With all the US action this past weekend it's easy to forget that the first world title fight of the weekend was actually in South Africa as Hekkie Budler (24-1, 7) took on Argentina's little known Hugo Hernan Verchelli (11-2, 6) in a bout for the WBA interim Minimumweight title.
The fight, which took place in Budler's home area of Gauteng was viewed by some as a solid match up. Instead however it turned out, as I assumed, to be a mismatch as Verchelli's inexperience around this sort of level was exposed very early on.
Budler set off with an all action style and by the end of the first round it appeared that this was the Budler of old, the Budler who had created a buzz due to being so fun and exciting. Although Verchelli saw out the early storm he was always struggling to work his way back in to things and he lacked the power or the skills needed to prevent Budler from fighting like a buzzsaw.
It wasn't long until Budler's power and work rate took it's toll on Verchelli who was dropped 3 times in round 4 before the referee was forced to wave the contest off.
With the victory Budler adds the WBA "interim" title to his IBO title and opens the door to a major international contest with another top guy at 105lbs.
Sunday, 10 November 2013
Saturday, 9 November 2013
Roman Martinez v Mikey Garcia
The third, and final, world title fight from the US this weekend saw the unbeaten Mexican-American Mikey Garcia (33-0, 28) claim his second divisional world title as he became the first man to stop Puerto Rican Roman Martinez (27-2-2, 16) and the new WBO Super Featherweight champion.
The fight started in a very patient manner with Garcia waiting to see what Martinez had, which was mostly jabs. In the second round however Martinez showed he also had a right hand as he connected with a short and set Garcia to the seat of his pants.
In round 3 Mikey began to really find his rhythm and land his own jab almost at will. As everyone knows once Garcia has his jab going the right hand usually isn't that far behind and in round 4 that right started to ping on to the head of Martinez with a regularity. Unfortunately for Martinez his toughness was going to be his key issue and Garcia kept tagging him with rights that became more and more telling.
By round 6 the crisp right hands of Garcia were having a major effect on Martinez who was being broken up round by round. Every time Garcia connected it seemed Martinez's legs turned to jelly for a few moments and although he recovered it was obvious he feeling the power time after time.
After taking a pounding in round 7 it seemed like Martinez had just one chance of winning, Garcia breaking his hand on the tough head of the Puerto Rican. Unfortunately for Martinez it appeared that Garcia realised that and in round 8 landed his first body shot of note, sending Martinez down for the first time.
The Puerto Rican, feeling the effects of the shot, didn't even seem to attempt to get up. Not so much quitting as being in too much agony to truly know where he was with what is quit possibly a broken rib and the best body shot stoppage at the world level since Golovkin stopped Matthew Macklin with one
The fight started in a very patient manner with Garcia waiting to see what Martinez had, which was mostly jabs. In the second round however Martinez showed he also had a right hand as he connected with a short and set Garcia to the seat of his pants.
In round 3 Mikey began to really find his rhythm and land his own jab almost at will. As everyone knows once Garcia has his jab going the right hand usually isn't that far behind and in round 4 that right started to ping on to the head of Martinez with a regularity. Unfortunately for Martinez his toughness was going to be his key issue and Garcia kept tagging him with rights that became more and more telling.
By round 6 the crisp right hands of Garcia were having a major effect on Martinez who was being broken up round by round. Every time Garcia connected it seemed Martinez's legs turned to jelly for a few moments and although he recovered it was obvious he feeling the power time after time.
After taking a pounding in round 7 it seemed like Martinez had just one chance of winning, Garcia breaking his hand on the tough head of the Puerto Rican. Unfortunately for Martinez it appeared that Garcia realised that and in round 8 landed his first body shot of note, sending Martinez down for the first time.
The Puerto Rican, feeling the effects of the shot, didn't even seem to attempt to get up. Not so much quitting as being in too much agony to truly know where he was with what is quit possibly a broken rib and the best body shot stoppage at the world level since Golovkin stopped Matthew Macklin with one
Vanes Martirosyan v Demetrius Andrade
The second world title fight in the US this weekend Demetrius Andrade (20-0, 13) claiming the WBO Light Middle weight title as he defeated the previously unbeaten Vanes Martirosyan (33-1-1, 21).
This fight, the first world title fight for either man, and it showed the difference between a "world title holder" and genuine bona-fide world champion. In fact it probably showed the huge difference between what it means to win a world title and to be recognised as a world champion.
