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Philippines, 07 Apr 2026 |
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THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 7 APRIL 2026: Santiago Retains WBA/WBO Titles in Tokyo; Taduran KOs Perez in 5; Price Decisions Aquino; Wins by Wilder, Bentley and Tim Tszyu By Eric Armit PhilBoxing.com Tue, 07 Apr 2026  Taduran drops Perez. HIGHLIGHTS: -Rene Santiago successfully defends the WBA & WBO light flyweight titles with a points win over Masataka Taniguchi. On the same Tokyo show Yukinori Oguni outpoints Marlon Tapales and Tsukuru Morikawa stops Hisashi Kato -Pedro Taduran knocks out Gustavo Perez in IBF minimumweight title defence - Lauren Price decisions Stephanie Aquino in defence of her IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC welterweight titles -Deontay Wilder wins on a split decision against Dereck Chisora - Denzel Bentley wins the WBO interim middleweight title with a seventh round stoppage of Gustavo Perez and Vidal Riley outpoints Mateusz Masternak to win the European cruiserweight title. -Tim Tszyu outpoints Denis Nurtja and Sam Goodman decisions Rodrigo Ruiz -Ellie Scotney retains the IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO super bantam belts as she decisions Mayelli Flores, Chantelle Cameron wins the vacant WBO super welterweight title and Irma Garcia stops Emma Dolan in three to retain the IBF super fly title MAJOR SHOWS: APRIL 3 TOKYO, JAPAN: LIGHT FLY: RENE SANTIAGO (16-4) W PTS 12 MASATAKA TANIGUCHI (21-6). FEATHER: YUKINORI OGUNI (24-4-3) W PTS 10 MARLON TAPALES (41-4). SUPER WELTER: TSUKURU MORIKAWA (7-0) W TKO 7 HISASHI KATO (13-15-2).  Santiago vs. Taniguchi SANTIAGO retrains the WBA and WBO titles as he takes a unanimous decision over TANIGUCHI. The Puerto Ruican boxed his way to victory as he counter-punches effectively against the ever advancing southpaw Taniguchi. The rounds were close but Santiago had a big fifth when he floored Taniguchi with a right hook. Taniguchi recovered quickly and pressed his attacks but Santiago employed fancy footwork and proved an elusive target whilst feeding Taniguchi straight lefts and rights. Taniguchi kept pressing and connected with some heavy lefts but Santiago was never in trouble and easily withstood a desperate last round barrage from Taniguchi to emerge a clear winner. Scores 117-110, 116-111 and 114-113. Santiago is 3-0 in fights in Japan. Taniguchi, a former WBO minimumweight champion failed in his aim become a second world champion in a different weight class.  Oguni vs. Tapales OGUNI scores a points win over TAPALES. Oguni made good use of his longer reach in the first but Tapales worked his way inside over the second to attack Oguni’s body. Tapales continued to apply pressure in the third with Oguni often being forced to fight with his back against the ropes but finding gaps for body punches. A left hook to the body curbed the attacks of Tapales in the fourth and a fierce attack from Oguni in the fifth saw him land a number of shots and Tapales was cut over his right eye. The sixth was close but a series of rights in the seventh had Tapales rocking and a stoppage looked possible but the fight was halted so that the doctor could examine Tapales’ cut. The fight continued but Oguni staged the stronger finish and was a good winner. Scores 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 for Oguni. A huge win for Oguni ,37, as Tapales was rated WBC 2, WBO 3 and IBF 4. Oguni was to have fought Jerwin Ancajas but when Ancajas was injured Tapales accepted the fight. Tapales failed to make 122 lbs after two attempts but Oguni took the fight and the gamble paid off. Morikawa vs. Kato In a battle of the ages MIDORIKAWA retains the OPBF title with a seventh round stoppage of KATO. The 5’11” southpaw Kato tried to use his height and longer reach to box at distance but Midorikawa dropped him with a right in the second. Both continued to score heavily and in the fifth both were down. Midorikawa, a former world kickboxing champion, dominated the sixth and when Kato was badly shaken by a right in the seventh the referee stopped the fight. Midorikawa, 39, who did not turn pro until he was 38, was