boxrec

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/d/dd/Lucasbrowne350.jpgAussie banger Lucas ‘Big Daddy’ Browne (19-0) will be looking for title fights in 2014 after he ended this year with a knockout. Browne despatched New Orleans-born Kiwi Clarence Tillman inside two rounds at the Melbourne Pavilion in Flemington on Friday night. After a patient opening two minutes, Lucas began to target to the body before homing in on Tillman's head. Two heavy rights sent him to the canvas and his corner threw the towel in before the referee could complete a count. The victory keeps Browne on course for a mandatory shot at the Commonwealth heavyweight title, recently vacated by David Price. "I'm really happy with how I've gone this year," Lucas said. "I worked on a few different things for this fight. Mostly the left rip to the body and I think that it showed. Last time I fought him it was only my sixth or seventh fight. I think I showed my improvement. "I know next year is going to be huge and I can't wait. I'd like to thank Hatton Promotions for the faith that they've shown in me. A special thanks to my fans both here in Australia and of course in the UK and Ireland.” More...

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/5/5f/Howe_David.JPGSheffield heavyweight David Howe (10-2) was knocked out by Lithuanian Imantas Davidaitis (2-3) in the second round of a six twos at the Ice Arena, Sheffield. Howe, 6ft 8ins, came into the ring more than three stones heavier than his opponent but was stunned when a hook from Davidaitis found his whiskers before the Luthuanian followed in with two more punches to send him down. In a local derby for a Masters middlewight belt, Liam 'Cannonball' Cameron (15-3) was outpointed 95-96 by Rod Smith. Cameron was given a count in the third round. Elsewhere on the bill, Driffield Troll Hunter Curtis Woodhouse (21-6) was kept busy with a six round points win over Poland's Arek Malek (13-64-4), Nottinghamshire super bantamweight Leigh Wood recorded a four round shutout over Lithuanian Simas Volosinas (4-14). Barnstaple middleweight Tommy Langford (7-0) remained unbeaten with a six round point win over Pocklington Rocket Harry Matthews (12-11-2), and Rossington southpaw Maxi Hughes (10-1-1) came out on to against Gloucester's Andy Harris (3-10) after an accidental head clash left Harris cut over the left eye. It was halted in the fifth round after a doctor's inspection. The action will be available on the Coldwell TV app. More...

The last show of 2013 in Wales takes place this Friday 13th at the Sport Wales National Centre, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. It is presented by Mark Prior and Warrior Promotions. If you're superstitious then Friday 13th has a bad meaning and this has been the case; with the original line-up being hit by injuries and withdrawals. The main event should have been a clash for the Welsh area Cruiserweight title but a back injury, late in the day, forced Wayne Brooks out. His opponent Craig 'The Kid' Kennedy (6-0), still fights on and even offered to fight a Heavyweight. Fortunately, matchmaker Steve 'Sammy' Sims found a late replacement in Iain Jackson (3-16-2) of Brighton, Sussex. This will be Cardiffian Kennedy's seventh bout, this year, since his début back in February. He has four stoppage victories, to his name, and will surely be looking to add the fifth in front of his home fans. Kennedy fights out of the orthodox stance, is a boxer-puncher and agile on his feet. It's been a frustrating week, for him, but the Steve Robinson trained prospect will know that he can't afford any slip-ups. It is a shame for 'The Kid' that he doesn't get the chance to fight for the Welsh title, though the popular fighter looks to have a bright future and titles will, surely, be regularly contested over the coming years. The undercard features another two of Steve Robinson's boxers – his son Francis Luke and prospect Peter Aston. 23-year-old Francis Luke Robinson (4-1) has been out of the ring for 18 months, due to injuries, and makes his comeback against Swansea trier Matthew Ashmole (0-15). The bout is in the light-middleweight division and over four rounds. It would be a big surprise, if young Robinson didn't add a 'W' to the win column. Peter Ashton (1-1), is looking to get back to winning ways, after losing a close but controversial decision to Thomas Jarvis, in his last bout. Ashton represented Wales, at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, in Manchester but took a long break from the sport, after losing in the Welsh ABA finals to Robbie Turley. He turned professional in July, of this year, beating veteran journeyman Matt Seawright over four rounds. In an all Cardiff affair, he faces Tom Price (0-2). Price has been stopped in both of his professional bouts, in 2013, and will be looking to improve and get his career onto a winning track. You would have to back former amateur star Ashton to get back to winning ways. Fans will be treated to a rare talent in 18-year-old prospect Romeo Romaeo (1-0), the Bristol born boxer of Italian heritage has been hailed as a future star by Spencer Oliver (former EBU European super bantamweight champion). The flamboyant, switch-hitting youngster always enters the ring in fantastic shape and has shown agility, power and speed. Former British featherweight champion, Steve 'Sammy' Sims told me that Romeo is a special talent and compared him to Chris Eubank and Naseem Hamed – very high praise indeed. The Bristol native made his début, at the end of November, when scoring a second round knock-out of Latvian Andrejs Podusovs (4-6) at the Millennium Hotel, Mayfair, London. Romaeo had his opponent down in both rounds. It is a credit to him that he is back in the ring, so soon, and he will likely dazzle the crowd with another entertaining display. There is certainly a buzz about the youngster, in the sport, and he is one to watch. 21-year-old Tony Dixon, of Mountain Ash faces St. Albans Danny 'The Devil' Murphy, in a four round welterweight bout to complete the line-up of bouts on the show. Dixon is undefeated in three, while Murphy has one three of his four paid bouts. The bout is likely to be closely competitive and it will be interesting to see who triumphs on the night. Also, on the night will be a three round exhibition between Mitch Buckland (6-0) and Craig Woodruff (5-2). The two know each other well having fought twice, in the paid ranks. Buckland has been the victor, twice, and I'm sure this exhibition will be entertaining and another chapter in this growing rivalry. Tickets are still available for the show and can be purchased on the door. Doors open from 7.30pm on Friday 13th December. More...

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/1/1c/Sturmbarker.jpgBy Chris Walker: Did Darren Barker’s epic gamble pay off? Well that all depends on what the desired outcome was when the Barking man placed his risky wager and opted to put his recently acquired IBF middleweight strap on the line on unforgiving German soil against decorated veteran, Felix Sturm. There was no soft gimme for Barker. No arena sell-out entitled ‘The Homecoming’ and no heroes applause for one of boxing’s good guys after the rollercoaster classic against resilient Aussie, Daniel Geale, when Barker rose from the brink of disaster to rip the championship from the man who had done the almost impossible by defeating Sturm in his adopted homeland. Instead of the aforementioned homecoming event, Barker chose security. An astronomical figure by today’s standards was apparently offered up by Sturm’s team and the impact of defending the title in Germany became a crucial talking point in the fight’s build-up. In a talent-laden division where high pay days against Gennady Golovkin and Sergio Martinez bring painful risk, the reward ratio against Sturm screamed ‘major opportunity’ to the point where a top fighter puts his hands on his ears. Barker was heading into a hostile environment, but the viciousness awaiting him there seemed a tamer obstacle. Sturm’s recent showings against Barker’s British rivals, Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray, gave indicators that the man who shook Oscar De La Hoya back in 2004 was on the slide. Losing efforts against Geale and fellow Australian, Sam Soliman, confirmed what most had already predicted - Sturm was dimming and was no longer the formidable force that was seldom tested at 160lbs. (The Soliman loss was later changed to a No Contest after traces of a banned substance appeared on Soliman’s post fight drug test). Barker was set to receive a career high payday, following a career best performance against a guy coming towards the end of his career. Or so it seemed. For the short duration that last Saturday’s contest in Stuttgart occurred, Sturm had probably never looked better. Left hook leads and one of boxing’s most beautiful jabs gave the Bosnian-born star an ideal start and that momentum followed in what turned out to be a distressing second round for Barker. A trip to the canvas was followed by an uncomfortable stare back to cornerman, Tony Sims, and the occasional touch of a problematic hip proved that Barker was only seconds away from disaster. Sturm, a seasoned professional, ignored for his opponent’s woe and continued with his assault. Further attacks commenced and a sensible intervention from Sims ensued. Barker had been forced to earn every penny of his record breaking purse. The immediate aftermath of Barker’s defeat was dominated by the potential retirement of the Matchroom star following a life in boxing that has brought an equal measure of triumph and tragedy. Barker’s setbacks, both personal and professional, have been detailed by the sporting media. No-one will begrudge the man the chance to collect his hefty cheque and enjoy a life where he no longer needs boxing. From a selfish point of view, disappointment is intact because we’ll probably never get to see Barker test his credentials against British counterparts Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray. A fantastic series of gripping drama has been stolen from the domestic boxing public for one reason or another. Eddie Hearn and Matchroom’s steering of Barker from injury prone contender to the higher echelons of the glory-steeped middleweight league was guidance of the highest order. It’s just a shame that the journey went full circle on a sad December night. http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/b/b0/Liamsmith.jpgLiam Smith - a professional performance in many ways One could have forgiven Liverpool’s Liam Smith for a sloppy or unfocused performance on Saturday night. On a show that was originally set to feature a hatrick of Lonsdale straps being defended by a unique breed of scrapping siblings, ‘Beefy’ became a somewhat lone wolf as his older brothers sought new ventures away from the promotional group that had served three of the four Smith brothers since all made their professional debuts. Since Paul and Stephen have chosen to plot their respective paths to further glory away from the familiar force that once guided them, a lot has been said and done. Statements have been made, action has been taken, and hard-earned titles have been taken away. Amongst all this mess, Liam has done nothing but keep his focus on the immediate threat that faced him, Heywood’s Mark Thompson, and that was evident as the Joe Gallagher student destroyed his challenger in four one-sided rounds on Saturday night. In a climate where boxers are never more than 140 characters away from an inquisition or grilling regarding current topics, Liam paid no attention to the drama that was ongoing around him. For that outstanding show of his professionalism, he was rewarded handily at the weekend. His conduct should be an example to all who wish to claim similar rewards. More...

Ryan Barrett hit the road last weekend and returned home from Neuwied, Germany sporting the WBU Welterweight title. He claimed the belt with a 3rd round KO win over former foe, Kenyan Geoffrey Munika. This was Ryan’s second attempt at winning the WBU title after losing a points decision against Scotland’s Willie Limond back in May 2009. Ryan's career peaked winning the English super-featherweight title in October 2008 beating Femi Fehintola in the 3rd round of their scheduled ten rounder. Now the dust has settled and Ryan has returned home to England, BoxRec News caught up with the Thamesmead fighter to see how his latest win stacks up against the other highlights of his career. “It was more satisfying than winning the English title back in 2008. Don’t get me wrong it was a great moment winning the English title but just getting the chance to win a world title, even though it’s not one of the major titles, it’s still huge for me. This fight was all about getting revenge over Munika, I had to make sure I got it right second time round. “He came out early and was pressing the action until I landed a left hand to the solar plexus and he went down and couldn’t beat the ten count.” So after reversing the 2011 defeat against Munika, what’s next for Ryan? “My first defence of the belt will be in Berlin on the 24th of January, I think I will be fighting a guy called Sarfo Tyson. If I win that fight I should be scheduled to defend again in March. They are keeping me busy which is just what I need.” On the domestic welterweight scene Frankie Gavin holds the British title and Bradley Skeete has recently been crowned English champion, so does Ryan see his boxing future on home soil or fighting on the road? “I would like to fight back here in the UK but I don’t think there will be too many big opportunities for me. I would love to challenge for a British title again but I just don’t see it happening. I think for the time being I will just crack on in Germany. I am getting treated so well over there, they are really looking after me which is helping to push my career on.” More...

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/8/82/Connor_goodjohn042.jpgBy Mark Turley: Students of boxing history will be only too aware of the great trilogies served up by some of the sport’s legendary names. Zale-Graziano, Ali-Frazier, Leonard-Duran, Gatti-Ward, Barrera-Morales; we could be here all day. More often than not these three-part epics consisted of championship fights in which each man won one apiece, creating the necessity for a rubber match. And very often the heated, long term rivalries between the fighters made for brutal and compelling action. Unlike those glorious battles, Saturday’s English light welterweight title eliminator between Carshalton’s Danny Cassius Connor (10-7-1) and Tyler Goodjohn (9-2) is unlikely to make its way into any Boxing encyclopedias or fight-of-the-century lists. In some ways though, it fits a similar pattern, holding plenty of interest for those who follow the domestic scene. Their first meeting, in March 2011, took place early in both careers, when Goodjohn was 3-0 and Connor was 0-2-1. Goodjohn took a decision over six twos which Connor still disputes. “It was a home result.” Connor says. “Goodjohn was trained by Tony Sims at the time and the fight was in Essex. He didn’t do anywhere near enough to take it. But we all know how it goes. I should be 2 and 0 with him.” Their second meeting, just over a year later at York Hall, saw Connor bring his career back from the dead and come away with his first belt, winning the vacant British Masters by a point over ten rounds. “Goodjohn nearly quit after that.” Connor says, “he went off to train with Spartacus in Ipswich because Tony Sims dropped him. But he came back to work with Peter Sims (Tony’s brother) in the end and now he’s still around. You know as a man, I don’t have a problem with Tyler, whenever I’ve come across him he’s always been respectful, but as a boxer I really want to beat him and put this thing to bed.” It seems that some fighters, like those listed at the top of this article, were destined to have their careers entwined. It is difficult to think of Ali without Frazier or Gatti without Ward. In the same way, at a different level, the twists and turns of their respective professional journeys just seem to keep bringing Goodjohn and Connor together. And if the result on Saturday is another close or disputed decision, it is more than likely they will meet again. Danny Cassius Connor, at only 27, is better placed to talk about twists and turns than most. The likeable South Londoner speaks with honesty, humility and humour – a rare combination, about a career that was almost over before it started. After five professional fights he had one draw and four defeats to his name and was as good as finished. So how does a fighter start like that and end up picking up titles? (As well as the Masters, Connor previously won and defended the Southern Area Light Welterweight belt.) “I know my record looks crap” he says “but the thing is, I said from the beginning I didn’t want to fight journeymen. I didn’t see the point. When I first started out in the pro game I looked at guys like Johnny Greaves and Jason Nesbitt and thought, why bother? Now I understand a little bit more about what they do and how it works, but I begrudged this whole idea of having to pay for my opponent. People on the outside don’t understand, but you’ve got to sell the tickets to cover the house and pay the wages of the guy you’re fighting. Then you get a slice of what’s left. Anyway, I decided to be different and go in with other prospects instead. I thought we could both sell a few tickets and set things up more evenly. For my first fight with Daryl Setterfield I sold about 100 and so did he. I guess we were both home fighters that night, which is probably why they scored it a draw!” “My second contest I was offered to go in with Adam Battle at light middle. It was too heavy for me - I was a fat bastard at the weight, to be honest, but at the time I didn’t mind, because I wasn’t living the life anyway. Of course I lost that one. And that’s how it was for me in the early days. I had my own ideas of how to do it all, but I wasn’t dedicated or committing myself properly.” “But things changed suddenly after my fifth fight. I went down to the TKO gym and my trainer, Alec (Wilkey) came up to me all serious and asked if he could speak to me. I could tell by his face there was something going on. Anyway he told me he wasn’t going to train me anymore. He was fed up with me. He said ‘You’ve got ability, but you don’t want it enough.’ I was desperate, to be honest and I pleaded with him. He laid it down and said what I would have to do if we were going to carry on working together. And I listened. I had to. Since then, my career’s been very different.” It certainly has. Since Danny’s heart-to-heart with Alec Wilkey, he has gone 10-3, including back to back victories over much touted prospect Chris Evangelou, the revenge win over Goodjohn and reaching the light-welter prizefighter final in July. In his last fight, in October, he lost the Southern Area title to Tony Owen by one point after being put down in the 9th. If Connor had managed to stay on his feet, he would still be champion. The winner of Saturday’s contest is likely to face either Ricky Boylan or Tony Owen for the English title early next year. But the new, professional Danny Cassius Connor insists he is not looking past his opponent. “I’ve prepared well for this”, he says. I’ve had some great sparring with Peter McDonagh, Gary Corcoran and Dean Byrne, so now its all about Saturday” he says. “I’ve got to settle things with Tyler Goodjohn. Then we’ll see.” Danny Cassius Connor v Tyler Goodjohn features on the Matchroom Christmas Cracker Card this Saturday at the Excel docklands arena. More...

