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The Past Week in Action 19 December 2022: Chris Billiam-Smith KOs Armend Xhoxhak; Frank Martin Outpoints Michael Rivera By Eric Armit PhilBoxing.com Tue, 20 Dec 2022  Smith (R) beats Xhoxhak (L). Highlights: -Chris Billiam-Smith scores dramatic kayo victory over Armend Xhoxhak and there are wins for Dan Azeez over Rocky Fielding and Caroline Dubois -Frank Martin (16-0) impresses in wide points victory over (24-0) Michael Rivera, Vladimir Shishkin decisions Jose Uzcategui and Vincent Astrolabio stops Nikolai Potapov. -Arslan Makhmudov stops Michael Wallisch in one round - French hope Souleymane Cissoko outpoints Tulani Malinga and Christian Mbilli decisions Vaughan Alexander World Title/Major Shows December 17 Bournemouth, England: Cruiser: Chris Billam-Smith (17-1) W KO 5 Armend Xhoxhak (14-3). Light Heavy: Dan Azeez (18-0) W TKO 8 Rocky Fielding (30-3). Light: Caroline Dubois (5-0) W TKO 1 Sofia Rodriguez (5-8). Welter: Michael McKinson (23-1) W PTS 6 Roberto Arriaza (19-5). Light: Jimmy First (14-0) W PTS 8 Cori Gibbs (17-1). Smith vs. Xhoxhak Smith scores dramatic kayo victory over Xhoxhak. It was the visitor who went ahead early. Xhoxhak piled into Billiam-Smith throwing punches forcing him to the ropes and finding gaps for his lefts and rights. Billiam-Smith used his strength and a solid jab to force Xhoxhak back but weas being caught by uppercuts and rights to the head. It was the same in the second with Xhoxhak throwing plenty of punches Billiam-Smith steadying things with his jab and body punches but with Xhoxhak again coming back with uppercuts and head shots. Billiam-Smith did better over the third and fourth slowing Xhoxhak with body punches. He was still being caught with occasional bights but Billiam-Smith Xhoxhak seemed to be fading and Billiam-Smith scored heavily just before the bell to the end the fourth in the fifth Billiam-Smith suddenly shook Xhoxhak to his toes with a right uppercut and then banged home a series of punches before connecting with a sickening right hook that saw Xhoxhak out on his feet as he fell back and down to the canvas with the referee immediately waving the fight over. Xhoxhak needed extensive medical attention before recovering. Eighth win in a row for Billiam-Smith but the dramatic finish should not disguise some serious defects in Billiam-Smith defence in this fight. Luckily Xhoxhak is not a heavy puncher. Smith was No 2 with the WBO going into this fight but instead of WBO champion Lawrence Okolie he was calling out IBF champion Jaim Opetaia with who he is rated No 3 but with fellow British fighter Richard Riakporeh No 2 and experienced Pole Mateusz Masternak at No 1 but whichever route he takes a title shot looms from Billiam-Smith in 2023. Kosovan Xhoxhak had scores an upset win over unbeaten Roman Fress in May Azeez vs. Fielding Azeez stops Fielding in the eighth round after Fielding fails to make the weight for the fight. Azeez was crowding Fielding from the off getting in close to work the body. Fielding scored with some good body shots and did enough to edge the opening round. Azeez increased the pressure in the second and Fielding was cut by his left eye with Azeez ’s work inside giving him the edge. Over the third and fourth it was more and more pressure from Azeez who was forcing Fielding back to the ropes with jarring jabs and scoring with thudding body shots. Fielding was countering well but the powerful Azeez was bossing the fight. Azeez dominated over the fifth and sixth. He was wearing Fielding down with body punches and scoring with hard left hooks. Fielding was still punching back but his output had dropped and Azeez was relentless. A right to the body in the seventh forced Fielding to go down on one knee and the bell rung as he made it to his feet. Azeez had Fielding pinned to the ropes and was unloading punches when the towel came in from Fielding’s corner. Azeez retains the British title and wins the vacant Commonwealth title. He has been clearing up the second tier of British light heavyweights and now has his eyes on