|
|
|
The Past Week in Action 5 December 2017 -- Part II By Eric Armit PhilBoxing.com Wed, 06 Dec 2017 >Loser or not Miguel Cotto as a great bows out. Hangelsburg, Germany: Super Welter: Gianluca Frezza (28-4-2,2ND) W RTD 4 Vlad Janezashvili (12-7-1). Super Welter: Ashley Theophane (41-8-1) W RTD 7 Paata Varduashvili (32-15-2). Frezza vs. Janezashvili Frezza moves up to super welter and lifts the vacant Global Boxing Council (GBC) Inter-Continental title. Frezza came out punching and Janezashvili was under pressure from the start and never looked like hanging around for long. Frezza floored Janezashvili in the second and punished him in the third. After taking a beating in the fourth Janezashvili retired. The 37-year-old Italian a former WBC Mediterranean and Italian title holder already holds the GBC world welter title. He has won 5 of his last 6 fights. Now 12 losses by KO/TKO for poor Janezashvili. Theophane vs. Varduashvili Theophane wins a title but it is a long drop from fighting Adrien Broner in Las Vegas for the vacant WBA title to beating Georgian Varduashvili in Germany for the vacant German International title. A win is a win and Theophane needed one after losing by wide margins on the cards against novice Shoko Sakai in Las Vegas in August. Looks like the golden days are over for the 37-year-old “Treasure”. Now 12 losses by KO/TKO for 36-year-old Varduashvili Saltillo, Mexico: Super Fly: Gerardo Castillo (21-1) W PTS 10 Luis Macias (10-7-2). Castillo gets another win as he builds again after having his winning streak snapped. After a close, exciting fight Castillo emerged with the unanimous decision. Castillo, a deaf mute. Won his first 19 fights before losing a majority decision to Adrian Jimenez in June but bounced back immediately with a win in July. Macias has now lost 4 of his last 5. Guadalajara, Mexico: Middle: Ramon Alvarez (25-6-3,1ND) W PTS 10 Johnny Navarrete (33-11-2). Feather: Carlos Ornelas (18-0) W PTS 8 Dennis Contreras (20-9). Alvarez vs. Navarrete These two know each other well. Navarrete is the better technician and used his jab and some swinging hooks to take the first round. Alvarez brought his usual aggression into play in the second. Navarrete was still banging jabs through the defence of Alvarez but was also being draw into a brawl more often. Alvarez gradually took over the fight he was still having to take some stiff jabs but was working inside with hooks to the body with both hands a clubbing rights to the head of Navarrete. Alvarez continued to march forward and although still firing some stiff jabs Navarrete’s punch output dropped as Alvarez kept banging home thudding punches to head and body. Alvarez handed out some serious punishment to a fading Navarrete in the ninth and tenth and took the decision. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Alvarez. The 31-year-old “Inocente”, the elder brother of Saul, lost a split decision to Antonio Margarito in 2016 but was halted in two rounds by Omar Chavez in April and then drew with Navarrete in September. “Cowboy” Navarrete is rarely in a bad fight and has only been beaten twice by KO/TKO. Ornelas vs. Contreras Tijuana prospect Ornelas keeps his 100% record with win over experienced Contreras. In an exciting back-and-forth fight constant pressure and a higher work rate gave Ornelas the edge over local fighter Contreras but both had good spells and both took and landed some hard shots. Scores 78-74, 78-75 and 77-75 all for Ornelas. He had beaten Contreras in Tijuana in May so only fair he should give Contreras a return in his home town. Contreras was 19-2 in his first 21 fights but is now 1-7 in his last 8. Windhoek, Namibia: Super Feather: Jeremiah Nakathila (14-1) W KO 6 Sibusiso Zingange (11-2-1,1ND). Feather: Sakaria Lukas (21-0) W PTS 12 Tello Dithebe (20-8). Light: Harry Simon Jr (4-0) W TKO 2 Johannes Katumba (2-8). Nakathila vs. Zingange Nakathila too good for South African Zingange. The local fighter pounded away at Zingange over the first four rounds before dropping him in the fifth. Zingange survived but a right hook put him down for the count in the sixth. Second defence of his WBO African title and tenth win by KO/TKO. His loss was a decision against unbeaten Russian Evgeny Chuprakov in November and this is his third win this year. Zingange the South African No 3 and former ABU champion suffered his first loss by KO/TKO. Lukas vs. Dithebe “Desert Storm” Lukas wins all the way but fails to halt Dithebe. The fight was not one to excite the fans as Dithebe did too much holding trying to blunt the aggression of Lukas. It was the fifth before Lukas really broke through stunning Dithebe with a right before Dithebe again went into survival mode. Lukas landed some good shots in the seventh but Dithebe fired back and the eighth and ninth saw the best action with Dithebe trading hard punches with the Namibian. Lukas scored with some eye-catching punches in the tenth and eleventh but Dithebe made it to the final bell with Lukas getting the unanimous