For the first 2 minutes of the fight Andrade did look world class with fantastic speed, good ring control and some lovely punches. Unfortunately much of his was undone as he was caught by a crisp shot that put Andrade down. Whilst a case could have been made for a 10-9 to Vanes it's fair to say that most would have scored it 10-8 to Vanes.
Andrade came back well and made rounds 2 and 3 very close, arguably taking both of them to undo the momentum of the knockdown and it was surprising that Vanes refused to press home his advantage. By round 4 Andrade was beginning to mark up the eye of Vanes and was really starting to look crisp once again using his jab to take control of the action and by now it was easy to forget about the knockdown that Vanes genuinely refused to build on.
It wasn't until round 5 that Vanes found any major success following the opening round. It was in the fifth that Vanes started pressing the action and clearly took the final minute of the round, if not the whole round. Unfortunately his success didn't last long with Andrade coming back very well with his best round in a long time.
Andrade built on his good sixth round by taking the seventh with activity though in round 8 started to look spent as he gave the round away. Fortunately for Andrade he managed to turn things around in round 9, the last competitive round of the fight.
Going in to the championship rounds it was close though unfortunately for Vanes he was unable to keep things close in the final 3 rounds as Andrade boxed within himself but still widely out worked an exhausted looking Martirosyan who did even less than he had done in a number of earlier rounds.
Although Colonel Bob Sheridan had some how viewed the contest as a win for Martirosyan it appeared that Andrade had out worked Vanes in almost every rounds. Barring the knockdown it was difficult to gave Vanes a great deal as he simply didn't do a lot. Sure Andrade wasn't unloading either but he was doing more round after round. This was shared in one of the scorecards which saw Andrade as a 117-110 winner. The other two judges had it closer with scores of 114-113 to Andrade and 115-112 to Vanes, though thankfully we did get the right winner.
This fight, the first world title fight for either man, and it showed the difference between a "world title holder" and genuine bona-fide world champion. In fact it probably showed the huge difference between what it means to win a world title and to be recognised as a world champion.
For the first 2 minutes of the fight Andrade did look world class with fantastic speed, good ring control and some lovely punches. Unfortunately much of his was undone as he was caught by a crisp shot that put Andrade down. Whilst a case could have been made for a 10-9 to Vanes it's fair to say that most would have scored it 10-8 to Vanes.
Andrade came back well and made rounds 2 and 3 very close, arguably taking both of them to undo the momentum of the knockdown and it was surprising that Vanes refused to press home his advantage. By round 4 Andrade was beginning to mark up the eye of Vanes and was really starting to look crisp once again using his jab to take control of the action and by now it was easy to forget about the knockdown that Vanes genuinely refused to build on.
It wasn't until round 5 that Vanes found any major success following the opening round. It was in the fifth that Vanes started pressing the action and clearly took the final minute of the round, if not the whole round. Unfortunately his success didn't last long with Andrade coming back very well with his best round in a long time.
Andrade built on his good sixth round by taking the seventh with activity though in round 8 started to look spent as he gave the round away. Fortunately for Andrade he managed to turn things around in round 9, the last competitive round of the fight.
Going in to the championship rounds it was close though unfortunately for Vanes he was unable to keep things close in the final 3 rounds as Andrade boxed within himself but still widely out worked an exhausted looking Martirosyan who did even less than he had done in a number of earlier rounds.
Although Colonel Bob Sheridan had some how viewed the contest as a win for Martirosyan it appeared that Andrade had out worked Vanes in almost every rounds. Barring the knockdown it was difficult to gave Vanes a great deal as he simply didn't do a lot. Sure Andrade wasn't unloading either but he was doing more round after round. This was shared in one of the scorecards which saw Andrade as a 117-110 winner. The other two judges had it closer with scores of 114-113 to Andrade and 115-112 to Vanes, though thankfully we did get the right winner.
Nicholas Walters v Alberto Garza
In the first of three world title fights in the US this weekend Jamaican Nicholas Walters (23-0, 19) made his first title defense as he took on Mexican Alberto Garza (25-6-1, 20) in a WBA Featherweight title bout.
Making his US debut Walters set out to make a statement and appeared to hurt Garza midway through the opening round. Whilst Garza did look limited it was great to see the positivity of a man looking to make a first impression.
Realising he was in deep Garza tried something new by fighting as a southpaw to start the second round. It worked well for a few moments before Walters took charge once again and showed why some regard this kid as one of the sports hidden gems.
