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The Past Week in Action 24 May 2017 - Part II By Eric Armit PhilBoxing.com Thu, 25 May 2017  Melindo in major upset win against Yaegashi. Oxon Hill, MD, USA: Feather: Gary Russell (28-1) W TKO 7 Oscar Escandon (25-3). Super Middle: Andre Dirrell (26-2) W DISQ 8 Jose Uzcategui (26-2). Super Light: Rances Barthelemy (26-0,1ND) W PTS 12 Kiryl Relikh (21-2). Bantam: Antonio Russell (8-0) W TKO 3 Jovany Fuentes (7-9). Super Light: Gary Antuanne Russell (1-0) W TKO 1 Josh Ross (2-4-4). ). Russell vs. Escandon Russell retains his WBC title with stoppage of Escandon but fights a dumb fight and the stoppage looked a little premature with Escandon complaining bitterly that he could have continued Round 1 It was apparent from the start that Russell had quicker hands and better footwork. As Escandon plodded forward behind a high guard Russell banged home some jaw-rattling southpaw right uppercuts and left hooks. He kept switching angles and scoring with stinging punches from both hands. Escandon finished the round with a strong attack scoring with some hefty body punchers but Russell was catching him with those right uppercuts all the way. Score 10-9 Russell Round 2 Russell just chose to stand and trade with Escandon in the second allowing the Colombian to work to the body with both hands. Escandon probably couldn’t believe his luck as instead of using his superior skills and speed Russell was standing and brawling and for me Escandon did enough work inside to win the round. Score 10-9 Escandon 19-19 Round 3 Escandon rumbled forward again at the start of the third but Russell nailed him with a chopping right to the side of the head which unhinged Escandon’s legs and saw him drop forward putting his gloves on the canvas. He got up and walked towards a corner but his legs wobbled and he looked unsteady as the referee counted out the eight seconds. Russell drove forward landing head punches from both hands and put so much power in one right that when he missed he sprawled down on his knees. Russell bounced punch after punch off Escandon’s head but apart from a left that had him staggering late in the round Escandon just walked through the punishment showing amazing courage and punch resistance to last to the bell. Russell had handed so much punishment that for me it was more than a 10-8 round Score 10-7 Russell 29-26 Round 4 Escandon made a remarkable recovery and took the fourth. He never stopped walking forward scoring to the body with both and landing clubbing rights. Russell’s shots were more accurate and harder but he was being denied punching room and out worked. Score 10-9 Escandon 38-36 Round 5 Escandon was in Russell’s face for the whole three minutes of the round. Russell was only fighting in short bursts. Escandon just kept forcing Russell back and banging to the body. Russell had been going low with his punches and was given a warning. Over the last 30 seconds Russell cut loose with a series of right uppercuts and hooks but again I saw Escandon taking that one. Score 10-9 Escandon 47-46 Round 6 Russell was still choosing to brawl and only fighting in short bursts. Escandon kept up the pressure but in the middle of the round Russell looked to have shaken Escandon with a right and let go a blazing combination of head punches. Escandon took a step back but then rumbled forward again. This time it was Escandon who was warned for a very low punch. Russell also fired home hooks and uppercuts before the bell and just did enough to take the round. Score 10-9 Russell 57-55 Round 7 This time Russell was smart. He used his jab to set Escandon up and then exploded with combinations of straight rights, hooks and uppercuts which put Escandon back on his heels. As he rocked forward Russell nailed him with a right to the head and Escandon staggered back badly shaken. He fell into the ropes and looked about to sag to the canvas when the referee jumped in and stopped the fight. As in the Davis vs. Walsh fight the referee erred on the side of safety. Escandon had shipped more severe punishment in the third than the punches that brought the stoppage in the seventh but made his call. Russell made this much harder than it had to be. When he boxed on the outside and kept moving the gap in skills was clear but he chose for most rounds to stand and brawl with the slower but incredibly tough and strong Escandon. Of course Russell, 28, who was making the third defence of his title, was immediately calling for a return fight with Vasyl Lomachenko the only man to have beaten him but Carl Frampton is rated No 1 by the WBC so he will want his title shot. Escandon, 32, the WBC interim champion, lived up to his “The Warrior” nickname. He soaked up unbelievable punishment but walked through it and his pressure and thudding body punches was enough to shut Russell down in some rounds and at times Russell seemed to have no answer to the Colombian’s pressure. Dirrell vs. Uzcategui Dirrell wins the vacant IBF interim title in controversial ending as Uzcategui is disqualified for knocking Dirrell over with a punch after the bell to end the eighth round. With Uzcategui having a kayo percentage of 79% Dirrell had to fight a careful fight and avoid getting involved in too much trading. He was looking to score with quick punches and then move and then repeat the sequence. Uzcategui spent the early rounds stalking