verdict. Scores 119-108 twice and 119-109. Third defence of the WBO African title for Lukas a former Commonwealth Games quarter-finalist who had won 8 of his last 9 fights by KO/TKO. He is No 3 with the WBO but has yet to face any real quality opposition. South African Dithebe had won 6 of his last 7 fights. Simon vs. Katumba Simon Jr gets an easy night as he continues down the road his father took. He hunted Katumba down throughout the first and in the second trapped Katumba on the ropes and unloaded some heavy stuff to put Katumba down. Katumba made it to his feet but the fight was stopped. Simon, the son of the former undefeated WBO super welter and middleweight champion gets his second win by KO/TKO. The 19-year-old had 31 amateur fights and shows promise as a pro. Poor Katumba now has six losses by KO/TKO Moscow, Russia: Super Welter: Khuseyn Baysangurov (12-0) W KO 1 Nick Klappert (24-3). Middle: Khasan Baysangurov (15-0) W TKO 5 Lasha Gurguliani (15-6). Baysangurov vs. Klappert Baysangurov blows away Klappert inside a round. Both made confident starts. With Klappert having advantages in height and reach Baysangurov had to come forward to get in range. Both scored with good jabs. Klappert was getting through with some right crosses with Baysangurov impressive with his hooks to the body. It looked to be going to develop into a good fight when late in the round Baysangurov landed a wicked right to the ribs of Klappert. The German immediately half turned away and bent double in pain. The referee stepped in anticipating Klappert was going down but Baysangurov stepped around the bent over Klappert and landed two left hooks to the head that sent Klappert into the ropes and down to the canvas and the referee immediately stopped the fight with Klappert in some distress. The 23-year-old Russian makes it ten wins by KO/TKO and retains the WBA Continental title and also wins Klappert’s IBF International title. Based in Kiev under the K2 banner he hails from a small Chechen village and from a boxing family. His brothers Khasan and Salambek are both pros and his cousin Zaurbek is the former undefeated WBO super welter champion. He has impressive amateur credentials having taken gold medals at European and Youth World Championships. He has won his last 8 fights by KO/TKO. German Klappert, 35 had lost only one of his last eleven fights and this is his first loss by KO/TKO. Baysangurov vs. Gurguliani Khasan makes it a family double. After a quite first round which Gurguliani just edged Baysangurov upped his pace in the second. He was having trouble with the southpaw stance of Gurguliani who was finding the target with his right jab and lefts to the body. Baysangurov got a warning at the start of the third for a low punch having also landed one late in the second. Baysangurov was walking Gurguliani down in the third and landing some solid body punches. Gurguliani was finding the target with his jab and straight lefts but his punches lacked power. A left hook to the body put Gurguliani down in the fourth but he was immediately. After the eight count he fought back hard to the bell. Baysangurov ended it in the fifth with another left hook to the body and Gurguliani was finished. He managed to get to his feet but then dropped to the canvas again and the referee stopped the fight. Now seven wins by KO/TKO for 20-year-old Khasan. Georgian Gurguliani put up a good fight and was in front after three rounds but then the body punches turned the fight around. He had won 3 of his last 4 fights including a very creditable decision over Nuhu Lawal. Kempton Park, South Africa: Middle: Barend van Rooyen (26-5-2) W TKO 6 Yanga Phetani (12-2-1). Fly: Jackson Chauke (14-1-1) W TKO 5 Zolile Miya (4-4). van Rooyen vs. Phetani If at first you don’t succeed then try, try, and try again. That could be van Rooyen’s motto as the 39-year-old wins the South African title at the fourth attempt. Van Rooyen used a strong body attack to break down the taller Phetani and by the sixth Phetani had nothing left and the fight was stopped. van Rooyen turned pro in 1998 and lost in title shots at lightweight in 2001 and super light in 2003. After that he was away from the sport for almost 12 years and did not fight again until 2015. In the fourth fight after his return he lost in a challenge for the middleweight title but now his long wait has been rewarded. Former South African super welterweight challenger Phetani had won his last three fights Chauke vs. Miya Former Olympian Chauke continues his successful return to action with stoppage of Miya. Now 32 Chauke was considered a good prospect when he turned pro after the 2008 Olympics. He was going well until he lost to Lwandile Sityatha in 2013 for the national flyweight title and was inactive in both 2014 and 2016. He has won his two fights this year. Second loss by KO.TKO for Miya. Malaga, Spain: Light Heavy: Ronny Landaeta (14-0) W KO 4 Antonio Quiganga (20-22-2,1ND). No trouble for Landaeta as he beats elderly Quiganga in four rounds. Landaeta had it