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/d/de/Martinward233.jpgIt was a triumphant night for boxing in the north east of England as Mark Clauzel’s Road to Glory show delivered on what was promised. Headlining the bill was the Commonwealth bantamweight title fight between County Durham’s Martin Ward and Ghana’s Gabriel Odoi Laryea. In a bout that looked tricky on paper, Ward could not have made it easier for himself, although it should be said that it took a disciplined performance to make it so. Laryea came into the fight on an unbeaten run of 18 fights since losing his first two encounters, 11 of those wins by stoppage. Ward was looking to add to his English title at the same weight and word from within the camp was that they were paying Laryea’s power the respect his record deserved. Both men entered the ring looking full of confidence and Laryea was clearly not intimidated by the atmosphere within Newcastle’s Centre for Sport. Promoter Clauzel had pulled none of his own punches in his first promotion, putting on a stunning lights show for the ring entrances and the ring lighting would not have been out of place for a big world title fight. The whole show was extremely polished and the crowd lapped up the whole occasion in what was a fantastic atmosphere. More...

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/0/0a/Ericpic2.jpgFrom Newcastle, where Martin Ward picked up the Commonwealth bantamweight title with a wide points win over tough but crude Gabriel Odoi Laryea, over to Sweet Home Chicago, where Polish cruiser Krzys Wlodarczyk made the sixth defence of his WBC title with a sixth round cut related stoppage of 44 year old Italian hardcase Giacobbe Fragomeni. Behind the Results with Eric ‘Lungo’ Armit. December 4 New York, NY: USA: Middle: Boyd Melson (13-1-1) W PTS 8 Gundrick King (18-11). Feather Luis Rosa (15-0,1ND) W KO 3 Andre Wilson (13-7-1). Middle: Dashon Johnson (15-13-3) W PTS 6 Craig McEwan (22-4-1). Super Middle: Francy Ntetu (11-0) W DIS 3 Julio Garcia (6-5) Melson vs. King Southpaw Melson, 32, extends his unbeaten run to 6 bouts with unanimous verdict over King. Melson was faster, and smarter and always in control. He used good movement to avoid the attacks of King and got through continually with right jabs and straight lefts. The pattern was the same in each round and “Sho-Gun never got a chance to get into the fight. Scores 80-72 from all three judges. King, 35, lost on points to Yuri Foreman in April. Rosa vs. Wilson Puerto Rican prospect Rosa catches up with Wilson in the third and it is all over. Rosa was walking down Wilson from the start and floored him with a left hook in the first. A right put Wilson down in the second and when a left hook landed in the third Wilson was down and out. Seventh win by KO/TKO for the 22-year-old Rosa. He faces a big test against Jorge Diaz in January. Wilson is 2-6 in his last 8 with 5 of those 6 losses by KO/TKO. Johnson vs. McEwan Surprise as Johnson beats once promising McEwan. “Fly Boy” Johnson, 25, was giving away height and reach to the Scot but had no trouble getting inside where he was able to work the body and dictate the fight. Johnson wins on scores of 58-55 twice and 57-56. Johnson had lost 9 of his last 10 fights going in with the lone win being an upset kayo of unbeaten Canadian Adam Trupish in March. After losses to Andy Lee and Peter Quillin southpaw McEwan had tried to revive his career in Scotland but had no success and returned to the States-and defeat. Ntetu vs. Garcia DRC-born Canadian Ntetu had Garcia down from a left hook in the first, but the Puerto Rican refused to fold. They engaged in some furious exchanges in the second but in the third Garcia was continually punching low and after two warnings the referee threw him out on the third foul. Ntetu, 31, represented Canada at the 2007 World Championships. Windhoek, Namibia: Feather: Gottlieb Ndokosho (15-3,1ND) WTKO 7 Kakhaber Avetisian (30-20-1). Super Feather: Abraham Ndaendapo (11-2,1ND) W TKO 2 Mxolisi Nombewu (4-5-1). Middle: Johannes Mwetupunga (13-4) W PTS 10 George Ndlolu. Ndokosho vs. Avetisian Local fighter Ndokosho wins the vacant IBF International title with victory over Georgian. Avetisian won the first round with some quick combination punching but Ndokosho took the second getting through with some hard head shots. Ndokosho was in his stride in the third and landed some hard hooks with Avetisian trying to counter. The Namibian was getting on top but the Georgian continued to battle back when under fire. The pattern stayed the same until the seventh when with Avetisian tiring Ndokosho was handing out steady punishment and Avetisian retired at the end of the round. The 24-year-old Namibian has won his last 6 fights, all inside the distance. Avetisian, 24, had won 5 of his last 6 but against poor local opposition back in Georgia. Ndaendapo vs. Nombewu Local fighter Ndaendapo wins the vacant IBF African title with a controversial victory over South African Nombewu. The Namibian put Nombewu down with a right hook at the end of the first round. Nombewu injured his ankle in the knockdown and after an examination by the ring doctor Nombewu retired. Ndaendapo lost a majority decision to Ndokosho for the Namibian title in 2010 but has 5 wins since then. Local papers had this as the win for Ndaendapo but some sources had it as a No Decision. Mwetupunga vs. Ndlolu The unknown South African give Mwetupunga ten good rounds. The visitor came out firing in the first and there was plenty of action. Up to the half way mark it was a close fight but then Mwetupunga began to score with strength sapping body punches and he closed the fight strongly to take the very close unanimous decision. Scores 98-92, 96-94 and 97-96. Former Australian champion Mwetupunga was bouncing back from losses to Jarrod Fletcher for the Australian title and Wilbeforce Shihepo. No information on Ndlolu. He is not in the BSA ratings, but he put up a good fight here. December 5 Costa Mesa, CA, USA: Heavy: Alex Flores (14-0) W KO 8 Arron Lyons (12-14-1). Light Heavy: Max Vlasov (28-1) W KO 4 Maxell Taylor (18-6-1) Flores vs. Lyons Although it was his first fight for 7 months this looked an easy one on paper for Flores against Lyons but it did not work out that way. Lyons worked inside giving the taller Flores no room and built a lead. It looked like an upset was on the way with Lyons ahead on all cards going into the last round. However, he tired from the pace he had set and finally the heavy punching Flores got his chance. He stunned Lyons and had him staggering on unsteady legs when the fight was stopped. Now 12 wins by KO/TKO, the last 10 in a row, for the 23-year-old 6’4” (193cm) Flores. Lyons, 32, has won only one of his last 9 fights. Vlasov vs. Taylor The big Russian was too strong and too tough for Taylor. After bossing the fight for three rounds Vlasov landed a thunderous right that put Taylor down and out. The 27-year-old 6’3” (190cm) Vlasov makes it 14 wins by KO/TKO and 9 wins since losing a fight, and his high world rating, against Isaac Chilemba in 2011.He has registered wins over Roman Shkarupa(24-2-2), Khoren Gevor and Mark Suarez in that run of 9 wins. Southpaw “General” Taylor, 29, the brother of prospect Emmanuel Taylor, was giving away 5” in height and a lot in power. He has lost 3 of his last 4 fights now. December 6 Northbridge, Australia: Feather: Simpiwe Vetyeka (26-2) W TKO 7 Chris John (48-1-3). Light: Daud Cino Yordan (32-3,1ND) W PTS 10 Sipho Taliwe (21-4-1).Super Feather: Ryan Sermona (16-4) W KO 4 Matt Garlett (11-2). Welter: Jeff Horn (6-0-1) W PTS 6 Naoufel Ben Rabah (37-4) Vetyeka vs. John Big upset as South African breaks John’s unbeaten streak and takes his WBA title. The Indonesian looked on top in the first round as he used his jab to edge the first three minutes. From the second it was the jab of Vetyeka and his speed and movement which dominated the fight. John stumbled a couple of times in the second as he found it difficult to land on Vetyeka and find his range. Vetyeka also kept up a fast pace and refused to stand in front of John making the champion work hard in every round. As John tired Vetyeka was finding gaps and he had John badly shaken in the fifth. In the sixth a hard right put John down. He made it to his feet and the bell went before Vetyeka could follow-up his advantage. Tired and floored John did not come out for the seventh round and Vetyeka won the WBA Super title. The 32-year-old South African dedicated his victory to Nelson Mandela. The 32-year-old “V12” already held the IBO title which he won by defeating John’s fellow Indonesian Daud Yordan in April. The former South African and IBO bantam champion had lost a close decision to Hozumi Hasegawa for the WBC bantam title in 2007 but it looked as though he was close to the end of the road when he lost a split decision to Klaus Mboyane in June last year. Vetyeka was only rated No 14 by the WBA so was not a mandatory challenger. His options may be limited by a WBA decree or by any contractual ties insisted upon by John’s team. However, now he is top of the heap. John, the 34-year-old “Dragon” may roar no more. He ruled the WBA feather division for ten years but had had only one fight in the previous 12 months. Contractually the return may be there if he wants it but it depends on much he has left after 15 years as a pro. Yordan vs. Taliwe IBO champion Yordan got a degree of revenge for Indonesia as he edged out South African Taliwe on a split decision. Yordan took an early lead with his quicker hand speed. Taliwe took the fight to Yordan but lost two points, one for holding and one for low blows. Scores 117-110, 116-110 and 113-114. The 26-year-old Indonesian, who lost to both John and Vetyeka in title fights, had rebounded well with a win over Argentinian Daniel Brizuela in July to win the IBO light title. “Tsunami” Taliwe, a former South African and WBC International super feather champion, had a 12 bout unbeaten streak snapped by Aussie Matt Garlett in May but had come back with a win back home. Sermona vs. Garlett There had been talk of a world title shot next year for Aussie WBC International champion Garlett but those hopes were crushed by a left hook from Filipino Sermona. Garlett started well boxing nicely and scoring with quick combinations. However, he was shaken in the first by a left. Garlett outboxed Sermona over the second and third rounds. Sermona had a better fourth round as they traded hooks but Garlett still did enough to take the round. There was no sign of danger in the fifth until near the end of the round when the Filipino suddenly scored with a crunching southpaw left hook which put Garlett down. He made a gallant effort to get up but after counting to six the referee saw he was not going to make it and waived the fight over. Sermona, 26, lived up to his “Crusher” nickname and he was always going to be a dangerous opponent. He has 9 wins by KO/TKO. He has now won 6 of his last 7 fights with the only loss being to Romanian Viorel Simon in November. Garlett, 28, had won 9 in a row including an impressive victory over Taliwe in May. Now he starts over. Horn vs. Ben Rabah London Olympian Horn continues to look a great prospect. Former double IBF title challenger Ben Rabah started well and used his strength to take the first two rounds, but from the third the classy young Australian champion was in control all the way and took the unanimous decision. Scores 59-55, 58-56, 58-57. The 25-year-old “Hornet” won the Australian title in September by kayoing Samuel Colomban in 78 seconds and Barry Michael seems to have a future champion on his hands. Tunisian-born Ben Rabah, 36, had won 13 in a row following back-to-back losses to Juan Urango and Lovemore Ndou in IBF title fights. Chicago, IL, USA: Cruiser: Krzys Wlodarczyk (49-2-1) W TKO 6 Giacobbe Fragomeni (31-4-2). Light Heavy: Andrzej Fonfara (25-2,1ND) W KO 2 Sam Miller (26-8). Light Welter: Adrian Granados (13-2-2) W TKO 5 Carlos W Velasquez (21-18-1). Light Middle: Jon Gonzalez (17-0-1) W TKO 5 Jaison Palomeque (14-8-1). Light Middle: Henry Coyle (19-2) W PTS 6 Skyler Thompson (12-10,1ND) Wlodarczyk vs. Fragomeni “Diablo” Wlodarczyk retains his WBC title and makes it 2-0-1 in three title fights with Fragomeni. It was a one-sided bout with Wlodarczyk just too strong for the Italian veteran. Fragomeni still had some skills but at 44 no longer had the ability to make use of those skills. Wlodarczyk was on top and outboxing Fragomeni using his jab to force the veteran on the back foot. He looked on his way to a quick win when coming out of a clinch he floored Fragomeni with a left hook in the fourth round. The challenger also suffered a bad cut under his left eye from the punch. Fragomeni gave it a go in the fifth throwing left hooks but it was not enough. He survived until the end of the sixth when the doctor examined the cut and advised that the fight be stopped. Sixth defence in his second reign as champion for the 32-year-old Pole who has shown interest in moving up to heavyweight. Former champion Fragomeni, 44, was lucky to get another chance with his split points win over Silvio Branco being his only real achievement since losing to Wlodarczyk for the vacant title in 2010. Fonfara vs. Miller Easy night for Chicago-based Pole Fonfara. He floored Colombian Miller in the first and after shipping a rabbit punch from the Colombian in the second he then landed a left hook that sent Miller crashing down for the count. Fonfara continues a run that has seen him unbeaten in 16 fights winning 13 by KO/TKO. Wins over Glen Johnson and former WBA champion Gabriel Campillo in August have seen the 26-year-old Fonfara rise to IBF No 1 and WBO No 2. Miller, 34, was 2-3 in his last five fights with losses to Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez, Alex Theran and Marco Antonio Periban. Granados vs. Velasquez “El Tigre” Granados had too much power for Nicaraguan Velasquez and forced a retirement at the end of the fifth round. After being on top over the first four rounds Granados floored Velasquez twice in the fifth and the Nicaraguan retired at the end of the round. The Illinois-born Granados makes it 9 wins by KO/TKO with his only loss in his last 15 fights being a majority decision against unbeaten Frankie Gomez with a split draw against Kermit Cintron in March raising his profile way up. Velasquez, 33, is 3-7 in his last 10 fights and this was his fifth loss by KO/TKO. Gonzalez vs. Palomeque Puerto Rican hope “Mantequilla” Gonzales just punches too hard for outclassed Colombian. The 24-year-old Gonzales had Palomeque down in the first with a body punch and scored another knockdown late in the fourth. Another knockdown in the fifth and it was over. Gonzales, having his first fight for eleven months, and weighing almost 13lbs heavier than in his last fight, has 14 wins by KO/TKO and victories over Billy Lyell and Derek Ennis at light middle but failed to impress in drawing with former WBO light middle champ Serhiy Dzinziruk in September last year. Palomeque, 29, is 3-6 in his last 9 fights with all nine fights ending by KO/TKO. Coyle vs. Thompson “Western Warrior” Coyle returns to action with a unanimous decision over Thompson. The 32-year-old Irishman had Thompson down in the last but had to settle for the decision. Scores 60-53 twice and 59-54. This was his first fight for almost 16 months and he has 9 wins in a row . Thompson 31, has lost 7 of his last eight fights but usually goes the distance. Tokyo, Japan: Fly: Akira Yaegashi (19-3) W PTS 12 Edgar Sosa (49-8). Light Fly: Naoya Inoue (5-0) W TKO 5 Jerson Mancio (18-4-3). Bantam: Ryosuke Iwasa (16-1) W TKO 5 Hiroki Shiino (10-3) . Middle: Ryota Murata (2-0) W TKO 8 Dave Peterson (13-2) Yaegashi vs. Sosa The youth and speed of Yaegashi see him though a dangerous defence. The WBC champion was just too quick for the Mexican veteran and won a unanimous decision. Sosa was looking to get inside but fast, tricky footwork from Yaegashi were frustrating him. Yaegashi was able to score with fast rights and left hooks and although Sosa was continually pressing the champion refused to stand and trade. After four rounds Yaegashi was ahead on all cards with two judges giving him all four rounds and the other judge giving just one round to Sosa. The pattern was the same over the next four rounds with Yaegashi having a dominant seventh. Sosa was not giving up and had more success than in the first four rounds with some good body punches but it was the faster combinations of Yaegashi that were catching the judges eyes. After eight rounds the scores were 80-72, 79-73 and 77-75. As Joe Louis said “they can run but they can’t hide” and Yaegashi could not run forever so the pace of the fight slowed from the ninth with Sosa now able to get though with body shots and Yaegashi being less accurate than before. Yaegashi stemmed the tide of Sosa’s charge with a good tenth, but Sosa took the eleventh with both fighters giving it everything in a last round which could have been scored either way. Sosa had dominated over the last four rounds but it had not been enough. Yaegashi keeps his WBC title on scores of 117-111 twice and 116-112. Second title defence for the 30-year-old champion, who is a former holder of the secondary WBA strawweight title. His only loss in his last 13 fights was to WBC straw champion Kazuto Ioka in June 2012 in a unification match. Now 34, Sosa as usual gave it everything but was just not quick enough to force Yaegashi to fight his fight. He was one of the best light fly champions in the history of the division with eleven defences before losing when a butt from Rodel Mayol fractured his cheek bone. He has also excelled as a flyweight with wins over Wilbert Uicab, Ulises Solis and Giovani Segura but came up short against Pongsaklek for the WBC fly title in 2011. His legacy is ensured and it remains to be seen whether he will get another title shot at flyweight as he could give any of the champions a tough night. Inoue vs. Mancio Highly touted Inoue adds his second title in less than four months. The 20-year-old halted game Filipino Mancio in five rounds to win the vacant OPBF title. He won the JBC title in only his fourth fight and there has been talk of him going for a world title in his next fight. “Monster” has four wins by KO/TKO but is not yet the finished article. Mancio, 26,the GAB champion and OPBF No 2 had won his last 5 fights. Iwasa vs. Shiino WBC No 1 Iwasa again showed his power as he lifted the OPBF title with a fifth round stoppage of champion Shiino. The only loss on the former undefeated Japanese champions record was a tenth round stoppage by the now WBC champion Shinsuke Yamanaka in 2011. The 23-year-old southpaw rebounded from that with 8 wins including a victory over Mexican David De La Mora (24-2). Shiino, 27, the WBC No 8, was making the first defence of his title. He had won 7 of his last 8 fights and reversed the loss in that run. Murata vs. Peterson Japanese “Golden Boy” gets a reality check from Minnesota’s Peterson. After blowing away his first opponent in two rounds the 2012 Olympic gold medallist might have expected to do the same to Peterson. However the American withstood Murata’s attacks until the last round when he was floored and halted. The 27-year-old Murata is an exciting prospect but it will be tougher for him than in the lower divisions as he will have to leave Japan to progress and get a title fight. Peterson, 27, was having his first fight since losing a majority decision to unbeaten Cerreso Fort in June last year. Shelton, WA, USA: Middle: J’Leon Love (16-0,1ND) W KO 6 Lajuan Simon (23-5-2,1ND). Super Middle: Badou Jack (16-0-1) W TKO 6 Rogelio Medina (31-5). Super Feather: Mickey Bey (19-1-1,1ND) W TKO 3 Carlos Cardenas (20-7-1). Light Middle: Chris Pearson (10-0) W KO 1 Acacio Joao Ferreira (14-1-1). Super Middle: Luis Arias (8-0) W TKO 2 Cameron Allen (5-14). Welter: Ashley Theophane (34-6-1) W PTS 6 Robert Osiobe (14-8-4) Love vs. Simon Fighting up at super middle Love struggled to find his form but ended the fight in style. Simon was trying to shift the rust he had accumulated in the two years since being flattened in one round by Gennady Golovkin for the secondary WBA/IBO titles in 2011. Love eventually got his jab working and patiently wore down the Philadelphian before ending the fight with a tremendous right hand shot in the sixth that put Simon down and out. Weight making problems had seen 26-year-old Love banned for using a diuretic for his winning fight against Gabriel Rosado in May (changed to a No Decision) so he may be more comfortable at the higher poundage. Love, a good quality amateur. lost to Shawn Porter in the finals of the 2007 NGG’s. He has 9 wins by KO/TKO. Simon, 34, was unbeaten in his first 24 fights but then lost 4 of his next 6 including an unsuccessful challenge to Arthur Abraham for IBF middle title in 2009. Jack vs. Medina Jack given a tough first four rounds by Mexican Medina. From the fifth Medina started to fade and Jack scored three knockdowns to bring the referee’s intervention in the sixth. The Swedish “Ripper” was having his first fight since drawing with Marco Antonio Periban for the NABF title in September. Periban got a fight for the vacant WBC title, but Jack languishes in 6th position in the WBA ratings. Win No 11 by KO/TKO for 30-year-old Jack who can still fight his way to a title shot. “Porky” Medina, 25, made Jack work hard over those first four rounds but has now lost 3 of his last 4 fights. Bey vs. Cardenas Bey found Cardenas a willing opponent ready to trade with the more talented former amateur star. That proved to be a mistake as Bey exploded left hooks to head and body in the third to get the victory. Bey, 30, was inactive in 2012 and up to now had had a bad 2013. In February he had a win over Robert Rodriguez changed to a No Decision after he tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. His results were the second highest ever recorded for a fighter in Nevada but he got away with a fine of just $1,000 of his $8,000 purse and a three month suspension. Bey was US Under-19 and NGG champion and beat Brandon Rios twice in the 2004 US Olympic Trials but in almost 9 years as a pro has made very little progress. Mexican-based Venezuelan Cardenas, 29, was having his first fight since losing on an eighth round kayo to Edgar Puerta for the WBC Silver feather title in August last year. Pearson vs. Ferreira Former US National amateur champion Pearson continues to look the goods. Ferreira came out looking to make a fight of it and made it interesting for Pearson in early action. However near the end of the round Pearson cut loose and a crunching combination had Ferreira ready to go. The referee did not step in so Pearson added a couple of rights that put Ferreira down and out of the fight. The 23-year-old failed to make it through the Trials for the 2008 or 2012 US Olympic but has looked hot as a pro. This was his second one round demolition job in a row and his fifth in total. Brazilian Ferreira, 27, had won his last eleven fights by KO/TKO but abysmal opposition. Arias vs. Allen “Cuba” Arias gets a needed inside the distance win by halting Michigan’s Allen in two rounds. The 2008/2010 US amateur champion had got into a rut with three points wins in a row but this time he finished it early. The 23-year-old from Milwaukee, trained by Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, beat guys such as Shawn Porter, Tony Harrison, Jesse Hart and Chris Pearson as an amateur but lost to Hart at the Olympic Trials. He now has 4 wins by KO/TKO. Allen is 2-10 in his last 12 fights. Theophane vs. Osiobe Like others before him “Treasure” Theophane, 33, found Osiobe a hard opponent to overcome. The former British light welter champion, who lost a split decision to Danny Garcia in 2010, needed a win after losing a split decision to Pablo Cesar Cano in September. He got one but only on a split decision. Nigerian Osiobe, 35, is finally getting some regular action but is 3-5 in the USA after being in with guys such as Evgeny Gradovich and Rances Barthelemy. General Pinto, Argentina: Light: Paul Barboza (21-3) W PTS 10 Ezequiel V Fernandez (17-1) A nasty, messy fight sees “Bad Boy” Barboza outpoint formerly unbeaten Fernandez to win the vacant WBC Latino title on a majority decision. The fight was not pretty with plenty of head clashes and misdemeanors. It was hard to score but what clean work there was came from southpaw Barboza who won on scores of 96-94 twice and 95-95. Four wins in his last 5 fights for 28-year-old Barboza. In his previous fight in July he lost to Martin A Coggi at light welter, but he is rated No 6 super feather by the FAB-and this fight was at lightweight! Fernandez, 23, the FAB No 6 super feather, had been built against very poor opposition. Edmonton, Canada: Super Middle: Steve Franjic (11-0-1) W PTS 10 Gary Kopas (4-6-1) Local fighter Franjic wins the vacant Canadian title with unanimous decision over No 4 contender Kopas. The first three rounds saw Kopas with a slight edge but Fanjic took the middle rounds as Kopas tired. Over the last two rounds they both tired but with Franjic doing enough to win clearly. Scores 100-90, 97-93 and 96-94. The 26-year-old 6’3” (191cm) “Orangeville Express” is ready for better opposition. The 34-year-old Kopas had never gone past 4 rounds before. Barranquilla, Colombia: Light: Darleys Perez (29-1) W PTS 8 Dunis Linan (22-24-2). Super Bantam: Jose San Martin (12-1-1) W KO 3 Edison Valencia Diaz (20-10) Perez vs. Linan Perez returns for the first time since losing to Yuriorkis Gamboa for the interim WBA title in Canada in June. He took a little while to shake the rust but then had no trouble with fellow-countryman Linan and took the unanimous decision. He had Linan hurt in the fifth but the veteran loser lasted to the finish, just as he did in losing on points to Perez back in 2009. The 30-year-old Perez, a three-time Colombian national champion as an amateur, was a quarter finalist at the 2008 Olympics. Linan, 32, had won his last 5 fights by KO/TKO. San Martin vs. Diaz San Martin extends his unbeaten run to 13 wins with stoppage of veteran Diaz. Now 9 wins by KO/TKO for “El General”. Diaz, 36, was having only his second fight in 6 years. He lost to Leho Ledwaba for the IBF super bantam title in 1999. Villeurbanne, France: Bantam: Omar Lamiri (11-1) W PTS 10 Hassan Azaouagh (15-8). Light Middle: Salim Larbi (18-4-2) W TKO 2 Patrice Sou Toke (17-3) Lamiri vs. Azaouagh Local fighter Lamiri makes successful first defence of his French title with majority verdict over official challenger Azaouagh. Scores 97-93 twice and 95-95. Lamiri, the EBU No 5, had won the title with an upset victory over current European champion Karim Guerfi. Azaouagh, 27, a former French flyweight champion had won 10 of his last 11 fights. Larbi vs. Sou Toke Larbi wins the vacant ABU title with Sou Toke retiring at the end of the second round. The lanky 26-year-old hit the crash barrier after an unbeaten run of 16 fights when losing to Lukas Konecny, Frederic Serre and Antonin Decarie. Burkina Faso’s “Bombardier” Sou Toke, a former ABU welter champion, was having his first fight outside Africa. He lost his WBU title to Charles Manyuchi in June. Massy, France: Cruiser: Jean Marc Monrose (27-7) W TKO 2 Chris Dettinger (18-4-1) Monrose, 32, goes into the lion’s den and comes out with a career reviving win as he halts Dettinger to lift the vacant French title. Despite carrying a roll of fat around his waist had Dettinger under pressure in the first before flooring and halting him in the second. The former national champion had gone 2-6 in his last 8 fights so badly needed a win and this was a big one for him. Local fighter Dettinger, also 32, and also a former national champion, has now lost in three attempts to regain the crown. 8 Frankfurt, Germany: Heavy: Francesco Pianeta (29-1-1) W TKO 2 Robert Teuber (8-1). Cruiser: Kai Kurazawa (31-4) W PTS 10 Marcel Gottschalk (9-6-2). Heavy: Michael Wallisch (11-0) W PTS 10 Lars Buchholz (24-7) Pianeta vs. Teuber This was a gamble that did not pay-off as novice Teuber is crushed by Pianeta. The big Italian-born German-based Pianeta edged the first round and then ended it in the second. He had Teuber hurt early in the second and was battering Teuber against the ropes when he corner threw in the towel. The 6’5” (196cm) southpaw was having his first fight since being halted in six rounds by Wlad Klitschko for the IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO titles in May. Sixteen wins by KO/TKO for the 29-year-old from Southern Italy. Teuber had less than 20 rounds of boxing under his belt before this loss. Kurazawa vs. Gottschalk Kurazawa gave Gottschalk a hard time over the early rounds but then the younger German managed to get into the fight and give a reasonable account of himself. Kurazawa had Gottschalk hurt in the last but did not have the strength left to end the fight. Scores 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92. The 37-year-old German, a former EBU and EU title challenger, took two years out after successive defeats by Antonio Brancaloni and Armin Dollinger in 2007/8 and has run up ten wins since returning. He wins the vacant German International title. Gottschalk came in as a late substitute for Dennis Ronert. He had won 7 in a row but against poor opposition. Wallisch vs. Buchholz With Buchholz having a good few wins by KO/TKO Wallisch took no chances and boxed his way to victory over a very ordinary Buchholz. Only over the last couple of rounds did Wallisch look for a stoppage but Buchholz lasted the distance. Scores 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93 as Wallisch, 28, retains the BDB title. After a run of ten wins by KO/TKO Buchholz, 32, is 2-3 in his last five but the other losses were to world rated fighters in Nenad Borovcanin and Lukasz Janik Pavia, Italy: Welter: Gianluca Frezza (21-2-2,2 ND) W PTS 10 Giovanni D’Antonio (5-5-1). Light: Sonny Upton (1-1) W TKO 2 Traian Dimitrov (1-9) Frezza vs. D’Antonio Frezza retains his national title for the fourth time with a hard fought points win over D’Antonio. Frezza attacked from first to last, and Sicilian D’Antonio who would have preferred to be able to box from the outside, was forced to trade punch for punch. Frezza’s pressure tactics saw him build a lead over the first couple of rounds but D’Antonio was able to find some room and work behind his jab in the middle rounds. The challenger suffered a cut eyebrow but continued to work the jab. Frezza’s aggression and work rate begin to tell and over the last two rounds D’Antonio had to fight on the back foot and against the ropes as the champion did enough to preserve his title. Scores 97-93,97-94 and 96-94. Frezza, 33, is now unbeaten in his last 15 fights. D’Antonio, 24, has won only one of his last 6 but made a fight of it here. Upton vs. Dimitrov After losing his first pro fight Hatton Promotion’s hope Upton makes no mistake this time. The 24-year-old London prospect, one of three boxing brothers, won three All-Ireland titles whilst based in Belfast. Bulgarian Dimitrov a safe pick. Guadalajara, Mexico: Super Bantam: Moises Flores (20-0,1ND) W TKO 5 Eddy Guzman (9-9-3) “Chucky” Flores was the aggressor from the start and all Guzman could do was soak up punishment. Flores was getting through with hard combinations and after a painful fourth round Guzman’s team would not let him come out for the fifth. Now 16 wins by KO/TKO for the 27-year-old Guadalajara prospect. “The Dragon” Guzman was a very late substitute and a fight in September was his first for 17 months. Monterrey, Mexico: Fly: Juan Alejo (14-3) W TKO 10 Job Solano (13-19-2). Super Feather: Luis Sanchez (12-2-1) W PTS 10 Luis Gonzalez (16-3-1) Alejo vs. Solano After losing his first three fights Alejo moves to 14 wins in a row as he wears down experienced Solano and halts him at the start of the tenth. Now 9 wins by KO/TKO for “Pinky”. Solano, 39, has lost 5 of his last 6 fights. Sanchez vs. Gonzalez Sanchez was brought in from Cancun to lose to the local but did not see it that way. It was a war from the first, but Sanchez had the superior skills and outscored Gonzalez over the first 7 rounds. After that Gonzalez staged a strong finish but it was not enough. Scores 97-92 twice and 98-91. The 21-year-old Sanchez had lost a couple of tough fights in 2012 but this was his third win since that sequence. Gonzalez lost fights to Marvin Quintero (18-2) and Cesar Vazquez (18-0) in 2010 and did not return to action until May this year since when he had won 3 fights. Bialobrzegi, Poland: Light Heavy: Pawel Glazewski (21-2) W PTS 8 Andrei Salakhutdzinau (15-3). Super Middle: Andrzej Soldra (9-0-1) W TKO 5 Lorenzo Di Giacomo (41-9-1). Super Feather: Krzys Cieslak (21-5) W PTS 8 Sebastien Cornu (13-10-3) Glazewski vs. Salakhutdzinau Pole Glazewski makes a slow start but has early success cutting the left eyebrow of the Belarus fighter in the first. Glazewski picked up the pace from the third making more use of quick combinations, uppercuts and his favoured left hooks. He was fighting a very controlled fight and although he had Salakhutdzinau rocking in the sixth and again in the eighth settled for the points win. Scores 80-72 from all three judges. The 31-year-old Pole, the EBU No 16, has lost a split decision to Roy Jones Jr. and was halted in seven rounds by Frenchman Hadillah Mohoumadi in his last fight in June. The 28-year-old Salakhutdzinau had won his last 6 and kept his record of not losing inside the distance. Soldra vs. Di Giacomo Soldra gets his best win so far as he forces Italian former EU champion Di Giacomo to retire at the end of the fifth. Di Giacomo started by pressing the unbeaten Pole in the first with Soldra content to counter. In the second Soldra took over. He was scoring with good combinations, right hooks and body punches. The fight became one-sided as the Italian faded. Soldra could not miss Di Giacomo in the fifth and shook the Italian on a number of occasions. Di Giacomo decided he had taken enough punishment and did not come out for the sixth round. Soldra has not always been this impressive with a split decision wins and a draw against very modest opposition, but showed improvement here. Di Giacomo, 35, takes his first loss by KO/TKO. He has lost 5 in a row but against fighters such as Eduard Gutknecht, for the EBU title, Henry Webber and Erik Skogland. Cieslak vs. Cornu Cieslak gets the split decision over Frenchman Cornu after eight good rounds. A quick starting Cieslak was pressurising Cornu early with the Frenchman boxing well on the back foot. Cornu had the edge in both height and reach so Cieslak was trying to get inside where he could score with his left hook and also keep Corn with his back against the ropes. Cornu was scoring well with his southpaw jab and countering with accurate shots. In the fifth Cieslak had Cornu hurt with a left hook and launched a furious attack, but Cornu took the punches well and was in no real trouble. In the seventh it was Cornu who got through with a left hook and Cieslak had to go into survival mode before returning to the attack at the end of the round. The Pole, although tiring, had a strong last round scoring with a couple of hard right crosses but Cornu was willing and able to punch with him. Scores 78-75, 77-75 and 75-77. The 28-year-old Cieslak’s career had gone haywire for a while with three losses in a row, but he has got back on track with three wins. “Scorpion” Cornu, 30, the FFB No 3, had won 4 of his last 5 but the loss was in October in his second try at a national title. He fought well in this one and might have got at least a draw in France. Santa Ynez, CA, USA: Light: Rustam Nugaev (26-6-1) W KO 1 Mario Hermosillo (12-13-3). Welter: Francisco Santana (18-3-1) W PTS 10 Joachim Alcine (33-7-1) W . Heavy: Lateef Kayode (19-0,1ND) W TKO 2 Travis Fulton (21-34-1) Nugaev vs. Hermosillo Hard punching Russian Nugaev wastes no time in getting rid of short notice substitute Hermosillo. He stalked the Mexican over the opening moments before moving in and landing a body shot that put Hermosillo down and out of the fight. The Mexican took some time to recover. Now16 wins by KO/TKO for Nugaev and only one loss, on points to Alisher Rahimov (21-0) in 2011. His last 4 wins have all come by KO including a victory over world rated Peruvian Jon Maicelo (19-0). Hermosillo has now lost 7 of his last 8 fights, 5 by KO/TKO. Santana vs. Alcine Santana pushes former WBA champion Alcine a bit further over the hill. The 27-year-old was coming forward and throwing hard shots from the outset. Alcine never got into the fight or off the back foot, only fought in spurts and was floored in the third. Scores 99-90 twice and 100-89. Just one loss in his last 9 fights for Santana and second victory in a row over a “name” following his points victory over Freddy Hernandez in August. Haitian-born “Ti-Joa” Alcine , 37, has lost his last 5 fights and is well on the way to being a scalp for young climbers. Kayode vs. Fulton Kayode finally launches career as a heavyweight with easy win over Fulton. The Nigerian got through with some hard punches in the first and Fulton was on the floor. He made it to the bell-just. In the second a combination to head and body had Fulton reeling and the referee stopped the fight. First fight for the 30-year-old Kayoed since his points loss to Antonio Tarver back in June last year was turned into a No Decision when Tarver tested positive for a banned substance. At just over 6’1” (187cm) and approx 216lbs he is small for a heavyweight by today’s standards. With 27 losses by KO/TKO Fulton, 36, hardly lives up to his “Iron Man” nickname. Opelousas, LA,USA: Light: Mason Menard (27-1) W TKO 2 Edgar Llanes (12-5). Cruiser: Hamilton Ventura (12-0-1) W PTS 8 Andres Taylor (21-5-2.). Heavy: Danny Batchelder (29-9-1) W PTS 6 Jamal Woods (3-10-2) Menard vs. Llanes Local hero “Rock Hard Mighty” Menard makes it 25 wins in a row as he crushes game Mexican Llanes. Llanes came out swinging and looked lively until a left hook to the body nearly cut him in half. He went down but gamely got up. From then on Menard bounced him off the canvas five more times until the fight was stopped half way through the second round. Now 20 wins by KO/TKO for Menard. He is ready for better opposition, but at 25 time is on his side. Llanes, who showed guts to keep getting up, had lost his last two in quick time but against Antonio Lozada and Olympic gold medal winner Felix Diaz. Hamilton vs. Taylor An all guns blazing fight sees Brazilian Ventura remain unbeaten with a unanimous decision over Taylor. The decision was wide, 79-73 twice and 80-72, but many rounds were close. The 30-year-old Brazilian shares his fighting time between home, Mexico and California. Taylor, 34, lost only one of his first 23 fights but is 1-4 in his last 5. Batchelder vs. Woods Veteran Batchelder looked like he might finish this early when he floored Woods in the first. Woods survived but Batchelder continued to boss the fight over the next two rounds. Woods got into the fight in the fourth as Batchelder let his workrate drop but a kick in the pants from his corner and he swept the last two rounds to get the unanimous decision. Scores 58-56 twice and 58-55. The 37-year-old was close to world class as super middle/light heavy beating guys such as Segundo Mercado (who drew with Bernard Hopkins), Laudelino Barros and Arthur Williams but took two years out after a run of 8 losses in 9 fights. He has won his four fights this year. Only one win in his last 12 fights for Woods who usually goes the distance. December 7 Atlantic City, NJ, USA: Super Bantam: Guillermo Rigondeaux (13-0) W PTS 12 Joseph Agbeko (29-5). Light Middle: James Kirkland (32-1) W TKO 6 Glen Tapia (20-1). Middle: Matthew Macklin (30-5) W PTS 10 Lamar Russ (14-1). Middle: Matt Korobov (22-0) W TKO 9 Derek Edwards (26-3-1). Super Middle: Jesse Hart (11-0) W TKO 1 Tyrell Hendrix (10-3-2). Feather: Toka Khan Clary (9-0,1ND) W PTS 6 Ramsey Luna (11-1). Light Heavy: Egor Mekhontsev (1-0) W TKO 3 PJ Cajagas (0-2-1) Rigondeaux vs. Agbeko Rigondeaux turns in another shut out as Agbeko has neither the skill or the speed to threaten the dominance of the brilliant Cuban. Rigondeaux did what he liked and Agbeko just had to take it. Rigondeaux just could not miss Agbeko with hard right jabs and southpaw lefts. It was a brilliance exhibition of boxing and a totally one-sided fight with the Cuban winning with embarrassing ease. He tried to take out Agbeko on occasion but when he did Agbeko hid behind a solid defence and absorbed left after left without ever being in trouble. Rigondeaux was so dominant that Agbeko hardly ever let his hands go and Rigondeaux won every round. Scores 120-108 from all three judges as the Cuban makes the fourth defence of his WBA title and the first of his WBO crown. The problem is that with a performance this dominant, but no kayo it just becomes more like a sparring session. Difficult to see at this stage who has the skills to take the Cuban out of his comfort zone. Agbeko, 33, a former IBF bantam champion ,kept his record of never losing inside the distance but was just never in the fight. Kirkland vs. Tapia Tapia was looking to take Kirkland out in the first and staged a furious attack which seemed to wobble Kirkland but also exhaust Tapia. Kirkland had Tapia on the back foot for most of the second round as they continued to trade hard punches at an unsustainable pace and with both being shaken. Both were showing signs of battle, Tapia a cut on his right cheek and Kirkland marked by his left eye. The fireworks continued in the third and fourth but with Kirkland getting stronger and Tapia seeming to be feeling the pace. Kirkland handed out heavy punishment in the fifth with Tapia trying desperately and firing back but looking drained by the end of the round. The referee check his corner to test his condition. In the sixth Kirkland caught the fast fading Tapia in a corner and unloaded with heavy punches until a big left jerked Tapia’s head back and seemed to render him unconscious on his feet. The referee jumped in and stopped the fight to save a too brave Tapia from more punishment. First fight for the 29-year-old “Mandingo Warrior” since beating now IBF champion Carlos Molina on a disqualification. Kirkland has not been in a distance fight since 2007 with 13 of