Dirrell around the perimeter of the ring. He was looking to score with one big shot at a time and not throwing enough but always looked dangerous and did enough to take the first round. Uzcategui had a big second round as he finally let his punches flow. He was doing a better job of cutting the ring off and looked to have shaken Dirrell with a left. Dirrell dropped to the canvas as Uzcategui advanced so it was a slip rather than a knockdown. Uzcategui continued to apply pressure and had Dirrell trapped on the ropes and landed a punch after the bell for which he was warned. Uzcategui clipped Dirrell with a couple of good rights to the head at the start of the third the first of which saw Dirrell sag at the knees. Dirrell then managed to stay in ring centre and Uzcategui again was holding back looking to land big punches and the pace of the fight dropped. Dirrell had a better of the fourth. He kept his right jab in Uzcategui’s face showed good upper body movement to dodge the Venezuelan’s punches and did enough to take the round as Uzcategui indulged in a little clowning. Uzcategui was just not throwing enough punches but he stepped up the pace in the sixth and seventh. He scored with some long rights early in the eighth. At the end of the round he backed Dirrell into a corner and landed a left to the head, a right and then another big right that landed after the bell and Dirrell dropped face first to the canvas. Initially he knelt up but then went down and rolled onto his back. The ending was similar to the ending of his brother Andre’s fight with Arthur Abraham in 2010 when Andre slipped on water on the canvas and went down with Abraham landing a punch to the back of Andre’s head which led to Abraham’s disqualification and Andre being out of the ring for 21 months. In a disgraceful scene after the fight Dirrell’s trainer and uncle Leon Lawson went over to Uzcategui corner and with Uzcategui not looking his way landed two bare fist punches to the Venezuelan’s head before fleeing the ring and the arena. Dirrell is IBF interim champion but it is no way to win a title. Hopefully there will be a return as the 26-year-old Uzcategui was certainly in with a chance of winning and it is doubtful if he heard the bell or could have stopped the last punch in time. Barthelemy vs. Relikh Barthelemy gets unanimous decision over Relikh but the scorecards are no reflection on how close this fight really was. The first two rounds were fairly even but Barthelemy got a break in the third. He hit Relikh with a blatantly low punch and should have been deducted a point but was not. Relikh was given a couple of minutes to recover and seemed energised by the foul and stepped up his pace. Barthelemy showed some great skills in the fourth constantly switching guards and piercing Relikh’s guard with shots from both hands. Relikh gave the perfect response in the fifth as he staggered Barthelemy a couple of times then battered Barthelemy against the ropes. Barthelemy sagged under the pressure and the referee gave the Cuban a count ruling that the ropes had held Barthelemy up. Barthelemy made it to the bell. The sixth was an even round and Barthelemy edged the seventh. Relikh looked to be on his way to winning the eighth scoring with hooks to the body and some choice uppercuts only for Barthelemy uncork a savage body punch which saw Relikh going down on one knee. Gradually from there Barthelemy began to take control of the fight. Relikh fought hard and was competitive all the way looking to have taken a couple of the late rounds but Barthelemy won the rest and emerged the deserved winner. Scores 117-109, 116-110 and 115-111which gave the right result but were all a bit wide. With the IBF super feather and lightweight titles already in his collection Barthelemy was moving up to super light here. With Relikh rated No 1 by the WBA and Barthelemy No 2 he is in line for a shot at their title once it is sorted out whether Namibian Julius Indongo will hold onto both the WBA and IBF titles but either way Barthelemy could be going for his third title before the end of the year. Belarusian fighter Relikh, 27, lost to Ricky Burns for the WBA title in October where again the scores did not reflect the Belarus fighters efforts but having arrived at the top table hopefully he will remain there and get another title shot. Russell vs. Fuentes Russell moves to eight wins as he halts over-matched Fuentes. Russell had too much of everything for the Puerto Rican. Russell floored Fuentes in the second and third rounds with the referee stopping the fight after the second knockdown. The 24-year-old younger brother of Gary won a gold and two silver medals in the National Golden Gloves and was National PAL champion He has six wins by KO/TKO. Fuentes is now 2-8 in his last 10 fights. Russell vs. Ross Three fights, three wins by KO/TKO for the Russell family. Russell annihilated poor Ross with three knockdowns before the fight was stopped. The 20-year-old youngest of the pro Russells was a quarter-finalist at the 2016 Olympics where he lost to eventual gold medallist Fazliddin Gaibnazarov. Ross was a late choice as opponent and had no chance here. Tokyo, Japan: Fly: Daigo Higa (13-0) W TKO 6 Juan Hernandez (34-3). Light Fly: Ken Shiro (10-0) W PTS 12 Ganigan Lopez (28-7). Middle: Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (36-2) W PTS 12 Ryota Murata (12-1). Higa