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.
Friday, 30 November 2012
Saturday, 24 November 2012
Robert Guerrero v Andre Berto
Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero (?-?) successfully defended his WBC Interim Welterweight title against Andre Berto (?-?) in a thoroughly sloppy, though equally entertaining bout that had controversy, action and an awful lot of wrestling.
The fight started well for Guerrero who knocked down Berto in both of the opening 2 rounds and really messed up Berto's right eye as "The Ghost" started fast and took advantage of Berto's wild shots and slow foot work. Whilst Guerrero took a clear lead, there was controversy over the first knockdown which seemed to come from a clear case of hitting and holding and the second seemed to also have a case of a thumb to the eye of Berto. It was clear after the first 3 rounds that Guerrero was 5 points up he had dominated the early action and with the knockdowns was in an almost unassailable lead.
Just as the fight appeared a lost cause Berto then managed to fight his way back into the bout and seemed to take a number of the middle rounds as the fight combined a lot of holding and wrestling as well as numerous thunderous shots from both men. Whilst it looked like Guerrero was forcing Berto on to the ropes it was clear that Berto was having his success from them with thunderous uppercuts that seemed to snap Guerrero's head back time and time again.
As the rounds went on the fight seemed to be getting closer and closer with Berto's powerful uppercuts and hooks bouncing off Guerrero's head, bagging him several rounds. Sadly however the style of much of the bout wasn't fun to watch with a lot of holding and wrestling and little clear action as both men seemed to prefer a messy inside game rather than a true war. This left several rounds almost actionless as Lou Moretti was forced to repeatedly split the men with out anything notable landing.
In the later rounds both men appeared tired and the action slowed with fewer and fewer back and forths, though the bout heated up in an engaging 12th round that saw both men leaving it all on the line. Sadly it was the 12th round that left a sour taste in many peoples mouth with Guerrero landing 3 or 4 shots well after the bell, though by that point the round, and the fight was over.
When it came to the score cards, it was fair to say that you really could have had almost any scoreline with the best result for Berto likely being a 113-113 draw, however, rather surprisingly all three judges had it 116-110 to Guerrero, a rather odd scoreline considering just how many close rounds the bout had.
Guerrero, like he did after defeating Selcuk Aydin, called out Floyd Mayweather Jr, though in all honesty, Guerrero would get destroyed by Mayweather, however both men did seem to hint that a rematch may be possible and that may well be the best option for both.
The fight started well for Guerrero who knocked down Berto in both of the opening 2 rounds and really messed up Berto's right eye as "The Ghost" started fast and took advantage of Berto's wild shots and slow foot work. Whilst Guerrero took a clear lead, there was controversy over the first knockdown which seemed to come from a clear case of hitting and holding and the second seemed to also have a case of a thumb to the eye of Berto. It was clear after the first 3 rounds that Guerrero was 5 points up he had dominated the early action and with the knockdowns was in an almost unassailable lead.
Just as the fight appeared a lost cause Berto then managed to fight his way back into the bout and seemed to take a number of the middle rounds as the fight combined a lot of holding and wrestling as well as numerous thunderous shots from both men. Whilst it looked like Guerrero was forcing Berto on to the ropes it was clear that Berto was having his success from them with thunderous uppercuts that seemed to snap Guerrero's head back time and time again.
As the rounds went on the fight seemed to be getting closer and closer with Berto's powerful uppercuts and hooks bouncing off Guerrero's head, bagging him several rounds. Sadly however the style of much of the bout wasn't fun to watch with a lot of holding and wrestling and little clear action as both men seemed to prefer a messy inside game rather than a true war. This left several rounds almost actionless as Lou Moretti was forced to repeatedly split the men with out anything notable landing.
In the later rounds both men appeared tired and the action slowed with fewer and fewer back and forths, though the bout heated up in an engaging 12th round that saw both men leaving it all on the line. Sadly it was the 12th round that left a sour taste in many peoples mouth with Guerrero landing 3 or 4 shots well after the bell, though by that point the round, and the fight was over.
When it came to the score cards, it was fair to say that you really could have had almost any scoreline with the best result for Berto likely being a 113-113 draw, however, rather surprisingly all three judges had it 116-110 to Guerrero, a rather odd scoreline considering just how many close rounds the bout had.
Guerrero, like he did after defeating Selcuk Aydin, called out Floyd Mayweather Jr, though in all honesty, Guerrero would get destroyed by Mayweather, however both men did seem to hint that a rematch may be possible and that may well be the best option for both.
Martin Murray v Jorge Navarro
Unbeaten Brit Martin Murry (25-0-1, 11) claimed the WBA Interim Middleweight title by stopping the previously unbeaten Venezuelan Jorga Navarro (12-1, 10) in what often appeared to be a public sparring session.