making the first defence of the OPBF title. Kato, 40, turned pro back in 2006 and had lost in two shots at the Japanese title. Not often you get a fight between boxers with combined ages of 79! APRIL 4 LONDON, ENGLAND: HEAVY: DEONTAY WILDER (45-4-1) W PTS 12 DEREK CHISORA (36-14). CRUISER: VIDAL RILEY (14-0) W PTS 12 MATEUSZ MASTERNAK (50-7). MIDDLE: DENZEL BENTLEY (22-3-1) W TKO 7 ENDRY SAAVEDRA 17-2-1). Heavy: MATTY HARRIS (10-1) W KO 2 FRANKLIN IGNATIUS (9-2-1).MIDDLE: AMIR ANDERSON (7-0) W TKO 8 JORDAN DUJON (10-7). SUPER LIGHT: ASHTON SYLVE (13-1) W PTS 8 RAUL GALAVIZ (15-5-2). SUPER FEATHER: JERMAINE DHLIWAYO (9-0) W TKO 7 JAKE MORGAN (7-3).  Wilder vs. Chisora WILDER wins a split decision over CHISORA in a battle of veteran lions of the heavyweight division. Wilder had a big edge in height at 6’6” to Chisora’s 6’1 ½” and reach at 83 “ to Chisora’s 74” but Chisora was 40 lbs heavier. Those factors naturally saw Chisora storming forward using his weight to force his way inside firing wild overarm shots. A bizarre incident in the first round saw Wilder almost wrestle Chisora over the top rope and one of Chisora’s team enter the ring and rush over to where the wrestling was happening then turned and run back to Chisora’s corner and out of the ring. That could/should have resulted in an immediate disqualification of Chisora but in the melee the referee took no action. Wilder used his longer reach to land jabs and straight rights to capture the first three rounds but he was shaken by a couple of rights in the fourth and Chisora also had the better of the exchanges in the fifth. Wilder had his jab and rights working well in the sixth and seventh but the eighth was a wild round. Wilder landed a series of rights driving Chisora across the ring and down half way out of the ring under the ropes. Chisora was given a count. After the count Wilder sent Chisora down again but this time he had helped Chisora on the way down with a fierce push and the referee deducted a point from Wilder. Chisora battled back to take the ninth as he kept swinging those overarm rights and lefts. Both fighters were tiring but kept battling. Chisora’s extra 40 lbs weight advantage turned into a disadvantage and Wilder seemed to have more left in the tank. In the eleventh Wilder was down but the referee rightly decided it was a slip as Wilder tried to slide away from Chisora punch so no count but Wilder sent Chisora down and almost out of the ring at the end of the round making it a 10-8 round. Wilder had just that little bit more left and he battled his way through the last, a round that saw the fans on their feet for the whole three minutes of what had been a vastly entertaining fight. Scores 115-111 and 115-113 for Wilder and 115-112 for Chisora. The 10-8 rounds (8 and 11) were costly for Chisora. Wilder is now hoping to get a fight against Anthony Joshua which would be a huge draw. Chisora has said this would be his last fight and if it is then he can be proud of a career that has seen him face so many of the top heavyweights.  Riley vs. Masternak RILEY wins the European title with a wide unanimous decision over champion MASTERNAK. On paper this looked a tough ask for Riley but he won by a big margin on each of the three cards. The speed of the ten year younger Britain proved too much for Masternak to counter. Riley connected with some goo body punches in the first and shook the Pole twice with rights to the head in the second. Masternak just could not get past Riley’s jab in the third and was already showing damage to his cheek. Masternak got through with a hard right in the fifth but Riley paid him back with a right late in the round. Riley found plenty of openings for body punches over the sixth and seventh slowing Masternak even further. Riley tried to find a finisher but Masternak used all of his twenty years of experience to survive and even staged a strong last round rally but it was too little too late. Scores 118-110 twice and 119-109. This bout was also an eliminator for the IBF title which fell vacant when the champion, Jai Opetaia, fought on a Zuffa show. The Nos. 1 and 2 slots in the IBF are vacant with Chris Billam Smith No 3 and Masternak 4 so Riley must have a