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Like Floyd didn't do that the same night
Please lock.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
- Start date
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Like Floyd didn't do that the same night
Sonny Corinthos
formerly joeclear
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Like Floyd didn't do that the same night
You clearly didn't watch both fights from start to finish if your comparing the two
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Bob just said most likely Cotto vs Bradley in December and saving Canelo vs Cotto next year Cinco de Mayo weekend.
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Cotto just needs a stay busy fight. Bradley is too much of a risk.
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Exactly. Cheapens the value of a Cotto/Canelo draw, even though the fight will sell if Juanito comes off a L.
I'm not betting against Desert Storm. That boy got cardio and boxing skills for days. He doesn't hit light like Paulie. Manny felt some of those shots.
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Man, Bradley will win by UD unless Arum has the fix in.
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Cotto / Trout rematch?
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I knew that'd ruffle some feathers.
Top prank is getting ridiculous with these match ups smh
Pac vs Abregu anybody?
Top prank is getting ridiculous with these match ups smh
Pac vs Abregu anybody?
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Trout is with Haymon, and he would probably beat Cotto 10 times out of 10.
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I dunno about that one. Trout's been smashed on his past two fights, quite the opposite of cotto's last outings
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Wouldn't be a big draw, but it's a much better match up for Cotto. I thought the first fight was good and I'd watch this one as well.
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That'd be interesting, going up against the last ever Cinco de Mayweather
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Cotto vs Bradley?
Cotto can still make 147?
Cotto can still make 147?
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Most likely the limit will be 154. Cotto isn't much taller than Bradley either.
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Cotto should just wait for the winner of Canelo vs Lara
Where are you guys seeing Cotto/Bradley?
Guerrero tops Kamegai in slugfest.
Guerrero tops Kamegai in slugfest.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Carson, California
Robert Guerrero W12 Yoshihiro Kamegai
Welterweights
Scores: 117-111 (twice), 116-112
Records: Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs); Kamegai (24-2-1, 21 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Thirteen months ago, Guerrero, the former two-division titleholder (with interim belts in two more divisions), lost a lopsided decision to pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a welterweight title challenge. Then came the long layoff --- Mayweather has fought twice since -- in part because of a beef with promoter Golden Boy. But after Guerrero signed with adviser Al Haymon, suddenly said beef disappeared and he was scheduled to fight.
So Guerrero, 31, of Gilroy, California, returned to action to headline a Showtime card for a $1 million purse as the heavy, heavy favorite. But somebody apparently forgot to tell Kamegai, 31, of Japan, fighting for a modest $75,000, that he was nothing more than a bit player in an expected walkover.
Although the fight lacked the drama of a true fight-of-the-year candidate (no knockdowns, for example), this was a tremendous action battle that will go down as a solid FOY honorable mention. It was a bloody high-contact fight that was yet another great one in the increasing lore of the StubHub Center, which has become a venue where magic happens, having hosted such barnburners as Timothy Bradley Jr.-Ruslan Provodnikov, Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez I and III, Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado I, Erislandy Lara-Alfredo Angulo, Marcos Maidana-Josesito Lopez and Lucas Matthysse-John Molina (this year's FOY front-runner) in recent years.
Although Guerrero, a southpaw, never seemed to be in any major trouble, Kamegai, who suffered his first loss at the StubHub Center by decision to Johan Perez last June, pushed him very hard. They both showed incredible heart and will in a brutal fight.
They were trading fierce shots on the inside during the sixth round, with Guerrero getting the worse of it, when their heads collided and Guerrero suffered a terrible cut over his left eye, which became a blood, purple, swollen mess for the rest of the fight. But Guerrero fought through the injury and continued to pour it on, snapping Kamegai's head back with straight left hands.
They combined to throw an astonishing 1,913 punches, according to CompuBox statistics, and kept a frenetic pace for the entire fight. In the end, Guerrero, the faster man and the heavier hitter, connected on 484 of 1,082 punches (44 percent). Kamegai, who said afterward that Guerrero indeed deserved the decision, landed 293 of 831 blows (35 percent).
Vasyl Lomachenko W12 Gary Russell Jr.