vs. Hernandez Higa wins the vacant WBC title with stoppage of Hernandez who lost the title when he failed to make the weight. Higa went after Hernandez from the start but constant movement and changing from orthodox to southpaw by Hernandez left a frustrated Higa chasing shadows. It was a similar story in the second as Hernandez was constantly changing angles and scoring with fast jabs. That changed when a short left hook clipped Hernandez on his forehead and he went down. He was up quickly and cleverly boxed his way to the bell. Hernandez took the third as he again switched guards effortlessly and kept changing angles and generally outboxing Higa. Higa was trying to move in behind a high guard in the fourth but that only works if the guy stands still in front of you. Hernandez was constantly on the move and again did most of the scoring. They bumped heads in the round with Hernandez stepping out of the action but there was no cut. Higa finally caught up with Hernandez on the ropes in the fifth and put the Mexican down with a left hook. Hernandez was up quickly and after the eight count was trying to stay out of trouble but Higa was scoring with some vicious body punches and Hernandez was warned for holding. Hernandez was down at the start of the sixth from a couple of body punches but he also indicated there had been a clash of heads. When the action resumed Higa hunted Hernandez down and a couple more body punches and a right uppercut put Hernandez down again. He lay on his back unmoving but then leapt to his feet. After the count Higa drove Hernandez across the ring and again a combination of body punches and an uppercut saw Hernandez slump to the floor. He looked finished but as before suddenly came upright and signalled he was fine. The fight could have been stopped then but when Higa floored Hernandez with hooks to the body and as the Mexican slumped to the floor the referee waived the fight over. The 21-year-old Higa has won all of his fights by KO/TKO so has to be respected and it will be interesting to see how he progresses. Hernandez, 30, threw his title away. After losing to Kazuto Ioka for the WBC minimum title in 2011 he had scored 16 wins in a row winning the vacant WBC title with a stoppage of Thai Nawaphon in March so only reigned for just over two months. Shiro vs. Lopez Shiro wins WBC title in his tenth fight with very close majority decision over unlucky Lopez. The champion took the first round but Shiro showed quick movement and took the second. The third and fourth were close and after that period the scores were 39-38 twice for Shiro and 38-38. Lopez had a good fifth firing in body punches and forcing the fight hard. The sixth and seventh were again so close they could have been scored either way and Shiro the smarter boxer seemed to have the better of the action in the eighth and was in front 77-75 on all three cards. Shiro took the important ninth again scoring with quick jabs and combinations and using clever footwork to dodge the attacks of Lopez but the Mexican came on strong at the end of the round landing with left hooks. Pressure from Lopez slowed Shiro in the eleventh and two tired fighters battled away in the last with Shiro getting home some good body punches. Scores 115-113 twice for Shiro and 114-114. A draw might have been a fairer result but home advantage is always important. Shiro, 25, has rocketed through the ranks winning the Japanese title in his sixth fight and the OPBF title in his eighth and is now a world champion. Whilst at university in 2013 he won a gold medal at the National Sports Festival in Japan and turned pro after graduating. His real name is Masaki Teraji and his father Hirashi was an OPBF champion at light heavy. The Ken Shiro come from Kenshira a legendary figure in magna literature. It took Lopez 33 fights to win a world title and it seems a pity he should lose the title after 14 months and just one successful defence. He deserves a return but if that does not come then at 35 he is on borrowed time. N’Jikam vs. Murata N’Jikam wins the secondary WBA title with a very disputed split decision over home fighter Murata Round 1 Murata gave away the first round. N’Jikam circled the perimeter of the ring scoring with a few jabs and a couple of hooks with Murata throwing less than five punches and missing with them Score 10-9 N’Jikam 10-9 Round 2 Again N’Jikam does most of the scoring. He continues to circle the ring with Murata tracking him. Murata threw more punches than in the first and landed a good left hook to the body but N’Jikam was throwing more and although there was little power in his punches he was landing more. Score 10-9 N’Jikam 20-18 Round 3 Again Murata did a little bit more but not enough. N’Jikam was constantly moving changing angles and looping punches around Murata’s guard. Murata was shadowing N’Jikam but not cutting the ring off and standing back too much Score 10-9 N’Jikam 30-27 Round 4 Murata had more success early in the fourth as he forced N’Jikam to stand and trade. Murata was throwing only one punch at a time and the Frenchman was still throwing more and landing more but late in the round a straight right from Murata put N’Jikam down. He was up quickly and after the eight count stayed out of trouble to the bell. Score 10-8 Murata 38-37 Round 5 Both men had good periods in the fifth. Murata was throwing more and scoring with hard rights but it