good chance of getting a shot at the vacant title. At 38 Masternak has had a long and quite successful career losing on points to Billam-Smith in a fight for the WBO title in 2023. Bentley vs. Saavedra BENTLEY wins the WBO interim title with a seventh round stoppage of SAAVEDRA. This was Bentley’s first fight in 15 months but he showed no rust as he boxed well enough to take the first. Saavedra ramped up the pressure over the second connecting with a couple of nice rights as he forced Bentley onto the back foot. Saavedra continued to apply pressure in the third with Bentley on target with his jabs and Saavedra firing long rights and lefts. Bentley had shaken the rust and his jab was working well. He could not always keep Saavedra out and the Venezuelan was banging home some hurtful body shots inside. It was close after six with Saavedra’s harder punching probably giving him a slight edge. Saavedra came forward in the seventh and connected with a hard right uppercut but Bentley responded with a right to the temple. Saavedra came apart. His legs had gone and Bentley drove him stumbling across the ring to the ropes and then blasted Saavedra with punch after punch until the referee came in to save a stunned Saavedra. Bentley had lost to Alimkhanuly for the real WBO title in 2022 and was beaten by Nathan Heaney for the British title in 2023 but had rebounded with three wins. Saavedra owed his high ranking to a draw with unbeaten Cesar Tapia and a win over 13-2 Mikkel Niesen. Harris vs. Ignatius HARRIS sends IGNATIUS down early in the second and the referee does not bother with a count. In the first the smaller Ignatius tried to hustle and brawl the taller and more skilful Harris. Harris landed some heavy punches on the rumbling Ignatius late in the round. In the second Ignatius fired a right that whistled past the chin of Harris but that left him open and Harris nailed him with a short right to the head that sent Ignatius falling face down on the canvas and the fight was over. Seventh win by KO/TKO for the 6’8” Harris. Anderson vs. Dujon ANDERSON scores a late stoppage of a game DUJON Anderson had the slicker skills and easily won the rounds. Dujon took the punishment and kept trying but was outclassed. A right from Anderson drove Dujon to a corner in the eighth and as Anderson unloaded with an array of lefts and rights the referee halted the contest. All seven of Anderson’s wins have come by KO/TKO. Sylve vs. Galaviz SYLVIE decisions Mexican GALAVIZ. Sylvie took a round to warm-up and Galaviz probably did enough to take the round. From there Sylvie had no real trouble handing Galaviz’s crude attacks. Galaviz was an easy target as he rumbled forward and Sylvie won the rounds but did not impress showing little power. Scores 80-72 twice and 78-74. Dhilwayo vs. Morgan His hand speed and the accuracy of his right jab saw DHILWAYO in control from the start. MORGAN just could not get inside to work and had faded badly by the sixth as Dhilwayo pinned him against the ropes and unloaded body punches. Clubbing lefts to the head had Morgan reeling in the seventh and as Dhilwayo forced him into the ropes the referee had seen enough and halted the fight. CARDIFF, WALES: LAUREN PRICE (10-0) W PTS 10 STEPHANIE PINEIRO (10-1). FEATHER: RHYS EDWARDS (17-1-1) DREW 12 GULLY POWAR (13-1-1). SUPER FEATHER: TEO ALIN (7-0) W TKO 5 KANE SHEPHERD (8-1).  Price vs. Pineiro PRICE Successfully defends he IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC titles with a unanimous decision over fellow-southpaw PINEIRO. Both were looking to dominate early and Pineiro did enough to make the opener close. Price took over from the second as she boxed on the back foot circling here taller opponent Pineiro bouncing on her toes using clever upper body work to slip Pineiro’s punches and nimble footwork to dart inside and land a burst of punches then get out before Pineiro could counter. By the end of the third Pineiro was already showing bruising around her right eye and by the end of the fourth Price was also showing some damage in the form of a bad cut inside her mouth and that wound bled throughout the remaining rounds. Pineiro just could not close Price down and the pattern of the