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Philippines, 13 Jan 2025 |
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The Past Week in Action 12 January 2025: Jai Opetaia Stops David Nyika to Retain IBF Cruiser Title By Eric Armit PhilBoxing.com Mon, 13 Jan 2025  Opetaia (R) finishes Nyika in 4. Highlights: -Jai Opetaia stops unbeaten New Zealander David Nyika in four rounds in IBF cruiserweight title defence and unbeaten heavyweight Justis Huni halts South African champion Shaun Potgieter in two rounds. -Carolina Dubois retains her WBC lightweight title with a technical draw against Jessica Camara and Callum Simpson stops Steed Woodall in two rounds to retain British, Commonwealth and WBA Internation super middleweight belts. -Former WBA secondary title holder Tyrone Zeuge outpoints German champion Serhat Parlak. Major Shows: JANUARY 8 Gold Coast, Australia: Cruiser: Jai Opetaia (27-0) W TKO 4 David Nyika (10-1). Heavy: Justis Huni (12-0) W TKO 2 Shaun Potgieter (11-2). Super Middle: Max McIntyre (7-0) W TKO 4 Abdulselam Saman (8-2). Super Welter: Ben Mahoney (15-0-1) W PTS 10 Fan Zhang (8-3-1). Heavy: Teremoana Teremoana Jr (6-0) W KO 1 Osasu Otobo (11-2-1). Round 1 Opetaiawas coming forward trying to find the range with straight rights with Nyika on the back foot. They traded punches with neither landing anything heavy. Nyika switched to southpaw and was looking to work inside. Opetaia landed a hard right hook and fired a volley of hooks at the bell. Score: 10-9 Opetaia Round 2 They were both letting the punches fly but Opetaia was quicker and more accurate. Nyika was landing but not with any power and right hooks from Opetaia had him backing up. Nyika tried to take the fight inside but Opetaia was landing the better punches and connected with a heavy right cross. Score: 10-9 OpetaiaOpetaia 20-18 Round 3 Opetaia made Nyika stumble with a left and was scoring with right jabs and hooks. Opetaia was bossing the exchanges inside landing clubbing head shots with Nyika throwing rights but again with no real power. He forced Opetaia to the ropes at the end of the round and managed to get through with a couple of rights. Score: 10-9 OpetaiaOpetaia 30-27 Round 4 Nyika was switching guards but to no effect andOpetaia was coming forward firing lefts to head and body. Opetaia put together a combination of hard punches to head until a right hook to the head dropped Nyika to his hands and knees. He arose quickly but did not look steady. The referee applied the eight count and had Nyika carry out the standard manoeuvres and when the action restarted Opetaia took Nyika to the ropes and landed two rights to the head and a left hook that sent Nyika down. The referee immediately waived the fight over and Nyika was down and received medical attention for several minutes. Fourth defence of the IBF title for Opetaia and win No 21 by KO/TKO. Hopefully we will get a unification fight against WBA/WBO title holder Gilberto Ramirez later in the year but Eddie Hearn is talking of a fight with Oleksandr Usyk down the line. New Zealander Nyika, an Olympic bronze medal winner and twice Commonwealth gold medal winner, came in as a substitute at three weeks’ notice when mandatory challenger Huseyn Cinkara was injured. Nyika gave it a try but found Opetaia’s power too much. Huni vs. Potgieter Huni continues his winning ways with a second round stoppage of South African champion Potgieter. A powerful uppercut had Potgieter in trouble in the second and as Huni continued to unload heavy punches the referee stopped the fight. The 25-year-old 6’4” former World Youth champion gets his seventh win by KO/TKO. Both of Potgieter’s losses have come inside the distance. McIntyre vs. Saman Mcintyre wis the vacant IBF Youth title with a stoppage of Saman. The 20-year-old 6’3 ½” prospect from Brisbane had six wins by KO/TKO. Turk Saman out of his depth Mahoney vs. Zhang Mahoney picks up the vacant IBF Pan Pacific title with a unanimous decision over Zhang. Zhang proved a stubborn opponent but Mahoney, a former top amateur, was just too good for him and won every round. All three judges had it 100-90 for Mahoney. Teremoana vs. Otobo Highly touted heavyweight hope (yes yet another one) Teremoana finished overmatched Otobo with a left hook in the first round. All over in 57 seconds. The 6’6” Australian, a 2024 Olympian, has taken less than eight round for his six wins. JANUARY 11 Sheffield, England: Light: Carolina Dubois (10-0-1) Tec Draw 3 Jessica Camara (14-4-1). Super Middle: Callum