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The Past Week in Action 12 September 2017 - Part I By Eric Armit PhilBoxing.com Wed, 13 Sep 2017  Highlights: -Srisaket crushes Roman Gonzalez -Olek Usyk kicks off the World Super Series of Boxing by kicking Marco Huck?s butt -David Bermudez wins the vacant WBC super middle title -Kevin Lerena wins vacant IBO cruiser title -Juan Carlos Reveco wins IBF final eliminator to get a shot at Donnie Nietes -Japanese star Naoya Inoue looks awesome as he destroys Antonio Nieves in his first fight in the USA -Kanat Islam crushes previously unbeaten Brandon Cook -Veteran Joey Abell tears up the script and flattens local fighter Krzys Zimnoch September 8 Las Vegas, NV, USA: Super Middle: David Benavidez (19-0) W PTS 12 Ronald Gavril (18-2). Super Middle Caleb Plant (16-0) W PTS 10 Andrew Hernandez (16-3). Super Middle: J?Leon Love (23-1-1,1ND) TEC DRAW 8 Abraham Han (26-3-1). Light Heavy: Peter Quillin (33-1-1) W PTS 8 Johnson (22-22-3,1ND). Jeison Rosario (14-1) W KO 5 Salim Larbi (20-8-2). Benavidez vs. Gavril Benavidez wins the vacant WBC title with split decision over Gavril but has to climb off the floor in the last round for victory Round 1 Benavidez started out utilising his edge in reach to box on the outside but then began to throw straight rights. Gavril was cautious making good use of his own jab mainly to the body. Benavidez edged the round Score 10-9 Benavidez Round 2 Gavril?s round. The Romanian worked hard with his jab slotting it though gaps in Benavidez?s defence and following up with quick combinations. Benavidez was loading up on his punches and not making use of his jab and was outworked. Score 10-9 Gavril 19-19 Round 3 This round also saw Gavril threading his punches through and around Benavidez?s guard. Benavidez started to really let his punches go and landed some heavy shots bringing blood from Gavril?s nose to take the round. Score 10-9 Benavidez 29-28 Round 4 After some good early work from Gavril Benavidez turned up the heat. He was scoring with clubbing rights to the head and left hooks to the body with Gavril under pressure. For no apparent reason at the end of the round Benavidez twice backed to the ropes and gestured for Gavril to do his worst and won the round clearly Score 10-9 Benavidez 39-37 Official Scores 39-37, 39-37 for Benavidez, 39-37 for Gavril Round 5 Gavril was boxing smoothly focusing on the body and outworking Benavidez but did not have the power to turn that into dominance. Benavidez was throwing less but was scoring with the harder and more eye-catching punches including a left hook that was the best punch in the fight so far Score 10-9 Benavidez 49-46 Round 6 This was turning out to be a fast open and entertaining fight. Gavril continued to work the jab and fire quick burst of punches. Benavidez decided to do some showboating in this round instead of fighting. When he did throw punches his power was there but he did not do enough and gave the round away. Score 10-9 Gavril 58-56 Round 7 Benavidez pressed harder in this round. He was scoring with left hooks to the body and clubbing rights. Gavril was able to score in bursts but it was Benavidez round Score 10-9 Benavidez 68-65 Round 8 Gavril was busy, busy in this one. He was threading his jab through the high guard of Benavidez and banging well to the body. Benavidez only fought in spurts. He landed the harder punches but Gavril edged the round. Score 10-9 Gavril 77-75 Official scores 79-73, 79-73 for Benavidez, 77-75 for Gavril Round 9 Another round for Gavril. He worked the jab and fired quick combinations with Benavidez only fighting in short spells ignoring his jab and just not throwing enough punches. Score 10-9 Gavril 86-85 Round 10 A big round for Benavidez. He was scoring with long hooks and straight rights and for the first time in the fight Gavril resorted to holding to smother Benavidez work and although continually firing back Gavril was under heavy pressure at the bell. Score 10-9 Benavidez 96-94 Round 11 Benavidez round. He drove Gavril back with a series of hooks and uppercuts and continued to pound the Romanian?s body with left hooks and for a few moments Gavril was in deep water. However Benavidez was looking very tired and arm weary just really slugging