fight was Pineiro constantly walking forward with Price pausing to punish her with three-punch combinations and moving on again. Pineiro stuck to her task but she just could not match the speed of Price who won on scores of 98-92 twice and 99-91. This was Price’s first fight for a year but hopefully she will be more active now. Clarissa Shields entered the ring and said she would like to might Price at the end of the year if Price would move up to middleweight. Puerto Rican Pineiro had won the WBA interim title looked a useful competitor and is capable of winning a real title down the line. Edwards vs. Powar The British title remains vacant after EDWARDS and POWAR fought to a majority draw. This was an entertaining fight fought at a fast pace with styles that produced plenty of action. Edwards tried to match Powar over the first two round but Powar’s sustained aggression forced Edwards to change tactics and he adapted to fight on the back foot. Powar was relentless never allowing Edwards much punching room so there were plenty of fierce exchanges and for me Powar looked to have done enough to win but two judges scored it 114-114 with the third having it 115-114 for Powar. Alin vs. Shepherd Ireland’s ALIN wins the vacant BBB of C Celtic title with a fifth round stoppage SHEPHERD. Local fighter Shepherd was the favourite in this one but Alin tore up, the script flooring Shepherd with a straight right in the fifth. Shepherd made it to his feet but was shaky and the referee stopped the fight. APRIL 5 WOLLONGONG. AUSTRALIA: TIM TSZYU (27-3) W PTS 10 DENIS NURJA (20-1). SUPER BANTAM: SAM GOODMAN (22-1) W PTS 12 RODRIGO RUIZ (23-2). SUPER LIGHT: CHARLIE KAZZI (9-0-1) DREW 10 BLAIR GERAGHTY (5-0-1). MIDDLE: CALLUM PETERS (6-0) W TKO 2 DELIO MOUZINHO (4-1). SUPER MIDDLE: MAX REEVES (13-1-1,1 ND) W PTS 10 FRANCIS WAITAI (13-4-1). LIGHT HEAVY: PAULO AOKUSO (10-0) W TKO 1 KITTIPONG JIAN HAO-HO (13-2-1). HEAVY: NELSON ASOFA-SOLOMONA (2-0) W TKO 3 JARROD WALLACE (0-1)  Tszyu vs. Nurja TSZYU floors and outpoints NURJA to win the vacant WBO international title. Tszyu took the fight to Nurja from the start and shook the Albanian in the second and third. In the fourth Nurja’s head slammed into Tszyu’s face and opened a deep gash on Tszyu’s cheek. Tszyu responded by firing a burst of punches that sent Nurja down. He beat the count and soaked up plenty of punishment and was deducted a point in the seventh for holding but lasted the distance. All three judges scored it 100-88 for Tszyu. Talk now is of a fight later this year with former IBF/WBA/WBC title holder Errol Spence who has not fought since losing to Terence Crawford in July 2023. Nurja proved trough but his record is studded with mediocre opposition. Goodman vs. Ruiz GOODMAN takes a unanimous decision over Argentinian RUIZ in an IBF eliminator Goodman’s better boxing saw him build a small lead over the first half of the fight. Ruiz proved to be strong but limited and Goodman dictated the second half of the fight and swept the last three rounds as Ruiz tired badly. Scores 118-111, 116-112 and 115-113. This win puts Goodman in the challengers spot for the IBF super bantamweight title. He lost on points against Nick Ball in August last year in a challenge for the WBA featherweight title. Ruiz had managed to climb from No 15 in the IBF ratings to No 10 without fighting. Nothing unusual in that-unfortunately. Kazzi vs. Geraghty The Australian title is still vacant after KAZZI and GERAGHTY fought to a majority draw. Scores 96-94 for Gerahty and 95-95 twice. Geraghty is 19 and Kizzi 20 and they both remain unbeaten Peters vs. Mouzinho Australian champion PETERS wipes out East Timor’s MOUZINHO in two rounds. Peters sent Mouzinho down late in the first and scored another knockdown early in the second and the fight was stopped. Olympian Peters had 129 amateur fights so his 6-0 record does not tell the full story, Reeves vs. Waitai Former undefeated Australian champion REEVES wins his first international title as he outpoints New Zealand southpaw WAITAI for the vacant WBO Oriental title. Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 96-94 for Reeves. Aokuso vs. Hao-Ho AOKUSO scores a farcical first round win over Singaporean HAO-HO. The fighter from Singapore was wearing a knee brace as he climbed into the ring. Just 8 seconds after the bell for the first round as Hao-Ho stepped back to avoid a punch from Aokuso his knee gave way and he fell into the ropes. He seemed to steady himself but his footwork was stilted and he was shaking his knee. He then went down from left hook. He made to his feet and was down again under another attack from Aokuso. He was rubbing his knee as he sat on the canvas and the referee signalled the fight was over. Olympian Aokuso wins the vacant IBF Pan Pacific title. He saw only six rounds of action last year so would have been hoping to get in a few rounds. Not sure what sort of test Hao-Ho might have undergone to show he was capable of fighting but he had won his last 13 fights so might have given Aokuso a test LONDON, ENGLAND: LIGHT: CAROLINE DUBOIS (12-0-1) W TERRI HARPER( 16-2-2). SUPER BANTAM: ELLIE SCOTNEY (11-0) W (11-0) W MAYELLI FLORES (13-1-SUPER WELTER: CHANTELLE CAMERON (21-1) W MICHAELA KOTASKOVA (11-0-2). SUPER FLY: IMRA GARCIA (25-5-1) W EMMA DOLAN (8-1). Dubois vs. Harper DUBOIS retains her WBC and WBO belts and wins HARPER’S WBO title in a unifier. DuBois took ownership of the centre of the ring and used strong jabbing to maintain that dominance. Harper connected with a good right in the second but a left dropped Harper in the sixth. Harper was rocked in the eighth and cut over her left eye in the same round. Harper fought back hard in the ninth and tenth taking the fight to Dubois but it was not enough. Scores 98-91 twice and 97-92 for Dubois. The 25-year-old Dubois seems to improve with every fight. Harper was in her thirteenth world title fight. Scotney vs. Flores SCOTNEY outpoints a limited but brave and strong WBA champion FLORES to add that title to the IBF, WBC and WBO titles she already holds. No study time here as Flores immediately drove forward with Scotney on the back foot connecting with counters from both hands. Flores started the second in the same way but her attacks were crude and Scotney kept her cool blocking the Mexican’s shots and catching Flores with hooks. That remained the pattern of the fight as Flores just kept coming walking through everything and having some success but the accuracy and timing was coming from Scotney. Flores never stopped marching forward but Scotney was every bit as productive when she stood and traded and there were plenty of fierce exchanges over the closing rounds of an entertaining scrap. Scotney won 100-80 on each of the three cards. An impressive mature performance from Scotney. Cameron vs. Kotaskova CAMERON outpoints KOTASKOVA to become a two-weight division champion. Cameron was jumping from super light to super welter and was in her first three minute round fight and the first three minute round female world title fight in Britain. She almost pitched a shut-out as she targeted Kotaskova’s body from the start. Kotaskova was competitive over the first three rounds but from there it was Cameron’s fight. She jabbed strongly and switched her attacks well and at times a stopper looked possible but Kotaskova hung in there despite tiring badly and deserved voice credit for her bravery. Cameron won on scores of 99-91 twice and 100-90. She remains the only fighter with a win over Katie Taylor in the professionals and her next target is Mikaela Mayer, another two-weight world champion. It was a brave effort from Czech Kotaskova in lasting the distance. Garcia vs. Dolan Mexican GARCIA floors and stops DOLAN in three rounds in an IBF title defence. Dolan made an aggressive start forcing Garcia back with jabs and firing rights. Garcia looked crude but was dangerous with her southpaw lefts. Dolan was boxing uncomfortably enough in the second until she was caught with a left in an exchange. She froze and then pitched forward and down in a delayed reaction. She was up at four but a combination dropped her on her back. Again she was up quickly and made it to the bell. She bravely tried to take the fight to Garcia in the second but a left put her down. She beat the count and convinced the referee she could continue but when another punch staggered her the towel came in from her