In a thoroughly engrossing bout Venezuelan Liborio Solis (15-3-1, 7) managed to upset Kohei Kono (28-8, 11) and claim the WBA Super Flyweight title, upgrading his status from the "interim" champion in the process.
The bout, held in Kono's home country was fought at a frantic pace and was action packed through out despite a slow opening round. In all honesty the only round was the bouts only genuinely slow round as the two men traded bombs through out a very hard fought and very exciting contest.
In round 2 Kono managed to score a flash knockdown of the challenger who's knees buckled and he touched down after an excellent connect by the champion in what was one of 2 knockdown with Solis scoring one himself later in the bout.
Solis bounced back from the knockdown and appeared to win rounds 3 and 4, both of which could be on a shortlist for Round of the Year as both men cracked the other with bombs during long trading sequences. It was the was those rounds that saw the pace step up and the battling up close continued in rounds 5 and 6 as neither man wanted to give up more ground than they absolutely had to. For Kono however round 6 was a key round as he landed umpteen noteworthy body shots that looked like they were having an effect on Solis.
Kono's body attack continued through out round 7, a round that he clearly won after a number of close and debatable rounds. It appeared in that round that not only were the body shots taking their toll on Solis but so too was the hectic pace of the early rounds. Just a round later however Solis had his key moment of success dropping Kono and then bringing a lot of offense as he tried to take out the champion. Despite being visibly hurt Kono fired back at the end of the round and appeared to rock Solis very late in the round.
Round 9 was an intriguing round as Solis dominated the first 2 minutes of it with his jab and movement showing off his excellent boxing ability to keep the champion chasing him and looking wild. Late in the round however things turned around and Kono managed to detonate on him several times in an attempt to steal the round.
With both men having put in a lot of work it wasn't a shock when the pace of the bout dropped in round 10 with Solis holding repeatedly and the referee was forced to pull them apart. This round also played a big part in the eventual outcome as Kono was deducted a point which appeared to undo his good work from through out the round.
The bout ended on the same high as much of it was fought with Kono bringing heavy pressure and forcing Solis to to move or fight. Solis however was just a tad too slippery for Kono and used his feet excellently to make Kono look a little bit reckless coming in. Despite the movement of Solis, Kono really went for the finish in round 12 as he appeared to feel he was behind, sadly for the defending champion however he couldn't quite finish off Solis who had to take some shots before the bell.
To much shock the decision was read out as majority decision (115-111, 114-112, 113-113) in favour of Solis who perhaps could feel himself lucky considering he was the challenger and fighting in the champions homeland.
Showing posts with label Upset. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Upset. Show all posts
Monday, 6 May 2013
Saturday, 6 April 2013
Brian Viloria v Juan Francisco Estrada
In a notable upset Mexican Juan Francisco Estrada (23-2, 18) claimed both the WBO and WBA "super" Flyweight titles thanks to an inspired performance against the highly likable Brian Viloria (32-4-0-2, 19) who may well be on the verge of calling an end to his glorious career.
The fight started badly for Viloria who looked dry coming in to the opening round and whilst he wasn't rocked early on he certainly didn't get off to a great start as Estrada started fast with weak shots. By the end of the opening round however Viloria was starting to get into things and landed an excellent left hand and a lovely burst of effective shots late in the round. The round was up for argument though Viloria just didn't look like he was the same man who stopped Hernan Marquez last year in a fantastic bout.
In the second and third round Viloria appeared to settle in to the bout more and and started landing some excellent counters despite being forced to take some body blows, by the end of the third however Viloria seemed to have finally found his rhythm and was planting his own, hurtful body shots with the intent of slowing down Estrada.
In round four Estrada started to match Viloria as the bout moved up a gear and both men traded hard shots. Viloria's shots seemed the classier whilst Estrada's seemed the more forceful as neither man looked to back down. The following round saw Estrada grow in confidence almost as if he realised he could take Viloria's power, though more notably was the flat footed-ness of Viloria who rarely seemed willing to chase the more energetic Estrada. In fact it sort of looked as if Viloria was being somewhat lazy as we entered the middle rounds.
The sixth round again saw both men trading off shots with the best single shot of the round being a nasty looking shot to the mid-section by Viloria, though unfortunately for him Estrada just came right back at him with a nasty burst of shots as the Mexican continued to realise that Viloria wasn't going to be able to take him out with a single blow. This was further proven in round 7 as both men landed huge bombs on each other to start.
Sadly for Viloria after winning round 7 he started to fade badly as Estrada came on strong and really let his hands go up close as he waged a toe-to-toe war with Viloria who seemed unable to match the work-rate, power, speed or accuracy of his younger rival. By the end of round 8 Viloria was starting to appear very weary as if he was running out of gas and this showed in the subsequent rounds as Estrada just took over the bout winning an action packed 9th round (the round of the fight) and then final 3 rounds with the 12th being a total domination.