not boxing. Score 10-9 Benavidez ` 106-103 Round 12 Benavidez was winning the round easily. Again he was forcing Gavril back banging home left hooks right uppercuts and straight rights. As they traded Benavidez landed a couple of hard punches to the head and Gavril countered with a left hook. Benavidez was wide open and the punch dumped him on his rump. Benavidez was up quickly and did not look badly hurt. He got a couple of extra seconds recovery time as Gavril had strayed out of the neutral corner and the referee stopped the count to send Gavril back. When the action resumed Benavidez got the better of some hectic exchanges and they ended up with some of the best action of the fight. Score 10-8 Gavril 114-113 Official Scores: 117-111 and 116-111 for Benavidez and 116-111 for Gavril Benavidez becomes the youngest of the current champion as he wins the title at the age of 20. This was his first twelve round fight and he tired badly at the end but was a deserving winner. The Phoenix fighter had only 15 amateur fights and turned pro at 16 with his early bouts being in Mexico as he could not fight as a pro in Arizona until he was 18. When he signed pro with Top Rank he was 17 and the youngest fighter to sign with them and he needed special dispensation from the Nevada Commission to fight there at 17. He is the brother of Jose the former undefeated interim WBA super light champion who also turned pro at 17 and also needed a special licence from Nevada. This is a tough division and Benavidez has slipped past the top fighters to get the title shot so still has to prove himself. Unlike Benavidez Gavril, 31 had a long and successful time as an amateur including competing at the World and European Championships. His other pro loss was an upset defeat against Elvin Ayala in 2015. He then won seven fights in a row none against rated fighters. Winning the NABF title saw him get a place in the WBC ratings but as he was ranked No 6 he was fortunate to get the title chance but he showed he belonged at this level. Plant vs. Hernandez ?Sweet Hands? Plant gets wide unanimous decision over a game Hernandez who came in at eight days notice. Plant was in charge from the start. He had his jab working well and landed power shots in every round. He opened a cut under the left eye of Hernandez and it leaked blood throughout the fight. Whilst dominating the exchanges Plant was never really able to shake Hernandez and had to settle for winning every round. Scores 100-90 from all three judges. The 25-year-old from Tennessee is a former National Golden Gloves Champion but failed to make it through the final US Trials for the 2012 Olympics. He is rated IBF 11(9)/WBC 30 but is yet to face a name opponent. Hernandez, 31, was 9-2 in his last 11 fights. Love vs. Han This one ended as a technical majority draw after Han suffered a horrendous gash from a clash of heads. The fight was pretty ordinary. Love moved well and used angles to score early and Han worked his jab and seemed to have a slight edge going into the eighth round. When their heads clashed a wide gash opened immediately on Han?s forehead above his left eye. He was stunned and fell to the canvas with the injury already pouring blood and the fight was stopped immediately. One judge somehow had Love up at 79-73 but the other two had it 76-76 so a majority draw. Love, 29, is rebuilding after a shock third round kayo loss to Rogelio Medina in 2014 and coming in had scored five wins over modest opposition. He is rated IBF 9(7)/WBC 9. Han 32, suffered back-to-back split decision losses in 2015 to Sergio Mora and Fernando Guerrero and was inactive in 2016 but had returned with a low level win in March. Quillin vs. Johnson Quillin gets rocky welcome back from experienced Johnson before getting the decision. This was Quillin?s first fight since losing to Daniel Jacobs for the secondary WBA title in December 2015. Quillin showed some early rust and just when he seemed to be finding his way Johnson showed why there are a few upset wins in this record. He exploded a right on Quillin?s head near the end of the third that had Quillin floundering. Johnson landed more heavy punches but the bell went and Quillin survived. From there Quillin took over showering Johnson with hooks and uppercuts