was still only one punch at a time. N’Jikam stood and traded early in the round and was penetrating Murata's guard with hard shots from both hands. A punch from Murata sent N’Jikam stumbling back into the ropes and he almost went down. Since it was the ropes that held him up it could have been scored as a knockdown but as it was not N’Jikam had done enough to take the round. Score 10-9 N’Jikam 48-46 Round 6 The sixth was a close round. N’Jikam yet again threw more and landed more but Murata’s punches were harder and he shook N’Jikam momentarily in the middle of the round Score 10-9 Murata 57-56 Round 7 Typically Murata threw only 15 punches in the seventh round. Luckily for him N’Jikam was taking dancing classes just tripping around the ring-literally as he tumbled over three times once due to a right to the head-and did even less than Murata. Score 10-9 Murata 66-66 Round 8 Just as Murata had given away early rounds by throwing very few punches N’Jikam was doing the same by spending too much time exploring the ring perimeter and too little time fighting. Murata managed to land two or three rights but it was turning out to be a disappointing fight with neither fighter throwing or landing enough punches to generate any excitement. Score 10-9 Murata 75-76 Round 9 In the ninth Murata was again just following N’Jikam around the ring and not letting his punches go. I counted 21 punches he threw in the round, and that was a higher work rate than he was typically using. He did land a hard straight left and a right with again N’Jikam scoring more but with light punches lacking snap. For me neither did enough to win the round. Score 10-10 Even 85-86 Round 10 Murata was more active at the start of the tenth scoring with some clumping rights and a couple of hooks to the body. N’Jikam came on at the end of the round but Murata’s early work gave him the edge. Score 10-9 Murata 94-96 Round 11 Murata also took the eleventh as he did the pressing and landed some good body punches with N’Jikam dancing too much and punching too little. He was not looking to trade but overdid the caution. Score 10-9 Murata 103-106 Round 12 Again in the twelfth the solid work came from Murata with N’Jikam really just looking to stay out of trouble and he did very little work in the round Score 10-9 Murata 112-116 Official scores: 116-111 and 115-112 for N’Jikam and 117-110 for Murata. Whilst I saw Murata the clear winner there were many rounds where he just did not work hard enough and times when the more numerous but much lighter punches from N’Jikam might have swayed the judges towards him. The strong finish from Murata is what won him the fight in my opinion but this was not the disgraceful decision it was being painted. What I found disgusting is the way that WBA President Gilberto Mendoza threw judges Gustavo Padilla from Panama and Hubert Earle from Canada to the dogs or stabbed them in the back or both. Mendoza said he scored the fight 117-110 for Murata and demanded a return fight. He seems to overlook the fact that if these two judges got it so wrong then the blame rests with the WBA who appointed them. As for Mendoza’s scorecard, Padilla has judged 128 fights and Earle 86-Mendoza has never judged a fight but suddenly he is an expert! The Japanese market is huge for the WBA so there will be a return but let’s not lose sight of the fact that Gennady Golovkin is the real WBA champion. At various times N’Jikam has held the WBA and WBO interim titles and his only losses have been to Peter Quillin and David Lemieux for the full WBO and IBF titles respectively. At 33 time is against the Cameroon-born N’Jikam and he will have to return to Japan again to defend this secondary title. Murata was disappointed and disappointing. He has power but his work rate was far too low and he looked very limited technically. The WBA will see he gets his return and if he can work harder he should win that one. Nagoya, Japan: Light Fly: Kosei Tanaka (9-0-0) W PTS 12 Angel Acosta (16-1). Tanaka retains his WBO title with unanimous decision over Puerto Rican puncher Acosta. The challenger was coming forward over the first two rounds. He was firing combinations with Tanaka forced onto the back foot and mainly relying on good movement and a stiff left jab. Acosta really let his fists fly early in the third driving Tanaka back with hooks from both hands. Tanaka then turned things around. He was taking the fight to Acosta hurting Acosta with a left to the body and finishing the round with another left to the body and a straight right. That was the turning point in the fight. In fourth Tanaka again hurt Acosta with a body punch and had the Puerto Rican in full retreat. Tanaka continued strongly in the fifth and dropped Tanaka with a lovely right uppercut as he took control of the fight. Acosta banged back but Tanaka showed excellent skills and was now in control. The champion was dominating the fight with his jab and banging home left hooks to the body. He shook Acosta with a left hook in the seventh. Acosta was storming forward whenever he could trying to turn the fight around and did enough to edge a couple of rounds particularly the eleventh but Tanaka was stronger in the last and was a clear winner. Scores 117-110 twice and 116-111 all for Tanaka. The 21-year-olf was making the first defence of his WBO title. He won the WBO minimumweight title in his fifth fight and the