We've only just began the new year but yet we've already seen a major upset and what could well be one of the most controversial fights of 2014 as we kicked off the year with a very early title fight.
The fight, the first world title fight in the career of Cuban "Kid Blast" Rances Barthelemy (20-0, 13), saw him usurping Dominican Argenis Mendez (21-3-1, 11) of the IBF Super Featherweight title, albeit with the help of a very suspect combination.
Barthelemy started well, despite being the under-dog, and seemed to wobble Mendez in the opening round as his powerful left hook was felt by the champion. Mendez saw out the storm though it was obvious that Barthelemy had the power to hurt Mendez. Unfortunately for the champion Barthelemy also had the reach to use his jab and movement to avoid any unnecessary exchanges.
The second round saw Barthelemy turning the screw, especially late as he scored a clean knockdown of the champion in the final seconds. It was the first time Mendez had been down in his professional career and it was clear when he got to his feet that he hadn't recovered. Barthelemy jumped on Mendez and unleashed a combination that had Mendez in further trouble.
Unfortunately for all involve the bell rung with Barthelemy still throwing shots, two of which came clearly after the first ring of the bell. Those two shots were enough to finish off Mendez sending him to the canvas for the second time and this time he never recovered his feet.
Sadly after the two shots the bell rang again giving Barthelemy some defense in actions though leaving us with a lot of question marks about the actions of the referee who had made a giant mistake in not being close enough to separate the two fighters at the first ring.
In a post fight interview Mike Tyson, Mendez's promoter, said he'd request the commission to force a rematch, though in all honesty it wouldn't be a shock if we don't see that, at least not immediately.
Showing posts with label Controversy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Controversy. Show all posts
Friday, 3 January 2014
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Victor Terrazas v Cristian Mijares
In an excellent but tragically over-looked bout for the vacant WBC Super Bantamweight title Victor Terrazas (37-2-1, 21) controversially became the new champion out pointing the unfortunate Cristian Mijares (47-7-2, 22) via split decision.
The bout started slowly for Terrazas as the speedy and wonderfully talented Mijares landed his sharp straight shots on his co-challenger. Terrazas tried firing back but unfortunately struggled to land much of note in the opener before starting to warm up and taking possible 3 of the first 6 rounds (which were mostly close). You could easily have made a case for either man to have been in the lead but neither was able to dominate (unless you like to watch fights like Stanley Christodoulou and fill in your card depending on which fighter you like the most).
Mijares then started to turn up the heat and after a close round 7 he appeared to dominate 3 of the final 4 rounds as he went on a very good run including and explosive round 12 (likely spurred on by the WBC open scoring) which saw him relentless attacking Terrazas and actually dropping his fellow Mexican though unfortunately he couldn't quite finish him off.
With the scorecards looking against against Mijares going into the final rounds his rally was exceptional especially considering he's not known as much of a finisher. He was unfortunate that the judges don't tend to really regard his work favourably and this isn't the first time that judging has been called in to question regarding Mijares bouts with the most infamous being a genuine "WTF?" card by Doug Tucker who had Jose Navarro pitching a shut out against him back in 2008.
Hopefully this loss won't be the end for Mijares who proved once again what a wonderful boxer he is despite his somewhat "none Mexican" style. Whilst it may be laughed at a Mijares v Rigondeaux bout could well be one of the best match ups to be made a 122lbs and with Terrazas supposedly facing Vic Darchinyan next it appears that the Super Bantamweight division has gotten 2 good looking bouts from this controversy.
The bout started slowly for Terrazas as the speedy and wonderfully talented Mijares landed his sharp straight shots on his co-challenger. Terrazas tried firing back but unfortunately struggled to land much of note in the opener before starting to warm up and taking possible 3 of the first 6 rounds (which were mostly close). You could easily have made a case for either man to have been in the lead but neither was able to dominate (unless you like to watch fights like Stanley Christodoulou and fill in your card depending on which fighter you like the most).
Mijares then started to turn up the heat and after a close round 7 he appeared to dominate 3 of the final 4 rounds as he went on a very good run including and explosive round 12 (likely spurred on by the WBC open scoring) which saw him relentless attacking Terrazas and actually dropping his fellow Mexican though unfortunately he couldn't quite finish him off.