easy as Quiganga was slow and looked out of condition with Landaeta finishing it by putting the Portuguese fighter down for the ten count in the fourth. Landaeta, a 34-year-old Venezuelan based in Barcelona, moves to nine wins by KO/TKO. He was a high level MMA competitor before turning to boxing winning a few tournaments and the Spanish MMA title. Then he moved over to boxing and is the Spanish champion in that discipline as well. Quiganga, 44, drops to 15 losses by KO/TKO having been halted in one round for the Portuguese title in a fight on 29 October. Leicester, England: Super Light: Anthony Yigit (21-0-1) W PTS 12 Joe Hughes (15-3-1). Cruiser: Luke Watkins (13-0) W RTD 8 Mike Stafford (16-4). Super Middle: Lennox Clarke (16-0-1) W PTS 10 Jahmaine Smyle (14-6-2). Yigit vs. Hughes Yigit keeps his European title and his 100% record with unanimous decision over Hughes. The first two rounds were close. Hughes was marching forward behind his left jab and landing his trademark left hooks to the body. Yigit was countering with sharp accurate punches scoring with his southpaw right jab and often leading with his left and mixing his attacks up well. Both rounds could have gone to either man. Yigit did some class work in the third with the speed and precision of his work walking Hughes onto counters. Hughes continued to press forward but his right arm is shorter than his left and he was finding hard to land with any hard rights which is usually the answer to a southpaw. Hughes made the fourth close keeping Yigit on the back foot but again the Swede was slotting home straight rights and lefts. After four rounds Yigit was in front on all cards at 39-37 twice and 40-36. Yigit clearly won the fifth as Hughes was waiting too long to let his punches go. The pace dropped in the sixth until Yigit opened up with both hands landing belting punches to the body. Hughes came back in the seventh taking Yigit to the ropes and digging left hooks to the body. Yigit finished the round strongly but Hughes took it with his early work. Yigit had been showing clever movement but in the eighth he planted his feet and went head to head with Hughes which suited the challenger and Hughes shook Yigit with a left hook but Yigit upped his work rate and probably just edged the round. The scores now were 79-73 twice and 78-75 for Yigit. The Swede found another gear in the ninth and was pumping in body punches and outworking Hughes. In the tenth Hughes reversed his tactics. Instead of marching forward behind a high guard he dropped his hands, used upper body movement to avoid Yigit’s punches and fired shots from his hips. Yigit was not sure how to counter that change and Hughes took the round. Yigit stormed forward in the eleventh. Hughes was still dropping his hands but Yigit was staying on top of him and eventually landed a whole series of punches with Hughes for a few seconds looking to be on the point of being stopped but he clung on. They fought head to head through the last three minutes of what had been a great little fight with the precision punching and speed of Yigit giving him the edge. Scores 119-109, 118-110 and 117-112 for Yigit. The 26-year-old champion was making the second defence of his European title. He showed some class moves and precision punching. He is rated IBF 3(1) so is their highest ranked fighter in the division but has not beaten a rated fighter so can’t be No 1. He is also rated WBC 6/WBO 8/WBC 11. Commonwealth super light champion Josh Taylor was working for Channel 5 at the fight and Yigit vs. Taylor would be great match and since Taylor is No 11 with the IBF the winner will have beaten another rated fighter and could qualify for the mandatory spot. Hughes put up a brave effort but Yigit just had too much skill and movement for him. Hughes had drawn with Tyrone Nurse for the British title in April and that would make a good return fight. It should be impossible for Hughes to be fighting at this level. He was born with a condition called Erb’s Palsy. He had a dislocated shoulder and a lot of muscle and nerve damage to his right arm and it is shorter than his left. He took up boxing as part of his physiotherapy exercises . He tends to rely on left jabs and left hooks using his right mainly for defence so it is a testimony to his determination that he is contesting the British and European titles. Watkins vs. Stafford Watkins makes the first defence of the Commonwealth title. Watkins had lots of height and reach over Stafford but despite that Stafford scored regularly with his own jab. Both landed some good shots in the first and Stafford had a good second working his jab well and looking dangerous with overhand rights. The third saw plenty of action with Stafford getting through with his rights. He was bobbing and weaving cleverly and scoring with left hooks to the body. Watkins was landing his jab throughout the round and mixed in some sharp left hooks inside. Stafford had a big fourth. He landed an overhand right that stunned Watkins and sent him staggering