Simpson (16-0) W TKO 2 Steed Woodall (19-3-1). Cruiser: Scott Forrest (7-0) W TKO 2 Deevorn Miller (8-3). Dubois vs. Camara Dubois retains the WBC title with a technical draw against Camara. Dubois was probing with her right jab then with less than a minute gone in the round she pierced Camara’s guard with a straight left that sent Camara down. Cámara jumped up but after the count Dubois banged home more straight lefts and hooks from both hands. Camara covered up well but was again taking punishment at the bell. Dubois was on fire at the start of the second piling forward with straight lefts and hooks to the body with both hands. The referee paused the action for a second to look at damage Camara had suffered in a clash of heads but let the fight continue. Cámara was cut over her left eye and had a swelling under her right eye. Dubois continued to find the target and Camara’s face was covered in blood. The referee summoned the doctor to examine Cámara’s injuries at the start of the third round and the doctor rightly advised the fight be stopped as the blood was running into Cámara’s left eye. Huge disappointment for Dubois as on the evidence of the two completed rounds she looked to be too quick and hit too hard for Camara and had dominated the action. WBO Gold champion Camara had won her last four fights. Simpson vs. Woodall Simpson floors Woodall and gets a controversial second round stoppage. In the first Simpson immediately took the fight to Woodall firing jabs, straight rights and left hooks to the body. Woodall banged back but had to clinch to slow Simpson’s rain of punches and was under pressure to the bell. Woodall made a strong start to the second taking the fight to Simpson but then being forced back to the ropes under fire from jabs and hooks to the body. Simpson unleashed a barrage of punches and a right uppercut had Woodall sliding to the canvas. Woodall was up at eight and Simpson again forced him back to the ropes. They traded punches until the referee parted them. Simpson then backed Woodall up landing some clubbing hooks to the head and shaking Woodall who was covering up. Woodall was preparing to fire back but the referee came in and stopped the fight. Woodall protested strongly and looked capable of continuing but the referee had made his decision. Simpson was defending the British, Commonwealth and WBA Continental titles. He was coming off a good win over Zak Chelli and scores his eleventh win by KO/TKO. Forrest vs. Miller Scottish hope Forrest finishes Miller in two rounds. Forrest made a confident start scoring with jabs putting Miller on the back foot. His hand speed was too much for Miller and Forrest consistently found gaps for his jab. Miller switched to southpaw and forced Forrest to the ropes under a bundle of punches and looked to have shaken Forrest but a right counter from Forrest unhinged Miller’s legs and Miller went down on one knee. He was up immediately but was staggered by another right before he fired back with a heavy right of his own. Forrest continued to force Miller back with jabs in the second until finally Miller stood and traded punches and was dropped by a left from Forrest. The referee started to count then waived the fight over. Fourth inside the distance victory for Forrest who scored victories over Cheavon Clarke and Joshua Buatsi as an amateur. Miller was 8-1 going into this one. JANUARY 10 Buenos Aires, Argentina: Super Bantam: Kevin Munoz (18-2,1ND) W PTS 10 Braian Arguello (9-5). Middle: Rodrigo Del Greco (20-0) W TKO 5 Andres Viera (12-10). Munoz vs. Arguello Munoz gets majority decision over Arguello. This was a fast-paced fight with plenty of two-way action. Munoz pressed from the start scoring well with jabs and particularly left hooks to the body. Arguello was competitive and had a strong second half of the fight putting Munoz on the back foot with some effective body punching. It was close going into the last and Munoz just staged the stronger finish to win on scores of 97-93, 96-94 and 95-95. Munoz was 16-1 before suffering consecutive losses to Ricardo Malajika for the vacant IBO super fly title and Manuel Banquez for the WBA Fedelatin bantamweight title. Arguello was coming off a loss to unbeaten Rodrigo Ruiz in September which cost him his South American and IBF Latino super bantamweight titles. Del Greco vs. Viera Del Greco adds another win as he stops Viera in the fifth round. Del Greco dominated the action and gradually broke down Viera and in the fifth he had Viera stumbling from a sustained