With the scorecards looking against against Mijares going into the final rounds his rally was exceptional especially considering he's not known as much of a finisher. He was unfortunate that the judges don't tend to really regard his work favourably and this isn't the first time that judging has been called in to question regarding Mijares bouts with the most infamous being a genuine "WTF?" card by Doug Tucker who had Jose Navarro pitching a shut out against him back in 2008.
Hopefully this loss won't be the end for Mijares who proved once again what a wonderful boxer he is despite his somewhat "none Mexican" style. Whilst it may be laughed at a Mijares v Rigondeaux bout could well be one of the best match ups to be made a 122lbs and with Terrazas supposedly facing Vic Darchinyan next it appears that the Super Bantamweight division has gotten 2 good looking bouts from this controversy.
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Koki Kameda v Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym
Christmas comes but once a year, unless it seems your name is Koki Kameda (30-1, 17) who for the third time in 5 bouts appeared to be given a gift decision in order to retain his WBA Bantamweight title. Kameda's split decision victory over little known Thai Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym (36-2, 19) was just the latest in a line of controversial moments for the 3-weight world champion from Japan.
For those who have been following the career of Kameda over the years you'll know perfectly well about his first gift decision back in 2006 over Juan Jose Landaeta, a decision that saw the then unbeaten Kameda claim the WBA Light Flyweight title. Since then Kameda has claimed world titles at both Flyweight and Bantamweight though his Bantamweight reign has been highly controversial.
In his second defense of his WBA Bantamweight title Kameda was given a highly controversial decision over the then unbeaten Mexican David De La Mora in a bout many felt De La Mora did more than enough to claim the title in. Just 3 fights later De La Mora's country man Hugo Ruiz was given the proverbial shafting by the judges in a bout that was difficult to even view as close.
Against Kaiyanghadaogym it was expected that Kameda would have an easier nights work to defend his title, that thought however didn't last long as as the unheralded Thai gave him a real battle and a half over a very hard fought 12 round contest.
Despite the fact Kaiyanghadaogym was the smaller man naturally (coming up from Super Flyweight) the Thai wasn't effected by Kameda's power and in typical Thai fighting style refused to be intimidated by the large crowd at the Bodymaker Colosseum in Kameda's homeland of Japan. This saw Kameda forced to fight back hard.
With both men gunning for the victory it was a hard fight though one that Kaiyanhadaogym should feel he did enough to claim victory in. Sadly however Kameda again retained his title with a huge question mark hanging over his head.
The 26 year old Kameda may well be a 3-weight world champion though this current reign is one that appears to be highly questionable. It's only a matter of time before the boxing world shrugs their shoulders with Kameda who will likely get a similar reputation to the likes of Sven Ottke or Felix Sturm as holding a title hostage with helpful judging.
For those who have been following the career of Kameda over the years you'll know perfectly well about his first gift decision back in 2006 over Juan Jose Landaeta, a decision that saw the then unbeaten Kameda claim the WBA Light Flyweight title. Since then Kameda has claimed world titles at both Flyweight and Bantamweight though his Bantamweight reign has been highly controversial.
In his second defense of his WBA Bantamweight title Kameda was given a highly controversial decision over the then unbeaten Mexican David De La Mora in a bout many felt De La Mora did more than enough to claim the title in. Just 3 fights later De La Mora's country man Hugo Ruiz was given the proverbial shafting by the judges in a bout that was difficult to even view as close.
Against Kaiyanghadaogym it was expected that Kameda would have an easier nights work to defend his title, that thought however didn't last long as as the unheralded Thai gave him a real battle and a half over a very hard fought 12 round contest.
Despite the fact Kaiyanghadaogym was the smaller man naturally (coming up from Super Flyweight) the Thai wasn't effected by Kameda's power and in typical Thai fighting style refused to be intimidated by the large crowd at the Bodymaker Colosseum in Kameda's homeland of Japan. This saw Kameda forced to fight back hard.
