Miguel Vazquez v Marvin Quintero

In a less that entertaining bout Miguel Vazquez (32-3, 13) successfully retained his IBF Lightweight title against the hard hitting Marvin Quintero (25-4, 21) in a bout that really failed to ever come alive.

The champion claimed a number of the early rounds via his movement and jab whilst Quintero, who applied constant pressure, threw little and seemed to be chasing Vazquez as opposed to punching him. Despite Vazquez's successes early on Quintero gradually cut the distance and in the middle rounds the challenger was starting to win rounds and tag the champion time and time again.

By round 8 the bout had really closed up and there was really only a round in it either way as Quintero started to enforce his will on the bout. Despite the huge gulf in technical skill Vazquez wasn't boxing any longer, instead of punching and moving he was almost running away and forcing Quintero to chase him and make the fight, something he did and he did well. The bought didn't widen in either rounds 9 or 10 as both men made legitimate claims for both of the rounds, which meant it was all to fight for in the championship rounds.

With the bout so close it was amazing to see Vazquez really impose himself in round 11, a round that he won so clearly that it was probably the most dominant single round of the fight (despite the fact Quintero didn't land a punch in the opening round according to Compubox). The penultimate round really showed the class of "Titere" who landed at will and completely neutralised Quintero. This lead to Quintero really chasing the fight in the final round and whilst Quintero just won the round on my card, he failed to score the knock down that could have won him the fight.

When it came to the scorecards there was enough close rounds to understand a wide selections of scores and perhaps understandably the judges were split. The first card read out was a 115-113 in favour of Quintero, the second card was 116-112 Vazquez (the same score as I had it) though the third card was simply ludicrous seeing Vazquez as the winner 118-110.

The decision was booed though that may have more to do with the lack of action early on and the third scorecard which deserved a round of boos on it's own. Score cards of 116-112 EITHER way would have been understandable, but 118-110 was a joke card I'm afraid.

This should have been a chance for Vazquez to make an impression though sadly he failed to box to the best of his ability. He spent too much time running and not enough time boxing, and as a result won't have made many new fans tonight. In fact if anyone was the "real winner" here it was Quintero who will almost certainly be on HBO due to the fact he appears to be fun to watch. He's not the most skilled or the most durable but he'll be fun on the fringes of the world level and in fact the perfect opponent for Ricky Burns to make his mark on America against.

Gennady Golovkin v Grzegorz Proksa

Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21) made not only his US debut but also a real statement to the boxing world as he successfully defended his WBA Middleweight title by stopping Poland's Grzegorz Proksa (28-2, 21) in 5 one sided rounds.

The difference between the two was obvious from the opening round with Golovkin rocking Proksa late in the opener before dropping the Pole. Whilst the Pole claimed it was a slip it obvious that he had been hurt and hurt hard. The following round Golovkin continued to attack, carefully and accurately showing not only excellent shot selection but heavy handed power and unnerving composure.

Proksa's best round was round 3 though it was the only one in which the Pole didn't looked to have been hurt by Golovkin's shots. Despite it appearing like a small respite for the challenger it was still a round that champion won with his accurate shots. More than anything the round acted as the calm before the storm and in the following round Golovkin did some of his best work, dropping Proksa again and really hurting him with sickening left hooks to the body. Whilst Proksa managed to see the bell for the end of round 4 he was looking like a beaten man, his nose bloodied and his body feeling the effects of the disheartening shots.

Despite having taken a battering in the previous round the brave Proksa came out for the fifth round, it didn't long however for Golovkin to drop the Pole for a third time, this time with Proksa finishing up face first on the canvas. Despite beating the count the referee waved the bout off having seen enough to declare Golovkin the winner by TKO.

Following the bout Golovkin called out anyone between Light Middleweight and Super Middleweight, seemingly looking for the toughest and best challenges out there. He seemed open to fighting the winner of Andre Ward's up coming fight with Chad Dawson or pretty much anyone in and around those weights. The mostly likely outcome however is that Golovkin is eying up the winner of the upcoming bout between Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr with the new IBF/WBA "super" Middleweight champion Daniel Geale and WBO champion Dmitry Pirog as solid alternatives.

For Proksa it's likely he will return home to the UK and look for a solid rebuilding fighter, maybe even facing Darren Barker or Martin Murray as all 3 fighters attempt to get back in the title hunt. This loss however will seriously dent the Pole's confidence.