and came close to an inside the distance win but this time it was Johnson who survived. Scores 79-72, 79-73 and 78-74 all for Quillin. The 34-year-old ?Kid Chocolate? from Chicago has a lot of catching up to do. It was a huge shock when he turned down a purse of almost $2 million to defend his WBO title against Matt Korobov and vacated the title. He tripped over in his return when he failed to make the weight in a challenge against Andy Lee for his old WBO title and then walked away from the ring for a while after being blown away in 85 seconds by Jacobs. Another suitcase another town for Johnson who came close to stopping WBO No 1 Jesse Hart last year. Rosario vs. Larbi Rosario is yet another fighter repairing his record and gets a useful win. The Dominican makes it eleven wins by KO/TKO as he puts Larbi down twice with body punches on his way to a knockout victory. Second win for Rosario since his sixth round stoppage loss against dangerous Nathan Gallimore in April. Rosario does not do distance fights. In his 15 contests he has 11 inside the distance wins, two wins by disqualification and the inside the distance loss to Gallimore so only one fight has gone the full scheduled of rounds. Frenchman Larbi lost to Lukas Konecny for the interim WBO title in 2012 but is now 4-6 since then. General Alvear, Argentina: Fly: Juan Carlos Reveco (39-3) W PTS 12 Komgrich (22-5). Feather: Hector Sarmiento (14-0) W TKO 3 Sergio Priotti (28-22-2,1ND). Reveco vs. Komgrich Reveco wins wide unanimous decision over Thai Komgrich in an exciting gruelling battle. Reveco was giving away height and reach but boxed masterfully on the back foot. He had better movement and quicker hands and was threading home jabs and landing quick busts of hooks and uppercuts as the much slower Komgrich rolled forward. Reveco was doubling up on his jab and spearing Komgrich time and again with uppercuts. The Thai was just throwing one punch at a time and was a static target for Reveco?s fast, accurate counters. The Thai tried switching southpaw but over the first half of the fight nothing worked for him. Reveco is not a power puncher and as Komgrich finally stepped up his pace he was able to walk through Reveco?s punches and was doing a better job of cutting down the ring. Reveco continued to make Komgrich pay for every pace forward as he landed punch after punch through the porous guard of the Thai but the pressure was unrelenting and you have to feel the fight might have had a different ending if Komgrich had fought with this fire earlier. As it was he staged a storming last round but Reveco continued to box cleverly on the retreat and was a clear winner although the scores did not show how tough it was for the home town fighter over those late rounds. Scores 120-108, 118-110 and 117-111 all for Reveco with the last seeming a good reflection of the fight. The 34-year-old Reveco, a former holder of the secondary WBA title at light fly and flyweight was the highest rated fighter in the IBF flyweight division at No 3 (the first two spots were vacant) and Komgrich was No 4 so this win will allow Reveco to move into the No 1 spot as mandatory challenger to Donnie Nietes. Komgrich, 28, lost on points to Nietes for the vacant IBF title in his last fight in April so it won?t be easy for him to work his way to another title shot. Sarmiento vs. Priotti Sarmiento gets a lucky win. After a couple of even rounds Priotti put Sarmiento down in the third but injured his right hand and could not continue. The ?Little Bird?, the Argentinian No 5, will rarely get a luckier win. Veteran Priotti, 37, need victory here as he was 1-8,1ND in his last 10 fights. Santiago Del Estero, Argentina: Middle: Diego Diaz Gallardo (22-5-1) W RTD 8 Felipe Santos Pedroso (13-3). Gallardo retains his WBFederation title as Brazilian Pedroso retires after eight rounds. After a slow first round Gallardo did enough to edge the second. In the third Pedroso came to life and worked hard to take it and also had a good fourth. Gallardo had the better of the fifth forcing Pedroso to fight with his back to the ropes for much of the time. Gallardo took the sixth shaking Pedroso with a right hook but both tired and the pace slowed in the seventh. Gallardo finally decided the fight in the eighth. A