his last 14 fights ending by KO/TKO. There is nothing more exciting than a vulnerable kayo puncher. The possibility of a kayo is always there but as Nobuhiro Ishida showed a puncher needs to be able to take a punch. This fight was an ambitious move by Tapia’s management and his almost suicidal tactics of trying to outpunch Kirkland failed. However, the “Jersey Boy” is only 23 so it is early to write him off although he had to pay a visit to the head trauma ward of a local hospital being released after undergoing a cat scan. Macklin vs. Russ Russ acquitted himself well in what was a huge jump in class for the former Golovkin sparring partner. Macklin started a bit slowly and the fight did not really warm up until the second half. A clash of heads in the fifth saw Macklin cut under his right eye. After that the fight came alive. Russ was effective with his jab and Macklin was scoring well with right uppercuts inside. Macklin was on top over the closing rounds hurting Russ for the first time with a right in the ninth and closing the stronger. Scores 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94. It’s tough but losses to Felix Sturm, Sergio Martinez and in June to Gennady Golovkin have seen 31-year-old Macklin drop out of the ratings so he needs a big fight to get back there. The tall Russ, 26, was in his first ten round fight and did well enough to hope for another appearance on a major card. Korobov vs. Edwards A wild first round saw Korobov have Edwards in deep trouble only to walk onto a counter and nearly go down himself. Korobov looked close to ending it as he floored Edwards in the second and had him hurt again in the third. In the seventh Korobov registered another knockdown but again Edwards survived only to take more punishment in the eighth. When Korobov put Edwards down again early in the ninth the fight was stopped. The 30-year-old former double World Amateur champion faded out of the scene at the end of 2011 but has returned with five wins. He knows he has to take this chance and move from grinding out wins to a more exciting approach. “The Black Lion “ Edwards, 34, is now 1-3-1 after winning his first 25 fights. Hart vs. Hendrix Hart once again finishes early. The hard punching 24-year-old from Philadelphia took only 80 seconds to finish Hendrix. That makes it 10 wins by KO/TKO, the last six fights have ended that way and the last three have all been over inside a round. Hendrix, 30 loses by KO/TKO for the second time. Clary vs. Luna Liberian-born Rhode Island southpaw Clary had to overcome a nightmare fourth round to win this one. The decorated amateur had taken the first three rounds and seemed to be on his way to a routine win when a punch from Luna in the fourth sent him stumbling back into the ropes badly hurt. With the ropes holding Clary up the referee applied a count. Luna followed up with another volley and Clary went down but managed to get up and somehow see out the round. He boxed carefully over the last two rounds and avoided any more scares. Scores 57-53 from all three judges. A real scare for the 21-year-old prospect. Luna, 26 had won his last three by KO/TKO but was not a noted puncher so a warning for Clary. Mekhontsev vs. Cajagas Russian Mekhontsev has his first pro fight. He took a couple of rounds to settle and then floored poor Cajagas three times with body punches in the third round. The 29-year-old southpaw has great amateur credentials. After failing to win the Russian title four years in a row between 2004 and 2007 he really came on after that winning gold medals at the 2008 and 2010 European Championships, the 2009 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics . One to follow for sure. Stuttgart, Germany: Middle: Felix Sturm (39-3-2,1ND) W TKO 2 Darren Barker (26-2). Light Middle: Maurice Weber (19-1-1) W TKO 2 Volodymyr Borovskyy (21-55-2). Light Heavy: Konni Konrad (20-1) W TKO 5 Leo Tchoula (9-5) Sturm vs. Barker Sturm sets a record as he becomes the first German to win a title four times in the same division. Barker started confidently going to the body with long jabs and scoring well with uppercuts. Sturm was walking in behind a high guard and scored with quick rights. He was trying quick counters over Barkers jab and seemed to shake Barker with a clubbing right at the end of the round. Both were willing to trade in the second and Barker got through with hard right uppercut and right crosses. Two rights to the side of the head suddenly saw Barker go down on his knees. Barker got up at six and was pointing to his right hip. He lacked mobility and Sturm came forward again throwing clubbing rights to the side of the head and Barker slumped to the canvas again. He was gesturing to that right hip again. He was up at six but literally hopped on one leg to the ropes and indicated he was ok to fight on. Sturm was landing those rights again with Barker in obvious pain but the champion had actually thrown a good combination when the referee stopped the fight due to Barker’s corner man throwing in the towel. Sturm had looked sharp and focused and from tat impressive first knockdown might have gone on to win anyway, but with Barker dislocating and reinjuring an old hip problem there was no way the Brit could have gone on let alone win the fight. Now the 34-year-old Sturm is IBF champion. Interestingly his mandatory challenger is Sam Solomon who beat Sturm on points in February only to have the decision changed to a No Decision when Solomon’s A sample tested positive for a banned substance and a dispute over his B sample was never satisfactorily resolved. The BDB put a nine month ban on Solomon but the IBF ignored this and left him at No 1. Will the IBF order a return match? Barker, 31, loses the title unluckily in his first defence. He had looked in good form in the first round but perhaps those clubbing rights from Sturm might have caught him anyway. He is considering his future. Webber vs. Borovskyy Webber gets victory over Ukrainian perennial loser. Webber had Borovskyy hurt in the first and was landing more heavy shots in the second when the Ukrainian’s second threw in the towel. It looked a bit early but better that than late. The 32-year-old , real name Mohammed Lassoued, makes it 8 wins since losing a majority decision to Frederic Serre in 2008. Eighteen losses in a row for 36-year-old Borovskyy. Konrad vs. Tchoula Montenegrin Konrad gets involved in a brawl with German-based Cameroon Tchoula and gradually wears him down for a fifth round stoppage. Konrad’s only loss was on points in a close fight against to Denis Inkin in 2006. He had only two fights in the next 7 years before returning to action in July to win the vacant WBA International title against Bernard Donfack. Four losses in a row for Tchoula New York, NY, USA: Welter: Paul Malignaggi (33-5) W PTS 12 Zab Judah (42-9,1ND). Super Middle: Sakio Bika (32-5-3) DREW 12 Anthony Dirrell (26-0-1). Welter: Shawn Porter (23-0-1) W PTS 12 Devon Alexander (25-2) . Light Middle: Erislandy Lara (19-1-2) W PTS 12 Austin Trout (26-2). Light Middle: Julian Williams (14-0-1,1ND) W TKO 3 Orlando Lora (29-5-2). Welter: Sadam Ali (18-0) W TKO 6 Jesus Selig (16-2-1). Super Bantam: Juan Dominguez (16-0) W PTS 8 Camilo Perez (9-2). Light Heavy: Marcus Browne (8-0) W KO 1 Kevin Engel (20-8,1ND) Malignaggi vs. Judah Apart from a flash knockdown in the second Malignaggi was a comfortable winner. He showcased his talent from the start and Judah just never got untracked. Malignaggi was just too quick keeping Judah on the back foot, out jabbing him and scoring with hard body shots. Judah had been hoping that local rivalry would see Malignaggi willing to brawl, but “Magic Man” did not have to do that to win. Judah had one or two good rounds but lacked fire and was always off the pace as Malignaggi boxed beautifully on his way to a unanimous decision. Scores 117-110 twice and a generous 116-111. Malignaggi wins the vacant NABF title. He was WBA 3 and Judah No 4 so another world title shot for the former IBF light welter and WBA welter champion could come next year. The 36-year-old Judah just did not turn up for this one. He has had four tough fights losing three to Amir Khan, Danny Garcia and now Malignaggi so he needs to think about his future. Bika vs. Dirrell Bika retains his title with a split draw against Dirrell. It was a messy, untidy fight at times and difficult to score. Dirrell built an early lead with Bika getting a warning in the second for throwing Dirrell to the canvas and both fighters getting spoken to for misdemeanors. Things got worse for Bika in the fifth when a hard right and a quick series of punches from Dirrell put him down. He got up and then raised his game fighting hard to get back on even terms. Dirrell was fighting hard to hold on to his lead and was helped when Bika lost a point in the eleventh for a low punch. Both fought hard in the last and the judges all saw the outcome differently. Scores 114-112 to Bika, 116-110 for Dirrell and 114-114. The 34-year-old Cameroon “Scorpion” keeps his WBC title in his first defence. He has some potential paydays against Marco A Periban, who he beat on a majority decision for the title in June, and who, as a Mexican, can hope that the WBC will recognize his right to a return, Julio Cesar Chavez, James De Gale or Dirrell again. Dirrell, 29, the brother of Andre, will feel he should have won and also naturally hopes the WBC will order a return. Porter vs. Alexander Mild upset as Porter wins unanimous verdict over Alexander to win the IBF title. Porter gave Alexander early problems with his smooth, slick boxing and the champion was repeatedly caught with fast combinations being rocked by a right in the third. Alexander had the experience of eight scheduled twelve round fights behind him and brought this experience into the middle rounds when he had his best spell as Porter seemed to be tiring. However, Porter came good again over the last three rounds to win the unanimous decision in a hard fought scrap. Scores of 116-112 twice and 115-113. “Showtime” Porter, 26, a multi-titled amateur beat Demetrius Andrade, Edwin Rodriguez, J’Leon Love, Shawn Estrada, Fernando Guerrero and Daniel Jacobs, but missed out on the 2008 Olympics. He may now have to face mandatory challenger Kell Brook next. Alexander, also 26, a former WBC/IBF light welter champion, was making the first defence of the title he won by beating Randall Bailey in October last year. He has rebuilt before and can again. Lara vs. Trout Cuban Lara wins the vacant secondary WBA title with wide unanimous decision over fellow-southpaw Trout. This fight never really caught fire as Lara was just too quick and tricky for a lackluster Trout. Lara was first to the punch and landed the cleaner shots. Trout tried to pressurise the Cuban throughout the fight but was being caught by counters and never found a real solution to the speed and movement of Lara. The Cuban was already assured of victory when he floored Trout with a left in the eleventh and ended a clear winner. Scores 117-111 twice and 118-109. Lara had won the interim WBA title by climbing off the floor twice to halt Alfredo Angulo in June. Can’t see Floyd Mayweather and Lara as a match, but Saul Alvarez would light some fires. Trout, 28, loses for the second time in a row having lost to Saul Alvarez in a unification match in April. He did not look the same fighter who beat Miguel Cotto in December 2012. Williams vs. Lora Williams overpowers Lora after three rounds. The 23-year-old “J Rock” battered Lora for two rounds finding it easy to fire shots through the Mexican’s leaky guard. A series of punches at the start of the third saw the towel come fluttering in. Now 8 wins by KO/TKO for Williams. Lora is 1-4-1 in his last six but his brave management have put him in with Malignaggi, Keith Thurman and unbeaten Jermall Charlo, so a tough schedule. Ali vs. Selig An easy night for Ali as Arizona-born Selig is in survival mode from the first. Ali was able to score at will with hard shots from both hands but Selig bravely soaked up the hurt. A right from Ali put Selig down in the fifth. The doctor examined Selig at the end of the round but let him come out for the sixth. When Ali landed a hard combination early in the round the fight was stopped. The “World Kid” , a former Olympian, now has 11 wins by KO/TKO including 4 in his last 5 fights. Selig’s only other loss was to John Jackson. Dominguez vs. Perez Brooklyn-based Dominican Dominguez moved to 16 wins with a unanimous verdict over Puerto Rican Perez. Scores 78-74 twice and 79-73. He needed the ring time after finishing his last 4 fights inside the distance. Perez was coming off his first loss to Tevin Farmer in October. Browne vs. Engel Olympian Browne makes it 7 wins by KO/TKO as he halts veteran Engel at the end of the first round. Fourth first round win for 23-year-old Browne. Engel, 33, is 2-6 in his last 8. Cordoba, Argentina: Light Middle: Carlos A Jerez (38-16-3) W PTS 10 Samuel Rogers (14-1). Super Middle: Julius Jackson (17-0) W TKO 9 Nicolas D Lopez (10-1). Light Middle: John Jackson (18-1) W TKO 8 Jorge D Miranda (51-16). Rogers vs. Jerez Local fighter Jerez comes from behind to ruin the unbeaten record of Indianan-born Virgin Islander Rogers. The visitor made a good start using his height, reach and strength to boss his smaller opponent. Both were hurt early in the fight. Rogers by a left to the chin in the second, Jerez by a right cross in the third. Rogers was using his longer reach to score through the fourth and fifth and sixth keeping the fight on the outside. In the seventh a right from Jerez opened a cut under the left eye of Rogers and Jerez was getting on top. Rogers was just not working hard enough in the eighth and that went to Jerez. In the ninth a right put Rogers down. He got up and saw out the round, but the tenth was all Jerez. Scores 97 ½-93, 97-94 and 96 ½-95. The 34-year-old Jerez , the FAB No 6, wins the WBA Fedebol title. He has gone the distance with Saul Alvarez, Lucas Matthysse, Anthony Mundine and Hector Saldavia and his experience in pacing a fight was important here. Rogers, 31, had not really been tested until this fight. Jackson vs. Lopez “The Chief” Jackson got a win for the Jackson clan as he is too slick and hits too hard for novice Lopez. Lopez came forward for most of the fight but a mixture of good lateral movement and hard left hooks and uppercuts caught the Argentinian as he came in. Lopez just kept coming walking into punishment with those uppercuts jerking his head back in alarming style. Jackson was content to let Lopez have the centre of the ring and counter him whenever he came forward. Jackson put Lopez down with a straight left-right cross in the second but Lopez got up quickly. In the fifth a right from Lopez knocked Jackson’s gum shield out. It was the third time Jackson had lost him gum shield and the referee docked him a point. Lopez was now getting through with rights as he cornered Jackson but suddenly Jackson came forward and floored Lopez with a left-right cross. Lopez got straight up and the bell went as the referee completed the standing eight count. Jackson looked to be tiring over the next three rounds standing and trading more. He was still punishing Lopez but his work was looking ragged. In the ninth the punishment suddenly caught up with Lopez and Jackson launched a series of head shots forcing Lopez back to the ropes and with nothing coming back from Lopez the fight was stopped. Virgin Islander Jackson has 13 wins by KO/TKO. He has won his last 7 that way and Lopez did well as the other six opponents failed to get past the second round. First ten round fight for 25-year-old Lopez who had only been up at eight rounds once before and showed his experience in standing in front of Jackson and not getting inside where he could avoid the counters. Jackson vs. Miranda Jackson too strong for experienced Miranda and forces the stoppage in the seventh. As with Julius, John was letting Miranda have the centre of the ring and catching the grizzled veteran with hard combinations as he came in. Miranda was not as open as Lopez and better at cutting off the ring, getting his head on Jackson’s chest and working inside. However, with his height and reach advantages, and faster hands Jackson was able to score with quick combinations as Miranda ploughed forward. Constantly switching guards Jackson was scoring with heavy hooks to the body and right crosses but Miranda stood up to the punishment well. In the third Jackson lost a point after a sequence of disgracefully low punches but blasted back to floor Miranda with a series of shots finished off by a right uppercut. Miranda was up at two and the bell sounded just as the standing count was completed. Jackson was warned for low punch again at the start of the sixth and also lost his gum shield. In the seventh a combination of hard head shots sent Miranda stumbling backwards and the referee applied a standing eight count to the Argentinian. Jackson was teeing off on Miranda in the eighth when the towel came flying in. Madeley, Australia: Middle: Dennis Hogan (16-0-1) W PTS 10 Robbie Bryant (18-3-1). Cruiser: David Letizia (10-4-1) W PTS 8 Grant Horwood (1-3-2). Light: Luke Jackson (3-0) W TKO 4 Mateusz Golsztajn (0-1) Hogan vs. Bryant Good boxing display by Hogan as he is comfortable on the front foot or the back foot and Bryant finds it hard to get into the fight. Bryant tried to get inside but his efforts were frustrated by clever boxing from Hogan. His sheer aggression saw him pick up a couple of rounds but Hogan, 28, was always cool and in charge and never put a foot wrong. Scores 98-92 twice and 100-90. The Irish-born “Hurricane” did not fight as his nickname would have suggested but this was one of the 28-year-old’s best performances and he retains his Australian title. New Zealand-born Bryant , 34, had won 11 of his last 12 being outboxed by world rated Jarrod Fletcher in December. Letizia vs. Horwood Age is just a number to 42-year-old Letizia as he outboxes modest Horwood to win the Western Australia State title. Letizia turned pro in 1995 but was inactive from 1996 to 2007. Three losses and a draw in his last 4 fights for Horwood. Jackson vs. Golsztajan Prospect Jackson make it two wins inside the distance with stoppage of former Muay Thai exponent Golsztajan. After only three fights Jackson is already the No 6 with the ANBF. He was captain of the Aussie team at the 2012 Olympics, a bronze medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and represented Australia at the 2005 and 2010 World Championships. Espoo, Finland: Light: Edis Tatli (22-0) W PTS 12 Mzonke Fana (32-6). Middle: Virgilijus Stapulionis (22-2) W TKO 3 Niko Jokinen (21-2). Welter: Jussi Koivula (15-1) W PTS 10 Hassan Ait Bassou (14-6) Tatli vs. Fana Tatli gets a good start against Fana. He set a busy pace which had Fana on the defensive from the first and shook the South African with a right hook in the second. The third is more even with both contesting the dominant ring centre spot and Fana getting his jab working. Not much action in the fourth and Fana may have just edged the fifth. Tatli steps up the pace in the sixth and outboxes Fana and gets through with good left hooks in the seventh with Fana using his craft and experience to block and counter. Fana looks to have edged that round and takes the eighth. The ninth is a close round with Tatli using his left to score with jabs and hooks and Fana countering well. Fana and his corner seemed to be arguing over tactics at the start of the tenth and Tatli pours on the punches with his best round so far. Fana tries to stage a big finish but Tatli matches him to emerge a clear winner. Scores 118-110 twice and 117-111. The 26-year-old Kosovo-born Finn, the EU champion, retains his WBA Inter-Continental title and keeps his WBA No 10 ranking. This was a good test against a fading but far from gone former champion. Fana, 40, threw away his IBF title by not defending and then disappeared into the pack with losses to Sipho Taliwe and Paulus Moses, but rebounded in style in September with a win over another former IBF champion in Takalani Ndlovu. Stapulionis vs. Jokinen A touch of David Price vs. Tony Thompson about this as after losing his unbeaten record to Stapulionis in August Jokinen elects to go straight back into a return with him and pays the price (excuse the pun). The Lithuanian puts Jokinen down on his knees twice in the second and after a knockdown in the third the fight is stopped. The 27-year-old Lithuanian turned pro at 19 after competing in the World Cadet and Junior Championships. He had lost a couple of fights on the road but had scored two first round wins in England and had won 6 of his last 7 fights going in. He has 15 wins by KO/TKO. Jokinen, 25, had not really been tested before his two fights with the Lithuanian and significantly was not rated in the EBU top 20. He now has some serious reconstruction to do. Koivula vs. Ait Bassou Koivula is doing his own rebuilding after having his unbeaten run ended by Lukasz Janik in April. He got the win he needed taking every round against the modest Dutchman. Scores 100-90 from all three judges. Koivula, 29, was Finnish national amateur champion for seven consecutive years and represented Finland at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships. Ait Bassou, 33 , had won 5 of his last 6 fights but loses when he tries to step up. Bruay-la-Buissiere, France: Fly: Tom Masson (11-3-1) W PTS 10 Redouane Asloum (11-2-1). Fly: Vincent Legrand (13-0) W TKO 2 Malkhaz Tatrishvili (5-4) Masson vs. Asloum Masson completes his domination of the French flyweights as he beats Asloum and retains his national title for the second time. After flooring Asloum in the first round Masson never looked back he let his pace drop in the 6th and 7th rounds but other than that was in control and won the wide unanimous decision. Scores 98-90, 97-91 and 97-93. After a couple of losses in 2012 Masson seemed to be going nowhere, but he sprang a surprise by beating Hassan Azaouagh to win the French title and has now cleaned up the division after wins over Anthony Buquet and Asloum. The 23-year-old local is EBU No 3 and will be hoping to get a shot at the winner of the fight for the vacant title between Andrea Sarritzu and Valery Yanchi. Asloum, 32, who dominated the little men in France as an amateur, fails for the second time in an attempt to win the national title. He waited too long to turn pro. Legrand vs. Tatrishvili If Masson decides to give up the French title then stable mate Legrand looks a likely successor. The 22-year-old local made it 8 wins by KO/TKO as he blasted the poor Georgian in the second round. Legrand is No 1 with the FFB so right in line. Clichy La Garenne, France: Super Feather: Samir Kasmi (17-10-1) W PTS 12 Samir Ziani (15-1-1). Light: Daouda Sow (14-0) W PTS 6 Santos Medrano (11-28-3). Light: Anthony Mezaache (24-7-3) W PTS 6 Edilson Rio (10-19) Kasmi vs. Ziani Kasmi’s experience and some lenient refereeing see Kasmi win the vacant EU title. Kasmi saved his energy by fighting in spurts and also used a mixture of elbows and head to unsettle the younger opponent. Southpaw Ziani had the youth and the southpaw skill and used those better skills to make this a close fight but he also got involved in brawls when he should have boxed and in the end lost his unbeaten tag. Kasmi edged the first with Ziani clearly taking the second. Kasmi built as slender lead by edging the fourth and fifth but then Ziani had a good spell and clearly won the sixth and seventh. The fight was in the balance at that point but then the experience of Kasmi came into play and he won every round from the eighth to the eleventh. Ziani needed a kayo but never came near to getting it in the last. Scores 116-112, 115-114 and 115-113. Kasmi, 30, a former French champion, had found some form with only two losses, to Romain Jacob for the French title and WBC No 1 Devis Boschiero for the EBU title, in his last 12 fights. He was No 11 with the EBU going in. Ziani, the EBU No 7 is just 23 so he can come again if he learns from this defeat. Sow vs. Medrano Sow continues his comeback with victory over Nicaraguan travelling loser Medrano but struggles a little. The 30-year-old southpaw, a silver medal winner at the 2008 Olympics where he beat Jose Pedraza and Yordenis Ugas, wins on scores of 58-55 from all three judges. Second win for Sow after returning from 17 months of inactivity. Medrano, 29, is 2-7 in his last 9 fights but usually goes the distance. Mezaache vs. Rio Former undefeated European champion Mezaache returns after almost 8 months out with a comfortable points win over Brazilian. Scores 60-54 from all three judges. The 25-year-old Mezaache blew his chance of a world title fight when he lost to Carlos Vinan in 2010 in what was supposed to be his showcase fight in the USA. The 37-year-old Rio has lost 6 of his last 7 but only has failed to last the distance once. Neuwied, Germany: Middle: Steve Bendall (30-7) W KO 6 John Akulugu (9-4). Welter: Ryan Barrett (28-11-3) W TKO 3 Geoffrey Munika (21-20-2) Bendall vs. Akulugu Forty-year-old Bendall wins the vacant WBU title with sixth round kayo of Ghanaian novice Akulugu. Bendall floors Akulugu in the second and fourth with body punches then finishes the job in the sixth with a right hook to the body. First fight for Bendall since December 2011. Akulugu had won 9 in a row but awful opposition. Barrett vs. Munika Southpaw Barrett makes it a British double as he halts Kenyan oldie Munika in three for the vacant WBU title. After inside the distance losses to Dierry Jean and Jean Pierre Bauwens in 2012 Barrett had scored a couple of low level wins. The 39-year-old Kenyan has lost his last 5 fights.. Tokyo, Japan: Welter: Yoshihiro Kamegai (23-1-1) W TKO 5 Tim Hunt (16-4) Kamegai wins the vacant OPBF title with stoppage of Australian Hunt. For the first three rounds it was “Professor” Kamegai getting the lesson as Hunt boxed his way into the lead with fast jabs and straight rights. Kamegai shortened the distance in the third. In the fourth Kamegai started to go to the body and the fight changed. The body punches were hurting Hunt and his concern to block them left him open for a hard right from Kamegai which put him on the floor. The Australian got up but the bell went straight after. Kamegai used the same tactics in the fifth softening Hunt up with body punches and then putting him down with a right and the referee stopped the fight. Kamegai, 31, a former top amateur with a 57-12 record, and former undefeated Japanese light welter champion, has 20 wins by KO/TKO. His only loss is a wide points defeat against now WBA secondary lightweight title holder Johann Perez in his last fight in June. Hunt, a former undefeated Australian champion had lost only one of his last 15 fights. Zihuatanejo, Mexico: Super Bantam: Hugo F Cazares (40-7-2) W PTS 12 Julio C Miranda (37-10-2). Middle: Jorge Cota (17-1) W TKO 2 Rene Fernandez (4-10-3) Cazares vs. Miranda These styles blended to make an excellent fight. After taking the first round to feel each other out they then started the real action. Miranda was barreling forward with Cazares using his movement, sound defence and counters to offset the aggression of Miranda. There was nothing in the fight with most rounds being close and hard to score and the decision could have gone either way but Cazares took the majority verdict on scores of 116-112, 115-114 and 114-114. Former double world champion “El Incredible” makes the second defence of his WBC Silver title and maintains his place as No 1 in the WBC ratings. At 35 he is still capable of winning a third title but faces a tough eliminator against Andres Gutierrez . “Pingo” Miranda, 33, a former WBO flyweight champion now has 3 losses and a draw in his last 4 fights, but is still a dangerous opponent. Cota vs. Fernandez “Demon” Cota has no trouble in dispatching Fernandez in two rounds. The 25-year-old from Los Mochis has an inside the distance win over Yori Boy Campas but took a step too far when facing Marco Antonio Rubio in June last year and was halted in seven rounds. He has scored 5 wins since then but against poor opposition. Local sources have his record as 21-1 with 20 wins by KO/TKO. Now 7 losses and a draw in his last 8 for Fernandez. Dumaguete City, Philippines: Feather: Albert Pagara (18-0) W PTS 10 Gadwin Tubigon (9-8-2). Super Fly: Jaymart Toyco (14-4) W TKO 7 Juren Labordo (11-1) Pagara vs. Tubigon After a slow start Tubigon took the lead with Pagara content to fight with his back to the ropes and fire fast, accurate counters. Tubigon kept trying focusing on Pagara’s body but Pagara was just too smart and two quick and picked him off with jabs to edge most of the rounds. A good distance fight which will add to the 19-year-old’s experience. Scores 98-92 twice and 97-94. Pagara is rated No 1 by the GAB. Only one win in is last 9 fights for Tubigon. Toyco vs. Labordo Toyco takes away Labordo’s unbeaten tag. Southpaw Toyco put Labordo down with a right hook in the second round but Labordo fought back over the next four rounds with good body punches. In the seventh a series of body punches from Toyco sent Labordo down again and after getting up he indicated he had finished for the night. Nice win for 21-year-old “Astroboy” his tenth by KO/TKO. Labordo had won his last 6 fights by KO/TKO, all inside three rounds, but now starts again. Liverpool, England: Light Heavy: Enzo Maccarinelli (38-6) W TKO 7 Courtney Fry (18-4). Light Middle: Liam Smith (16-0-1) W TKO 4 Mark Thompson (25-4). Super Fly: Paul Butler (14-0) W PTS 12 Ruben Montoya (12-2-1). Middle: Joe Selkirk (12-0) W TKO 3 Zoltan Sera (12-1). Light: Stephen Ormond (16-1) W PTS 10 Derry Mathews (34-9-2). Light: Craig Evans (11-0) W PTS 8 Andoni Alonso (7-5-3) Maccarinelli vs. Fry There were worrying signs for Fry when he was floored by a two-punch combination from Maccarinelli in the first. However Fry got his boxing together and although outreached and out gunned he used his experience to stay in the fight and by the fourth was scoring well with shots of his own but also having to take a hard rights from Maccarinelli. Maccarinelli worked hard to take the fifth but Fry started the sixth well getting through with rights. That did not last long and a left hook put Fry down. He got up and fought back but shipped some more heavy head punches. Maccarinelli kept up the bombardment in the seventh and after catching Fry with a couple of rights the towel came in from Fry’s corner. This was to have been a defence of his CBC title for Maccarinelli, but Fry failed to make the weight so it was reduced to a ten round non-title fight. The 33-year-old former WBO cruiser champion was being urged to retire after a bad kayo by Alexander Frenkel in 2010 and again after a stoppage by Ovill McKenzie in November last year, but has won three fights this year, all inside the distance. Fry, 38, took two years out after he was halted in eight rounds by Nathan Cleverly for the CBC and British titles in 2009 and had won 5 fights since his return. Smith vs. Thompson Another impressive win from “Beefy” Smith. Using a high guard and throwing fast accurate punches Smith was able to slot home hard jabs and straight rights throughout the first two rounds. Thompson was landing a few shots of his own, but it was Smith in command. He floored Thompson with a right late in the third and after Thompson climbed to his feet floored him again with another right. Smith came out fast at the start of the fourth and after he shook Thompson with another right the fight was halted. Smith, 25, also the CBC champion, retains his British title and adds Thompson to a list of victims that already includes Steve O’Meara and Erik Ochieng. These Smith brothers sure make a tough family. Thompson, 32, who lost only one of his first 25 fights, was having his first fight since competing in the Prizefighter in January. Butler vs. Montoya Butler “The Baby-Faced Assassin” again gives a classy display of skill. Mexican Montoya was aggressive from the start and made Butler work hard in the early rounds but Butler was always able to slot home jabs and straight rights and never around when Montoya tried to counter. The 25-year-old British and CBC champion boxed beautifully despite injuring his right hand in the third and had Montoya rocking in the last. He won on scores of 120-108, 120-109 and 118-110 to retain the WBO Inter-Continental and collect the WBA Inter-Continental title. He is already rated by the sanctioning bodies being WBO6/WBC10/IBF 12 but that broken hand may sideline him for a while . Montoya, 27, was competitive early but ultimately frustrated by the smooth skills of Butler. Selkirk vs. Sera Selkirk just too much in every department for previously unbeaten Sera. A punch from Selkirk opened a cut below the right eye of Sera in the first and from there it just got worse. Selkirk ended it in the third with crunching left hook to the body. The Hungarian got up but was in agony and the fight was halted. Selkirk is yet another great prospect but his career has been plagued by injuries and this was his first fight in six months. Sera had won his last four fights inside the distance but against poor opposition. In fairness he came in as a very late substitute but was in way over his head here. Ormond vs. Mathews Big win for Ormond as he beats CBC champion Matthews to retain his WBO European title. Ormond’s victory was built on slick boxing and faster hand speed. Mathews refused to be fazed by the Irishman’s speed in the early rounds and showed a solid defence. Unfortunately he was unable to launch many attacks of his own and Ormond was able to get his nose in front. The middle rounds were all Ormond as he dazzled with his quick combinations and Mathews seemed discouraged. A hard left hook shook Mathews at the end of the ninth and at the end of the tenth there was only one winner. Scores 98-93 twice and 98-92. The 30-year-old Dublin “Rock” lost on points to Paul Appleby in March last year but has scored five wins since then and his WBO European title gives him a No 14 rating with that body. CBC champion 30-year-old Mathews (Ormond is Irish so was not eligible to fight for the title) injured his right hand in the second round which was an obvious handicap, but that should not impact his tough March defence of his CBC title against Richard Commey. Evans vs. Alonso Welsh southpaw Evans, 24, gets in eight useful rounds against Spaniard Alonso. The downside was a cut suffered by Evans in a clash of heads in the fourth round but he took the decision 79-74 on the referee’s card. Alonso, 30, another late substitute was having his first eight round fight. Glasgow, Scotland: Feather: Jon Slowey (16-0) W PTS 10 Kris Hughes (16-5) A great little all-southpaw battle sees Slowey just edge out Hughes to win the BBB of C Scottish Area title. Hughes was fired up and came out to pressure the clever but light punching Slowey. His sheer aggression probable gave Hughes a slim lead by the half way mark. Hughes was cut over his left eye in the sixth and the impetus swung to Slowey. Slowey also suffered a bad cut in the eighth and by the end of the ninth it was anyone’s fight. Slowey just edged the last to take the decision by the referee’s score of 96-95. The 23-year-old Slowey adds the Scottish title to the WBC International Silver title he won in September. Hughes, 26, has lost 4 of his last 5 but to very tough opposition and can come again. Newcastle, England: Bantam: Martin Ward (18-2) W PTS 12 Gabriel Odoi Laryea (16-3-2) Ward wins the vacant CBC title as he outclasses the tough but crude Laryea. The local southpaw was just too quick of hand and foot and the Ghanaian could hardly land a punch on his elusive opponent. Ward would open up on occasion and score with fast combinations but he was content to box his way to a one-sided victory. Scores 119-109 twice and 120-108. The 25-year-old English and new CBC champion has won 10 of his last 11 fights including a victory over Jason Booth, losing only to world rated Lee Haskins for the vacant British title in April. After losing his first two fights Laryea had been unbeaten in 18 fights but against very poor local opposition. Swindon, England: Super Middle: Kelvin Young (14-3) W PTS 10 Alexey Ribchev (17-9-1) Young, 26, wins the vacant IBO Inter-Continental title with a decision over Bulgarian. Ribchev took the first round with his busier, aggressive style and it was the second before Young had his jab working. Even then he was continually being taken to the ropes where his jab was nullified. In the fifth a clash of heads opened a cut over Ribchev’s left eye, but the Bulgarian was not disheartened and continued to take the fight to the local favourite. Young staged a strong finish over the last four rounds to try to offset Ribchev’s early lead and got the decision on scores of 98-92 twice and 97-94 which did not seem to reflect the tremendous effort put in by 31-year-old Ribchev. Redwood City, CA, USA: Super Fly: Bruno Escalante (11-1-1) W PTS 10 Mike Ruiz Jr. (9-4-1) Escalante wins the vacant IBFA title with a majority decision over Ruiz. Ruiz was doing the pressing and Escalante the countering. There was plenty of good, fast action with Escalante going to the body more and Ruiz landing enough to make the rounds very even. A big fifth round saw Escalante hurt Ruiz badly with a combination only for Ruiz to fire back as they stood and traded. The pace told on both fighters with Escalante just seeming to have the edge but Ruiz still coming forward and taking points on aggression. The three judges all had different views with two going for Escalante 98-92 and 97-93 with third seeing it a draw at 95-95. A good fight as 25-year-old local Escalante takes his second majority win in a row. Four losses in his last 5 fights for Ruiz but he made this a god fight. Windhoek, Namibia: Super Middle: Wilbeforce Shihepo (21-7) W KO 8 Daniel Wanyonyi (18-6-2). Light: Martin Haikali (14-5) W PTS 12 Peter Malakia (12-11-1). Welter: Sacky Shikukutu (18-2-1) W PTS 12 Sherif Kasonga. Fly: Abmerk Shidjuu (14-5-2) W PTS 12 Pathias Chisenga (2-2) Shihepo vs. Wanyonyi Shihepo almost gets this over as hr floors the Kenyan with a hook to the head in the first 20 seconds of the fight. He had Wanyonyi down again before the end of the round but the Kenyan got up and lasted to the bell. The fight slowed after that furious start with Shihepo losing his way and getting a warning from the referee in the fifth for hitting the Kenyan after he slipped to the canvas. There were too many clinches making the crowd unhappy. Thankfully Shihepo ended it in the eighth flooring Wanyonyi with a hook and the Kenyan bring counted out. First fight for 30-year-old Shihepo since giving a creditable performance against Arthur Abraham in August. Wanyonyi, 25, the Kenyan middleweight champion had won 10 in a row, 9 by KO/TKO against modest local opposition. Haikali vs. Malakia Sheer aggression takes Haikali to a wide unanimous decision over Malakia. Haikali wins the vacant WBO African title and go to 2-1 in their series. Scores 120-109, 119-112 and 119-110. The 30-year-old Haikali is on a good run with 12 wins in his last 13 fights. Malakia has now lost 3 of his last 4 fights. Shikukutu vs. Kasonga Shikukutu retains his interim WBO African title for the second time with a points win over Kasonga. Shikukutu took the fight to the DCR fighter and there were plenty of ferocious exchanges. “Snake” Shikukutu got the better of the exchanges but Kasonga kept throwing punches. Scores 119-110, 118-110 and 117-112. Shikukutu is 7-1-1 in his last 9 fights. No data on Kasonga. Shidjuu vs. Chisenga Former CBC title challenger Shidjuu wins the WBO African title with a paper thin majority victory over Zambian Chisenga. This makes the score 2-1 to Shidjuu in his series with Chisenga. Like the other two fights this was close with the scores at 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114. Shidjuu was coming off a points loss to Isaac Quaye in April and could not afford another defeat. With so little boxing in Zambia Chisenga has to travel but the three close fights with Shidjuu show he has ability. Abbreviations ABC=Asian Boxing Council an affiliate of the WBC ABU=African Boxing Union an affiliate of the WBC ANBF=Australian National Boxing Federation who administer Australian titles BBB of C=British Boxing Board of Control BDB=Bund Deutscher Berufsboxer - one of the German boxing bodies B & H=Bosnia & Herzegovina BSA=Boxing South Africa responsible for administering boxing in South Africa CBC=Commonwealth Boxing Council CISBB=WBC title covering the rump of the USSR and the Slovenian Boxing Board DRC=Democratic Republic of the Congo EBU=European Boxing Union FAB=Argentinian Boxing Federation FFB=French Boxing Federation GAB=Philippines Games & Amusement Board responsible for administering boxing in the Philippines IBA=International Boxing Association - a sanctioning body IBF=International Boxing Federation - a sanctioning body IBO=International Boxing Organisation JBC=Japanese Boxing Commission NABA=North American Boxing Association, a WBA affiliate NABF=North American Boxing Federation a WBC affiliate NABO= North American Boxing Organisation, a WBO affiliate NGG=US National Golden Gloves NZPBF=New Zealand Professional Boxing Federation - a national sanctioning body OPBF=Orient & Pacific Boxing Federation PABA=Pacific & Asian Boxing Association, a WBA affiliate UBO=Universal Boxing Organisation - a sanctioning body USBA=United States Boxing Association, an IBF affiliate USBO=United States Boxing Organisation WBA=World Boxing Association a sanctioning body WBC=World Boxing Council a sanctioning body WBFed=World Boxing Federation, a sanctioning body WBFound=World Boxing Foundation, a sanctioning body WBU=World Boxing Union, a sanctioning body IBF/WBA Rating = Both bodies leave vacancies in their ratings so when showing a IBF or WBA rating fore a fighter where there is a vacant position ahead of them in the rankings which affects his rating I will put his numerical rating i.e. No 6 and in brackets and his rating based on the number of fighters ahead of him so IBF 6 (5) his shows his numerical position is 6 but there are in fact only 5 fighters listed ahead of him due to one of the higher rating positions being vacant. http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/0/0a/Ericpic2.jpg More...