Callum Smith, Joshua Buatsi and a world title shot. Perhaps it is the end for Fielding. He was British and Commonwealth champion and held the secondary WBA title earning himself a golden ticket and getting a career best purse for fighting and losing against Saul Alvarez in 2018 Dubois vs. Rodriguez Dubois blows away Rodriguez in two minutes. Dubois immediately took the fight to Rodriguez. She scores with some right jabs the shook Rodriguez with two clubbing rights to the head. She then drove Rodriguez along the ropes to a corner bombarding herb with punches tom head and body and with Rodriguez not punching back the fight was stopped. Fourth inside the distance win in a row for Dubois. Third consecutive defeat for them outclassed Argentinian. Dubois 21yo, SPW 5’ 5 ½” 4th wins id row Rodriguez Argentinian, 1 win id 0, losses id lost last 3 nw McKinson vs. Arriaza McKinson eases his way back into the winner’s enclosure with a points victory over Nicaraguan Arriaza with the referee scoring it 59-55. First fight for McKinson since ninth round stoppage loss against Vergil Ortiz in August. Fourth loss in his last five fights for Arriaza. First vs. Gibbs First hands Gibbs his first loss. Gibbs was his own worst enemy as he was deducted points for spitting out his gumshield in rounds four, five and six with First getting the nod from the referee 76-73. First did not have his initial amateur fight until he was 27 and turned pro at 36. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Light: Frank Martin (17-0) W PTS 12 Michael Rivera (24-1). Super Middle: Vladimir Shishkin (14-0) W PTS 12 Jose Uzcategui (32-5). Bantam: Vincent Astrolabio (18-3) W KO 6 Nikolai Potapov (23-3-1). Superb Light: Omar Juarez (14-1) WPTS 10 Austin Dulay (15-4, 1 ND). Bantam: Joahnys Argilagos (9-1) W PTS 4 Mario Hernandez (10-4-1). Super Welter: Bakhram Murtazaliev (21-0) W PTS 8 Roberto Valenzuela (24-4). Super Light: Kenneth Sims (19-2-1) W TKO 5) Rock Myrthil (17-2). Super Light: Cristian Baez (19-2) W PTS 10 Kevin Johnson (12-3). Super Feather: Adrian Benton (8-0) W PTS 8 Yohan Vasquez (25-23 
Martin vs. Rivera Martin proves a revelation as he totally outclasses highly ranked Rivera and wins by a wide margin on all three scorecards. Martin had the better of a close first round taking the fight to Rivera but with Rivera landing some nice counters. There was nothing close about the second as Martin used his quicker hand speed to pierce Rivera’s guard scoring with jabs and right hooks. Already Rivera was switching guard to try to counter southpaw Martin’s success. Rivera did better with his jab and landed a good right early in the third but Martin came on strong late in the round and Rivera was again being outscored. Rivera had his best moments of the fight in the fourth with Martin seeming to have slowed a little. Martin was told to up his work rate and he did that in the fifth. He attacked strongly forcing Rivera to the ropes and scoring well to head and body and with Rivera struggling to remain competitive Martin took the sixth. After dominating much of the seventh Martin landed a hard combination late in the round to put Rivera down. It was not a heavy knockdown but Martin was in complete control. He was bossing the action with Rivera having no workable plan to turn things around being outboxed and given a lesson on skill and tactics. Some great left hand work and punishing body shots gave Martin the eighth and Rivera had some small success at the start of the ninth but Martin still outworked him. Martin blasted Rivera with combinations over the tenth and a one-sided eleventh with Rivera needing a knockout but never looking capable of getting one and Martin rounded of a dominant performance by taking the twelfth. Scores 120-107, 118-109 and 117-110 for Martin. A hugely impressive, classy performance from “The Ghost”. His highest rating was No 10 with the WBA but on this performance, he is a real threat and already WBO No 2 Shakur Stevenson has thrown out a challenge to Martin. Rivera was No 2 with the WBA but is set for a tumble after being outclassed in this fight. 
