With the proliferation of world champions in boxing?s 17 weight classes, no longer can boxing fans identify with one titleholder. Long gone are the days when one fighter was recognized as ruler of a specific division.
At least Showtime has tried to ease the confusion with the super-middleweight and bantamweight tournament-type matches it has run the past two years.
True, the multiple division champions continue to exist, but the Showtime tournament has made an effort to pair the top fighters in the respective classes.
The super-middleweight bouts feature six fighters in a group-stage format, and four bantamweights have fought through a single-elimination structure. Ghana?s Joseph Agbeko and Mexico?s Abner Mares won their respective bantamweight elimination bouts and will fight for the tournament title Saturday night in Los Angeles.
?If you come out of the tournament as the winner, then you?re going to be the best bantamweight in the world,? Agbeko said. ?I think this tournament gives us a chance to prove ourselves and show we?re the best bantamweights.?
A two-time IBF champion, Agbeko (28-2, 22 KOs) reclaimed his belt with a victory over Colombia?s Yohnny Perez in his tournament semifinal bout Dec. 11. On the same card, Mares (21-0-1, 13 KOs) reached the final after his split decision win over Armenia?s Vic Darchinyan.
Perez (20-1-1, 14 KOs) and Darchinyan (35-3-1, 27 KOs) will meet in a consolation bout Saturday before the Agbeko-Mares fight.
?It?s helped me tremendously to get myself known out there,? Mares said of the tournament. ?For me, it worked out great. If they keep going with any other division it will definitely help not just the fighters but boxing as well.?
Although hampered by the departure of three of fighters, the super-middleweight tournament is now in the semifinals. Miami?s Glen Johnson (51-14-2, 35 Kos), a late tournament entry, will face Carl Froch (27-1, 20 KOs) in one of the semifinal bouts June 4 in Atlantic City. The other semifinal on May 14 will match WBA champion and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward (23-0, 13 KOs) and Arthur Abraham (32-2, 26 KOs).
Change of plans
Miami native Andre Berto and Puerto Rico?s Juan Manuel Lopez looked to solidify future marquee fights in their respective bouts Saturday. Instead, Berto and Lopez will now seek to overcome their first professional losses.
Berto, who lives in Winter Haven, lost a unanimous decision against Victor Ortiz in his WBC welterweight title defense Saturday night in Mashantucket, Conn.
Each fighter scored two knockdowns in the thrilling 12-round bout, but Ortiz (29-2-2) landed the more telling shots and at a busier pace. For Berto, who was in the mix as a possible opponent for Manny Pacquiao, it was his first loss after starting his career with 27 consecutive wins.
Meanwhile, the anticipated fight between Lopez and fellow featherweight and Miami resident Yuriorkis Gamboa lost some of its luster after Mexico?s Orlando Salido scored an eighth-round technical knockout over Lopez in Puerto Rico.
Salido, who dropped Lopez in the fifth, pressed Lopez on a corner midway through the eighth and landed a flurry of unanswered combinations. Referee Roberto Ramirez stepped in between both fighters and stopped the bout at 1:39 of the round, earning Salido (30-11-2, 23 KOs) the WBO featherweight.
Lopez (30-1) and Gamboa had been mentioned to meet in a bout for the past year. With Lopez now wanting an immediate rematch with Salido, Gamboa might set his sights on Chris John, the division?s other noteworthy fighter.
An eight-year world champion, John (45-0-2) retained his WBA title with a unanimous decision over Daud Yordan on Sunday in John?s native Indonesia.
One of Nicaragua?s newest hopefuls makes his South Florida debut Saturday night. Carlos Buitrago, who fights in the 105-pound straw-weight division, will fight in a card at the Dade County Youth Fair Grounds in west Miami-Dade.
Buitrago, 19, has won his first 17 professional bouts, 12 by knockout. Buitrago?s opponent will be announced later in the week.
Change of venue
The Badia Spices Friday Night Fights monthly series will have a new location for its next card, promoter Ramiro Ortiz said. The first six shows were at the Magic City Casino, but the resumption of dog racing at the facility in June will require the move to another location. According to Ortiz, the next show will be in June.