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/7/75/Boylan_nesbitt003.jpgBy Mark Turley: Last Saturday witnessed the much hyped and anticipated ‘Battle of Brooklyn’ between Paulie Malignaggi and Zab Judah. The contest featured two fighters who grew up near each other, trained in the same gyms, mixed in the same circles and had even worked in each other’s corners. Rumour has it that although they presented an air of mutual respect for the cameras, there was actually genuine needle, generated by long-lived local rivalry, between the boxers. Fast forward seven days and suburban outer London will present its own version. 25 year old ‘Pretty’ Ricky Boylan (9-0) will challenge Tony Owen (15-2-0) for his Southern Area light welterweight title on the Matchroom Christmas Cracker bill at the Excel Docklands arena. Both fighters hail from Carshalton, far flung from the grit of inner-city New York. It’s a sleepy outpost of the London borough of Sutton featuring a picturesque lake ringed by several delightful pubs. Ricky laughs a little when it is pointed out that his home manor is an unlikely one for the emergence of boxing talent. “I know, it’s a quiet place, but there’s a few of us from around here. Obviously myself and Tony, Dan Connor, who Tony beat in his last defence as well. Lenny Daws (former British and European light welter champ) is from this part of the world too. It’s all just come out of nowhere really.” “The funny thing about this” he continues, “is that me and Tony aren’t just from the same area, we’re actually good mates. We’ve known each other for years. But this is boxing and on Saturday it’ll be down to business. For the time we’re in the ring it’ll be a fight like any other. I just hope we can still be mates afterwards.” The idea of exchanging punches with someone he counts as a friend is something he has obviously had to deal with mentally, as part of his preparations. Yet despite the strange psychology involved he remains enthused about what lies ahead. http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/5/51/Boylan_holec012.jpg“It is a bit strange fighting my mate, but it’s an opportunity that I have to take. I’ve fought mainly journeymen so far in my career and I’ve taken some stick for that, but that’s mostly from people who don’t understand how the game works. I picked up a Masters title in my last contest (against Jan Holec, in July, pictured left) and this is a chance for my first major belt. It’s my first time in a big arena in front of a large audience, I’ve sold 400 tickets already and I’m absolutely buzzing. “I’ve got to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone whose coming out to support me –it’s gonna be huge. With Tony’s lot as well and Danny Connor on the bill, I reckon half of Carshalton will be there! My training’s gone great. I’m part of a brilliant camp run by Alan Smith, we’ve got Bradley Skeete and Adam Dingsdale in there too and its been excellent, really.” So is Ricky not concerned about making the step up from opponents who are there only to survive, to a genuine, competitive title fight? http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/8/85/Tonyown32.jpg“I’ve trained and sparred with Tony (pictured right) before so I know him well. He’s a southpaw which is something I haven’t had to face in the pros so far, but I fought plenty in the amateurs. I know from sparring that I can handle it. I’m not saying it’ll be easy - we had a lot of very decent, competitive spars, but Tony’s not boxed at the highest level himself yet. “He’s only a year older than me although he’s been a pro a bit longer, so yeah, although it’s a step up, its one that I need at this stage of my career and its not such a big step that its too much.” A victory on Saturday will see Boylan unbeaten in ten and with a valuable BBBoC belt around his waist, which should be enough to move him into the UK top 15. For Owen, who has already tasted defeat to Ben Murphy and Chris Jenkins, its about consolidation - keeping himself in contention for bigger match-ups. The domestic light welter division remains one of the more exciting ones and with many stellar names in and around the top ten, there is a lot of potential out there for the winner. Lets just hope that whatever happens, a couple of lads from Carshalton are still mates at the end of it. Pictures by Bernard Miller for BoxRec News More...