Wins a vacant featherweight title
Scores: 116-112 (twice), 114-114
Records: Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO); Russell (24-1, 14 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: As much as this fight was about matching two superb southpaw prospects and former great amateurs in a very interesting showdown (Top Rank versus Golden Boy, to boot, thanks to a purse bid), it was also about determining which side's philosophy was better.
Would it be the immediate plunge into deep water against quality opponents taken by Lomachenko, 26, the two-time Olympic gold medalist (2008 and 2012) from Ukraine? Or would it be the maddeningly slow build of 2008 U.S. Olympian Russell, 26, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, who faced 24 soft touches before facing a real opponent?
After a super performance, Lomachenko got the well-deserved nod, showing perhaps that it was better to face a legitimate opponent in his October pro debut followed by a close loss in a world title fight to Orlando Salido (who didn't make weight) in March, then an immediate return to face the ultra-fast Russell, who had never been remotely tested because his opposition was so horrible.
By winning the fight and a world title in just his third pro bout, Lomachenko -- who wanted to fight for a world title in his pro debut -- tied the record for fewest fights to win a world title, which was set by Saensak Muangsurin of Thailand, winner of a junior welterweight belt in his third fight in 1975.
It turned out to be a much easier fight than anyone would have thought. Despite the horrendous draw scorecard submitted by Lisa Giampa, who put herself in C.J. Ross territory, Lomachenko dominated the fight. Scoring it a shutout in Lomachenko's favor would be more reasonable than giving Russell six rounds.
Lomachenko, the 2013 ESPN.com prospect of the year, handled Russell's speed advantage and at times battered the 2011 ESPN.com prospect of the year. He applied pressure throughout the fight, employed a vicious body attack and walked through the few punches that Russell landed. According to CompuBox statistics, Lomachenko landed 183 of 597 punches (31 percent) while Russell was limited to landing just 83 of 806 blows (a historically abysmal 10 percent). To Russell's credit, he gave Lomachenko credit for the win. What else could he do? He was so thoroughly outclassed.
As dominant as Lomachenko was in the first few rounds, he raised it a level in a big fifth round, hurting Russell to the head and body and outlanding him 23-3. Lomachenko didn't land many jabs, but one of them snapped Russell's head back in the sixth round. He did even more damage in the seventh round as he punished Russell along the ropes late in the round. By the 10th round, Russell's left eye was swelling and Lomachenko had another huge round. A big left uppercut staggered Russell in the 11th round.
It was a world-class performance from a terrific fighter, and it seems there will be more great outings to come. Lomachenko may have been the greatest amateur of all time, going 396-1. If you combine that record with his World Series of Boxing experience (6-0) and his pro record (2-1), he is an amazing 404-2 with a wealth of opponents to face in the future thanks to promoter Top Rank's deep involvement in the featherweight division. It also promotes titleholders Nonito Donaire, Evgeny Gradovich and Nicholas Walters, and a tournament of some kind is something Top Rank is considering. Lomachenko would likely be favored against any of those opponents.
Devon Alexander W10 Jesus Soto Karass
Welterweights
Scores: 99-91 (twice), 97-93
Records: Alexander (26-2, 14 KOs); Soto Karass (28-10-3, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: This was a critical fight for Alexander, the 27-year-old southpaw from St. Louis and former welterweight and junior welterweight titlist, and he did exactly what he needed to -- win, look good and entertain the fans -- in an excellent performance that should put him in position for another major fight.
It was the opposite of his last bout, when Alexander looked very sluggish in a decision loss to Shawn Porter in December that cost him his welterweight world title. But he looked much better against Soto Karass, 31, the hard-charging Mexican journeyman, who always makes a good fight -- the key reason he was fighting on Showtime or Showtime PPV for the fifth consecutive fight (even though he is now 2-3 in those bouts).
Alexander looked sharp as he boxed and moved well, but he also had no problem mixing it up with Soto Karass, then getting out of the way. His speed gave Soto Karass problems, and his better pedigree was obvious. They both were in there winging away, combining to throw 1,632 punches, according to CompuBox statistics.
