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The Past Week in Action 9 October 2018 - Part I By Eric Armit PhilBoxing.com Wed, 10 Oct 2018 Inoue obliterates Payano. Highlights: -Naoya Inoue crushes Juan Carlos Payano inside a round in the WBSS bantamweight tournament -Kiryl Relikh gets close decision over Eduard Troyanovsky to retain the WBA super light title and move into the semi-finals of the WBSS Tournament -Ken Shiro makes successful defence of his WBC light fly title with stoppage of Milan Melindo - Artur Beterbiev knocks out challenger Callum Johnson in IBF light heavy title defence but suffers shock knockdown on the way -Daniel Roman halts Gavin McDonnell in WBA super bantam title defence after a great little contest -Srisaket retains WBC super fly title with comfortable decision over Iran Diaz -Jack Catterall keeps on track for a world title shot with a decision over Ohara Davies in a disappointing fight -Tomas Rojas scores upset victory over Jhonny Gonzalez and Luis Nery returns with a win in Mexican action -Jessie Vargas and Thomas Dulorme fight to a draw and Jarrell Miller crushes Tomas Adamek on Chicago show World Title Shows October 6 Chicago, IL, USA: Super Bantam: Daniel Roman (26-2-1) W TKO 10 Gavin McDonnell (20-2-2). Light Heavy: Artur Beterbiev (13-0) W KO 4 Callum Johnson (17-1). Welter: Jessie Vargas (28-2-2) DREW 12 Thomas Delorme (24-3-1). Heavy: Jarrell Miller (22-0-1) W KO 2 Tomasz Adamek (53-6). Roman vs. McDonnell In a classic puncher vs. boxer clash just as the fight seemed to be going McDonnell?s way Roman finds a punch to end the contest in the tenth and retain his WBA title Round 1 This was a fast-paced fight from the outset. At 5?5? Roman was giving away lots of height and reach to the 5?9 ?? McDonnell so he was moving in behind a high guard and throwing plenty of hooks to the body. McDonnell was circling the ring firing jabs and letting go rights but Roman just did enough to edge a close round Score 10-9 Roman Round 2 McDonnell was on the front foot for much of this one. He was working solidly behind his jab and landing some nice hooks. Over the latter part of the round he was staying in the pocket a little too long and Roman began to get through with hooks and just took another very close round. Score 10-9 Roman Roman 20-18 Round 3 McDonnell opened this round by scoring with a sharp left hook and a straight right. He continued to work well with his jab but Roman was getting through with hooks to the body and closed the round strongly to win this one. Score 10-9 Roman Roman 30-27 Round 4 This was proving to be a fight of the highest quality. The contrasting styles were producing an entertaining contest. No wild swings here with plenty of action and hardly a punch wasted. McDonnell took this round with excellent work with his jab and quick hooks inside and he held off a late surge from Roman that was becoming a feature of Roman?s tactics. Score 10-9 McDonnell Roman 39-37 Round 5 McDonnell was moving and jabbing and then going toe-to-toe with Ramon over the first two minutes of this round but Roman came on strong late. He scored with a series of uppercuts with McDonnell losing his mouthguard but bringing blood from Roman?s nose. Roman?s round but only just. Score 10-9 Roman Roman 49-46 Round 6 Roman?s round. McDonnell was busy, busy throwing lots of jabs and hooks but Roman was landing the harder punches. He landed a great left hook and followed that with an overhand right as he put McDonnell under strong pressure before the bell. Score 10-9 Roman Roman59-55 Round 7 Another close round with no sign of the pace dropping. McDonnell worked hard with his jab and had Roman on the back foot for much of the round as he drove forward firing hooks. Ramon once again came on strongly at the end landing some clubbing shots to the head to off-set McDonnell?s early work and steal the round. Score 10-9 Roman Roman 69-64 Round 8 McDonnell outboxed and outscored Roman in this round. He was working everything off the jab and getting home with quick bursts of punches to the body. This time it was McDonnell in charge over the last thirty-seconds catching Roman with a peach of a left hook, Score 10-9 McDonnell Roman 78-74 Round 9 Another round for McDonnell. The pace remained hot and the quality of punching from both men remained high but McDonnell was busier and more accurate and again it was he who finished the round with a flourish. Score 10-9 McDonnell Roman 87-84 Round 10 McDonnell was well on his way to winning the tenth and the fight seemed to be going his way. He had Roman on the back foot and he banged home hooks to the body. He was just doing too well and that made him confident enough to stand and trade heavy punches with Roman. Suddenly a short right from Roman saw McDonnell dip at the knees and Roman pounded him with head punches driving him across the ring and McDonnell went down on his hands and knees. In a confused way McDonnell got up and then dropped to his haunches again and when the eight count was completed the referee had a good look at him and stopped the fight. When he needed a punch