back to the ropes. Watkins got off the ropes but was in trouble again from another right. He regrouped and jabbed his way out of trouble. The fight really was an exciting one with action all the way. The fifth saw Watkins going to the body. He shook Stafford with a right to the body and an uppercut only for Stafford to be firing back at the bell. The sixth was three minutes of furious exchanges with both landing jabs and hooks to the body but an uppercut from Watkins opened a gash on the left cheek of Stafford. Stafford was taking too much punishment in the seventh but kept walking forward though the punches and after being pounded by shots from Watkins stood back and indicated to Watkins to try some more. The eighth was painful as Stafford just never gave up but was taking a pounding with his face covered in blood from the cut on his cheek, The referee was keeping a close watch on the punishment and at the end of the round he went over to Stafford’s corner and Stafford’s team decided to pull their man out of the fight. “The Duke” Watkins, 28, gets his ninth win by KO/TKO. He was making the first defence of the title he won in a war against Robin Dupree in October. Stafford a former British title challenger played his part in a thrilling action encounter and gets his first loss inside the distance Clarke vs. Smyle The Watkins vs. Stafford fight was great entertainment but this one was even better as Clarke overcomes the huge physical advantages of Smyle to win the unanimous decision. Smyle made a fast start getting through with his jab and some big rights. Smyle tried to blitz Clarke at the start of the second launching a ferocious attack that threatened to overwhelm the smaller man. Clarke rode out the storm and they traded punches to the bell. The size difference had Smyle able to put Clarke in the back foot in the third but Clarke had worked his way into the fight and was scoring with his jab and short hooks inside. The pace never slackened but over the middle rounds Clarke was the more accurate finding gaps for his jab and countering Smyle with uppercuts. Clarke produce the best punch of the fight in the eighth in the shape of a cracking left hook but Smyle continued to take the fight to Clarke but being too wild with some of his punches. In the ninth Clarke landed a sharp left-right combination that saw Smyle dip at the knees and his gloves touched the canvas leading to an eight count. Smyle went straight back into the action and both were rocked by big punches. The last three minutes were a war as neither wanted to back up and they both fired every shot in their locker to the bell. Scores 97-92 for Clarke from all three judges. A great effort by Clarke as this was in his first ten round fight and with Smyle being a big step up from his previous opposition. He also wins his first pro title collecting the vacant IBO Continental title. Former English champion Smyle helped makes this a hugely entertaining fight and the scores whilst accurate did not reflect how close many of the rounds were. New York, NY, USA: Super Welter: Sadam Ali (26-1) W PTS 12 Miguel Cotto (41-6) . Super Bantam: Rey Vargas (31-0) W PTS 12 Oscar Negrete (17-1). Light Fly: Angel Acosta (17-1) W TKO 10 Juan Alejo (24-5-1). Feather: Ronny Rios (29-2) W PTS 10 Deivi Julio Bassa (19-4,1ND). 26 Ali vs. Cotto Cotto’s career ends in a way that can only make one sad as he loses a close unanimous decision to Ali which may have hinged on an injury suffered by Cotto in the fight. No matter how it ended Cotto has had a great career and has left fans with some great memories of some great fights. Having said that Ali showed he could compete at this level and will have some big paydays out there Round 1 Both were trying to establish their jab early. Ali scored with some quick rights but Cotto did that bit better with body punches. Score 9-10 Cotto Round 2 Ali took this one clearly. He landed a thunderous right to the head that sent Cotto stumbling back to the ropes and got through with a couple more punches before Cotto got off the ropes. Cotto chased Ali down but was caught with more rights. A moment of comedy saw Ali put everything into a punch and when it missed he flew off his feet and down to the canvas. 10-9 Ali 19-19 Round 3 This one was closer. Cotto pressed all the way and scored with some good body punches. Ali showed some very nifty footwork and fast hands which allowed him to leap forward and score with quick combinations and he just edged the round 10-9 Ali 29-28 Round 4 Ali’s round. He shook Cotto twice in the round with head punches and with his speed he was able to get inside score and get out before Cotto could counter. Cotto was working hard to cut down the ring and you had to feel that the pace of the fight would be in Ali’s favour over the late rounds. Score 10-9 Ali 39-37 Official scores 40-39 and 39-37 for Ali and 38-38 Round 5 Cotto came back into the fight in this one. He did a better job of hunting Ali down and landed well with hooks to the body. Ali seemed to have