light flyweight title in his eighth so a two-division world champion after just eight fights. How does Japan develop these shooting stars that emerge into the pro game and win titles with records still in single figures? Acosta, 26, had won all of his previous fights by KO/TKO. He had beaten some good but not top level fighters and found Tanaka just too big a step up but he will fight for a title again. Poznan, Poland: Cruiser: Krzys Wlodarczyk (53-3-1) W PTS 12 Noel Gevor (22-1). Super Welter: Patryk Szymanski (18-0) W PTS 10 Rafal Jackiewicz (48-16-2). Welter: Przemyslaw Runowski (15-0) W TKO 2 Alain Chervet (13-1-2). Wlodarczyk vs. Gevor Wlodarczyk gets important win as he takes split decision over unbeaten Gevor. The fight started slowly with both fighters just probing cautiously. Wlodarczyk was coming forward with Gevor content to fight on the back foot looking to draw the lead and counter. The fight was very much one of tactics rather than spectacle. The Pole was probable just a bit busier over the first three rounds but there was never much of a gap between them. Gevor finished the fourth strongly catching Wlodarczyk with a series of punches. The fifth was again a close round and Gevor had a good sixth successfully getting Wlodarczyk to commit himself and then scoring with quick, accurate counters. Neither fighter was really throwing many punches and it was a case of whether you preferred the single big punches from Wlodarczyk or the bunches of light combinations from Gevor. The sixth and seventh could have been scored either way but Wlodarczyk stepped up his work rate in the eighth and landed a good right cross. Gevor did well with his quicker hands in the ninth and tenth but Wlodarczyk was on top in the eleventh and had probably just edged in front. Gevor had more left in the tank and was a clear winner of the last round. That did not prove to be enough as two judges had Wlodarczyk winning by 116-112 and 115-114 and the third saw Gevor the winner 115-113. Wlodarczyk, 35, a former IBF and WBC champion is now in line for a shot at IBF champion Murat Gassiev but as Gevor was also No 1 with the WBO he could just as easily go after Olek Usyk for the WBO title. Gevor had been carefully guided and Wlodarczyk was a step up from his previous opposition but he proved he belonged at this level and at 26 has plenty of time to rebuild. The Armenian-born German-based fighter just did not do enough to ensure a win in the other guy’s back yard in this only his third fight outside Germany. His team will post an official protest over the decision but it was a close fight and no robbery. There is something ironic about a German team complaining about a home decision. Szymanski vs. Jackiewicz Szymanski gets wide unanimous decision over veteran Jackiewicz but struggles at times. Szymanski outboxed Jackiewicz in the first and then floored him in the second. Jackiewicz recovered but Szymanski continued to outscore the former European champion pumping home left jabs and using good footwork to deflect Jackiewicz’s attacks. There was a moment of danger for Szymanski in the fourth when a right cross had the younger man’s legs wobbling badly but it came late in the round and Szymanski made it to the bell without further trouble. Jackiewicz took punishment in the sixth but had a good seventh. The younger man continued to pile up the points with a higher work rate as opposed to the single big punches from Jackiewicz and took the eighth and ninth but Jackiewicz finished the fight strongly scoring with some good counters. Scores 98-92 twice and 98-91 all for 23-year-old Szymanski. He has good skills but lacks real power. Former IBF title challenger Jackiewicz, 40, has said he will keep fighting until he gets two more wins to reach 50 wins Runowski vs. Chervet Runowski halts previously unbeaten Chervet. The Swiss fighter made a fast start scoring with numerous but light punches. Runowski slowed Chervet’s progress with some stiff jabs. In the second Runowski put Chervet down with a right. Chervet made it to his feet and was able to continue after the eight count. Another right cross put Chervet down for the second time. Again he beat the count but with just five seconds to go in the round Runowski floored Chervet for the third time and the referee and his corner both decided enough was enough. Third win by KO/TKO for the 23-year-old Polish hope. Chervet is the nephew of Fritz Chervet, who lost twice in world title challenges but was a dominating figure in the European flyweight division in the early/mid 1970’s. It looks as though Alain will never reach those heights. Charleroi, Belgium: Cruiser: Ryad Merhy (23-0) W PTS 12 Mitch Williams (15-5-3). Heavy: Herve Hubeaux (27-2) W TKO 7 Sergio Romano (8-9-1). Welter: Meriton Karaxha (13-4-1) W TKO 7 Imad Azaroui (9-2). Merhy vs. Williams Merhy retains his WBA Inter-Continental title with unanimous decision over Michigan’s Williams. After a cautious opening round Merhy took over. William’s southpaw stance posed no problems for Merhy as he forced the fight scoring with strong jabs and firing home body punches. Merhy’s dominance was such that he allowed himself to play with Williams at times. Williams finally got a foothold in the fight in the ninth when Merhy did not press so hard and it looked as though the Ivory Coast fighter may have injured his right hand. Williams took the fight to Merhy in the