Roman found it and he showed how he has grown into the role of a champion. This is the third defence of his title and win No 18 by KO/TKO. Naturally there is talk of unifications fights with Isaac Dogboe or Rey Vargas. McDonnell played his part in a high quality fight. His two losses have both come in world title fights as he dropped a majority decision to Rey Vargas for the vacant WBC title in February last year. He had fought his way back into contention with victories over unbeaten Gamal Yafai and former champion Stuart Hall and a third world title fight in 2019 is not out of the question Beterbiev vs. Johnson In his first fight for eleven months Beterbiev retains the IBF title in a short but explosive fight against Johnson that sees both fighter on the floor. Round 1 Both started confidently poking out jabs and throwing some testing rights. Johnson believed he had the power to win. He was taking the fight to Beterbiev and landed a couple of rights. In a frantic exchange a punch from Beterbiev had Johnson hanging on. He recovered and tried to take the fight to Beterbiev again but missed with a punch and went forward between the ropes. As he pulled himself back with his defence down he was floored by a right hook. He beat the count and the bell went before Beterbiev could do any more damage. Score 10-8 Beterbiev Round 2 Johnson still marched forward behind a high guard in second. He landed a right but as they traded punches the power shots from Beterbiev had Johnson hurt . He fired back and landed a booming left hook counter that sent Beterbiev back and down heavily. The champion was up quickly but on unsteady legs. Johnson spent too long looking for one more big punch and let Beterbiev off the hook. Score 10-8 Johnson Tied 18-18 Round 3 This round was a close-quarters battle. Johnson landed a right and another strong left hook. Beterbiev was working his jab and the firing clubbing head punches and got the better of the exchanges and Johnson was cut over his right eye. Score 10-9 Beterbiev Beterbiev 28-27 Round 4 Johnson was marching forward with Beterbiev on the back foot. Johnson landed a sharp right to the head and forced Beterbiev to a corner. As Johnson stood and traded punches two rights, the second to the top of the head, sent Johnson down on his back. He struggled to his knees but was counted out. The 33-year-old Montreal-based Russian has won all of his 13 fights by KO/TKO averaging less than four rounds per fight but that chin-checking left hook from Johnson almost caused an upset. He has no mandatory challenger as the first two slots in the IBF ratings are vacant and a fight with either WBO champion Eleider Alvarez or WBA champion Dmitry Bivol would be a big attraction. Johnson, also 33, obviously came with the belief that he had the power to win this one. It is a pity that the punch that floored Beterbiev came so late in the round but he paid the price for his aggression in the shape of counters from the big punching champion. He wants another shot at the tile. Vargas vs. Delorme Vargas and Dulorme end all even with Vargas letting the win slip away on a last round knockdown. The early rounds saw an unexpectedly quick starting Dulorme almost put Vargas down in the first with a hard left. Vargas got over that bit of trouble but in the second a clash of heads saw Vargas cut over the right eye. Vargas took a round to recover from those early mishaps but was finally rolling in the fourth stunning Dulorme with a right and then pouring on the punishment in a big round for the former WBO champ[ion. The fifth, sixth and seven were close rounds with both fighters having good spells and if one had success the other was quick to fire back. A punch from Dulorme reopened the cut over the right eye of Vargas in the eighth and worsened the injury which continued to leak blood. Vargas looked to be slightly ahead after nine and in the tenth he drilled Dulorme with a blazing right to the head and Dulorme dropped to one knee. Dulorme was up early and did not seem too badly hurt. Dulorme fought back hard over the eleventh but Vargas was in front going into the last. All he had to do was stay out of trouble but with just seconds remaining in the fight a right from Dulorme knocked him off balance and his glove touched the floor. That counted as a knockdown and a 10-8 round for Dulorme which gave him a draw,. Scores 113-113 twice and 115-111 for Vargas. The WBC Silver title remains vacant as Vargas sees his second fight in a row end up tied after his draw with Adrien Broner in April. Vargas is rated in the top three by all of the main sanctioning bodies and will probably get another big fight next year. For Dulorme, who dropped out of the ratings after losing to Yordenis Ugas in August last year, this result will give him a boost back into the top 15. Jarrell Miller stops Tomas Adamek. Miller vs. Adamek Miller crushes Adamek in a mismatch. From the outset it was obvious that this was going to end early. The 41-year-old 6?1 ?? 227lbs Pole was dwarfed by the 6?4? 