Alexander, however, was far more accurate. He landed 277 of 709 (30 percent) while Soto Karass connected on 193 of 923 blows (21 percent). The big difference was in the power shot category; Alexander had a huge margin, landing 212 of 405 (a very high 52 percent). Soto Karass lacks defensive skills and Alexander exploited that weakness throughout the fight.
Alexander is often defensive-minded, but he went after Soto Karass at times, and when Soto Karass was coming forward, Alexander countered very well.
Soto Karass, who pulled upsets against former titleholder Andre Berto and Selcuk Aydin in 2013, lost his second in a row. He was stopped by Keith Thurman in an interim title bout in December.
Chad Dawson KO1 George Blades
Cruiserweights
Records: Dawson (32-3, 18 KOs); Blades (23-6, 16 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: At one time, Chad Dawson was the legit light heavyweight world champion and a regular in the pound-for-pound top 10. That was then and this is now.
Dawson, 31, of New Haven, Connecticut, showed he is light years from when he was at his best; he was making his return from two harrowing knockout losses in a row and a year out of the ring. He was destroyed in the 10th round of a one-sided fight when he dropped down to super middleweight to challenge champion Andre Ward in 2012 and followed it last June by losing his title by knockout in 76 seconds to Adonis Stevenson.
Dawson returned against soft touch Blades, a 39-year-old journeyman from Indianapolis, who lost his second in a row by knockout and fourth of six by stoppage. As awful as Blades looked, Dawson didn't look much better despite the victory.
Dawson called this the beginning of the next chapter of his career, but he was in no shape at all and did not appear to take the fight seriously, even after all the time off and a claim that he trained for the fight for three months. The contract weight for the bout was 179 pounds but Dawson weighed in at 182¾. He did not attempt to lose any of the extra weight and was fined $3,000 (20 percent of his $15,000 purse) by the California State Athletic Commission. Then Dawson blew up to a whopping 202 pounds on fight night compared to Blades, who made weight (177½) and rehydrated only to 186.
Two minutes into the fight, Dawson dropped Blades with a left hand to the body. He got up at the count of seven and was quickly down again on the end of two short right hands. He got to a knee and had no interest in continuing, popping up after referee Raul Caiz Jr. counted him out at 2 minutes, 35 seconds. Sure, Dawson won the fight, but he did not help his cause at all. Now, not only are there still questions about whether he has anything left, but there are also questions about whether he cares about fighting anymore.
Dominic Breazeale TKO3 Devin Vargas
Heavyweights
Records: Breazeale (11-0, 10 KOs); Vargas (18-4, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Breazeale, 28, of Alhambra, California, is a former college football quarterback who picked up boxing late and wound up as a 2012 U.S. Olympic super heavyweight. He's raw and a project, but he's 6-foot-6, 251 pounds, has good power and has shown some potential.
He was facing Vargas, 32, of Toledo, Ohio, who was the 2004 U.S. Olympic heavyweight representative and team captain. His career has gone nowhere, however. He got knocked out for the third fight in a row and fourth time in five fights. This bout was also his second fight since coming back earlier this year after not fighting since 2011. He probably should head back to retirement after this performance.
It was a decent little scrap, but Breazeale, who took a few clean shots well, was getting the better of the considerable action. He dropped Vargas with a short right hand to the side of the head in the second round. Vargas complained to referee Thomas Taylor that Breazeale hit him behind the head, but he was hit on the side of the head and leaned into the punch when he bent over.
They continued to trade in the third round, but Vargas was tiring, and when Breazeale landed another blow to the same part of head that caused the knockdown, Vargas grabbed his head, turned his back and leaned over the ropes, a sign of resignation that forced Taylor to call off the fight at 2 minutes, 26 seconds. Vargas again complained that he was hit behind the head, but the shot was clean and perfectly legal. Breazeale has faced weak opposition, so this rates as his most notable win so far.
Also of note on the undercard, Argentine welterweight Fabian Maidana, the 22-year-old younger brother of Marcos Maidana, made his professional debut, winning a four-round decision on scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 39-37 against Eddie Diaz, 25, who was also making his pro debut.