tenth and was more competitive over the last two rounds than he had been earlier but Merhy finished strongly. Scores 119-110 twice and 118-110 all for Merhy. The 24-year-old Merhy is No 7 with the WBA although he has yet to face a “name” opponent. The EBU have him at No 14 and that title would be a realistic aim. Williams, 34, stumbled at the start of his career going 1-2 in his first three fights. After that he went 14-2-3 with the losses being to world rated fighters Ismayl Sillah and Olanrewaju Durodola. He had won his last 7 fights so a reasonable level of opponent. Hubeaux vs. Romano Hubeaux eases his way back with stoppage win over Italian Romano in the seventh round. First fight for Hubeaux since his losing effort against Agit Kabayel for the vacant European title in February. Hubeaux had won 15 in a row prior to that. He lost clearly against Kabayel but is still No 10 with the EBU and is only 25 so can come again. Romano, 37, had turned his record around by going 7-2-1 in his last 10 fights but found Hubeaux just too good for him. Karaxha vs. Azaroui Karaxha comes from behind to win the vacant Belgian title. Azaroui looked to be on his way to victory as he used clever defensive work to frustrate the aggressive Karaxha. Southpaw Azaroui was outboxing Karaxha being busier and more accurate with his punches and was clearly in front after six rounds. Karaxha turned things around by flooring Azaroui heavily in the seventh. Azaroui survived to the bell but pressure from Karaxha forced the local fighter to trade punches in the eighth and a right to the body floored Azaroui and the fight was stopped. The 25-year-old Albanian-born Karaxha gets his fourth win by KO/TKO. No luck in title fights for the 29-year-old local fighter as he lost on points for the vacant WBC Francophone title back in 2015. Verviers, Belgium: Light: Faroukh Kourbanov (14-0) W PTS 8 Rachid Sali (5-5-1). Super Light: Steve Jamoye (22-3-1) W PTS 6 Ferenc Katona (8-6-1). Bantam: Stephen Jamoye (32-7) W KO 1 Zsolt Sarkozi (5-1-1). Kourbanov vs. Sali European Union champion Kourbanov gets unanimous verdict over Frenchman Sali in a non-title fight. The Belgian-based fighter from Kyrgyzstan floored Sali in the second and was on top for most of the fight with Sali on the defensive and doing well to last the distance. Kourbanov was a clear winner. Scores 80-71, 80-72 and a too close 77-75 all for Kourbanov .Sali is now 0-4-1 in his last 5 fights. Jamoye vs. Katona Jamoye pads out his record with a win over Hungarian-based Romanian southpaw Katona in a keep busy fight. The contest was one-sided but Katona absorbed some more hard knocks over the last four rounds but lasted the distance. Some late nights with his newly born baby did not affect Jamoye’s form. Scores 60-54, 59-55 and 59-56 all for the 25-year-old BeNeLux champion and European No 10. Jamoye vs. Sarkozi Elder brother Stephen, the puncher in the family, puts away Hungarian teenager Sarkozi inside a round. A hook to the body put Sarkozi down and he was unable to beat the count. Now 17 wins by KO/TKO for the 27-year-old former European bantam champion and unsuccessful challenger for the WBC and secondary WBA titles. He faces Karim Guerfi next month in an attempt to regain the European title but this fight would have done nothing for his preparation. Medellin, Colombia: Welter: Sam Vargas (27-3-1) W KO 5 Marco Avendano (30-11-0). Canadian-based Vargas goes home for his first fight in Colombia and continues to rebuild with a kayo of experienced/elderly Venezuelan Avendano. The 28-year-old Vargas has won 10 of his last 12 fights with the losses being against Errol Spence (L TKO 4) and last November against Danny Garcia (L TKO 7). He started 2017 with a points win over useful Armando Robles which earned him the WBA-NABA title. Now 43 Avendano lost a split decision to Nobuhiro Ishida for the interim WBA super welter title in 2009 and to Vyacheslav Senchenko for the WBA welter title in 2011 but this was his first fight in two years. Vicenza, Italy: Super Bantam: Luca Rigoldi (13-1-1) W PTS 12 Vittorio Parrinello (9-1). Feather: Carmine Tommasone (17-0) W PTS 6 Lesther Cantillano (3-3). Light: Domenico Valentino (1-0) W PTS 6 Davide Cali (3-12). 13 Rigoldi vs. Parrinello Rigoldi win the vacant European Union title with very narrow split decision over former conqueror Parrinello. This one was a clash of styles. Parrinello, a former top amateur had a big edge in technical skills and the longer reach and southpaw Rigoldi was a rough, tough battler who likes to come forward and work inside. Over the early round Parrinello was able to use those skills to score at distance and Rigoldi only had marginal success in closing Parrinello down. From the fourth Rigoldi’s pressure increased and Parrinello was being forced to stand and trade more. He was still the more accurate but despite being wild with his punches at times Rigoldi continually upped his work rate. Both fighters suffered cuts in head clashes but neither cut was serious. A fiery tenth saw Parrinello scoring with quick combinations and Rigoldi banging back with right hooks. Parrinello managed to create space and box his way through the eleventh but with the decision in the balance Rigoldi stormed through the last landing right crosses and left hooks and emerged the winner. Scores 114-113 twice for Rigoldi and 114-113 for Parrinello. This could have gone either