huge right sent Pedroso reeling into a corner and he only just survived to the bell. Pedroso ?s corner wanted to send him out for the ninth but the referee waived the fight over. The 37-year-old Gallardo fought with mixed fortunes until 2010 and then retired to train local boxers. He had a fight in 2013 but then retired again. He decided to give it one more try so had a fight in September 2016 and was then selected as a safe opponent to face the WBFederation champion Michel Mothmora in Martinique. He won the title on an eighth round stoppage becoming only the second fighter from Santiago del Estero to hold any version of a world title. Pedroso gets his second loss by KO/TKO having been stopped in four rounds by Ryota Murata in May last year. Woden, Australia: Middle: David Toussaint (12-0) W TEC DEC 6 Liam Hutchinson (11-5-1). Light Heavy: Steve Lovett (16-2) W RTD 2 Aswin Cabuy (19-64-4). Toussaint vs. Hutchinson Fighting in front of his home fans Toussaint wins the vacant Australian title with technical decision over Hutchinson. Toussaint was well on his way to victory when a clash of heads in the sixth saw Hutchinson suffer a bad cut and the fight was stopped . It went to the cards with Toussaint winning the verdict. The Canberra southpaw has scored good wins over Junior Talipeau and Shane Mosley Jr. and former IBF champion Daniel Geale has tipped him as a future world champion. He deserved his success as he twice finished runner-up at the Australian Under-17 Championships and a 7-6 points loss at the Australian Senior Championships cost him his a chance of going to the London Olympics. His next fight will be on the undercard to Jeff Horn?s title defence against Gary Corcoran in Brisbane on 25 November. Second loss in challenges for the national title for Hutchinson who failed to lift the super welter title in a previous attempt. Lovett vs. Cabuy After two inside the distance losses Canberra?s Lovett returns home to make a fresh start. Cabuy was very much a non-threatening opponent and two round of punishment were enough for Cabuy to call it a night. Lovett had high hopes when he went to Houston to train under Ronnie Shields. Eight wins in a row earned him a world rating but inside the distance losses to Craig Baker and Lionell Thompson soured the experience so it is home again and win No 13 by KO/TKO for Lovett. Now 30 losses by KO/TKO for 42-year-old Indonesian Cabuy. September 9 Carson, CA, USA: Super Fly: Srisaket (44-4-1) W KO 4 Roman Gonzalez (46-2). Super Fly: Naoya Inoue (14-0) W RTD 5 Antonio Nieves (17-2-2).Super Fly: Juan Francisco Estrada (36-2) W PTS 12 Carlos Cuadras (36-2-1). Bantam: Brian Viloria (38-5,2ND) W TKO 5 Miguel Cartagena (15-4-1). Srisaket vs. Gonzalez In a major shock Thai Srisaket retains the WBC title with crushing kayo win over Gonzalez. It was not a case of a lucky punch as from the first bell Srisaket threw and landed more punches before wrecking the former pound-for-pound favourite with two crushing rights. Round 1 Srisaket made a good start. He was letting his southpaw straight lefts go early with Gonzalez more cautious. They clashed heads and with memories of the bad cut he received in the first fight Gonzalez complained to the referee who gave Srisaket a warning. Srisaket continued to score with his lefts and clearly took the round Score 10-9 Srisaket Round 2 Gonzalez opened the second in a more positive manner. He was moving in close and scoring with hooks. Srisaket fired back and it was Gonzalez who backed up and Srisaket again scored with his straight lefts. Gonzalez upped the pace in the second half of the round. Another clash of heads again had Gonzalez complaining to the referee. They traded punches to the bell in a close round which just went to Srisaket. Score 10-9 Srisaket 20-18 Round 3 There were worrying signs for Gonzalez in the third. Srisaket was outpunching the Nicaraguan constantly finding the target with southpaw lefts. He was constantly changing angles and getting the better of the exchanges with Gonzalez struggling to match the Thai both in power and accuracy. Score 10-9 Srisaket 30-27 Round 4 Srisaket scored early with quick combinations with Gonzalez not seeming able to block them. Srisaket threw another combination and as Gonzalez walked in