With both men gunning for the victory it was a hard fight though one that Kaiyanhadaogym should feel he did enough to claim victory in. Sadly however Kameda again retained his title with a huge question mark hanging over his head.
The 26 year old Kameda may well be a 3-weight world champion though this current reign is one that appears to be highly questionable. It's only a matter of time before the boxing world shrugs their shoulders with Kameda who will likely get a similar reputation to the likes of Sven Ottke or Felix Sturm as holding a title hostage with helpful judging.
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Roman Martinez v Juan Carlos Burgos
Mexican Juan Carlos Burgos (30-1-1, 20) will feel incredibly hard done by to not be the WBO Super Featherweight champion as he scored a hugely controversial draw with Roman "Rocky" Martinez (26-1-2, 16) in a hugely impressive performance that will have won him a number of new fans even if he didn't manage to claim the title0
Despite being seen as the boxer going in to the bout Burgos proved that he could do both box or brawl as he thoroughly dominated his Puerto Rican rival with accurate hurtful body shots, a sharp accurate jab and just an overall superior skill set.
The opening round was action from the off with both men landing bombs from the off, those bombs saw Martinez's face reddening as he seemed to have ridiculous success from the off. The following round saw Burgos continuing to establish his dominance by simply out working the former champion who was attempting to make the first defense of his second reign as champion.
It wasn't until round 3 that Martinez had his first notable success as he seemed to gradually grow in to the fight. Martinez continued to grow through many of the middle rounds making rounds 4 and 5 very close whilst arguably taking the 6th. The middle rounds were incredibly close as both men gave it their all, sadly for Martinez he was being ground away with hurtful body shots that seemed to finish every Burgos combination.
Although Martinez was having real success in cutting the distance and forcing Burgos on to the ropes this was oddly not suiting Martinez as Burgos continually caught him with left hooks to the rib cage that seemed to really take their toll on Martinez late. Though the middle rounds there was enough close rounds to give Martinez 4 rounds or at a push 5 (including rounds 8 and 9 which were very clear Martinez rounds).
Despite Burgos looking like a spent force in rounds 8 and 9, the two rounds he clearly lost, he came back hard in the following 3 rounds and seemed to clearly swept them with his aggression, work rate and effectiveness. This was where the body work of Burgos really seemed to have taken it's toll on Martinez who was looking like a fighter staying in their on heart alone.
Amazingly the scorecards, all from inexperienced judges at world championship level, were all over the place. The first card (111-117-Burgos) seemed pretty accurate, at least it had the right guy winning, the second card was the frankly ridiculous 116-112 for Martinez, a card that simply beggars belief whilst the third card was 114-114, a card that seemed to give Martinez too much credit for merely being competitive in a number of rounds.
Sadly the commentary for the bout was awful with them really swinging on Burgos' sack, and whilst the Mexican did deserve the decision, the commentary made it sound like a shut out, when really it wasn't. Burgos did clearly win on my cards but Martinez, except in the first 2 and final 3 was competitive enough to put up a few rounds.
Despite being seen as the boxer going in to the bout Burgos proved that he could do both box or brawl as he thoroughly dominated his Puerto Rican rival with accurate hurtful body shots, a sharp accurate jab and just an overall superior skill set.
The opening round was action from the off with both men landing bombs from the off, those bombs saw Martinez's face reddening as he seemed to have ridiculous success from the off. The following round saw Burgos continuing to establish his dominance by simply out working the former champion who was attempting to make the first defense of his second reign as champion.
It wasn't until round 3 that Martinez had his first notable success as he seemed to gradually grow in to the fight. Martinez continued to grow through many of the middle rounds making rounds 4 and 5 very close whilst arguably taking the 6th. The middle rounds were incredibly close as both men gave it their all, sadly for Martinez he was being ground away with hurtful body shots that seemed to finish every Burgos combination.
Although Martinez was having real success in cutting the distance and forcing Burgos on to the ropes this was oddly not suiting Martinez as Burgos continually caught him with left hooks to the rib cage that seemed to really take their toll on Martinez late. Though the middle rounds there was enough close rounds to give Martinez 4 rounds or at a push 5 (including rounds 8 and 9 which were very clear Martinez rounds).