317lbs Miller. It was like David vs. Goliath but with David armed with a feather duster. In The first Adamek was able to come inside and land some punches to the body and he also landed a combination to the head. None of those punches registered with Miller and it was obvious that Adamek did not have to power to overcome the huge physical handicap. Miller was walking Adamek down and getting through with cuffing hooks. Fighting on the retreat Adamek was able to score with counters but a right from Miller shook him and already it looked a lost cause. Miller ended it in the second. He marched forward pouring hooks and uppercuts at a retreating Adamek. A right saw Adamek stumble and after Miller missed with a couple of punches he landed a right hook and Adamek dropped to one knee. He swayed as the referee counted and started to rise but before he was up as the count reached eight the referee waived the fight over. Now 18 wins in a row for the 30-year-old ?Big Baby and 19 wins by KO/TKO. He has yet to be given a real test with Mariusz Wach and Johann Duhaupas the best known names in his list of victims. He is huge, strong and quicker than he looks and is No 2 with the WBA and No 3 with the WBO but will have to wait in line for a shot at Anthony Joshua. Adamek, a former WBC light heavy and IBF cruiser champion. has had a great career but he should end it now. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (L) throws a left at Iran Diaz. Pak Kret, Thailand: Super Fly: Srisaket (47-4-1) W PTS 12 Iran Diaz (14-3-3). After a number of tough assignments Srisaket gets a less exacting fight as he easily outpoints a clever but light powered Diaz in the third defence of his WBC title. Round 1 Diaz had height and reach over Srisaket and the Thai marched forward from the first bell. He was ignoring defence to get inside and work on the challenger?s body. Diaz moved well and scored with sharp counters from both hands but it was Srisaket?s round Score 10-9 Srisaket Round 2 Three minutes of pressure from Srisaket. This time Diaz chose to stand and trade more. He again showed some nifty foot work and scored with some right but Srisaket was the heavier puncher and was finding the target with his southpaw lefts. Score 10-9 Srisaket Srisaket 20-18 Round 3 A good round by Diaz. He began by taking the fight to Srisaket and then went onto the back foot. Srisaket was ignoring his jab and leading with his left. Quick footwork by Diaz had Srisaket stretching with his punches and leaving himself open to counters. Score 10-9 Diaz Srisaket 29-28 Round 4 Srisaket upped the pace in this one. He kept driving forward leading with his left and digging punches home to the body. Diaz again showed good skills but a straight right just before the bell shook him. Score 10-9 Srisaket Srisaket 39-37 Round 5 Srisaket focused entirely on the body in this round. He was again leading with his right off his left foot and hardly using his left at all. He was finding Diaz an elusive target but sent the challenger stumbling back with a right to the head. Score 10-9 Srisaket Srisaket 49-46 Round 6 Srisaket continued to land with lefts to the body but it was an unimpressive show from the champion. He was throwing one punch at a time and good movement from Diaz had him looking crude and open to counters. Score 10-9 Srisaket Srisaket 59-55 Round 7 Three minutes of relentless pressure from Srisaket in this round. He was walking through Diaz?s jab and ignoring the challengers counters to score throughout the round with lefts to the body. Score 10-9 Srisaket Srisaket 69-64 Round 8 The pressure and the body punches were beginning to tell and Diaz slowed and he looked to be tiring. Srisaket scored with a couple of lefts to the head but Diaz was denied a genuine knockdown. As they traded in close he drilled Srisaket with a right uppercut to the chin. Srisaket slid sideways and then went down but it was ruled a slip. Score 10-9 Srisaket Srisaket 79-73 Round 9 Another round of Srisaket marching through Diaz?s punches to land with lefts. For once Srisaket threw a multi-punch combination and Diaz stood and punched with him in the first moment of sustained action in the fight. There was more controversy here as Srisaket went down again. As he moved forward a right from Diaz landed on his temple. That unbalanced Srisaket and his feet slipped from under him and it could very easily have been counted as a knockdown. Srisaket finished the round strongly again rocking Diaz with a left and the Mexican was now cut under his right eye. Score 10-9 Srisaket Srisaket 89-82 Round 10 Diaz was cut over his left eye in a clash of heads in this one. Srisaket was throwing more combinations and driving Diaz around the ring. He shook Diaz with a right/left/right combination and with blood dripping from both cuts a stoppage looked likely but Diaz kept punching and kept moving. Score 10-9 Srisaket Srisaket 99-91 Round 11 Heads clashed early in the round and Srisaket was given a warning. He continued to pile on the pressure but Diaz did not buckle. Heads clashed again with Diaz complaining to the referee. Lefts from Srisaket saw Diaz buckle at the knees twice but he kept moving and kept