slowed. Score 10-9 Cotto 48-47 Round 6 Cotto’s round. He built on his success in the fifth going to the body with left hooks with Ali not moving as much as in the early rounds. A big right stunned Ali and sent him stumbling back and only the ropers stopped him from going down but Cotto just could not find another big punch as Ali boxed his way out of trouble. Score 10-9 Cotto 57-57 Round 7 A close round but Cotto’s. Ali started the round by firing home two right crosses and scored with a hard right to the head late in the round. The rest of the round belong to Cotto as he hunted Ali down raking him with rights to the head and left hooks to the body. Score 10-9 Cotto 66-67 Round 8 Another close round. Cotto started well again forcing the fight and landing with hooks to the body. Over the last minute he went off the boil allowing Ali to come forward but Cotto’s early work gave him the edge. Score 10-9 Cotto 75-77 Official scores: 77-75, 77-75 for Cotto and 76-76 Round 9 Ali’s round. Cotto was not pressing as hard or throwing as many punches. Ali was using his superior hands speed to score with quick bursts of punches. They were not heavy but they were scoring Score 10-9 Ali 85-86 Round 10 Another round for Ali. He was in total control. He was too quick for Cotto and was landing punches from distance and getting home with hooks in close. Cotto spent the last third of the round on the retreat and when he did turn Ali on the ropes did not land anything of significance. Ali rocked Cotto with a straight right just before the bell. Score 10-9 Ali 95-95 Round 11 Ali’s round. The fight had changed completely,. Now it was Ali hunting Cotto down. Even when Ali trapped Cotto on the ropes Cotto was only looking to protect himself and not punching back. He was trying to survive and not to win. Score 10-9 Ali 105-104 Round 12 Ali took the last. He was too quick for Cotto landing fast bunches of punches with Cotto trying hard to get close enough to be competitive but Ali stayed out of trouble and outboxed him. Score 10-9 Ali 115-113 Official scores: 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 all for Ali. “The World Kid” wins the WBO middleweight title. A great night for him but this was all about the end of a magnificent career as Cotto bows out a six-time world champion across four divisions with 26 world title fights in almost 17 years as a pro. And he has ducked nobody. He has been a credit to boxing and a credit to Puerto Rico . One of the ring greats a future Hall of Fame inductee. He said after the fight that he injured his left bicep in the seventh round but did not intend to make any excuses but it is inescapable that after the eighth he lost every round on all four official scorecards. Ali a 29-year-old from Brooklyn boxed a clever fight and showed skill, movement and hand speed. His only loss was against Jessie Vargas for the welter title in March last year. He is really a welterweight. He was 153lbs here never having weighed more than 151lbs in his career. There will be plenty of super welter looking to take his title away. Vargas vs. Negrete Vargas retains the WBC title with wide unanimous decision over Negrete. This one was too one-sided to generate any excitement. Vargas towered over the 5’5” Negrete and the challenger had no plan for overcoming the huge reach advantage enjoyed by Vargas. Negrete just kept walking forward eating jabs and getting caught with left hooks as he came in. When he did get inside he scored with hooks to the body but did not land enough or with enough power to endanger Vargas and because there was no point in throwing punches on the outside his punch output was low. The champion continually complained of Negrete’s holding but when Negrete got inside he was willing to do whatever he had to do to stay there. At distance Vargas was able to spear Negrete with jabs and flashing hooks to the body although both fighters were guilty of straying low with their punches. At time Vargas stood his ground and fired home lightning quick hooks from both hands but if there was a downside for Vargas it was that despite his 22 wins by KO/TKO he could never stop Negrete coming and also that by the end of the eighth round he was cut over both eyes in head clashes. He survived a doctors inspection at the start of the ninth and was lucky that a butt from Negrete did not do further damage. With the cuts Vargas took no chances over the last three rounds just sticking to his jab and move tactics and not looking to trade punches as he eased to victory. Scores 119-109 twice and 120-108 all for Vargas. This was the second defence of the WBC title for Vargas but he did not really shine and his No 1 challenger Julio Ceja should give him a much tougher test. Although the NABF champion and WBC No 10 you would seek in vain if you looked for any significant names on Negrete’s record and he was just too small to pose any threat to Vargas. Acosta vs. Alejo Acosta wins the vacant WBA title with stoppage of Alejo. Acosta took control from the start and never