barrage. The referee came in and gave Viera a standing count. Viera spat out his gum shield and after the eight count was completed the referee took Viera back to his corner where Viera’s second replaced the gumshield and then just threw the towel to the referee to indicate his man was finished. Former undefeated Argentinian champion Del Greco makes it ten inside the distance finishes. Uruguayan Viera, 41, has won only one of his last seven fights. Tacoma WA, USA: Heavy: Kingsley Ibeh (15-2-1) W TKO 1 Scott Alexander (17-7-2). Super Feather: Austin Brooks (13-0-1) W TKO 8 Rosalindo Morales (10-2). Ibeh vs. Alexander Ibeh overwhelms Alexander. Ibeh used his 70 lbs weight advantage to force Alexander to the ropes and then landed two thumping shots to put Alexander down and end the fight. The big Nigerian-born Ibeh was kayoed in six rounds by Jared Anderson in 2021 but has won his last 10 fights 9 by KO/TKO. Fourth loss in his last five fights for Alexander Brooks vs. Morales Brroks wins this clash of southpaw with a stoppage of Morales. Brooks crafted a lead in the early rounds and scored two knockdowns to end the fight. The first came late in the seventh from a left to the body that had Morales dropping to a knee. Morales made it to his feet and saw out the round but after he was sent down by Another body shot in the eighth the fight was stopped. Brooks gets his sixth win by KO/TKO. JANUARY 11 Cologne, Germany: Super Middle: Tyrone Zeuge (29-2-1) W PTS 10 Serhat Parlak (6-1). Zeuge takes a unanimous decision over German champion Parlak. Over the first two rounds Parlak just seemed to have the edge with good movement and accurate jabbing. Zeuge pressed hard over the third and fourth but again the better boxing from Parlak was the difference and he looked to have built on his lead from the first two rounds. Zeuge turned things his way from the fifth taking the fight inside and landing hurtful body punches as Parlak faded. The fight was even by the end of the eighth and Zeuge outscored a tiring Parlak in the ninth with Parlak staging the stronger finish in the last and looked unlucky not to get at least a draw. Scores 98-93, 97-93 and 96-94 for Zeuge. The former WBA secondary title holder is 7-1 in his last 8 fights. He floored Zach Parker in their bout in March last year but lost on a unanimous decision. Parlak, with only 24 rounds under his belt could have paced the fight better with more experience. Dzierzoniow, Poland: Super Middle: Kamil Bednarek (16-0) W PTS 10 Jan Czerklewicz (14-2). Middle: Rafal Wolczecki (14-0) W TKO 3 Yaniel Rivera (9-4-1). Bednarek vs. Czerklewicz Fighting in his home town Bednarek wins the vacant Polish title as he outpoints fellow southpaw Czerklewicz in a fierce battle. Both were rocked in the first and in the third two right hooks to the head had Czerklewicz dropping to one knee. Czerklewicz fought hard to get back into contention. They were both in trouble in a fiery seventh and Czerklewicz dominated the eighth. The fight was effectively decided in the ninth when Czerklewicz was given a contentious count and despite a desperate effort in the tenth the points gap was too big for Czerklewicz to close. Scores 97-91, 96-92 and 95-93. A good test for Bednarek. Czerklewicz had a 12-bout winning run snapped. Wolczecki vs. Rivera Polish champion Wolczecki stops Cuban Rivera in three. It was a mixed first round for Wolczecki. A right from Rivera landing near the left eye of Wolczecki immediately started a swelling but late in the round a left hook sent Rivera down and he only just beat the count being saved by the bell. A left to the body sent Rivera down in the second but again the bell went after the count so Rivera escaped again. Wolczecki ended it in the third with three knockdowns for his sixth win by KO/TKO in his last seven fights. Second inside the distance loss for Polish-based Rivera. Worcester, MA, USA: Light Heavy: Richard Rivera (27-2,1ND) W KO 2 Roger Guerrero (17-9-1). Rivera blows away Guerrero in two rounds. Rivera floored Guerrero with a right at the end of the first round and finished the job with a knockdown in the second. Now 20 wins by KO/TKO for Rivera . He went 21-0 at the start of his career but losses on a split decision against Badou Jack and a majority decision against Luis Tejeda left him with as recovery job and he has won his last two fights. Eighth loss in a row for Ecuadorian southpaw Guerrero seven 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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