early. The Armenian-born Russian however is no stranger to Tete’s offensive approach thanks to Mikhail’s supreme amateur experience (2 world championship golds and Olympic bronze in 2012).

Photo Credit: World Boxing Super Series Twitter Account

With 20 seconds left of the 1st round, the WBO champion landed a long-left hand and followed it with a short right, forcing Aloyan, 4-0 (0KOs), to stumble to the ground and score an early 10-8 for Zolani. The knockdown setup a sprightly round 2, and although Tete seemed to remain on top, there was clearly a competitive fight to be had. At the beginning of round 4, Aloyan sprung a right hand and landed cleanly onto the chin of the champion, waking up the Russian crowd and shaking away any complacency Tete may have had as the fight headed into the middle rounds.

By the 7th it remained competitive but, Zolani’s jab looked as if it was seeing him through the rounds. Even when Aloyan had a brief, bright spot, the WBO champ’s jab looked as if it was regaining the momentum. At times, it threatened to fall under the category of awkward as neither seemed willing or able to engage on the inside, instead, tying each other up. Both southpaws fell to the canvas a few times as a result, and not because of a punch.

Rounds 9 and 10 continued much the same and in the final minute of the 10th the referee looked as if he took a point from the South African for consistently pushing away. Then just before the final bell for the round, the ring doctor was called over to check on a cut sustained above the right eye of Mikhail. He was allowed to continue into the championship rounds but very little changed in terms of the style of fight the Ekaterinburg audience was viewing. With 50 seconds left of round 11, Aloyan was deducted a point for holding.

They made it to the final bell and, politely applauded by an uninfused crowd, the final scorecards came back as 114-111 (x2) and 114-110 all for Tete, and still the WBO champion said post-fight,

‘‘It was a good fight. Aloyan proved he is one of the best, that’s why he went the full 12 rounds with me…The jab is always working for me. My corner is always telling me to use my legs, because my legs are also my defence so that’s what I’ve been trying to do.’’

And who does he hope to fight in the final four of the WBSS,

‘‘I’m wishing Ryan Burnett can win. I’ve always wanted to fight him. I believe he is going to win in his next fight and I will meet him in the semi-final.’’

Tete, as mentioned, now goes on to the semi-final stage to face either, WBA champion, Ryan Burnett or, Nonito Donaire, who fight on the 3rd November in Glasgow.

Andrew Tabiti vs. Ruslan Fayfer

Getting the second season of the cruiserweights underway, the two unbeaten fighters, Andrew ‘The Beast’ Tabiti, 16-0 (13KOs) and Ruslan Fayfer 23-0 (16KOs) both decided on a tentative start. Fayfer took a more offensive, come-forward approach but both boxer’s proved risk-averse through rounds 1-3.

It was clear which of the two trains out of Mayweather’s boxing gym, but Tabiti’s quick hands weren’t matched with volume. A number of times through the middle rounds, ‘The Beast’ landed a power shot, but struggled to follow it up before being tied up by the Russian or even put off by his own caution. By round 7, and by now as ugly as a fight can get, it was clear Ruslan was struggling too figure out his American foe. Pre-fight, the Russian said he was the more experienced of the two, but the lack of quality in his past opponents was telling.

Andrew’s punch-output had slowed right down by the 8th, Fayfer was forcing the pace of the bout but continued to struggle to land anything of significance, despite finishing round 8 on top. A similar pattern followed right through to the final bell. Fayfer rushed in, Tabiti evaded the attack, but neither gave the fans much to enjoy. With 33 seconds of the 12th, Ruslan was deducted a point for continuously leading with the head, it set a fire in the Russian to go all out but Tabiti was savvy enough to see the round out.

A was a fight so awkward, it was anyone’s to win. But it was ‘The Beast’ who took it, 116-111, 115-112, 114-113 all in favour of the Vegas fighter. Tabiti spoke to Barry Jones post-fight,

‘‘I love Russia, I love coming out here fighting, it was a wonderful experience. The guy was awkward, but he came and brought the fight. He seen I had the speed on him, so he wanted to make it awkward and dirty.’’

‘‘My game plan was to last the beginning of the fight and then later on try and kick it up.’’

And who would he prefer to fight in the semi’s,

‘‘I think Dorticos has the more credible name, so I’d like to fight him.’’

Tabiti now progresses to the semi-finals where he will fight either, defeated semi-finalist of last season’s WBSS, Yunier Dorticos or, Mateusz Masternak, who meet next week in Orlando.