corner. Only Garcia’s sixth inside the distance win but even then she punched too hard for Dolan. LAS VEGAS, NV, USA; LIGHT: ANDRES CORTES (25-0) W EDISON GARCIA (23-2). LIGHT: MARK MAGSAYO (29-2) W TKO 5 FEARGAL McCRORY (17-2). FEATHYER: AZAT HOVHANNISYAN (23-6) W EDUARDO BAEZ (25-8-2). Cortes vs. Garcia CORTES wins a unanimous decision over GARCIA in a fight that never really caught alight. Garcia was deducted a point for holding in the fourth and Cortes won on scores of 97-92, 96-93 and 95-94. Cortes was rated WBO 4 and WBC 5 but he might lose those rankings for fighting on a Zuffa show and indicating he wanted face Mark Magsayo for the Zuffa lightweight title. Magsayo vs. McCrory MAGSAYO stops McCRORY in the fifth. McCrory was always looking to take the fight to Magsayo and although he was landing some good shots Magsayo was landing more and better. In the fourth Magsayo nailed the incoming McCrory with a booming right that sent McCrory staggering backwards across the ring to the ropes. Magsayo tried to capitalise on that but was a bit wild with his punches and McCrory recovered and drove Masayo back connecting with clubbing rights until Masayo almost decapitated McCrory with a counter at the bell. Masayo connected with a pair of good rights and then surprisingly the towel came in from McCrory’s corner which enraged McCrory. Looks as though Magsayo will go for the fight with Cortes for the Zuffa belt. Hovhannisyan vs. Baez HOVHANNISYAN takes a majority decision over BAEZ. Both needed a boost asHovhannisyan was 1-3 in his last 4 fights and Baez was 2-2 in his. Hovhannisyan got the decision on scores of 97-93 and 96-94 with the third card reading 95-95. APRIL 3 ALTRINCHAM, ENGLAND: PAT BROWN (6-0) W TKO 8 VASYL DUCAR (19-8-2). SUPER WELTER: WILLIAM CROLLA (10-1) W TKO 7 GLENN BYRNE (7-1-1). LIGHT: ROBBIE COLEMAN (8-1) W PTS 10 JOSH BLENKIRON (8-011). Brown vs. Ducar BROWN gets in some rounds as he scores three knockdowns on the way to finishing DUCAR in the eighth. Brown was jabbing well and mixing his attacks. Ducar showed some brief flashes of aggression but was too slow to be a threat. If danger came from anywhere it was Brown getting careless. Brown steadied himself and put Ducar down with a double left hook to body and head in the fifth. Ducar made it to his feet and the bell went. A right uppercut sent Ducar down again in the sixth but again he survived and manged to land a few shots when Brown was careless. Brown ended it in the eighth with Ducar dropping to sit on the ropes under an attack and when he stood up the referee stopped the fight. Olympian Brown has won all six fights by KO/TKO and this is the first time he has had to go past four round for a win. He collected the vacant IBF Inter-Continental and WBA International titles. Crolla vs. Byrne CROLLA recovers from a near disastrous start to stop BYRNE in the seventh. After a tight first round a right from Byrne unhinged Crolla’s legs and he was down three times in the round only just being saved by the bell. Crolla recovered and the third and fourth were close. It looked as though it was over again when Crolla was floored by a right in the fifth but again he survived and there was some indications of Byrne tiring. Byrne was gassed in the seventh as they traded punches a straight right form Crolla sent Byrne down heavily on his back and the referee quickly signalled the fight was over. Byrne went to hospital after the fight but was conscious and reported to be fine. Many felt that the fight should have been stopped after the third knockdown in the second round. Blenkiron vs. Coleman COLEMAN gets a revenge win as he takes a split decision over BLENKIRON. These two clashed in January with Blenkiron winning a narrow points decision and collecting the vacant BBB of C Northern Area title. This time Coleman took a split decision on scores of 97-93 and 97-94 against 96-94 for Blenkiron. TEMECULA, CA, USA: MINIMUM: PEDRO TADURAN (20-4-1) W KO 7 GUSTAVO PEREZ (16-2,1 ND) MIDDLE: LAZARO LORENZANA( 20-0) W PTS 10 ESNEIKER CORREA (16-6-3). LIGHT: EMMANUEL PACQUIAO JR. (1-0-1) W KO 2 DARRICK GATES (0-2).  