Shishkin vs. Uzcategui Shishkin takes a unanimous decision over Uzcategui in an IBF eliminator. Shishkin was busier in the first round. Uzcategui connected with a couple of good shots but was simply outworked. It was a similar picture in the second and third with Shishkin controlling the action with his jab and landing quick combinations. Uzcategui was struggling to get into the fight and although Shishkin’s punches lacked power the speed and accuracy of his had him in control over the fifth and sixth. Uzcategui found Shishkin a difficult target but did better over the seventh managing to land some power shots and landed a big right in the eighth only for Shishkin to fire back at the end of the round. Both had good spells in the ninth with Uzcategui landing heavy single shots and Shishkin throwing more but lighter punches with Uzcategui probably shading the round. Both were tired in the tenth a close round which could have been scored for either fighter but Shishkin boxed cleverly to outscore Uzcategui in the eleventh. They both put in big effort in the last but again the higher output accuracy gave Shishkin the edge. Scores 117-111 twice and 115-113 for Shishkin. Uzcategui was No 7 with the IBF and Shishkin No 9 so in this crazy world of sanctioning body ratings Shishkin will jump to fill the vacant No 2 spot but his chances of being accepted as an opponent for Saul Alvarez are remote. Former IB title holder Uzcategui was floored and outpointed by Lionell Thompson in December 2019 but three wins over modest opposition somehow merited the No 7 place for Uzcategui. 
Astrolabio vs. Potapov Astrolabio scores a sixth round kayo over Potapov. Astrolabio showed his power from the start. He looked to have scored a knockdown early in the first. It was ruled a slip but later in the round he put Potapov on the floor with a left hook. Potapov was up quickly and came through that and despite being cut by the right eye in the second boxed his way into the fight with the second and third rounds being close. Astrolabio hurt Potapov late in the fourth and then dominated the fifth getting through with a stunning uppercut and Potapov retreated and then went down on one knee. A fierce attack from Astrolabio in the sixth saw him pound Potapov along the ropes before dumping him down. Potapov made no attempt to get up and was counted out. Last timeout Astrolabio scored an upset victory over Gullermo Rigondeaux and this win should allow the Filipino to fill the vacant No 1 spot in the IBF ratings making him the mandatory challenger to Naoya Inoue. Potapov had been No 3 but his poor showing here will see him drop way down. Juarez vs. Dulay Juarez too good for Dulay but almost throws then fight away with low blows. Juarez took the first and outscored Dulay in the second. However, he landed three blatantly low punches and was deducted two points. Juarez edged a close second but then ruined his work with another low punch and another deduction meaning. Juarez had won all four rounds but is appoint down! Juarez shook Dulay in the fourth and by the fifth Dulay was already fading. He rebounded to score well in the seventh only for Juarez to get the better of the exchanges in the eighth and ninth before Dulay staged a strong finish in the tenth. Scores 96-91 twice and 94-93 for Texan Juarez who gets his third win in a row. Dulay is 2-3-1 in his last six. Argilagos vs. Hernandez Cuban Argilagos still seems to be having problems adjusting to professional boxing and although he gets a win over Hernandez is unimpressive. Scores 39-37 for Argilagos from all three judges. Still only 25 he has time to adjust but for a double World Championships gold medallist and Olympic bronze medal winner her has made a stuttering start. Murtazaliev vs. Valenzuela Murtazaliev outpoints Valenzuela as he awaits a shot at Jermell Charlo. Murtazaliev fought