the last punch of the combination, a short right to the chin, caught Gonzalez flush and he collapsed sideward to the floor. He got up at eight but looked very shaky and looked almost resigned to losing. He tried to punch his way out of trouble but Srisaket drove him back. Another series of four head punches which ended with a devastating right to the head put Gonzalez down flat on his back and the referee immediately signalled the end of the fight. If you heard a tearing sound it was the plans for a Gonzalez vs. the winner of Estrada vs. Cuadras fight or Gonzalez vs. Inoue or Gonzalez vs. anyone being torn up. Srisaket was a better fighter than when he won a controversial decision over Gonzalez in March. He had superior movement superior speed and superior power. Gonzalez looked sluggish and slow and it was strange to see the Nicaraguan being the one to break from trading punches and backing off. It remains to be seen whether Srisaket will just take the place of Gonzalez in the scheme and as the Estrada vs. Cuadras fight was an eliminator the WBC will probably push for the Srisaket vs. Estrada fight to go on. Gonzalez, 30, seemed to age overnight and did not look the same fighter who had run up a 46-0 38 wins by KO/TKO record. He was hospitalised after the fight as a precaution and has said he will discuss with his family whether he will retire Inoue vs. Nieves In his first fight in the USA Inoue lives up to his ?Monster? nickname as he dismantles and demolishes Nieves in an outstanding exhibition of speed and power. The 24-year-old Japanese star looked awesome but needs to face the Srisaket and Estrada level of opposition to prove his true worth. Round 1 Inoue easily took the round. He was stabbing out quick powerful jabs and landing with left hooks to the body and sweeping overhand rights. Nieves banged back a couple of times but was under pressure for most of the round. Score 10-9 Inoue Round 2 Another dominant round for Inoue. His left jab was precise and powerful and he was also scoring with clubbing rights. Nievas had some success with his own jab and fired some good combinations but could not match the champion. As the round ended Inoue landed a vicious left hook to the body. Nievas stepped back obviously in pain and Inoue hammered him with two punches to the head and Nievas was badly staggered and in trouble. Inoue was looking to land more but he suddenly walked away thinking the bell had gone and Nievas survived. Score 10-9 Inoue 20-18 Round 3 In the third we were watching a hunt not a fight. Inoue tracked a retreating Nievas around the ring letting go his jab and mixing in long rights and left hooks to the body. Nieves stopped occasionally to throw a punch but there was conviction in his punches as he knew trading with Inoue was a very unwise course of action. Score 10-9 30-27 Round 4 I think Inoue sent he sent a poor avatar out for this one. For most of the round Inoue just danced prodded with his jab and handed the initiative to Nieves. That meant that Nieves had his best round so far. The real Inoue turned up for the last 30 seconds as he went after Nieves with bad intent but had left it too late in the round. It was close but even at half pace Inoue did enough to take the round Score 10-9 Inoue 40-36 Round 5 Inoue got down to serious business in this round. He stalked Nieves around the ring landing vicious rib bending hooks from both hands with Nieves in full survival mode. A left hook saw Nieves drop to his knees in agony. He was up at eight and Inoue drove him around the ring using almost exclusively his left hook to the body which he landed frequently and every one had Nievas wincing in pain. Score 10-8 Inoue 50-44 Round 6 A right to the ribs again had Nieves hurt early in the sixth. From there it was almost embarrassing. There is no way that Nieves wanted anymore of those body punches and he spent the rest of the round going back faster than Inoue could go forward. Inoue tried all sorts of ways to get Nieves to stand and fight or at least make a gesture. He continued to land rib bending left hooks to the body and it was a relief when Nieves retired at the end of the round in a fight was that had become an embarrassment for the challenger from Cleveland. Score 10-8 Inoue 60-52 Inoue?s