The difference in class was obvious from the opening round as Murray boxed off the back foot and controlled Navarro before dropping him late in the round. Although Murray went for the early finish he failed to stop Navarro with a late flurry in the round however it was obvious he was thoroughly in charge.
Murray's domination continue through the following 4 rounds as Murray slowly dictated the fight, showing off numerous defensive tricks as he made Navarro look slow, clumsy and wild. Sadly however Murray seemed unwilling to commit to taking Navvaro out too early as he instead got rounds under his belt and refused to force the issue.
In round 6 Murray eventually turned up the heat and dropped Navarro for a second time before turning up the heat and rocking the Venezuelan's head all over the place forcing Navarro's corner to throw in the towel whilst the referee seemed unwilling to stop the fight.
Whilst this was an impressive victory for Murray and a notable win, it was also a very, very easy win and if Murray thinks the world stage is going to be this easy he will have a rude awakening, however he did his job. The question as to how Navarro got such a high profile fight is something I really cannot answer.
The difference in class was obvious from the opening round as Murray boxed off the back foot and controlled Navarro before dropping him late in the round. Although Murray went for the early finish he failed to stop Navarro with a late flurry in the round however it was obvious he was thoroughly in charge.
Murray's domination continue through the following 4 rounds as Murray slowly dictated the fight, showing off numerous defensive tricks as he made Navarro look slow, clumsy and wild. Sadly however Murray seemed unwilling to commit to taking Navvaro out too early as he instead got rounds under his belt and refused to force the issue.
In round 6 Murray eventually turned up the heat and dropped Navarro for a second time before turning up the heat and rocking the Venezuelan's head all over the place forcing Navarro's corner to throw in the towel whilst the referee seemed unwilling to stop the fight.
Whilst this was an impressive victory for Murray and a notable win, it was also a very, very easy win and if Murray thinks the world stage is going to be this easy he will have a rude awakening, however he did his job. The question as to how Navarro got such a high profile fight is something I really cannot answer.
Scott Quigg v Rendall Munroe
Young Englishman Scott Quigg (25-0-1, 18) successfully claimed the WBA "interim" Super Bantamweight title as he beat countryman Rendall Munroe (24-3-1, 10) via 6th round TKO in an excellent performance.
The opening round was the best for Munroe as the former binman from Leicester arguably just stole the round, though it didn't take long for Quigg to find his distance and box from the back foot allowing Munroe to come to him. With Quigg boxing on the back foot, he was finding things very easy as he landed time and time again to Munroe's body with sickening accurate shots.
Although Munroe kept coming forward he was finding it hard to land anything clean whilst he, himself, was being slowly broken down as Quigg was using his natural size and speed to take advantage of the older, slower man. In fact in rounds 2 and 3 Quigg barely got touched as he landed counter-after-counter on Munroe.
Munroe had slightly more success in rounds 4 and 5 than he had had in the previous 2 rounds though they were both rounds where Quigg continued to bash in the hurtful body shots. It was just a round later that Munroe would be dropped with a body shot, before being stopped soon afterwards with another body shot that put him down.
This likely spells the end of Munroe's career who was stopped for the first time here, though for Quigg the world is his oyster. He could either look for a major domestic clash with Carl Frampton or alternative the winner of the upcoming bout between Guillermo Rigondeaux and Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym.
The opening round was the best for Munroe as the former binman from Leicester arguably just stole the round, though it didn't take long for Quigg to find his distance and box from the back foot allowing Munroe to come to him. With Quigg boxing on the back foot, he was finding things very easy as he landed time and time again to Munroe's body with sickening accurate shots.
Although Munroe kept coming forward he was finding it hard to land anything clean whilst he, himself, was being slowly broken down as Quigg was using his natural size and speed to take advantage of the older, slower man. In fact in rounds 2 and 3 Quigg barely got touched as he landed counter-after-counter on Munroe.
Munroe had slightly more success in rounds 4 and 5 than he had had in the previous 2 rounds though they were both rounds where Quigg continued to bash in the hurtful body shots. It was just a round later that Munroe would be dropped with a body shot, before being stopped soon afterwards with another body shot that put him down.
This likely spells the end of Munroe's career who was stopped for the first time here, though for Quigg the world is his oyster. He could either look for a major domestic clash with Carl Frampton or alternative the winner of the upcoming bout between Guillermo Rigondeaux and Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym.
Xiong Zhao Zhong v Javier Martinez Resendiz
Today saw a new age in professional boxing as Chinese fighter Xiong Zhao Zhong (20-4-1, 11) became the first Chinese man, in the history of the sport to become a world champion as he out pointed game Mexican Javier Martinez Resendiz (13-4-2, 6) in a bout for the WBC Minimumweight title.