mainly on the back foot scoring with effective counters and outfighting Valenzuela inside. Valenzuela was always competitive and has good power but Murtazaliev had the edge there as well. Despite plenty of meaty exchanges neither fighter was ever in any serious trouble and the three cards all read 80-72 for Russian Murtazaliev. He is No 1 with the IBF but will have to await the outcome of Charlo’s four-belt title defence against Tim Tszyu in January. Valenzuela had won 9 of his last 10 fights with the loss coming against Souleymane Cissokho in March. Sims vs. Myrthil Sims makes it six wins in a row as he stops Myrthil. The first round went to Myrthil but from there Sims dictated the pace and the outcome. Switching guards Sims scored heavily from the second to the fourth. Myrthil had taken the fight at short notice and the pace and punishment told and a series of punches in the fifth saw the referee come in to save Myrthil. A spell of just one win inn four fights derailed Sims but he has rebuilt over the last three years. Haitian-born Myrthil suffers his second consecutive inside the distance defeat. Baez vs. Johnson Baez outpoints Johnson. This one was fought at walking pace but featured plenty of brutal action. The fight went in three phases. Southpaw Baez swept up the early rounds as he threw more and landed more than Johnson who was going for single big shots and not using his longer reach to box. Beaz then seemed to feel the pace letting Johnson in and Johnson almost levelled the scores before Baez staged the stronger finish and took the verdict. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 for Venezuelan Baez as he snaps a two-bout losing run. Johnson had won his last five fights Benton vs. Vasquez Southpaw Benton registered his seventh win with points victory over Dominican Vasquez on scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74. Benton ,23, was national Golden Gloves champion in 2018. Vasquez came in on the back of six straight victories. December 16 Shawinigan, Canada: Heavy: Aslanbek Makhmudov (16-0) W RTD 1 Michael Wallisch (23-6). Middle: Steven Butler (32-3-1) W PTS 10 Joshua Cloney (17-5-1). Super Welter: Femke Hermans (14-4) W PTS 10 Mary Spencer (7-0). Makhmudov vs. Walliisch Makhmudov gets a one round victory over Wallisch. The unbeaten Russian was much too powerful. He floored Wallisch three times and Wallisch did not come out for the second round claiming a shoulder injury. Makhmudov landed clubbing rights to the head for his knockdowns but if he fights outside of Canada, he had better cut out the consistent punches to the back of the head. The referee finally docked him a point in this fight as many of the punches were deliberate. Makhmudov now has 15 wins by KO/TKO and is rated WBC 4, WBA 5 but No 17 with BoxRec. Wallisch, 37, has moved up six times and lost inside the distance six times. Butler vs. Cloney Butler makes hard work of outpointing Cloney. The Canadian was his usual aggressive self but Cloney boxed cleverly and was an elusive target in a fight lacking highlights. Butler usually came out on top in the exchanges and outscored Cloney but as usual his suspect defence often let him down. It was a messy fight but Butler did enough to be a clear winner. Scores 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94 for Butler. Fourth consecutive victory for Butler since losing back-to-back fights against Ryota Murata for the secondary WBA title and Jose de Jesus Macias. Cloney has lost to Carlos Adames and Sergiy Derevyanchenko but beat Curtis Stevens in March. Hermans vs. Spencer Belgian Hermans outboxes previously unbeaten Spencer. Spencer attacked hard in the first but was dropped by a left hook in the second which was a genuine knockdown but was not counted. From there Hermans controlled the fight overcoming Spencer’s edges in height and reach with her better