achievements are already remarkable. He is a two-division champion. He won the WBC light fly title in his sixth fight and the WBO title in his eighth fight. This is his sixth defence of the WBO title and he is already 9-0 in world title fights with 8 wins by KO/TKO. Not bad for a guy who failed to medal at the World Youth and World Senior Championships and went out in the Asian Qualifier for the 2012 Olympics. Inoue, Srisaket and Estrada perm any two from three and you have the makings of a classic fight. Nieves was never going to be much of a test. He entered the WBO ratings not because he beaten any quality fighters but because he won the WBO NABO title over a guy with a 9-1 record. When you add that the NABO title he had won was at bantamweight, that he had never fought under 115lbs, had lost his last fight and then did a side shuffle from No 7 bantam to No 7 super fly you get the typical ratings manipulation exercise. He showed some nice skills but was outclassed here. Estrada vs. Cuadras In a WBC eliminator Estrada gets wafer thin decision over Cuadras as he has to come from behind with a knockdown scored in the tenth round finally the difference between the fighters on the scorecards. From the first bell these two put on a high class exhibition of box-fighting. They both had their jab working and were throwing good combinations with Cuadras scoring with a right just before the bell which was the best punch so far and gave him the round. Cuadras ran the second round with his jab. He was constantly piercing Estrada?s guard and a right cross and a left hook from him were the punches of the round. Estrada was still struggling to get past the jab of Cuadras in the third and Cuadras was switching guards and also leaping in with left hooks to the body and long rights to the head. Estrada landed a couple of sharp punches late in the round but it was too little too late. Estrada finally began to connect in the fourth but he was still being outboxed and Cuadras did some showboating throwing his arms wide and doing a jig as he pocketed the fourth round. Estrada was having a little more success with each round but Cuadras was just too quick and too clever although his showboating and switching guards to no purpose were not helping him. Five rounds gone and five rounds for Cuadras. Suddenly in the sixth it was Estrada who was scoring with the jab and Cuadras looked ragged at times with the quality shots coming from Estrada to take the round. Cuadras went back to jabbing and moving over the first half of the seventh but was looking tired. Over the second half Estrada was getting closer and landed a head jarring left hook/right uppercut/straight right combination to take a close, exciting round. Cuadras moved a lot and threw a lot and landed more in the eighth but the harder eye-catching power shots were all coming from Estrada who just edged the round. He was closing the points difference with every round. Cuadras stopped the rot in the ninth. He gave a masterly exhibition of boxing on the back foot constantly slotting punches through Estrada?s guard and slipping or blocking Estrada?s replies to take the round clearly. Estrada needed to do something and quickly as he was running out of rounds. He achieved that in the tenth as he shook Cuadras with a left and floored him with a long right. Cuadras was up quickly and took the eight count. When the action resumed Estrada shook him with some more rights. Cuadras was firing back at the bell-but it was a huge round for Estrada. Cuadras made a fast start to the eleventh but then Estrada began to reach him with blistering right crosses and left hooks to take the round and level the scoring. They both fought hard in the last and for me Estrada just did enough to take it. Confusion then reigned as Cuadras was declared the winner and he and his team began to celebrate. There was then a consultation between the announcer and the supervisor and that clarified that Estrada was the winner by 114-113 on all three cards making the tenth round knockdown the difference between them. It was great fight and if the decision had gone to Cuadras that would not have been a surprise as the fight was so close. Estrada relinquished his WBA and WBO flyweight titles to go after a return fight with