Saturday at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Nadjib Mohammedi TKO7 Anatoliy Dudchenko
Light heavyweight title eliminator
Records: Mohammedi (35-3, 21 KOs); Dudchenko (19-3, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In a surprisingly one-sided fight, the shorter Mohammedi, 29, of France, who was fighting in the United States for the first time, won his 11th fight in a row as he beat up on Ukraine's Dudchenko, 35, who lives in Los Angeles.
Mohammedi, the underdog, walked Dudchenko down, pinned him on the ropes time and again and banged away, constantly scoring with his right hand. He opened a cut on the bridge of Dudchenko's nose in the sixth round, bruised his face and basically did what he pleased.
Dudchenko had basically no offense to speak of. According to CompuBox statistics, he landed just 28 of 200 punches (14 percent) while Mohammedi connected on 137 of 357 (38 percent), many of them flush, head-snapping blows.
Mohammedi had Dudchenko in trouble late in the sixth round as he landed right hands and uppercuts and had him covering up before the bell sounded. Dudchenko came out for the seventh round but was done. Mohammedi was all over him early in the round as he landed a variety of punches. He had to have landed more than a dozen unanswered shots, including a huge right hand that badly rocked Dudchenko, before referee Shawn Clark stepped in 37 seconds into the round.
It was an excellent performance from the awkward Mohammedi, who became the mandatory challenger for one of the two world title belts owned by Bernard Hopkins. But Hopkins will likely first face champion Adonis Stevenson to unify three of the alphabet belts in the fall, meaning Mohammedi would be first in line to face the winner.
Dudchenko saw a 16-fight winning streak since 2008 come to an end in his first bout since signing with promoter Main Events.
Saturday at Cancun, Mexico
Cristian Mijares TKO7 Sebastian Daniel Rodriguez
Featherweights
Records: Mijares (50-8-2, 25 KOs); Rodriguez (20-7-1, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Mijares, a 32-year-old southpaw from Mexico, is a two-time junior bantamweight titleholder and, during his 2007-08 first reign in which he unified titles, many had him ranked on the pound-for-pound list. He has had his ups and downs and was coming off a near-shutout decision loss in December, when he challenged Leo Santa Cruz for his junior featherweight world title.
Mijares moved up in weight for his return against Rodriguez, 30, of Argentina, who was fighting his first name opponent and was boxing outside of his country for the first time as he dropped to 1-2 in his last three fights.
The shorter Rodriguez tried to rush to the inside by throwing wild shots, but the far-more-experienced Mijares was able to keep him off with a nice jab and lateral movement. In the fourth round, Rodriguez had Mijares in a little bit of trouble as he trapped him in a corner and began to swing with both hands, catching Mijares with a wild left hand to the head. Mijares weathered the storm, however, and was able to fight off the ropes.
Mijares was controlling the action for most of the fight and Rodriguez appeared to be fading a bit in the seventh, when Mijares caught him clean with a solid straight left hand that dropped him. He was up at the count of seven, but moments later he ate a short right hook and went down again, this time face-first and referee Florentino Lopez waved the fight off without a count just as the seventh round was about to end. Nice knockout for Mijares, who might get himself another world title shot eventually.
Saturday at Monte Carlo
Martin Murray W12 Max Bursak
Middleweights
Scores: 119-109 (twice), 117-112
Records: Murray (28-1-1, 12 KOs); Bursak (29-3-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Murray, 31, of England, is a former interim titlist and two-time world title challenger, drawing with Felix Sturm in 2011 and losing a unanimous decision to Sergio Martinez for the real title in 2013. Since the defeat to Martinez, Murray is now 3-0 after this one-sided and rather uneventful fight against Bursak in which neither man did a whole lot.
The more skilled Murray, however, controlled what little action there was and knew it because the bout was conducted using the terrible open scoring system (the fight was for a WBC regional belt). Murray landed some decent uppercuts and whenever Bursak did try to go on offense and bull his way inside, Murray did a good job of tying him up and not allowing him to get his punches off.
In the end, this was an easy fight to score as Murray got the win and figures to move on to a bigger fight. Former European middleweight champion Bursak, 29, of Ukraine, lost his second fight in a row.