skills. She had Spencer under plenty of pressure and badly shaken in the ninth but in the end had to settle for a unanimous decision on scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94 but Hermans won very clearly. She collects the vacant IBO title. A former WBO super middleweight title holder Hermans had the experience of fighting Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall behind her whereas Spencer had only 17 rounds of ring time before this loss. Coventry, England: Feather: James Beech (15-3) W PTS 10 Raza Hamza (17-1-1). Mild upset as Beech outpoints formerly unbeaten Hamza. Beech won this one by his aggression and by outworking Hamza. The better boxing and cleaner work came from Hamza but Beech was constantly darting inside throwing lots of punches and whilst Beech was not always accurate Hamza was waiting too long to let his punches go and being too late with his counters. The rounds were all very close and it was a case of quantity over quality as Beech’s hard work paid off and he took the decision on scores of 98-93, 96-94 and 96-95. Beech wins the vacant IBO Continental title. Hamza can come again. Westlake, OH, USA: Super Middle: Roy Barringer (9-3) W KO 4 Michael Moore (19-4). Feather: Walter Santibanes (11-2,1ND) W PTS 8 Michael Nelson (19-2-1). Super Light: Mark Davis (19-1) W PTS 6 Diego Luque (21-10-2). Barringer vs. Moore Barringer gets upset win over Moore. Barringer’s heavier punching decided this one. He handed out steady punishment had Moore badly hurt in the third and ended it in the fourth knocking Moore through the ropes out in the fourth. Sixth win by KO/TKO for Barringer. Only the second fight inn three years for Moore. Nelson vs. Santibanes Arizona’s Santibanes outpoints local hope Nelson on a majority decision on scores of 79-73 and 78-74 with the third judge calling it 76-76. First eight round fight for Santibanes. Nelson had been unbeaten in his last 16 fights. Davis vs. Luque Davis pounds ion Argentinian Luque and wins unanimous decision. This one was scored 60-54 twice and 58-56. This is Davis first fight form over eight years. He was UN National champion in 2005 and 2006 and competed at the 2005 World championships. He ran up an 18-0 record under the management of rapper 50 Cent but after losing to Filipino Michael Farenas in July 2014 he disappeared from boxing. Salta, Argentina: Feather: Nicolas Botelli (14-7) W TKO 4 Fabian Orosco (28-14-4). Home town fighter Botelli retains the Argentinian title with fourth round stoppage of Orosco. A combination of big right hands from Botelli and two unsuccessful attempts to make the weight were too much for former champion Orosco as Botelli gets his fifth win by KO/TKO in his first defence of the title. December 17 Amay, Belgium: Welter: Melvin Moreau (11-5-1) W TKO 9 Quentin Gomes (15-1). Frenchman Moreau continues a small run of victories as he stops unbeaten Belgian champion Gomis in the ninth round. Moreau wins the vacant WBFederation International belt. After a run of 1-3-1 he has now emerged victorious in his last four fights. Gomes had won his three previous fights this year inside the distance. Puerto Montt, Chile: Super Bantam: Jose Velasquez (31-8-2) W KO 4 Mauricio Martinez (15-25-2). “Pancora” Velasquez ends the year with a win. The 5’2 ½” Chilean gave away height and reach as usual but knocked out Colombian Martinez early in the fourth round. Velasquez lost on points against Murodjon Akhmadaliev in a challenge for the IBF and WBA super bantamweight titles in November last year. Martinez suffers loss No 17 by KO/TKO. Santa Marta, Colombia: Feather: Bryan De Gracia (29-2-1,1ND) W RTD 4 Manuel Gonzalez (11-4). Panamanian De Gracia wins this battle of punchers as he batters local southpaw Gonzalez for four rounds and Gonzalez does not come out for the fifth. De Gracia has won 10 of his last 11 bouts