punching and outworked Srisaket over the last minute to take a close round Score 10-9 Diaz Srisaket 108-101 Round 12 After a low key start they stood and traded punches, Srisaket landed three heavy lefts but Diaz ended the fight driving Srisaket back just throwing punch after punch with Srisaket ducking, bobbing and weaving but not finding the space to counter but his early work just gave the champion the edge. Score 10-9 Srisaket. Srisaket 118-110 Official scores: 119-109, 119-109 and 120-108 for Srisaket. This was not an impressive performance by the Thai. Too often he was throwing just one punch at a time and the elusive Diaz made him look crude at times. It may have been a fight Srisaket had trouble getting enthusiastic over and there are much tougher jobs ahead for him. It is very strange that he was 1-3-1 in his first five fights and has now lost only one of his last 47 fights. Diaz showed plenty of skill and a willingness to trade but did not have enough power to keep Srisaket out and coming down from super fly may have been a struggle. October 7 Yokohama, Japan: Bantam: Naoya Inoue (17-0) W KO 1 Juan Payano (20-2). Super Light: Kiryl Relikh (23-2) W Eduard Troyanovsky (27-1).Light Fly: Ken Shiro (13-0) W Milan Melindo (37-3). Payano stays on the canvas after Inoue's thundering right. Inoue vs. Payano Japanese ?Monster? Inoue kicked-off the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) bantamweight tournament in spectacular style with a one-punch kayo of Dominican southpaw Payano. After some early sparring the first punch Inoue threw in anger was a thunderous straight right that laid Payano flat on his back out cold and with blood pouring from his nose. There was no way Payano was going to beat the count and the referee promptly waived the fight over. Inoue, 25, retained the secondary WBA title and put down a strong marker here for the other fighters in the WBSS bantamweight tournament with his fifteenth win by KO/TKO including seven in his last seven fights. He will now face the winner of the October 20 fight in Orlando between Emmanuel Rodriguez and Jason Moloney in the semi-final. First loss inside the distance for former WBA champion Payano. Relikh (R) backs up Troyanovsky. Relikh vs. Troyanovsky Belarusian Relikh just edges Russian Troyanovsky on a very close unanimous decision to retain the WBA super lightweight title and to move on the semi-finals of the WBSS tournament to meet either regis Prograis or Terry Flanagan. Round 1 Troyanovsky tried to user his longer reach to score at distance in the firat and was letting fly with some long rights landing a good one early. Relikh had more variety in his work coming forward quickly with hooks and uppercuts and hustling the upright Russian. Score 10-9 Relikh Round 2 Another round for Relikh. He took Troyanovsky to the ropes and clobbered him with two strong rights . He was getting his punches off first and and landed a heavy left to the head. Troyanovsky was sticking to the left jab/straight right tactics but seemed to almost panic when Relikh came forward quickly. His footwork was stilted and looks to have lost the poise that was a feature of his early career. Score 10-9 Relikh Relikh 20-18 Round 3 After a quiet opening to the round relikh began to get past Troyanovsky?s jab and was scoring with short bursts of punches. Elikh sent Troyanvosky staggering back with an overhand right and Troyanovsky landed a nice right uppercut ba Relikh ended the round on the attack. Score 10-9 Relikh Relikh 30-27 Round 4 Troyanovsky seemed to be settling into the fight. Relikh was still hustling and bustling but Troyanovky was finally managing to time Relikh?s attacks and scored with some crisp counters to take the round. Score 10-9 Troyanovsky Relikh 39-37 Round 5 Relikh stepped up the pace in this one. He was leaping forward and scoring with some punches with Troyanovsky looking busy but not landing puiunches. Late in the round Relikh connented with a couple of head shots and Troyanovsky was in trouble. Relikh piled on the pressure and won the round clearly. Score 10-9 Relikh Relikh 49-46 Round 6 Troyanovsky won this one with his jab. He kept it in Relikh?s face throughout the round. Relikh was not forcing the fight as much and Troyanovsky was reading the signs and anticipating when Relikh was going to launch an attack allowing the Russian to either step back out of range or fire a counter. Score 10-9 Troyanovsky Relikh 58-56 Round 7 Troyanovsky relied on his jab again in this roun. It was jab and move, jab and move-and repeat. Relikh did a bit better than he did in the last round but was swinging wildly at times and Troyanovsky?s cleaner work gave him the edge. Score 10-9 Troyanovsky Relikh 67-66 Round 8 Jab.jab.jab. That tells you it was another round for the tall Russian. He kept the jab in Relikh?s face and when a frustrated Relikh lunged in he was swinging wildly and wide open to accurste coumnters. Relikh did kland the occasional punch but not enough. Score 10-9 Troyanovsky Tied 76-76 Round 9 Relikh needed to turn things around and he did. Early in the round he walked