Walters continued to pile up the rounds by taking the third with his jab. He did at times look reckless but had realised that Garza lacked the power to hurt him and merely walked through the shots when he had to in search for a bomb.
It took less than 2 minutes of round 4 for Walters to land a bomb. In fact several. The first, a very hard body shot, saw Garza drop to the canvas in agony. Unfortunately for Garza this was ruled an accidental low blow and Garza, as a result wasn't given a count. This meant Garza had to continue, thankfully for the Mexican he wasn't given too much more of a beating as a huge right hand layed him down and forced the referee to wave the contest off.
Although some may feel Chris John, the WBA "super" champion is the only real WBA champion it's fair to say that Walter is the truly entertaining WBA champion and a man who now has the world at his hands. He could face any of the other Top Rank guys at 126, including Evgeny Gradovich, Orlando Salido, Vasyl Lomachenko or even the winner of the Nonito Donaire/Vic Darchinyan contest (which takes place in just a few hours time).
Making his US debut Walters set out to make a statement and appeared to hurt Garza midway through the opening round. Whilst Garza did look limited it was great to see the positivity of a man looking to make a first impression.
Realising he was in deep Garza tried something new by fighting as a southpaw to start the second round. It worked well for a few moments before Walters took charge once again and showed why some regard this kid as one of the sports hidden gems.
Walters continued to pile up the rounds by taking the third with his jab. He did at times look reckless but had realised that Garza lacked the power to hurt him and merely walked through the shots when he had to in search for a bomb.
It took less than 2 minutes of round 4 for Walters to land a bomb. In fact several. The first, a very hard body shot, saw Garza drop to the canvas in agony. Unfortunately for Garza this was ruled an accidental low blow and Garza, as a result wasn't given a count. This meant Garza had to continue, thankfully for the Mexican he wasn't given too much more of a beating as a huge right hand layed him down and forced the referee to wave the contest off.
Although some may feel Chris John, the WBA "super" champion is the only real WBA champion it's fair to say that Walter is the truly entertaining WBA champion and a man who now has the world at his hands. He could face any of the other Top Rank guys at 126, including Evgeny Gradovich, Orlando Salido, Vasyl Lomachenko or even the winner of the Nonito Donaire/Vic Darchinyan contest (which takes place in just a few hours time).
Saturday, 2 November 2013
Gennady Golovkin v Curtis Stevens
Some fights look like real mismatches on paper and this weekends biggest fight was one such bout as Kazakhstan's Gennady Golovkin (28-0, 25) entered as an 11-1 favourite against American Curtis Stevens (25-4, 18). Surprisingly however Golovkin didn't often look like such a big favourite through out the bout as he struggled to live up to the hype, despite successfully defending his WBA Middleweight title.
The fight started in a very quiet manner. Golovkin tried to get his jab going but Stevens was showing good defensive skills and making the champion struggle to land cleanly. The quiet 2 minutes 30 seconds of the first was only really changed late in the round as Stevens connected with a few hard shots that may have stole him in round.
Golovkin's struggles continued through much of the second round as Stevens covered up well and gave very few opportunities to the champion. The success of Stevens in neutralising Golovkin raised a "USA" chant from the Madison Square Garden crowd though unfortunately this immediately backfired as Golovkin connected with a glancing left hook followed by a solid left hook that dropped Stevens for an 8 count. It was obvious from this point that Golovkin's power could hurt and drop Stevens.
Unfortunately the knockdown seemed to kill off what confidence Stevens was building and the challenger fought very much like a scared fighter in the following round backing up, covering up and trying to survive. This saw Stevens having some success in little bursts on the counter but on the whole Stevens's success in round 3 was very limited.
Despite beginning to look like a beaten man in round 3 Stevens had his best round in the fourth as he landed several hard counters and backed up Golovkin late in the round. It appeared that Stevens had forgotten about the knockdown and thought his best tactic was fighting off the ropes looking to land his highly regarded left hook. Unfortunately when Stevens did land the best he did was force Golovkin backwards for a few seconds before he came right back Stevens.
Golovkin started to have more and more success from round 5 onwards. He seemed confident in his ability to take Steven's best shots and applied constant calculated pressure. The champions successes were still somewhat limited but the challenger was doing next to nothing to make a claim for the rounds. Stevens was doing so little that he was being out worked even if Golovkin was struggling to land too many clean shots.