inside the distance and all of Gonzalez’s wins had been by KO/TKO. Solin, Croatia: Super Middle: Luka Plantic (4-0) W PTS 10 Khoren Gevor (35-11). Feather: Luis Millan (22-5) W RTD 5 Arijan Goricki (13-2-1). Plantic vs. Gevor Plantic wins his first pro title in his fourth fight as he outclasses Armenian southpaw Gevor. Plantic used his superior skills and longer reach to outbox the smaller Gevor and went looking for a stoppage in the last round. He shook Gevor a couple of times but Gevor survived. Plantic won by 100-90 on all three cards and collects the vacant WBC International Silver title. Plantic was a European Championships bronze medal winner and competed at the 2021 Olympics. Gevor, 42, a former European champion lost in challenges for the WBA middle and super middle titles Millan vs. Goricki Venezuelan Millan surprised the locals with an inside the distance victory over Zagreb’s Goricki. Millan controlled this one from the start and handed out a steady berating with Goricki’s corner not allowing their man tom go out for the fifth round. Millan wins the vacant IBO International belt. Although this is Millan’s sixteenth victory by KOTKO Goricki admitted his team had underestimated Millan and he paid the price. Nadi, Fiji: Middle: Jese Ravudi (15-4-1) W PTS 10 Robin Hazelman (5-9-1). Middle: King Davidson (21-4,1ND) W PTS 6 Isikeli Senidoko (2-3-2). Ravudi vs. Hazelman Ravudi won the vacant Fijian title with a points win over Hazleman. Ravudi had experience against a much better class of opponent and won on scores of 98-92 twice and 99-91 getting his sixth win on the trot. Southpaw Hazelman is now 1-7-1 in his last nine bouts. Davidson vs. Senidoko Davidson 38 Nigerian-born Australian Davidson had little rouble in outpointing Fijian novice Senidoko over six rounds. Davidson took the first four rounds and then cruised over the last two to take the unanimous decision. Now 38 the former Australian super welterweight champion Davidson was having only his second fight in four years. Senidoko was way out of his depth. Nantes, France: Welter: Souleymane Cissokho (16-0) W PTS 10 Tulani Mbenge (19-2). Middle: Christian Mbilli (23-0) W PTS 10 Vaughan Alexander (17-7-1). Cissokho vs. Mbenge Cissokho gets majority decision over an unlucky Mbenge. Both landed heavily in a hard, close fought bout. Cissokho had the edge in skill but Mbenge looked to be the harder puncher. Both had good spells and both were rocked. Cissokho was the more accurate but Mbenge offset that with determined aggression and a high work rate. Mbenge scored well early and looked to have built a lead. Cissokho came on strong over the middle rounds and looked to have shaken Mbenge with punches in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Mbenge came through that and continued to attack hard to make it desperately close with Cissokho perhaps just a shade in front but Mbenge had a good eleventh and edged the last so it was anybody’s fight and the decision went to Cissokoh on scores of 116-112 and 115-113 for Cissokho and 114-114. Cissokho wins the vacant WBC Silver title. He was No 11 in the WBC ratings and Mbenge No 5 so a boost for the Frenchman. South African Mbenge lost to Sebastian Formella for the IBO title in 2019 but had rebounded with four wins. Mbilli vs. Alexande “Solide” Mbilli puts on another power show in outpointing Alexander. He welcomed Alexander into the fight with a low shot in the first from which Alexander took some time to recover. From there it was strictly legal stuff from Mbilli. His strength and relentless aggression were just too much for Alexander to cope with and he did well to survive a big last round effort from Mbilli and go the full ten rounds. Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91 for Mbilli. Cameroon-born Mbilli will be a big threat to the top guys in the division in 2023 and I expect to see him fight for a title in 2024. Goeppingen, Germany: Cruiser: Firat Arslan (53-9-3) W TKO 3 Jackson Dos Santos (22-15). Super Middle: Uwel Hernandez (15-1) W TKO 1 Gusmyr Perdomo (28-15). Heavy: Viktor Vykhryst (10-0) W Franklin Lawrence (21-3-2). Cruiser: Mohammed Bekdash (23-0) W TKO 2 Aleksandar Kuvac (13-94). Arslan vs. Dos Santos Topping and promoting a show of horrendous matches Arslan floors “Junior” Jackson three times on the way to a third round stoppage. Arslan, 52, can go on forever with matches like this. First fight for three years for 37-year-old Brazilian Jackson and his thirteenth inside the distance loss. Hernandez vs. Perdomo In another poor match Cuban-born Hernandez drops Perdomo twice and stops him in the first round. Ninth win in a row for Hernandez. Venezuelan Perdomo, 45, has lost 4 of his last 5 fights with all four losses inside three rounds. Vykhryst vs. Lawrence Vykhryst given eight rounds of work by Lawrence. The Ukrainian dropped Lawrence in the fifth with an uppercut and two thumping rights but had to go the full distance winning on scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72. Lawrence was having his first fight since September 2016! Bekdash vs. Kuvac Bekdash stops Kuvac in the second. A complete farce as Kuvac went down twice in the second round. The first time was ruled a slip and the second was from a punch that missed him. Syrian-born Bekdash has won 20 of his fights by KO/TKO including 14 in the first round all against abysmal opposition. When he fought Kuvac in 2021 it lasted just 87 seconds. La Trinidad, Philippines: Super Bantam: Carl Martin (21-0) W KO 2 Komgrich Nantapech (31-). Martin kayos Thai in the second round to win the vacant IBF Pan Pacific belt. Martin was circling the smaller Thai poking him with right jabs but mainly throwing straight lefts and Nantapech was mostly a static target. Martin put Nantapech down in the second with a left to the head. Nantapech made it to his feet and fought back but series of clubbing lefts put him face down on the canvas and he was counted out. Now 16 inside the distance wins for the 23-year-old “Wonder Boy” currently rated WBO 9/WBA 13/WBC 15 and ready for better opposition. Nantapech lost to Donnie Nietes for the vacant IBF flyweight title in 2017 and had won his last seven fights but against very modest opponents. Moscow, Russia: Light: Aik Shakhnazaryan (27-4-1) W PTS 10 Ismail Gliatano (11-5-3). Welter: Vaghinak Tamrazyan (20-8) W PTS 8 Denis Mwale (9-5) Shakhnazaryan vs. Gliatano Shakhnazaryan outpoints Tanzanian southpaw Gliatano. No scores available. Shakhnazaryan is now 4-0-1 in his last five fights. Third loss on the road this year for Gliatano after two good efforts in losing fights in Poland. Tamrazyan vs. Mwale Tamrazyan outpoints Malawian Mwale. Tamrazyan floored Mwale in the seventh on the way to the unanimous decision but no scores available. Commerce, CA, USA: Welter: Raul Curiel (12-0) W KO 2 Brad Solomon (29-6). Feather: Diego De La Hoya (24-1,1ND) W TEC DEC 8 Jose Santos (23-11-1). 
Curiel vs. Solomon Curiel knocks out Solomon in the second round. Solomon was lively at the start darting firing little bursts of punches. Curiel then took over driving Solomon to the ropes and firing hooks. Curiel seemed to shake Solomon with a right and ended the round strongly. Early in the second Curiel landed a left jab then a short left hook inside. It did not look a devastating shot but Solomon went down and was counted out. Seventh win by KO/TKO in a row for Mexican Curiel who is trained by Freddie Roach. He was making the second defence of the NABF belt. Solomon, 39, was a three-time National Golden Gloves champion and considered a top prospect when he turned pro and won his first 26 fights but then he fought only once each year in 2017,2018,2019and 2020 and has now lost 5 of his last 6 fights. 