through Troyanovskys jab and hammered home hooks and overhand rights.Troyanovsky was pounded with a veriety of punches and looked befuddled and bewildered. He steadied himself but Relikh was again scoring with jarring punches at the bell. Score 10-9 Relikh Relikh 86-85 Round 10 The pace slowed here. Troyanovsky had lost some of his accuracy and relikh some of his fire. A straight right that set Troyanovsky back on his heels followed by burst of hooks and straight rights by Relikh were enough to give him the round Score 10-9 Relikh Relikh 96-94 Round 11 This was a very close round. Troyanovsky found the range with his jab again and Relikh hustled and bustled again. Neither really did enough to stamp themselves on the round. It could have been scored for either fighter or even a tied round but for me Relikh just did enough to edge it Score 10-9 Relikh Relikh 106-103 Round 12 Troyanovsky clearly took the last. He had more left in the tank and was coming forward landing left jabs and long rights. Relikh responded with some bursts o hooks but Troyanovsky ended the round with more long rights. Score 10-9 Troyanovsky Relikh 115-113 Official scores 115-113,115-113 and 115-113 all for Relikh The ?mad bee? from Minsk was almost unknown before losing a very controversial decision to Ricky Burns for the WBO title in October 2016. Since then he has lost another very disputable verdict to unbeaten Rances Barthelemy and then outclassed Barthelemy in a return to win the vacant WBA title. He is very much an outsider in the WBSS Tournament but he is a very difficult opponent and can?t be discounted. Troyanovsky is now 38 and does not look the same fighter since his one round disaster against Julius Indongo in 2016. This one was very close but there are no return biuts in the WBSS so this may have been his last chance to become a champion again. Ken Shiro uses his height and reach to dominate Milan Melindo. ?Shiro vs. Melindo Japanese speedster Shiro proves too quick and slick for challenger Melindo and retains his WBC title for the fourth time as an injury ends this fight in the seventh round. Round 1 Shiro had a big advantage in reach and he used that to take the opening round. He was much quicker than Melindo and flitted around the static Filipino prodding his jab through Melindo?s guard and did not throw a single right in the first three minutes. Melindo was too small and too slow and could not land a punch. Score 10-9 Shiro Round 2 Melindo did better in this round. He was drawing the lead and then moving inside to counter and a right cross to snapped Shiro?s head back. Shiro was still dancing around Melindo but was coming up short with his jabs. Score 10-9 Melindo Tied 19-19 Round 3 Shiro was back in control in this round. He was more positive with his jab stabbing it into Melindo?s face. When Melindo dived forward and landed a right Shiro caught the Filipino with a lovely right hook and then landed a couple more rights. Over the remainder off the round Shiro was Score 10-9 Shiro Shiro 29-28 Round 4 Shiro tormented Melindo with his jab slotting it through Melindo?s guard throughout the round. With Shiro?s speed and long legs every time Melindo lunged forward Shiro only needed to take one step back to be out of range but still in position to counter with his longer reach. He was not going for power at this stage. Score 10-9 Shiro Shiro 39-37 Round 5 Shiro continued to work with his jab but was now mixing in more rights to the head Melindo had no answer to the jab of Shiro. The champion was also able to jump inside and land two or three punches and leap back out of distance before Melindo could counter. He was still not loading up on his punches but he did not need to. Score 10-9 Shiro Shiro 49-46 Round 6 Melindo came forward with more purpose at the start of this round but then Shiro took over and had his most dominant round so far. He was sitting down on his punches more and using the jab to set Melindo up for driving rights and hooks to the body with the fight totally one-sided with Melindo cut over his left eye. Score 10-9 Shiro Shiro 59-55 Round 7 Shiro rocked Melindo a few times with thudding rights in the early action. Melindo was being driven back and his defence was crumbling. Shiro kept drilling him with jabs and straight rights until the referee halted the action and asked the doctor to examine the cut over Melindo?s left eye and the doctor indicated the fight should be stopped. Official scores at time of stoppage 59-55 for Shiro from all three judges. The 26-year-old Shiro is a clever, quick-fisted fighter with a very long reach and classy footwork who will give any fighter in the light flyweights problems. Filipino Jonathan Taconing is his mandatory challenger but is even smaller than Melindo so will face the same obstacles when he gets his shot. Although only 30 former IBF champion Melindo has been in some tough fights and is looking a bit shop worn and lacked the speed to trouble Shiro. Click here for Part II. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eric Armit. |
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