Taduran vs. Perez Filipino TADURAN makes a successful third defence of the IBF title as he stops Mexican PEREZ in the seventh round. Sharp jabbing from Taduran had Perez on the back foot. Perez boxed neatly but Taduran connected with a couple of lefts at the end of the round. The pattern was the same over the second but in the third Taduran upped the pressure and Perez was getting the worst of the exchanges as Tauran connected with some vicious lefts to the body. Taduran was relentless in the fourth hunting down Perez and banging home more serious body punishment’s A left to the body had Perez backing off in pain but he recovered and fought back until Taduran drove home a straight left to the body. Perez dropped to kneel on the floor. Taduran looked to have landed a punch when Perez was kneeling and Peréz fell on his back. He managed to get up but after the count he went down again under some searing body punches from Taduran. He was up at eight and lasted the remaining seconds in the round. Taduran hunted Perez down in the fifth but Perez boxed with real skill, circling the ring constantly changing direction and spinning away whenever Taduran pinned him against the ropes. Those skills almost got him through the sixth but with only seconds remaining a left dumped him on his rump. He was up before the eight and the bell went. Taduran ended it on the seventh with a left to the body that sent Perez spinning into the ropes and down to his hand and knees. He was up at eight and looked capable of carrying on but the referee stopped the night. With the No 1 and 2 slots vacant in the IBF rankings there might be time for a unification match against fellow-Filipino Mervin Jerusalem. Perez had won his last eight fights. Lorenzana vs. Correa LORENZANA extends his winning record to 20 fights as he outpoints Venezuelan CORREA. After a feeling out first round Lorenzana floored Correa in the second. Things got worse for Correa when he was deducted a point for infractions. Lorenzana looked to have edged the fifth but Correa rallied and had the better of the exchanges over rounds 6, 7 and 8 but Lorenzana had a good ninth to put the decision beyond Correa’s reach but the Venezuelan looked to have nicked the last to make it close. Scores 98-91 and 96-93 for Lorenzana and 96-93 for Correa. WBC Silver title holder Lorenzana, a sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao, will be looking to break into the ratings this year. Correa was coming off draws against then unbeaten fighters Michael Fontanez and Eric Priest  Pacquiao vs. Gates PACQUIAO gets his first win in the paid ranks with a second round stoppage of fellow-novice GATES. The Pacquiao name is so strong financially that it makes no sense to take any risks with Manny’s son. A drab draw in Pacquiao’s first fight against an opponent having his first fight was disappointing but Gates was a very safe choice having been beaten inside a round by a fighter with a 1-0 record. Gates met the requirements and the contest was stopped after Pacquiao scored two knockdowns in the second round to register his first win. ALLENTOWN, PA, USA: LIGHT: ABRAHAM MONTOYA (24-7-1) W PTS 10 ANTONIO PEREZ (11-1). BANTAM: EMANUEL MORENO (13-0) W PTS 8 FRANCISCO PORTILLO (20-13-2, 1 ND). Montoya vs. Perez MONTOYA wins the vacant WBC USA title with a points victory over previously unbeaten PEREZ. Montoya took the fight to the less experienced Perez from the start. The rounds were close Perez had the better skills and scored well when he could create some punching room and Montoya worked hard to nullify Perez’s skill edge. Neither fighter was ever in any trouble and it really was anyone’s fight going into the tenth. Cruelly the win went to Montoya on the basis of a punch that knocked Perez off balance and his gloves touched the canvas making it a 10-8. Scores 96-93 and 95-94 for Montoya and 95-94 for Perez. Montoya is 2-2 in his last 4 contests which includes a win over Joseph Diaz. Perez had scored a victory against then unbeaten Antonio Williams but this is only his second fight in almost two years. Moreno vs. Portillo MORENO comes through a testing fight with a unanimous decision over PEDROZA. Moreno boxed hs way to victory. Pedroza kept surging forwards but Moreno boxed with skill and built a good lead before tiring late. Scores 