De La Hoya vs. Gonzalez De La Hoya floors and beats Gonzalez on a technical decision. Gonzalez came forward in the first two rounds trying to put De La Hoya under pressure but De La Hoya was able to score with long sweeping hooks and staggered Gonzalez with a hook at the end of the second round. A straight right from De La Hoya sent Gonzalez down in the third but Gonzalez showed guts in surviving some serios punishment to make it to the bell. Gonzale was down again from a right at the start of the fifth and took a battering in the sixth and seventh. He was bleeding heavily from an injured nose but his lunging attacks were tiring De La Hoya and his work became untidy. In the eighth a clash of heads saw Gonzalez suffer a bad cut over his right eye and he was unable to continue. It went to the score cards with the partially completed eighth scored and all three judges carded 80-70 for De La Hoya. He was inactive from December 2019 until returning with a win in July this year and at 130lbs he looked fleshy and was not impressive. Gonzalez is 0-6-1 in his last 7 fights. Fight of the week (Significance): Chris Billiam-Smith’s win over Armend Xhoxhak should bring him a title chance in 2023 Fight of the week (Entertainment): Nothing really set me on fire. Fighter of the week: Frank Martin for his outstanding display in beating 24-0 Michael Rivera Punch of the week: The right hook from Chris Billiam-Smith had Xhoxhak already out before he even hit the canvas Upset of the week: No big surprises Prospect watch: None I have not already tagged Observations Rosette: To boxing’s promoters again. There were 101 boxing shows provisionally scheduled for the weekend. That was 37 Friday, 62 Saturday and 12 Sunday. Not all of the reports are in so some may have slipped out of the schedule but that is an impressive pile of action. Red Card: How can any matchmaker justify matching22-0 Mohammed Bekdashagainst 13-93 Aleksandar Kuvac. Sometimes a fighter with a huge number of losses is still a useful journeyman but Kuvac’s second round loss was his sixty-ninth inside the distance defeat! -Value for money? How about the show in Las Vegas topped by Frank Martin vs. Michael Rivera. The schedule included three twelve round fights, two ten round fights, four eight round fights one six round fight and three four round fights a total of 101 rounds - How about some of the ages on Firat Arslan’s show in Germany: Firat Arslan 52 Franklin Lawrence 47 Gusmyr Perdomo 45 Aleksandar Kuvac 37 Jackson Junior 37 A case of age before beauty but with the abysmal standard of the matches there was no beauty. -I am thinking of matching Filip Hrgovic and Arslan Makhmudov for the “Punches to the back of the head heavyweight title” -Two black eyes without a punch thrown. First black eye for boxing: A show in Durban was to have been held in the presence of Floyd Mayweather Jr. with high priced tickets available for those wishing to sit next to “Money” and alongside Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini. It was going to be a big show with top South African boxers such as Azinga Fuzile, Ronald Malindi and Prince Dlomo boxing. Foreign boxers had arrived and the show was to go ahead on Sunday 11 December but was cancelled and rescheduled for Tuesday 13 December then again rescheduled for Thursday 16 December and finally disappeared forever with talk of Mayweather’s company allegedly thinking of suing for non-payment of Floyd’s fee and misuse of Mayweather’s name. Second black eye: Mahmoud Charr and Lucas Browne were out in Dubai for their scheduled fight but as of yesterday the fight was cancelled due to “safety concerns” but both fighters had found that their expenses for hotels etc had not been paid and the promoter had “vanished”. -When a fighter goes to another country to box he likes to please the country by praising their boxers. After beating Fijian Isikeli Senidoko on points over six round Australian King Davidson said Senidoko could be a world champion. Senidoko’s record is 2-3-2!! Trying too hard to please King. -Boxing needs losers but on a show in the UK at the weekend four losing British fighters had combined records of 30-331-110 but inn something that is unique to the survival skills of British journeymen of those 331 losses only 26 were by KO/TKO ! About the Author 
Born in Scotland, Eric Armit started working with Boxing News magazine in the UK in the late 1960’s initially doing records for their Boxing News Annual and compiling World, European and Commonwealth ratings for the magazine. He wrote his first feature article for Boxing News in 1973 and wrote a “World Scene” weekly column for the magazine from the late 1970’s until 2004. Armit wrote a monthly column for Boxing Digest in the USA and contributed pieces to magazines in Mexico, Italy, Australia, Spain, Argentina and other countries. Armit now writes a Weekly Report covering every major fight around the world and a bi-weekly Snips & Snipes column plus occasional general interest articles with these being taken up by boxing sites around the world. He was a member of the inaugural WBC Ratings Committee and a technical advisor to the EBU Ratings Committee and was consulted by John McCain’s research team when they were drafting the Ali Act. He is a Director and former Chairman of the Commonwealth Boxing Council. Armit has been nominated to the International Boxing Hall of Fame the past two years (2019 and 2020) to which he said, “Being on the list is an unbelievably huge honour.” Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eric Armit.  |
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