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/1/11/Matty_Askin23.jpgFormer British welterweight champion Michael Jennings has advised Blackpool cruiserweight Matty Askin (15-2) to not think about big title fights in 2014 just yet. Having won the British title, as well as faced the mighty Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden, Jennings knows what it takes to get to the top and is keen to teach Askin about the dangers of looking past his next fight. Jennings, who began training Askin a couple of months ago, said "I've told Matty that this next fight is his most important," Askin is set to defend his English cruiserweight title against Crayford’s Southern Area champion, Menay ‘Emperor’ Edwards (12-2) in the New Year, and if successful, a likely shot at the coveted Lonsdale belt. But first he must get past an as yet to be confirmed opponent in a six rounder at Wigan's Robin Park Centre next Saturday (December 14). "You can never look beyond the fight that's in front of you and that's one thing I learned in my career. "People used to ask me what my most important fight was and they were all the most important. I'm trying to get that across to Matty because we don’t want him going into this fight thinking he can stop the kid and move onto the next one. "We've got a six-rounder and all his concentration needs to be on that. Afterwards he can start thinking about defending his English title in February. It's one step at a time." Jennings is the fourth trainer Askin has worked with in his 17 fight professional career, and he feels he's got him at his best. "I know all trainers says it, but everything really has gone perfectly up to now. The things we've been working have all been coming off. He's been sparring with Courtney Fry and he's really been putting it together. I've been impressed. "He's got so much potential and people seem to think he's older than he is. He's only 24 and he's not in his best years yet. If keeps progressing like he is now, then he's going to be really, really good. "Under Brian Hughes I think he was excellent technically but lacked a bit of fitness. When he went to Bob Shannon I think he got his fitness up, but the technical side slipped. Now we're looking to make sure he has both and I know he's going to go into this fight and really show what he can do." Next Saturday's bill features the return of former British champion Gary Davies, Middleton's Warren Tansey and Liam Taylor as well as Liverpool prospects Adam Ismail, Stephen Lewis, Ryan Vaughan, Phil Smith and Tommy Carus. Young punchers from famous fistic families such as Haroon Khan (Amir's brother), Dempsey Fury (Tyson's cousin) and James Metcalf (son of Shea Neary) will also appear. More...