78-73, 77-74 and 76-75 for Moreno, a former US National Championships bronze medallist. Pedroza had gone the distance with Gary Antonio Russell and Jason Moloney. APRIL 4 TOKYO, JAPAN: Light: KENICHI OGAWA (32-2-1, 1 ND) W PTS 10 RHOVEX CAPULOY (14-5-3).SUPER WELTER: RYOTA TOYOSHIMA (23-3-1) W TKO 9 CARLO BACARO (14-2). Ogawa vs. Capuloy OGAWA takes a unanimous decision over Filipino southpaw CAPULOY. Ogawa won the first two rounds scoring freely with both hands against an oddly passive Capuloy. The third was a bit more even and Capuloy had a good fourth in what had become a competitive fight. Ogawa swept the middle rounds but was cut over his left eye in a clash of heads and a left hook in the ninth had him on shaky pins. He recovered and landed the better punches in the tenth to win on scores of 99-91 twice and 98-92. Now 38, former IBF super featherweight title holder Ogawa has won his last six fights and is No 3 with the WBO and has dreams of yet another title shot. Toyoshima vs. Bacaro TOYOSHIMA scores a late stoppage over BACARO This fight got off to a slow start as both fighters were in a cautious mode. When things heated up Toyoshima was scoring with his trade mark left hooks to the body. He built a winning lead with those body attacks but decided not to rely on the judges and in the ninth hammered home a straight right that dropped Bacaro to the canvas and the referee stopped the fight. Toyoshima was defending the WBO Asia Pacific belt and makes it 13 wins by KO/TKO. Bacaro’s only other defeat is a third round kayo by unbeaten Russian Pavel Sosulin. BROVARI, UKRAINE: SUPER LIGHT: IGNACIO IRRIBARREN (16-0-1) W DISQ 10 ARAM FANILAN (26-3). SUPER LIGHT: FRANCISCO SANDOVAL (13-1-1) W PTS 10 VIKTOR POSTOL (33-6). Iribarren vs. Faniian On a bad night for the locals FANILAN throws away his WBO Global title as he is disqualified for punches to the back of the head gifting Argentinian IRIBARREN the title. Fanilan was in front 88-82 on two cards and 87-83 on the other. After drawing his first fight Iribarren, the Argentinian No 2 lightweight, has now won 16 in a row. Postol vs. Sandoval Former WBC super lightweight champion POSTOL nears the end of the rod as he losses a split decision against SANDOVAL. Scores 97-93 twice for Sandoval and 97-93 for Postl but Sandoval, who at 21 was half Postol’s age, was a clear winner. ALBUQUERQUE, NM: USA: FLY: ABRAHAM PEREZ (14-0) W PTS 10 ESNETH DOMINGO (22-5). Young local PEREZ wins ever round against Filipino DOMINGO. Scorers 100-90 on the three cards. Perez, a former National Golden Gloves champion, adds the IBF Inter-Continental title to the NABF title he already has. Domingo went 16-1 at the start of his career but tougher opposition has put a few blemishes on his record. FIGHT OF THE WEEK (Significance): Plenty of title fights all significant in varying degrees FIGHT OF THE WEEK (Entertainment): Wilder vs. Chisora two old lions ignoring age to put on a great scrap. FIGHTER OF THE WEEK: Tied Denzel Bentley and Vidal Riley for their title wins. PUNCH OF THE WEEK: The right from William Croilla that crowned his achievement of coming off the floor four times to win. UPSET OF THE WEEK: No biggies ONE TO WATCH: British Olympian heavyweight Pat Brown 6-0 with all 6 wins by KO/TKO OBSERVATION: Rosette(s): To those who fought this week whether winning or losing showed age is just a number: Dereck Chisora 42, Viktor Postl 42, Yuichi Ideta 41, Deontay Wilder 40, Hisashi Kato, 40 Tsukuru Midorikawa 39 Kenichi Ogawa 38, Mateusz Masternak 38, Yukinori Oguni 37. Red Card(s): Belatedly to the WBO. When Zhanibek Alimkhanuly the IBF and WBO champion tested positive for a banned substance the IBF stripped him but the WBO only suspended him so chickened out. They do not licence fighters so can only suspend him from fighting for their titles. If he tested positive he should be stripped. So this weekend Denzel Bentley only won the interim WBO title when if they had taken the action they should have Bentley would be the real WBO champion. It is quite common for the interim champion to never get a shot at the real title. 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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