Sadly for Viloria he took a real whooping in the final round and although he remained on his feet (somehow) he took the sort of battering that can make a fighter think twice about returning to the ring. At 32 years old Viloria is an old man for a Flyweight and with his hard fought career against top contenders I'll be honest I'd like to see him hang them up here. He's been a great ambassador for the sport and one of the most fun to watch fighter we've seen in the lower weights for quite some time though the signs at the end of round 12 were that of a fighter who needs to think twice about continuing.
For the 22 year old Estrada this is a career defining victory over a man who was widely regarded as the best Flyweight on the planet. Estrada may have been the man in the right place though he's a fighter who proved against Roman Gonzalez that he was a nightmare for anyone and he could well remain the champion at Flyweight for a very long time (unless he's killing himself to make 112lbs).
The fight started badly for Viloria who looked dry coming in to the opening round and whilst he wasn't rocked early on he certainly didn't get off to a great start as Estrada started fast with weak shots. By the end of the opening round however Viloria was starting to get into things and landed an excellent left hand and a lovely burst of effective shots late in the round. The round was up for argument though Viloria just didn't look like he was the same man who stopped Hernan Marquez last year in a fantastic bout.
In the second and third round Viloria appeared to settle in to the bout more and and started landing some excellent counters despite being forced to take some body blows, by the end of the third however Viloria seemed to have finally found his rhythm and was planting his own, hurtful body shots with the intent of slowing down Estrada.
In round four Estrada started to match Viloria as the bout moved up a gear and both men traded hard shots. Viloria's shots seemed the classier whilst Estrada's seemed the more forceful as neither man looked to back down. The following round saw Estrada grow in confidence almost as if he realised he could take Viloria's power, though more notably was the flat footed-ness of Viloria who rarely seemed willing to chase the more energetic Estrada. In fact it sort of looked as if Viloria was being somewhat lazy as we entered the middle rounds.
The sixth round again saw both men trading off shots with the best single shot of the round being a nasty looking shot to the mid-section by Viloria, though unfortunately for him Estrada just came right back at him with a nasty burst of shots as the Mexican continued to realise that Viloria wasn't going to be able to take him out with a single blow. This was further proven in round 7 as both men landed huge bombs on each other to start.
Sadly for Viloria after winning round 7 he started to fade badly as Estrada came on strong and really let his hands go up close as he waged a toe-to-toe war with Viloria who seemed unable to match the work-rate, power, speed or accuracy of his younger rival. By the end of round 8 Viloria was starting to appear very weary as if he was running out of gas and this showed in the subsequent rounds as Estrada just took over the bout winning an action packed 9th round (the round of the fight) and then final 3 rounds with the 12th being a total domination.
Sadly for Viloria he took a real whooping in the final round and although he remained on his feet (somehow) he took the sort of battering that can make a fighter think twice about returning to the ring. At 32 years old Viloria is an old man for a Flyweight and with his hard fought career against top contenders I'll be honest I'd like to see him hang them up here. He's been a great ambassador for the sport and one of the most fun to watch fighter we've seen in the lower weights for quite some time though the signs at the end of round 12 were that of a fighter who needs to think twice about continuing.
For the 22 year old Estrada this is a career defining victory over a man who was widely regarded as the best Flyweight on the planet. Estrada may have been the man in the right place though he's a fighter who proved against Roman Gonzalez that he was a nightmare for anyone and he could well remain the champion at Flyweight for a very long time (unless he's killing himself to make 112lbs).
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Mario Rodriguez v Nkosinathi Joyi
Have we just had the upset of the year by Super Mario?
Unheralded Mexican tough man Mario Rodriguez (15-6-4, 11) may not have the best of records on paper but he has arguably just scored the upset of the year as he became the first man to stop the very talented Nkosinathi Joyi (22-1-0-1, 15) and claimed the IBF Minimumweight title.
Whilst only the hardcore boxing fans had heard of Nkosinathi Joyi they respected the South African. Not only was he unbeaten but he appeared to have it all, he was a great puncher, very fluid, great movement, technically sound and with superb stamina. He had beaten a relative who's who in his previous 23 bouts including the likes of Katsunari Takayama, Raul Garcia, Sammy Gutierrez and Florante Condes. His travels to Mexico to face Rodriguez wasn't meant to see usurped, it was instead supposed to be a chance to show case his skills outside of his homeland.