Glasgow southpaw Jon Slowey and Bellshill Badger Kris Hughes gave the fans an early Christmas present by going toe to toe for ten rounds for the Scottish Area featherweight title on Saturday night at the Gorbals Leisure Centre. Slowey (9st) and Hughes (8st 13lbs) took part in a throwback fight where the pro Slowey crowd went quiet quickly as champion Hughes came out all guns blazing, looking for the early finish. Lead right hooks followed by lefts banged against Slowey’s head in the opening minute. It wasn't until the challenger began to time his jab knocking the head back of Hughes that his fans came back to life. Slowey then began to land his right hook off the jab as the round came to an end. Hughes had taken the first because of his fast start but the war was only beginning. In the second and third rounds, Slowey started using his upper body and head movement to get the better of the champion. The jab was the key as it continually landed to set up a lead right hook. The fourth started with Hughes on the attack again he was caught by a big right hook which pushed him back to the ropes. Hughes then turned Slowey, landing hooks of his own and trapping him on the ropes. Slowey escaped, but was caught by two cracking straight lefts. Hughes best round of the fight so far. Round five was another Hughes round as he was timing the smaller Slowey with a jab, straight left combination, Slowey was still getting Hughes with his lead right hook but after five rounds this writer had the champion up by 48-47. Slowey responded in sixth as an accidental head clash caused a cut over Hughes left eye. Slowey then went on the attack as Hughes tried to defend his injury. All square again 57-57 with four rounds left. Both guys were now feeling the hellish pace in rounds seven and eight as the fight became scrappy. These rounds could easily have gone either way as both guys were still landing their punches, although Slowey was looking just that bit fresher. He was raring to go in round seven, up bouncing about while Hughes was slow off his stool. I scored the seventh to Slowey as in the final 30 seconds of the round he landed two straight lefts which i feel stole the round for the challenger. In the eighth I couldn't split them as both fighters went back to the jab, Slowey was still getting off quicker combination on the inside but was being caught as he came in. With two rounds left the fight was up for grabs and both fighters knew it. At this point I had Slowey one point up 77-76. Hughes using the tactics from the previous round went back on the jab as Slowey tried to get inside. The uppercut from Hughes started to land also as Slowey tried to close the gap. Hughes was having a good round and going by my scoring the fight would hinge on the last. The crowd were on their feet for the last round round as these two local warriors had given them a great show. Slowey was again bouncing about, raring to go, and went after Hughes in the last. A big straight left from Slowey pushed Hughes back but as Slowey jumped in both guys cracked heads leaving Slowey with a terrible cut high on his forehead. Referee Kenny Pringle then took Slowey to get cleaned up, but his face was soon a mess again as the blood oozed from his head. Slowey just went for it. The younger, fitter man pushed Hughes to the ropes, trying to hit him with anything of note. Hughes covered up then tried to fire back with the jab. Slowey had out worked the champion in this round and on my card had sneaked a one point win 96-95. Hamilton Ref Kenny Pringle agreed by awarding Slowey the verdict by the same score. What a fight. Hughes complained, and I don't blame him as it was that close. Slowey caps off a fine year which saw him win the International Masters, WBC International Silver and Scottish Area titles (the latter being by far the most prestigious, and it sounds as if it produced the best fight - ed). Slowey is now 16-0. Hughes drops to 16-5. Caldercruix's David Brophy (12st) upped his record to 9-0-1 and took every round (60-54) against Huddersfield's Alastair Warren (11st 13lbs). Brophy, now fighting at the super middle, looked good early, exploding with classy combinations on the inside and showing a solid jab. He controlled the early rounds from the back foot, with Warren finding it hard to catch Brophy clean. When Brophy used his jab, there was nothing Warren could do. Brophy also looked much better when he stood his ground and pushed Warren back, landing solid uppercuts on the inside. Warren never stopped trying, but was simply out classed by Brophy who will now be looking for bigger tests in 2014. Warren falls to 8-5-3. Former Commonwealth super featherweight champion Craig Docherty (11st 2lbs) made his second appearance in two months as he outpointed tough Pole Tomasz Mazurkiewicz (11st 8oz) 58-56 over 6 rounds. This was no walk in the park for Docherty as he was continually caught on the way in by Mazurkiewicz's quick right hand. In his last fight, Docherty displayed excellent head movement but tonight this was missing. Docherty had started well, pressuring Mazurkiewicz forcing him back but in the last two rounds and after sustaining a cut in the fourth, Mazurkiewicz came back, stopping Docherty in his tracks a few times. Docherty ups his record to 26-7-1, Mazurkiewicz is now 5-11-3. Fighting after more than 18 months out, Kirkintilloch's Alastair Black (9st 13lbs) returned to action, scoring a 2nd round TKO win over Manchester's Paul Haines (9st 13lbs) over four threes at lightweight. In the opener, Black’s spearing jab and fast hands dominated Haines who must have thought he was fighting two men. In the second, a perfectly timed right uppercut to the body floored Haines for an eight count. The fight was then waved over 20 seconds later by Rookie Ref Ged O'Neil with Haines taking fire on the ropes. It was a controversial stoppage, as Haines was covering up well and don't look that much in trouble. Promoter Alex Morrison was so unhappy that he confronted the trialist ref after the fight. Official time of the stoppage was 1.00. Black is now 2-0, Haines 0-12-1. Opening the show, Glasgow's Hugh Gray (10st 7lbs) made his second appearance in two months as he easily outpointed Atherton's William Warburton (10st 12lbs) over four rounds at welterweight. Gray simply out worked his journeyman opponent, showing a classy jab and a desire to work inside if needed. In every round Warburton was forced to the ropes, and Gray’s inside work was impressive. Scoring from ringside, Kenny Pringle had it 40-36 for Gray who now moves to 5-0. Warburton falls to 10-55-3. More...