The success of round 5 grew the following round and then again in round 7. Steven's corner were trying to buoy their man and telling him to stand toe-to-toe with Golovkin, unfortunately when he did this he was forced on to the back foot with Golovkin's crisp punches forcing him back on to the ropes. By the end of round 7 it appeared that Stevens's only hope was to land a knock out punch, something that was becoming less and less likely.
By the start of round 8 Golovkin had really started to take over. Stevens's assaults were becoming less frequent and through the eighth Golovkin himself had started to find his range, especially with his body shots which landed numerous times through the round. Stevens's defenses, whilst still solid were beginning to be cracked more and more frequently by Golovkin who finally turned things up a gear and went for the kill.
Although Stevens managed to see out round 8 his corner had seen enough and immediately called for the referee to stop the bout. It hadn't been a real beating for their man but it appeared that he was on the verge of receiving one as Golovkin began to really show his class. The stoppage may feel to some as though Stevens quit though in all honesty it appears that his corner knew things were only going to get worse and saved their man from what could have been a career and health altering beat down. A wise move considering the way the bout had began to turn.
Although Golovkin hadn't looked like the 11 to 1 favourite for much of the bout he was safe money in the end.
The fight started in a very quiet manner. Golovkin tried to get his jab going but Stevens was showing good defensive skills and making the champion struggle to land cleanly. The quiet 2 minutes 30 seconds of the first was only really changed late in the round as Stevens connected with a few hard shots that may have stole him in round.
Golovkin's struggles continued through much of the second round as Stevens covered up well and gave very few opportunities to the champion. The success of Stevens in neutralising Golovkin raised a "USA" chant from the Madison Square Garden crowd though unfortunately this immediately backfired as Golovkin connected with a glancing left hook followed by a solid left hook that dropped Stevens for an 8 count. It was obvious from this point that Golovkin's power could hurt and drop Stevens.
Unfortunately the knockdown seemed to kill off what confidence Stevens was building and the challenger fought very much like a scared fighter in the following round backing up, covering up and trying to survive. This saw Stevens having some success in little bursts on the counter but on the whole Stevens's success in round 3 was very limited.
Despite beginning to look like a beaten man in round 3 Stevens had his best round in the fourth as he landed several hard counters and backed up Golovkin late in the round. It appeared that Stevens had forgotten about the knockdown and thought his best tactic was fighting off the ropes looking to land his highly regarded left hook. Unfortunately when Stevens did land the best he did was force Golovkin backwards for a few seconds before he came right back Stevens.
Golovkin started to have more and more success from round 5 onwards. He seemed confident in his ability to take Steven's best shots and applied constant calculated pressure. The champions successes were still somewhat limited but the challenger was doing next to nothing to make a claim for the rounds. Stevens was doing so little that he was being out worked even if Golovkin was struggling to land too many clean shots.
The success of round 5 grew the following round and then again in round 7. Steven's corner were trying to buoy their man and telling him to stand toe-to-toe with Golovkin, unfortunately when he did this he was forced on to the back foot with Golovkin's crisp punches forcing him back on to the ropes. By the end of round 7 it appeared that Stevens's only hope was to land a knock out punch, something that was becoming less and less likely.
By the start of round 8 Golovkin had really started to take over. Stevens's assaults were becoming less frequent and through the eighth Golovkin himself had started to find his range, especially with his body shots which landed numerous times through the round. Stevens's defenses, whilst still solid were beginning to be cracked more and more frequently by Golovkin who finally turned things up a gear and went for the kill.
Although Stevens managed to see out round 8 his corner had seen enough and immediately called for the referee to stop the bout. It hadn't been a real beating for their man but it appeared that he was on the verge of receiving one as Golovkin began to really show his class. The stoppage may feel to some as though Stevens quit though in all honesty it appears that his corner knew things were only going to get worse and saved their man from what could have been a career and health altering beat down. A wise move considering the way the bout had began to turn.
Although Golovkin hadn't looked like the 11 to 1 favourite for much of the bout he was safe money in the end.
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Bryan Vasquez v Rene Gonzalez
The most under the radar world title fight of this past weekend saw Costa Rican Bryan Vasquez (32-1, 17) becoming a 2-time WBA "interim" Super Featherweight champion.
The 26 year old Vasquez, known to some as "El Tequito", took on little known Nicaraguan visitor Rene Gonzalez (31-6-1-1, 23). Although Gonzalez isn't known to the wider boxing public he's a fighter who has been mixing on the fringes of world level for a while though often coming up short against the likes of Daniel Estrada, Humberto Mauro Gutierrez and Urbano Antillon.