Despite Burgos looking like a spent force in rounds 8 and 9, the two rounds he clearly lost, he came back hard in the following 3 rounds and seemed to clearly swept them with his aggression, work rate and effectiveness. This was where the body work of Burgos really seemed to have taken it's toll on Martinez who was looking like a fighter staying in their on heart alone.
Amazingly the scorecards, all from inexperienced judges at world championship level, were all over the place. The first card (111-117-Burgos) seemed pretty accurate, at least it had the right guy winning, the second card was the frankly ridiculous 116-112 for Martinez, a card that simply beggars belief whilst the third card was 114-114, a card that seemed to give Martinez too much credit for merely being competitive in a number of rounds.
Sadly the commentary for the bout was awful with them really swinging on Burgos' sack, and whilst the Mexican did deserve the decision, the commentary made it sound like a shut out, when really it wasn't. Burgos did clearly win on my cards but Martinez, except in the first 2 and final 3 was competitive enough to put up a few rounds.
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Koki Kameda v Hugo Ruiz
Koki's Kristmas Kame(da) Early
Christmas came early for WBA Bantamweight champion Koki Kameda (29-1, 17) who got given a gift wrapped present from the judges as he claimed a split decision victory over hard punching Mexican Hugo Ruiz (31-2, 28). A fight that some feel may well go down as one of, if not the, robbery of the year.Ruiz came out knowing he needed to make an early impression and that's exactly what he did using his reach and power to keep Kameda at a safe distance whilst seeming to bag the opening 5 rounds with little real effort. Kameda, giving away noticeable size and reach simply couldn't get at Ruiz in the early part of the fight as Mexican showed his world class ability.
It wasn't until round 6 that you could make a case for Kameda to have even won a round as he started to get close to the Mexican. Sadly despite winning the round Kameda did himself no favours as he landed a clear blow well after the bell as he proved to class one would expect from such a distinguished fighter.
Kameda was made to pay for his cheap shot as Ruiz came out fired up for round 7, a round that he clearly won, much like he had won the opening 5. It was hard to score it any other way than 69-64 through the first 7 rounds in favour of Ruiz, the rounds were easy to score at this point and it should have left Kameda needing at least a knockdown at some point to claim a victory, something he failed to get.
Although Kameda failed to drop Ruiz, he did start to get more and more success as Ruiz's work rate began to drop however the championship rounds saw both men really fighting on even terms, the only rounds in the bout which were really up for debate.
Th first scorecard, 117-113 for Ruiz seemed about spot on, though the other two scorecards, 116-113 and 115-113 in favour of Kameda were simply disgraceful. At very best Kameda deserved a draw (and that's giving him everything you possibly could), though in all honesty he really should have suffered his second defeat and by very clear scores.
I'd advise all fighters to avoid facing Kameda on this showing. It's not the first time he's had a controversial decision go his way with his 2008 victory over Juan Jose Landaeta loudly criticised and likewise his victory last year over David De La Mora. For Ruiz however it was proof that he deserved to be mentioned amongst the top fighters at 118lbs.
Friday, 30 November 2012
Khabib Allakhverdiev v Joan Guzman
Unbeaten Russian Khabib Allakhverdiev (18-0, 8) impressively claimed the WBA Light Welterweight title as he inflicted the first loss on to Domican Joan Guzman (33-1-1-1, 20) thanks to an 8th round technical decision in a bout marred by a number of blown calls by referee Luis Pabon.
The fight started well with a very fun opening round that saw Guzman sent to the canvas in what was ruled a slip though clearly came from a punch as Pabon made his first botched call of the night. Other than the "knockdown" the round was thoroughly fun to watch as both men went at each other. Thankfully the following round continued in a similar manner with both men tagging each other with solid shots.
Allakhverdiev proved to have the power to hurt Guzman again in the third round as he sent the Dominican down, this time with the shot being counted by the referee as the Russian claimed a 10-8 round. Guzman fought back well the following round and used his feet to stay out of danger for most of the round before both men tried tearing lumps off each other in the final 30 seconds. Sadly for Guzman his momentum was ended quickly with the Domican again knocked down, as Pabon botched yet another call in favour of the Dominican. Although Pabon missed the clear knockdown, he couldn't help Guzman's face, which ended up getting tagged with a shot that appeared to really mess up Guzman's nose.