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/6/6c/Lennox-Clarke.jpgHalesowen super middleweight prospect Lennox Clarke is ready to build on his impressive start to professional boxing when he returns to action next week. The 22 year-old enjoyed an explosive debut when he blew away Worthing's James Child inside two rounds last month. His only previous boxing experience had been white collar fighting. “Making my professional debut was a great feeling,” said Clarke. “I was nervous beforehand, wondering what to expect, but it went really well. “I’d had seven white collar fights and had KO’d everyone I’d fought but I didn’t know what to expect against a fellow professional. Child is a decent lad but I hurt him with my power, so that gives me real confidence. “I’m a novice to the sport. I’ve only been boxing for a couple of years, so I’m learning all the time.” Clarke takes on Didier Blanch on EJKO Promotions’ ‘Who Dares Wins’ Show at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham, next Thursday 19th December). He was due to face the Congo-born Blanch on his debut, but this was switched to Child at the 11th hour. Because of that late switch, Clarke has already done his homework on his opponent and believes the extra time to prepare will stand him in good stead on fight night. “I did all my training for my debut as if I was fighting Blanch,” he added. “To be honest, Child was a bit of a curve ball because he is a southpaw and all my sparring had been against orthodox opponents, as that’s what Blanch is. “I’ve seen him in action, He fought Jordan Clayton in Wolverhampton when I went to watch my mate Ricky Summers there. He’s a slippery fighter who ducks and moves. “He lost on points to Child last time he fought, and I knocked Child out in two, so I’m obviously confident of getting another win. “I’ve known about him for a while now, which has meant my training camp for this one has been spot on.” The main event on ‘Who Dares Wins’ sees Jason Welborn take on Terry Carruthers in a Midlands Area light middleweight title fight. Birmingham light welterweight prospect Michael Rooney steps in with ever-green Nuneaton journeyman Kristian Laight whilst fellow Brummie Craig Cunningham takes on Stoke’s Marcus Le Doux. More...