Roman Gonzalez but now he finds himself the mandatory challenger to Srisaket. Cuadras beat Srisaket on a technical decision but had lost his WBC title to Gonzalez. He will have to wait for his turn but he will fight for a title again in 2018 for sure. Viloria vs. Cartagena Viloria shows it is still not time to count him out as he halts useful Cartagena. The ?Hawaiian Punch? had the fight well in hand over the first three rounds and late in the fourth pounded Cartagena with an array of punches. Cartagena stayed erect but was in bad shape when the bell came to his rescue. Viloria started the fifth where he left things in the fourth and raked Cartagena with a hail of punches to force the stoppage. The 36-year-old former WBC and IBF light fly and WBO and WBA flyweight champion was just over the fly limit for this one but intends to fight at flyweight hoping to land his 15th world title fight. Cartagena was a very live opponent. He had halted the then No 1 rated Joebert Alvarez in one round in July last year and then been very much in the fight until a cut caused his fight with former WBNC champion Toshiyuki Igarashi to end in a technical draw. Berlin, Germany: Cruiser: Olek Usyk (13-0) W TKO 10 Marco Huck (40-5-1). Cruiser: Noel Gevor (23-1) W PTS 10 Isiah Thomas (15-2,1ND). Super Middle: Denis Radovan (6-0) W PTS 6 Yann Binanga Aboghe (6-2-1). Super Middle: Leon Bunn (6-0) W TKO 5 Tomasz Gargula (18-8-1). Middle: Patrick Wojcicki (10-0) W PTS 6 Fouad El Massoudi (14-10). Usyk vs. Huck Usyk kicks-off the World Boxing Super Series as he outclasses and stops Huck on the way to retaining his WBO title with a performance that will give the rest of the cruisers in the series some serious concerns. Round 1 Both made a tentative start. Usyk was moving and jabbing and scoring with long southpaw lefts. Huck?s attacks were more in the nature of bull-like rushes which Usyk avoided with ease. Score 10-9 Usyk Round 2 Usyk worked behind his jab for the whole three minutes whereas Huck was just fighting in short wild burst. Usyk was catching Huck with counters as he rushed in but Huck had some success with hooks inside. Usyk finished the round by driving Huck to the ropes and landing a couple of good punches Score 10-9 Usyk 20-18 Round 3 Usyk was outboxing Huck. He used his jab to break up Huck's attacks and slotted home long southpaw lefts. Huck was a bit more disciplined and scored with a couple of rights but Usyk opened up at the end of the round and had Huck under fire from series of punches from both hands Score 10-9 Usyk 30-27 Round 4 A dominant round for Usyk. Previously he had not been looking to get into any extended trading with Huck but in the fourth round he took the fight to Huck who was now forced onto the back foot. A spectacular six-punch combination of hooks and uppercuts had Huck looking for somewhere to hide as Usyk let his punches go. Score 10-9 Usyk 40-36 Round 5 Huck had his best round so far. Usyk made the better start taking the fight to Huck but Huck was able to land some rights. The best of those had Usyk clowning about his legs shaking and he cut loose late in the round again getting through with a right jab that snapped Huck?s head back and a following right to the head that sent Huck onto the retreat. Score 10-9 Usyk 50-45 Round 6 The fight was now one-sided. The movement, hand speed and power of Usyk were proving too much for Huck. He was also telegraphing his attacks with a big step forward allowing Usyk to take a couple of steps back and then counter. Usyk twice complained about low punches from Huck and was staring to fit in some show-boating. Score 10-9 Usyk 60-54 Round 7 Usyk was really warming to his task. He had Huck on the ropes and unloaded some heavy punishment and later in the round took Huck to a corner and landed some more. He was visibly enjoying his own artistry with Huck trying always to fire back but just not able to land anything of consequence. Score 10-9 Usyk 70-63 Round 8 The breaking down of Huck continued. The German was looking tired and his rushes were fewer and wilder. Two lefts to the head sent Huck reeling back across the ring to a corner. As Usyk followed him Huck pushed Usyk backwards and Usyk went down on his hands and knees. Huck came forward and threw a punch at