The early stages were give and take as Martinez brought the pressure looking to land hurtful hooks against Zhong who was boxing well and using range and his straighter shots. Although Martinez was the man making the fight, it was Zhong who was looking like the classier fighter.
Zhong's clean work started to pay off in second half of the fight as he marked up and seemed to stun Resendiz in round 8 before taking control of the bout in the later rounds as the Mexican started to look progressively tired. The Mexican, who had looked powerful, if wild early on, was starting to show little more than arm punches in the later rounds as Zhong's right hand bounced off his head and it showed as Zhong really ran away with the last few rounds.
Although Zhong looked impressive in taking a clear decision here, it's fair to admit that this was a set up of sorts as the WBC look to attack the untapped Chinese market. If Zhong can't be "protected" I can't see his reign lasting long. Interesting Denver Cuello is a name thrown around as Zhong's likely next opponent and that will likely see Zhong getting beaten in a painful way.
The early stages were give and take as Martinez brought the pressure looking to land hurtful hooks against Zhong who was boxing well and using range and his straighter shots. Although Martinez was the man making the fight, it was Zhong who was looking like the classier fighter.
Zhong's clean work started to pay off in second half of the fight as he marked up and seemed to stun Resendiz in round 8 before taking control of the bout in the later rounds as the Mexican started to look progressively tired. The Mexican, who had looked powerful, if wild early on, was starting to show little more than arm punches in the later rounds as Zhong's right hand bounced off his head and it showed as Zhong really ran away with the last few rounds.
Although Zhong looked impressive in taking a clear decision here, it's fair to admit that this was a set up of sorts as the WBC look to attack the untapped Chinese market. If Zhong can't be "protected" I can't see his reign lasting long. Interesting Denver Cuello is a name thrown around as Zhong's likely next opponent and that will likely see Zhong getting beaten in a painful way.
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Brian Viloria v Hernan Marquez
In one of the stand out fights of the year, Hawaiian Brian Viloria (32-3-0-2, 19) unified the WBO and WBA "super" titles at Flyweight as he stopped exciting and fun to watch Mexican Hernan "Tyson" Marquez (34-3, 25).
The bout started quickly with Viloria making an excellent start and imposing his will from the opening bell. Late in the round, with his only notable shot of the opener Marquez seemed to wobble Viloria who fired back hard and dropped the Mexican. Viloria's domination continued through to round 4 as he took a clear lead on the card using his excellent boxing and speed to dominate Marquez.
In round 5, arguably the round of the fight, Marquez came on strong and really hurt Viloria before unleashing a relentless, yet wild flurry aimed in Viloria's general direction. Sadly for Marquez few of his real power shots landed as he blew his load and was eventually dropped for the second time as he showed the signs of being a very tired fighter. Amazingly he got straight back up and fired back at Viloria, as if he knew he had just let Viloria off the hook.
After the fifth round we then had 2 pretty quiet rounds as both men took their chance to catch their breath. Despite these being slower rounds, they were still clear Viloria rounds as the "Hawaiian Punch" showed off his boxing ability.
Rounds 8 and 9 saw arguably Marquez's only rounds as Viloria was quiet whilst Marquez forced the action and forced the fight. Although Marquez was having some success, the steam on his attacks seemed to be some what stunted by the fact he had taken some serious body shots earlier in the fight.
With Marquez coming back in to the fight and needing a knock out it was littler wonder that he started round 10 fast unloading on Viloria with a huge series of shots, most of which were hitting the arms and shoulders of Viloria. Viloria then unleashed a bomb of a counter on Marquez who dropped like he'd been shot. It looked like that was that, then amazingly Marquez got back up. Despite recovering to his feet, it was obvious he wasn't fit to continue and his corner threw in the towel soon afterwards rather than risking the youngster to more damage.
Following this victory it's fair to say Brian Viloria is the #1 guy at 112lbs, despite the linear title being held in Japan by Toshiyuki Igarashi. It's likely that Viloria will be facing Roman Gonzalez next time out in a mouth watering class, though Juan Carlos Reveco is also a plausible opponent. For Marquez however he's young enough to come again, this loss isn't the end of the line, and it'd be hard for anyone to write him off following a display like this against a fighter like Viloria.
The bout started quickly with Viloria making an excellent start and imposing his will from the opening bell. Late in the round, with his only notable shot of the opener Marquez seemed to wobble Viloria who fired back hard and dropped the Mexican. Viloria's domination continued through to round 4 as he took a clear lead on the card using his excellent boxing and speed to dominate Marquez.