After 5 rounds it was looking like a bout that was going to go Allakhverdiev's way, though Guzman then decided to use his brain and instead of going toe-to-toe with the Russian he instead decided to box and move. When Guzman was moving he was making Allakhverdiev look slow and plodding and this allowed Guzman to claim both the 6th and 7th round very easily. It was now that I was asking myself why had Guzman not started the fight like this, though though the answer was obvious, he's 36 and he can't do that for 12 rounds.
Controversy again reared it's ugly head in round 8 as Guzman, still boxing on his toes fell over, twisting his knee in the process. After a time out, the referee allowed Guzman to go on and Allakhverdiev went straight after his man who was now a stationary target. It didn't take long for Allakhverdiev to have Guzman in real trouble and then Guzman went down again, this time a clear push as Allakhverdiev went in for the kill. This time Guzman was unable to continue forcing the referee to end the bout with some viewers (especially those watching on TV) assuming that Guzman was wanting out of the fight considering the energy he had been using by boxing on his toes.
Surprisingly despite arguably scoring 3 knockdowns, and only losing 3 of the 8 rounds Allakhverdiev only managed to scrape a close split decision over Guzman with all 3 cards reading 76-75 (2 in favour of the Russian). A series of cards that were as mystifying as the performance of Pabon, who not only missed the knockdowns but also warned Allakhverdiev about anything and everything, splitting the fighters when it favoured Guzman and really started to get in Allakhverdiev's head. Sorry Luis but it's time to walk away after this dreadful performance.
The fight started well with a very fun opening round that saw Guzman sent to the canvas in what was ruled a slip though clearly came from a punch as Pabon made his first botched call of the night. Other than the "knockdown" the round was thoroughly fun to watch as both men went at each other. Thankfully the following round continued in a similar manner with both men tagging each other with solid shots.
Allakhverdiev proved to have the power to hurt Guzman again in the third round as he sent the Dominican down, this time with the shot being counted by the referee as the Russian claimed a 10-8 round. Guzman fought back well the following round and used his feet to stay out of danger for most of the round before both men tried tearing lumps off each other in the final 30 seconds. Sadly for Guzman his momentum was ended quickly with the Domican again knocked down, as Pabon botched yet another call in favour of the Dominican. Although Pabon missed the clear knockdown, he couldn't help Guzman's face, which ended up getting tagged with a shot that appeared to really mess up Guzman's nose.
After 5 rounds it was looking like a bout that was going to go Allakhverdiev's way, though Guzman then decided to use his brain and instead of going toe-to-toe with the Russian he instead decided to box and move. When Guzman was moving he was making Allakhverdiev look slow and plodding and this allowed Guzman to claim both the 6th and 7th round very easily. It was now that I was asking myself why had Guzman not started the fight like this, though though the answer was obvious, he's 36 and he can't do that for 12 rounds.
Controversy again reared it's ugly head in round 8 as Guzman, still boxing on his toes fell over, twisting his knee in the process. After a time out, the referee allowed Guzman to go on and Allakhverdiev went straight after his man who was now a stationary target. It didn't take long for Allakhverdiev to have Guzman in real trouble and then Guzman went down again, this time a clear push as Allakhverdiev went in for the kill. This time Guzman was unable to continue forcing the referee to end the bout with some viewers (especially those watching on TV) assuming that Guzman was wanting out of the fight considering the energy he had been using by boxing on his toes.
Surprisingly despite arguably scoring 3 knockdowns, and only losing 3 of the 8 rounds Allakhverdiev only managed to scrape a close split decision over Guzman with all 3 cards reading 76-75 (2 in favour of the Russian). A series of cards that were as mystifying as the performance of Pabon, who not only missed the knockdowns but also warned Allakhverdiev about anything and everything, splitting the fighters when it favoured Guzman and really started to get in Allakhverdiev's head. Sorry Luis but it's time to walk away after this dreadful performance.
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