way. Parrinello landed a higher percentage of his punches but Rigoldi threw more and his work rate swung it his way. Rigoldi, 24, lost a close decision to Parrinello for the Italian title in March last year so he gets revenge and the EU title. After the loss to Parrinello had had gone on to win the vacant Italian title in December. It is a great pity that the 33-year-old Parrinello left it so late to turn pro. He was an almost permanent fixture in the Italian National team competing at two Olympics and three World Championships but he is unlikely to hit the heights in the pros. Tommasone vs. Cantillano Tommasone gets in six rounds of work against Nicaraguan novice Cantillano. Tommasone outboxed the Nicaraguan all the way. After a very slow start Cantillano did wake up as the rounds ticked off and pressed hard over the last two rounds but he lacked the skills to really extend the unbeaten Italian “Mr Wolf” and Tommasone won every round. The 33-year-old Tommasone, a former undefeated Italian and European Union champion, was having only his second fight in 20 months but is aiming to be more active this year. Two fights in Europe and two losses for Cantillano who will get plenty of paydays as an imported to lose fighter. Valentino vs. Cali Valentino turns pro with a points decision over fellow-Italian Cali. Valentino was looking to get an inside the distance win from the start but Cali took his licks and stayed the full route even landing some good left hooks along the way but Valentino took every round. Once again it is such a pity that policemen Valentino has left it so late to turn pro. His name sits up there alongside Robert Cammarelle and Clemente Russo as the most successful Italian amateur boxers in recent years. He medalled at five consecutive World Championships getting a gold, a silver and three bronze medals, won gold medals at three consecutive European Union Championships and a silver and bronze at European Championships but at 33 (his birthday was last week) he has limited time to make any impression as a pro. Cali just there to make up the numbers and did his job by going six rounds. Laredo, TX, USA: Super Middle: David Benavidez (18-0) W KO 8 Rogelio Medina (37-8). Feather: Jorge Lara (29-0-2) W TKO 3 Mario Briones (28-6-2). Benavidez vs. Medina Benavidez marches on as he halts experienced Medina. Both fighters were looking to establish control early so the first three rounds saw them constantly exchanging hard punches in a trial of strength with neither willing to take a step back. The youth and power of Benavidez finally began to dominate the fight from the fourth. He had Medina badly shaken with a left and bombarded the Mexican with blazing combinations which saw Medina topple back into the ropes. The referee ruled that the ropes had held Medina up and applied an eight count. Medina is tough and he survived to the bell. Benavidez continued to dominate the action in the sixth but every time he hurt Medina the Mexican just walked through it and threw leather of his own. A body punch put Medina on the floor again late in the seventh but he continued to try to take the fight to Benavidez. It ended in the eighth when another series of hard punches drove Medina to the floor and the referee stopped the fight. Still only 20, “Red Flag” Benavidez is certainly a danger. He has won 17 of his fights by KO/TKO and his last 10 fights have all ended that way including victories over useful opposition such as Francy Ntetu and Denis Douglin. He is the younger brother of the undefeated former interim WBA super light champion Jose Benavidez. He is rated WBA4/IBF 9(8)/WBO 9 and will probably be ready to fight for a world title in 2018. Medina, 28, went the distance with James De Gale for the IBF title in April last year so this was an impressive performance by Benavidez. Lara vs. Briones Lara returns to action with a win as he obliterates Briones inside three rounds. The unbeaten southpaw had Briones under pressure throughout the first round and then floored Briones twice in the second. He staggered Briones with a right in the third and then pounded away to head and body until the referee stepped in to save Briones. The 26-year-old from Guadalajara, having his first fight for almost a year, now has 21 wins by KO/TKO. The two draws on his record are technical draws and in his last fight in April last year he knocked out former world champion Fernando Montiel in 97 seconds so one to watch. Briones, 31, went 20-0-1 at the start of his career but is now a modest 8-6-1 against tougher opposition. San Martin, Argentina: Super Light: Martin Coggi (34-7-3,1ND) W KO 8 Martin Severo (12-6-2). Southpaw Coggi wins the vacant WBFederation Inter-Continental title with kayo of Severo. It was not an impressive display by Coggi who was up against a less experienced Uruguayan and made heavy weather of it. His father Juan Martin constantly demanded his son be more aggressive. Coggi finally ended it in the eighth with a left hook to the body with Severo going down and being unable to beat the count and it was several minutes before he made it to his feet. The 33-year-old “Prince” is 9-2-1ND in his last 12 fights. Second loss by KO/TKO for Severo. This was very much a family occasion with Martin Coggi doing the fighting with his former WBA champion father Juan Martin in his corner and sister Yessica the promoter. Villa Angela, Argentina: Middle: Marcelo Caceres (15-3) W PTS 10 Cristian Rios (21-9-3). Caceres wins the vacant Argentinian and South American titles with unanimous decision over more experienced southpaw Rios. Caceres built an early lead despite losing a point in the fourth for a deliberate butt. Rios forced his way back into the fight flooring Caceres in the seventh but then ruined his good work with a low shot in the ninth which cost him a point. Scores 97-92, 96-94 and 95-94 all for Caceres who gets his eighth win in a row. Former national champion Rios was 1-2 in his previous three fights losing on points to Tommy Langford and David Lemieux. May 21 Tokyo, Japan: Light Fly: Milan Melindo (36-2) W TKO 1 Akira Yaegashi (25-6). Super Fly: Naoya Inoue (13-0) W KO 3 Ricardo Rodriguez (16-4). Super Feather: Satoshi Hosono (33-3-1) W TKO 1 Masashi Noguchi (12-7-1). Feather: Ryo Matsumoto (20-1) W TKO 2 Hendrik Barongsay (29-26-3). Melindo vs. Yaegashi Melindo springs major upset as he floors defending champion Yaegashi three times to win the IBF title. For about 24 hours Japanese fighters held all four versions of the world light flyweight title but that changed with this fight. After some opening probing with jabs Yaegashi scored with a short right. Melindo then began to come forward letting go some left hooks to the body. As they exchanged punches a short right from Melindo sent Yaegashi tottering back and down. He indicated to his corner that he was OK and when the action resumed took the fight to Melindo. A couple of left hooks from Melindo saw Yaegashi down again. He did not seem badly shaken but when the action resumed a long right to the chin from Melindo floored Yaegashi for the third time. This time he did looked stunned. The referee started the count but then when only half way through waived the fight over. It was a case of third time lucky for the 29-year-old Filipino as he had lost to Juan Francisco Estrada for the WBA/WBO flyweight titles and to Javier Mendoza for this IBF title. He won the interim title with a points verdict over Fahlan Sakkreerin in November. It was a big shock that he beat Yaegashi but an even bigger one as Melindo had previously shown little power with only 12 wins by KO/TKO. Yaegashi, 34, a former WBA minimumweight and WBC flyweight champion will have to think hard about his future after this loss. He seemed to be in a daze and it may be that his punch resistance is shot. Inoue vs. Rodriguez Inoue blows away Mexican Rodriguez inside three rounds to retain the WBO title. Inoue took his time in the first to see what Rodriguez brought to the table. The Mexican fired some good left hooks to the body but then Inoue opened up. He was stabbing jabs and quick rights through Rodriguez’s guard and landing left hooks to the body as he finished an impressive first round. Rodriguez took the fight to Inoue in the second but once again Inoue controlled the action with his jab. He effortlessly switched guards with straight lefts constantly finding the target and he shook Rodriguez with two of those lefts at the bell. Early in the third he staggered the advancing Rodriguez with a left hook to the chin and then floored him with a left hook. Rodriguez was up at five and after the eight count Inoue floored him again with another left hook. Rodriguez rolled around trying to get up. The referee started the count but gave it up and waived the fight over. The 24-year-old Japanese “Monster” won the Japanese light fly title in his fourth fight, the OPBF title in his fifth fight, the WBC light fly title in his sixth fight and the WBO super fly title in his eighth fight and this was his fifth defence of that title. He has won 7 of his 8 title fights by KO/TKO. Who knows what he can go on to achieve. Rodriguez, the WBO No 2, had scored wins over good level opposition such as Jonathan Vidal, Miguel Cartagena and Carlos Narvaez but Inoue was numerous levels above him. Hosono vs. Noguchi Hosono returns with a win as he halts Japanese No 7 Noguchi inside a round. The end came when Hosono took Noguchi to the ropes and landed a left hook and a right and the fight was over. Hosono, 33, has lost in shots at the secondary WBA title and the real feather title and was coming off a vital loss to Jonathon Barros. Sixth loss by KO/TKO for Noguchi. Matsumoto vs. Barongsay Matsumoto adds another inside the distance win. The 23-year-old from Yokohama used body punches to floor Indonesian Barongsay and the fight was over in 95 seconds. He has 18 wins by KO/TKO including a stoppage of his lone conqueror Victor Uriel Lopez. Barongsay is 2-12 in his last 14 fights. Fight of the week: Gary Russell vs. Oscar Escandon as the Colombian makes Russell fight all the way with special mention to Samir Ziani vs. Samir Kasmi a bell to bell battle for the French super feather title Fighter of the week: Terrence Crawford gives another masterful display just ahead of the Japanese “Monster” Naoya Inoue who again looks awesome Punch of the week: The Ray Beltran left hook that put Jonathan Maicelo out cold Upset of the week: Milan Melindo’s first round destruction of Akira Yaegashi One to watch: Diego De La Hoya 18-0 and improving from fight to fight and worth watching Roberto Manzanarez 35-1 who turned pro at 15 and is maturing nicely. Click here for Part I. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eric Armit.  |
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