In the early rounds things went well for Joyi who was using his boxing ability to keep the tough Rodriguez at range. Whilst Rodriguez was pressuring and landing punches himself it was clear that Joyi was winning the rounds with his better movement, better shots and superior power. As the rounds went on however Rodriguez was gradually getting closer, cutting the distance and having more success. Every round it seemed that Rodriguez was doing better whilst Joyi was starting to wilt.
Things started to swing Rodriguez's way in round 5 as he started to connect with more success. Joyi wasn't being particularly bothered by any single shot, and was still possibly doing enough to claim the round but it was much closer than the previous ones. Round 6 continued the swing with Rodriguez now starting to grind down the champion. Whilst Joyi was still landing the better shots he was starting to get hit more himself by a challenger who refused to be swayed from his game plan.
At the start of the 7th round Joyi's shorts had really lost their sharp, crisp snap and he was starting to look tired. The pressure from Rodriguez was starting to pay off. Then, almost out of nowhere, Rodriguez seemed to wobble Joyi, the challenger went in for the kill and Joyi dropped to his knees where he remained until the referee was done with his count.
As the new IBF champion Rodriguez has a number of options. He could offer a rematch to Joyi, he could attempt to lure the winner of the upcoming WBO title bout between Ivan Calderon and Moises Fuentes into a unification or he could look to moving up.
For Joyi however the future is perhaps more limited. He has suffered long bouts of inactivity, his first trip abroad has been unsuccessful and he currently has little to no bargaining power so he will almost certainly need to travel for a fight of note (unless he wishes to face fellow South African Hekkie Budler for the IBO title). I'd expect however that Joyi, at 5'6" will have been struggling with to make the 105lb weight limit so perhaps the most likely outcome is that Joyi moves to either Light Flyweight or even Flyweight to allow his body the freedom to grow.
Whilst most boxing fans will not be aware of just how big of an upset this, it's genuinely huge and on par (at worst) with Sonny Boy Jaro's victory over Pongsaklek Wonjongkam.
Unheralded Mexican tough man Mario Rodriguez (15-6-4, 11) may not have the best of records on paper but he has arguably just scored the upset of the year as he became the first man to stop the very talented Nkosinathi Joyi (22-1-0-1, 15) and claimed the IBF Minimumweight title.
Whilst only the hardcore boxing fans had heard of Nkosinathi Joyi they respected the South African. Not only was he unbeaten but he appeared to have it all, he was a great puncher, very fluid, great movement, technically sound and with superb stamina. He had beaten a relative who's who in his previous 23 bouts including the likes of Katsunari Takayama, Raul Garcia, Sammy Gutierrez and Florante Condes. His travels to Mexico to face Rodriguez wasn't meant to see usurped, it was instead supposed to be a chance to show case his skills outside of his homeland.
In the early rounds things went well for Joyi who was using his boxing ability to keep the tough Rodriguez at range. Whilst Rodriguez was pressuring and landing punches himself it was clear that Joyi was winning the rounds with his better movement, better shots and superior power. As the rounds went on however Rodriguez was gradually getting closer, cutting the distance and having more success. Every round it seemed that Rodriguez was doing better whilst Joyi was starting to wilt.
Things started to swing Rodriguez's way in round 5 as he started to connect with more success. Joyi wasn't being particularly bothered by any single shot, and was still possibly doing enough to claim the round but it was much closer than the previous ones. Round 6 continued the swing with Rodriguez now starting to grind down the champion. Whilst Joyi was still landing the better shots he was starting to get hit more himself by a challenger who refused to be swayed from his game plan.
At the start of the 7th round Joyi's shorts had really lost their sharp, crisp snap and he was starting to look tired. The pressure from Rodriguez was starting to pay off. Then, almost out of nowhere, Rodriguez seemed to wobble Joyi, the challenger went in for the kill and Joyi dropped to his knees where he remained until the referee was done with his count.
As the new IBF champion Rodriguez has a number of options. He could offer a rematch to Joyi, he could attempt to lure the winner of the upcoming WBO title bout between Ivan Calderon and Moises Fuentes into a unification or he could look to moving up.
For Joyi however the future is perhaps more limited. He has suffered long bouts of inactivity, his first trip abroad has been unsuccessful and he currently has little to no bargaining power so he will almost certainly need to travel for a fight of note (unless he wishes to face fellow South African Hekkie Budler for the IBO title). I'd expect however that Joyi, at 5'6" will have been struggling with to make the 105lb weight limit so perhaps the most likely outcome is that Joyi moves to either Light Flyweight or even Flyweight to allow his body the freedom to grow.
Whilst most boxing fans will not be aware of just how big of an upset this, it's genuinely huge and on par (at worst) with Sonny Boy Jaro's victory over Pongsaklek Wonjongkam.
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