let that dominance slip. He was forcing Alejo onto the back foot with his jab and scoring with quick combinations. Alejo tried to come forward more in the second and got through with some rights but Acosta was still in charge and landed left hooks throughout the round. Acosta continued to work behind the jab in the third and was again on target with left hooks. Alejo had some success in the fourth. He landed a good right hook and then sent Acosta stumbling back with a right and did enough to take the round. Acosta was back in charge in the fifth and a left opened a cut over the right eye of Alejo. In the sixth and seventh Alejo tried switching guards a couple of times but Acosta continued to fire home his left jabs and straight rights. In the eighth Acosta was landing hard hooks to the body and Alejo’s work rate dropped under the pressure a left hook to the chin late in the round sent Alejo staggering. The doctor examined Alejo’s cut before s the start of the ninth but let the fight continue. Curiously Acosta boxed very conservatively on the back foot in the ninth he landed a couple of good punches and a spectacular right uppercut but he was letting Alejo come forward and Alejo scored to the body and worked hard enough to take the round. Acosta was on the back foot again in the tenth with Alejo coming forward and landing some rights to the body. As they traded punches a peach of a left hook landed on Alejo’s jaw. Alejo stopped in his tracks and for a split second just stood there and then dropped forward onto his knees. He tried to get up he rolled over and finally made it up but was counted out whilst still rising. Puerto Rican Acosta gets win No 17 by KO/TKO. He lost to Kosei Tanaka in May for the WBO title and this fight with Alejo was to have been for the interim title. However Tanaka relinquished the title and this was upgraded to the full title. Mexican Alejo was also getting his second shot at this title having lost to Donnie Nietes for it in 2015. Not sure how he qualified for another shot at his five wins since the Nietes fight have been against poor or inexperienced opposition. Rios vs. Bassa Rios outpoints Bassa and gets back into winning ways. Rios was taking the fight to Bassa going to the body with long rights. Southpaw Bassa showed some nice moves but there was not enough power in his punches to halt Rios marching forward. Rios was able to work to the body with both hands and scored with straight rights on the outside. He rocked Bassa with a right in the fifth. Both had been straying low with their body punches and after Rios landed one well below the belt in the seventh Bassa was given some recovery time. Bassa had not seemed too concerned when the punch landed but he took a very ,long time to recover. After that Rios still hunted the Colombian down but used a right cross to the head more. Rios had Bassa hurt with a combination in the ninth that included a punch that landed lower than the one in the seventh but no reprimand and he kept the pressure throughout the tenth to emerge a clear winner. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and 97-93 for Rios. First fight for the 27-year-old Californian since losing to Rey Vargas on points in August in a challenge for the WBC super bantam title. Bassa won his first 17 fights but has struggled against tougher opposition where his lack of power has found him out. Brentwood, England: Heavy: David Price (22-4) W PTS 6 Kamil Sokolowski (4-12-2). Cruiser: Gary Sweeney (4-0) W TKO 1 Imantas Davidaitis (6-26-1). Price vs. Sokolowski Price launches yet another comeback with a points win over British-based Pole Sokolowski. Price won every round as he got some useful ring time. This is his first fight for the 34-year-old Price since his crushing loss to Christian Hammer in February. Sokolowski has only lost twice by KO/TKO but at 6’1” (185cm) he had little chance against the 6’8” (203cm) Price. Sweeney vs. Davidaitis Sweeny obliterates Lithuanian giant Davidaitis with a left to the body followed by a right to the head. That makes it three first round finishes with the other fight over in the third. The 23-year-old former Elite level Irish amateur is worth watching. Now ten losses by KO/TKO for the 6’8 ½” (205cm) Lithuanian “Giant” Davidaitis. Fight of the week: Obviously the big one was Ali vs. Cotto with honourable mention to the war between Lennox Clarke and Jahmaine Smyle and Anthony Yigit vs. Joe Hughes Fighter of the week: Loser or not Miguel Cotto as a great bows out Punch of the week: The left hook from Angel Acosta that took out Juan Alejo Upset of the week: Ali’s win over Cotto Prospect watch: Lamont Roach 17-0, also Jaron Ennis and French hope Louis Toutin Click here for Part I. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eric Armit. |
|
PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general. Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com |
PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
developed and maintained by dong secuya © 2024 philboxing.com. |