Once again Gonzalez came up short, albeit in a controversial and somewhat confusing ending.
The fight started evenly with Gonzalez arguably fighting the better though Vasquez was clearly the crowd favourite fighting in front of his home fan. It was perhaps the crowds reaction to Vasquez's work that helped make the judges minds up in regards to the scoring, though it was certainly close. Vasquez was slightly the aggressor whilst Gonzalez was the more controlled man looking to fight off the defensive.
After 4 rounds it seemed like it was nip and tuck. Either guy could have been in the lead.
Sadly as the bout was beginning to really warm up an accidental clash of heads left Vasquez with a badly cut eye. Due to the accidental nature of the bout the judges score cards were called for. Of course due to the technical decision ruling the incomplete fifth round was also scored. This saw the judges coming back with scores that mostly reflected the close nature of the bout with a card of 48-48, 49.5-47.5 and 49-46.5 (yes using half point scoring!) with two of the 3 judges ruling Vasquez the winner.
The 26 year old Vasquez, known to some as "El Tequito", took on little known Nicaraguan visitor Rene Gonzalez (31-6-1-1, 23). Although Gonzalez isn't known to the wider boxing public he's a fighter who has been mixing on the fringes of world level for a while though often coming up short against the likes of Daniel Estrada, Humberto Mauro Gutierrez and Urbano Antillon.
Once again Gonzalez came up short, albeit in a controversial and somewhat confusing ending.
The fight started evenly with Gonzalez arguably fighting the better though Vasquez was clearly the crowd favourite fighting in front of his home fan. It was perhaps the crowds reaction to Vasquez's work that helped make the judges minds up in regards to the scoring, though it was certainly close. Vasquez was slightly the aggressor whilst Gonzalez was the more controlled man looking to fight off the defensive.
After 4 rounds it seemed like it was nip and tuck. Either guy could have been in the lead.
Sadly as the bout was beginning to really warm up an accidental clash of heads left Vasquez with a badly cut eye. Due to the accidental nature of the bout the judges score cards were called for. Of course due to the technical decision ruling the incomplete fifth round was also scored. This saw the judges coming back with scores that mostly reflected the close nature of the bout with a card of 48-48, 49.5-47.5 and 49-46.5 (yes using half point scoring!) with two of the 3 judges ruling Vasquez the winner.
Saturday, 26 October 2013
Bernard Hopkins v Karo Murat
American legend Bernard Hopkins (53-6-2-2, 32) once again made history as he became the oldest man in history to defend a world boxing title. Defending the IBF Light Heavyweight title for the first time since defeating Tavoris Cloud for the belt Hopkins put on a show in defeating mandatory challenger Karo Murat (25-2-1, 15).
The fight actually started well for Murat who made a good case to win the first two rounds as he out worked Hopkins. Despite Murat just starting well his success didn't last much beyond the third round as Hopkins did as Hopkins does and slowly broke Murat mentally. Unfortunately Murat's case wasn't helped by American referee Steve Smoger who appeared to be on Murat's case from the off whilst often turning a blind eye to Hopkins' infringements.
By round 4 Smoger really was making life hard for Murat. Whilst Hopkins was landing flurries on the break Smoger was giving Murat a warning for landing single shots on. Despite that the fourth round was when Hopkins started to turn it on and unload with some crisp shots most notably hard right hands. Murat was still in it, as shown by a late flurry, but his work was sporadic and he was starting to look like the older man.
The tiredness of Murat was becoming even more obvious in round 5 as he backed off from Hopkins and almost invited Hopkins to unload on him, something the American was happy to do. By now the fight was Hopkins.
Despite Smoger really getting in to the face of Murat we saw some leniency in round 6 as Murat twice punched Hopkins when he was down. Although a point deduction would have made sense Smoger didn't take anything and instead seemed to suggest that next time Murat broke the rules he would be deducted. A final hard warning if you will. The shots were seemingly thrown out of frustration by Murat who by now seemed annoyed at both Smoger and Hopkins.
Hopkins made Murat pay for his sins the following round as he rocked the challenger several times. It seemed like Hopkins was seriously going for the stoppage, something he's not scored in years. Despite that the round was best remembered for Murat finally being deducted a point for tapping Hopkins on the break. It was the round of the fight by far and actually saw the fight becoming somewhat entertaining as the two men brawled.