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/2/27/Vusi_Malinga.jpgTrainer Lee Beard is backing South African southpaw Vusi ‘Marvelous’ Malinga to beat Darlington’s Stuart Hall when the pair clash at Leeds’ First Direct Arena on December 21 for the vacant IBF bantamweight crown. Manchester based Beard will be on corner duty for the visitor, and has seen enough from his new charge to be convinced that Hall will be leaving the ring empty-handed. 33 year old Hall (15-2-1) is coming off the back of a career-best win last time out against American Sergio Perales to claim the IBF Inter-Continental strap. Malinga (21-4-1), a year older at 34, will be determined to leave the UK as champion after twice failing in previous world title attempts. Dennis Hobson Promotions caught up with Lee Beard to get an inside view from the Malinga camp: How is Vusi looking in training? "He’s very disciplined and strong. His conditioning was already in place when he first came and he’s in very good shape. We know what most African fighters are like; they’re very gutsy, strong, strong punchers, strong-willed, they’ve got good timing. "There have been some tremendous African fighters over the years and Vusi comes from a very good boxing family. His uncle is Sugar Boy Malinga, and his brother Patrick fought Alex Arthur a few years back." How highly do you rate Stuart Hall? "He’s a good fighter. Vusi’s done his homework on Stuart, and I’ve seen Stuart fight a few times. It’s going to be tough. Stuart’s going to have a lot of ambition in this fight and it’s a great opportunity for him. They’ll both raise their game but we’re confident we’ll get the win. "But Stuart is a good fighter, he’s very tough, likes to come forward and it’s going to make for a good fight because the styles will blend really well." How do you see the fight going? "I see Vusi winning the fight. They’ll both come forward but Vusi is very strong-willed and like a lot of African [fighters] very hard to push back. Because of where they’ve come from they’ve got so much strength in their mind, and it’s very hard to break that." More...

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/b/bb/Wadi_Camacho233.jpgBy Mark Turley: Canning Town’s easy-going Catalan Cruiserweight, Wadi ‘Machoman’ Camacho (10-2-0), has had some thinking to do. The 28 year old Prizefighter champion returns to action at London’s Excel arena on Saturday for the first time since being outpointed by Romford’s Tony Conquest in October. After putting Conquest down in the first and second sessions of a thrilling fight, his tempo dropped, allowing the Romford man to take advantage. There’s no trace of bitterness in his voice and he speaks calmly about the defeat, despite feeling that the judges scored punches for Conquest that he was blocking. “Particularly in the middle rounds, I was taking a lot of his shots on my arms. He wasn’t landing as much as people thought he was. But they can only judge from what they see at ringside. That’s the way it is. They see the sweat fly off your hair or whatever and think a shot has landed. But most of the time he wasn’t getting through.” Seeing it all as part of a learning curve, Wadi is keen to show the world he has learnt from his mistakes. Blessed with power, particularly in his straight lefts and hooks, southpaw Camacho says it is time to start playing to his strengths. “Well, I don’t need to tell anyone I won the first two rounds against Conquest. My game plan was simple, really. I knew he wouldn’t be able to take my power so I just wanted to get in there and land my shots. Obviously it worked. At the end of the second I went back to my corner and Don (Charles, his trainer) said to me ‘look, you’re four points up, don’t do anything silly, don’t take any risks and its your fight’. “I tried to follow the advice but it just didn’t suit me. I found myself standing off a bit and pausing when I should have been throwing. That gave Conquest the chance to get back into it. I’ve spoken with Don about it a lot afterwards and we’ve both said it was the wrong tactics. I should have gone out in the third and gone after him again.” “The thing is, I’m a big cruiserweight and I’m heavy handed, so I’ve got to use my natural advantages. There’s no point fighting a fight that suits my opponent.” So far Wadi, who has dual nationality, has fallen just short of championship level. The Conquest defeat was a British title eliminator and the other loss on his record, to China Clarke in March, was for the vacant English belt. Yet the Machoman feels he has developed as a result of the setbacks and new title attempts will be just around the corner. “I obviously had to learn the hard way. But I’ll be honest, I don’t really believe they beat me. In both fights, I beat myself. I hadn’t trained properly for China Clarke, my head wasn’t right. With Conquest I had him basically, that was obvious, but my tactics were wrong. “That won’t happen again. Jess (Hardy, manager) has told me that although the defeats have set me back a bit, its not disastrous. I’ve worked a lot with Don on tightening up the defence and using a high guard. The idea will be to come in behind that and bully opponents using my strength. A couple of quick wins and I’ll put myself right back up there. I’m confident of beating anyone on the domestic scene, Dawson, Conquest, Cleverly, whoever. If I fought Tony Conquest again there’s no way he would last five rounds.” Camacho is clearly looking forward to getting back in the ring and getting things moving back towards his primary goal of a British title. “I’ve said from the beginning my biggest aim in boxing is to be British Champ. After that, we’ll see.” And as for the critics who doubt his credentials: “They’re going to see a new Wadi Camacho. Two losses and no more to come.” Camacho was originally due to face Swindon's Lawrence Bennett on Saturday. However, BoxRec News understands that Bennett has withdrawn from the card. Camacho will instead be fighting an as yet unnamed replacement. More...

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/f/fd/DavidPrice.jpgFormer British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion David Price (15-2) has pulled out of Saturday’s comeback fight with a virus. Price was due to face 6ft 9” Russian Evengy Orlov (14-12-1) in Neubrandenberg, Germany. His new promoter, Kalle Sauerland, said: “It is unfortunate but these things happen and one has to act responsibly. This is a minor setback and has no effect on our plans for Pricey. He will be back in the ring at the beginning of the New Year.” Price, now trained by Adam Booth of Hayemaker Boxing, said: “Obviously I am disappointed. I was looking forward to my first fight back but I wouldn’t be doing myself or my fans justice by taking the fight when I am anything less than 100%” The card in Neubrandenberg is headlined by Juergen Braehmer (41-2), who faces Marcus Oliveira (25-0-1) for the vacant WBA light heavyweight title, and features Russian heavy Kubrat Pulev (18-0) and German light middle Jack Culcay (15-1). More...