In round 5, arguably the round of the fight, Marquez came on strong and really hurt Viloria before unleashing a relentless, yet wild flurry aimed in Viloria's general direction. Sadly for Marquez few of his real power shots landed as he blew his load and was eventually dropped for the second time as he showed the signs of being a very tired fighter. Amazingly he got straight back up and fired back at Viloria, as if he knew he had just let Viloria off the hook.
After the fifth round we then had 2 pretty quiet rounds as both men took their chance to catch their breath. Despite these being slower rounds, they were still clear Viloria rounds as the "Hawaiian Punch" showed off his boxing ability.
Rounds 8 and 9 saw arguably Marquez's only rounds as Viloria was quiet whilst Marquez forced the action and forced the fight. Although Marquez was having some success, the steam on his attacks seemed to be some what stunted by the fact he had taken some serious body shots earlier in the fight.
With Marquez coming back in to the fight and needing a knock out it was littler wonder that he started round 10 fast unloading on Viloria with a huge series of shots, most of which were hitting the arms and shoulders of Viloria. Viloria then unleashed a bomb of a counter on Marquez who dropped like he'd been shot. It looked like that was that, then amazingly Marquez got back up. Despite recovering to his feet, it was obvious he wasn't fit to continue and his corner threw in the towel soon afterwards rather than risking the youngster to more damage.
Following this victory it's fair to say Brian Viloria is the #1 guy at 112lbs, despite the linear title being held in Japan by Toshiyuki Igarashi. It's likely that Viloria will be facing Roman Gonzalez next time out in a mouth watering class, though Juan Carlos Reveco is also a plausible opponent. For Marquez however he's young enough to come again, this loss isn't the end of the line, and it'd be hard for anyone to write him off following a display like this against a fighter like Viloria.
Roman Gonzalez v Juan Francisco Estrada
Nicaraguan Roman Gonzalez (34-0, 28) got a much tougher than expected bout whe he took on fearless Mexican Juan Francisco Estrada (22-2, 18) in a defense of his WBA Light Flyweight title that deserves to be mentioned as one of the genuine fights of the year.
The opening round saw Gonzalez starting very slowly as he put pressure on Estrada though didn't throw a lot as he allowed Estrada to tag his guard time and time again. In the last 45 seconds or so of the round however Gonzalez stepped on the pedal and literally stole the round with a dominant display of aggressiveness. Over the following two or three round Gonzalez really turned up the heat and it seemed as if we were almost certainly going to have an early finish.
Amazingly the fight just started to warm up and every time Gonzalez would land a series of shots, Estrada would come back with his own flurry as the two men started to beat the stuffing out of each other in a good old tear up. Sadly for Estrada he was spending periods of time on the ropes where Gonzalez was really taking advantage especially with his bone crushing body shots. Despite taking massive numbers of shots to the body Estrada was fighting back and showing not only bravery but the true spirit of a world level fighter.
Whilst most bouts slow down, this just got better and better as both men gave it there all and took a huge amount out of each other. Sadly for both men their defenses were shown to be seriously lacking, however their heart and chin (and bodies) proved to be made of stern stuff and they both managed to see out the distance in genuinely one of the must watch fights of the year.
Although all the rounds from 3-12 were hugely competitive it just seemed that Gonzalez was doing just enough to claim the majority and that was reflected on the judges score cards which all favoured the Nicaraguan by notable margins.
The opening round saw Gonzalez starting very slowly as he put pressure on Estrada though didn't throw a lot as he allowed Estrada to tag his guard time and time again. In the last 45 seconds or so of the round however Gonzalez stepped on the pedal and literally stole the round with a dominant display of aggressiveness. Over the following two or three round Gonzalez really turned up the heat and it seemed as if we were almost certainly going to have an early finish.
Amazingly the fight just started to warm up and every time Gonzalez would land a series of shots, Estrada would come back with his own flurry as the two men started to beat the stuffing out of each other in a good old tear up. Sadly for Estrada he was spending periods of time on the ropes where Gonzalez was really taking advantage especially with his bone crushing body shots. Despite taking massive numbers of shots to the body Estrada was fighting back and showing not only bravery but the true spirit of a world level fighter.
Whilst most bouts slow down, this just got better and better as both men gave it there all and took a huge amount out of each other. Sadly for both men their defenses were shown to be seriously lacking, however their heart and chin (and bodies) proved to be made of stern stuff and they both managed to see out the distance in genuinely one of the must watch fights of the year.
Although all the rounds from 3-12 were hugely competitive it just seemed that Gonzalez was doing just enough to claim the majority and that was reflected on the judges score cards which all favoured the Nicaraguan by notable margins.
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