The brawling that ended the sixth round returned in round 7 as Hopkins again went on the offensive with the intention of stopping Murat. By now it was obvious Hopkins had no respect for Murat and he almost bundled him out of the ring before turning away and walking with his back to the challenger, leading to Smoger telling him to turn around. This odd moment saw Murat launching an an attack on Hopkins as the American tried to talk to the fans in what was on of the most peculiar rounds of Bernard Hopkins' long career.
From then on it was rare to see Murat landing much clean. He often tried, as he did at the start of round 8 but Hopkins was too defensively cute for him. This lead to Murat becoming more frustrated and giving Hopkins chance to unload when and as he wanted. Whether it was jabs, right hands or flurries it was all Hopkins or messy holding as the American's lead on the cards grew through rounds 8,9, 10 and 11.
At the end of the eleventh round Hopkins joked that he'd need a knock out to win. Surprisingly he seemed to get close to it at one as Murat turned away and Hopkins unloaded. Later in the round Murat appeared to be wobbled then surprisingly Murat flirted with a disqualification hitting Hopkins on the break again. Amazingly whilst Smoger didn't disqualify Murat, when he could have done despite their only being seconds left, he did physically push Murat by the face. A rather fitting end to a poor performance by Smoger.
Although the bout had started in a close manner it had finished with Hopkins as a clear winner, successfully defending his title with a wide margin on the score cards.
The fight actually started well for Murat who made a good case to win the first two rounds as he out worked Hopkins. Despite Murat just starting well his success didn't last much beyond the third round as Hopkins did as Hopkins does and slowly broke Murat mentally. Unfortunately Murat's case wasn't helped by American referee Steve Smoger who appeared to be on Murat's case from the off whilst often turning a blind eye to Hopkins' infringements.
By round 4 Smoger really was making life hard for Murat. Whilst Hopkins was landing flurries on the break Smoger was giving Murat a warning for landing single shots on. Despite that the fourth round was when Hopkins started to turn it on and unload with some crisp shots most notably hard right hands. Murat was still in it, as shown by a late flurry, but his work was sporadic and he was starting to look like the older man.
The tiredness of Murat was becoming even more obvious in round 5 as he backed off from Hopkins and almost invited Hopkins to unload on him, something the American was happy to do. By now the fight was Hopkins.
Despite Smoger really getting in to the face of Murat we saw some leniency in round 6 as Murat twice punched Hopkins when he was down. Although a point deduction would have made sense Smoger didn't take anything and instead seemed to suggest that next time Murat broke the rules he would be deducted. A final hard warning if you will. The shots were seemingly thrown out of frustration by Murat who by now seemed annoyed at both Smoger and Hopkins.
Hopkins made Murat pay for his sins the following round as he rocked the challenger several times. It seemed like Hopkins was seriously going for the stoppage, something he's not scored in years. Despite that the round was best remembered for Murat finally being deducted a point for tapping Hopkins on the break. It was the round of the fight by far and actually saw the fight becoming somewhat entertaining as the two men brawled.
The brawling that ended the sixth round returned in round 7 as Hopkins again went on the offensive with the intention of stopping Murat. By now it was obvious Hopkins had no respect for Murat and he almost bundled him out of the ring before turning away and walking with his back to the challenger, leading to Smoger telling him to turn around. This odd moment saw Murat launching an an attack on Hopkins as the American tried to talk to the fans in what was on of the most peculiar rounds of Bernard Hopkins' long career.
From then on it was rare to see Murat landing much clean. He often tried, as he did at the start of round 8 but Hopkins was too defensively cute for him. This lead to Murat becoming more frustrated and giving Hopkins chance to unload when and as he wanted. Whether it was jabs, right hands or flurries it was all Hopkins or messy holding as the American's lead on the cards grew through rounds 8,9, 10 and 11.
At the end of the eleventh round Hopkins joked that he'd need a knock out to win. Surprisingly he seemed to get close to it at one as Murat turned away and Hopkins unloaded. Later in the round Murat appeared to be wobbled then surprisingly Murat flirted with a disqualification hitting Hopkins on the break again. Amazingly whilst Smoger didn't disqualify Murat, when he could have done despite their only being seconds left, he did physically push Murat by the face. A rather fitting end to a poor performance by Smoger.
Although the bout had started in a close manner it had finished with Hopkins as a clear winner, successfully defending his title with a wide margin on the score cards.
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