the kneeling Usyk. The referee stopped the fight and Usyk seemed to protest about a low punch and the referee deducted a point from Huck for that although the punch he threw at the kneeling Usyk was a worse offence. Score 10-8 Usyk 80-71 Round 9 Usyk cut loose at the start of the round with a series of head punches. Huck?s only chance was to land a big right and he threw a few but they were either blocked or had no effect. He again landed a very low punch and was lucky not to be disqualified. Usyk had him trapped in a corner late in the round and Huck was looking tired and dispirited. Score 10-9 Usyk 90-70 Round 10 Usyk ended it in this one. After a last show of defiance from Huck Usyk began to slam home a whole series of punches. He drove Huck around the ring landing punch after punch. Huck was just covering up not throwing anything back and after another barrage of punches the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. A towering performance from the 30-year-old Ukrainian as he registers his eleventh win by KO/TKO. On this showing he must be favourite to win the WSSB tournament. Out of the ring he is not your typical boxer as he writes poetry, composes songs and loves hip-hop music. Too much talent for one guy and he showed here that he has a real talent for hurt. Huck, 32, had a long reign as WBO champion including 14 title defences but for the first time in his career he has lost consecutive fights after losing to Mairis Breidis for the WBC title in April. He has made it clear he is not finished yet. Gevor vs. Thomas Gevor gets a tick in the winners column with comfortable points win over disappointing Thomas. The Armenian-born fighter was in control and put Thomas on the floor in the third. He had Thomas rocking in the sixth and ninth rounds but Thomas was not looking to engage and was in survival mode for most of the time. Scores 100-89 from all three judges. Although losing to Krzys Wlodarczyk on a split decision in May the 26-year-old Gevor actually improved his standing. He is the stepson of former European champion and WBO title challenger Khoren Gevor who also trains Noel. Gevor gave up boxing for a while to study law at the University of Hamburg but those studies are on hold until he finished his boxing career. He is rated IBF 5(4)/WBO 5/WBA 8/WBC 11 so a string of wins could see him land another title fight. Southpaw Thomas was considered a hot prospect when fighting out of the Kronk gym in Detroit. As an amateur he was the first American to win a World Cadet title and he won his first 15 pro fights but seems to have lost his way and his ambition. Radovan vs. Aboghe Radovan continues his membership of a band of outstanding young unbeaten German prospects. He showed both an impressive attack and some clever defensive work in taking all six rounds against Gabonese southpaw Aboghe. Scores 60-54 from all three judges. The 24-year-old from Cologne is a former five-time German amateur champion, was a silver medallist at the European Under 22 Championships losing to Jason Quigley in the final, and won a hatful of tournaments. Aboghe was 3-0-1 in his last 4 fights. Bunn vs. Gargula Bunn kept his record of 100% wins inside the distance as he stopped Polish oldie Gargula. Bunn was too quick and landed some flashing combinations. Gargula proved durable but was slowly broken down until the referee finally stopped the one-sided fight in the fifth. Gargula protested the stoppage but it was a timely one. The 25-year-old Bunn is working his way thought the usual suspects/victims and has spent less than 17 rounds in collecting his seven wins. Gargula, 42, now has 7 losses in a row, 6 of them by KO/TKO. Wojcicki vs. El Massoudi Wojcicki moves up to eight rounds for the first time and takes his winning total into double figures. Former French title challenger El Massoudi stuck to his task and gave Wojcicki some useful work without ever looking like being a real threat. Scores 80-72 twice and 79-73 for Wojcicki. The 26-year-old German Olympian was a three-time German champion. El Massoudi, the French No 3 lost to Joffrey Jacob for the French title in February. Click here for Part II. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eric Armit.  |
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