Hekkie Budler KO8 Pigmy Muangchaiyaphum Kokietgym
Retains a strawweight title
Records: Budler (26-1, 9 KOs); Kokietgym (52-7-2, 22 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Budler, 26, of South Africa (and sporting blue hair), was dominant in his first title defense, his second fight outside of his home country. Budler, not known for his punching power, scored four knockdowns in the victory against Kokietgym, 32, of Thailand, a 15-year pro getting his second opportunity to fight for a strawweight world title (after a 2010 split-decision loss in a vacant title bout).
Although both fighters were content to fight at a measured pace, Budler -- known as the Hexecutioner -- was the boss in almost every round. He scored the first knockdown late in the fourth round, when a right hand got through and Kokietgym was forced to put his glove on the canvas to steady himself. In the final seconds of the seventh round, he scored another knockdown on a left hook to the body. Budler came out in the eighth round targeting the body again and landed another hard shot to Kokietgym's gut for the third knockdown 20 seconds into the round. Budler continued to pound Kokietgym's body and dropped him yet again, this time with a right hand doing the trick as referee Raul Caiz Sr. counted him out at 1 minute, 6 seconds.
Youri Kalenga W12 Mateusz Masternak
Wins a vacant interim cruiserweight title
Scores: 116-112, 115-113 Kalenga, 115-113 Masternak
Records: Kalenga (20-1, 13 KOs); Masternak (32-2, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: More silly interim title stuff from the WBA, which has Denis Lebedev as its full titleholder but made this belt available for no apparent reason. Neither guy remotely deserved to be in a title fight.
Kalenga, 26, a native of Congo living in France, has never faced any top opponents, much less beaten anyone of note, and four fights ago he lost a wide 10-round decision to a guy who was 11-18-3. Masternak, 27, of Poland, has faced better opposition but had never beaten anyone of consequence; he was three fights removed from an 11th-round knockout loss to Grigory Drozd in a European title fight in October.
Nonetheless, Kalenga goes home with a belt after a bruising victory, one which he certainly deserved to win by unanimous decision despite some oddball scoring by one judge. He took the fight to Masternak round after round and was clearly the more powerful puncher. Kalenga's constant aggressiveness and much busier output had Masternak taking a lot of shots and fading in the later rounds of a poor performance. Kalenga raised swelling on the right side of Masternak's head by the 10th round and showed heart even to make it to the final bell.
Thursday at Bayamon, Puerto Rico
McWilliams Arroyo KO2 Frolian Saludar
Flyweight title eliminator
Records: Arroyo (15-1, 13 KOs); Saludar (19-1-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The 28-year-old Arroyo (14-1, 12 KOs) was a 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian, 2009 world amateur champion and a top prospect despite a four-round decision loss in 2010. He was fighting for the first time in 16 months, mainly because the eliminator, originally slated to be against Rocky Fuentes in December, was canceled.
Despite the layoff, Arroyo (whose twin brother McJoe Arroyo knocked out Hernan "Tyson" Marquez in the 11th round of a junior bantamweight title eliminator on June 14) looked sharp against Saludar, 25, of the Philippines, as he became the mandatory challenger for 112-pound titleholder Amnat Ruenroeng (13-0, 5 KOs) of Thailand.
Arroyo and Saludar, who was fighting outside of the Philippines for the first time, engaged nicely in the opening round as both were aggressive and throwing punches. It looked like it would turn into a good back-and-forth fight, even after Arroyo staggered Saludar with an overhand left 45 seconds into the round. Saludar recovered quickly but soon ate another left that rocked him, then Arroyo flattened him with a nasty left hook to the chin. Saludar tried to get to his feet, but didn't come close as referee Geno Rodriguez counted him out at 2 minutes, 25 seconds. Arroyo has a lot of talent and his presence adds to the excellent depth of an underrated division.
Saturday at Carson, California
Robert Guerrero W12 Yoshihiro Kamegai
Welterweights
Scores: 117-111 (twice), 116-112
Records: Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs); Kamegai (24-2-1, 21 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Thirteen months ago, Guerrero, the former two-division titleholder (with interim belts in two more divisions), lost a lopsided decision to pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a welterweight title challenge. Then came the long layoff --- Mayweather has fought twice since -- in part because of a beef with promoter Golden Boy. But after Guerrero signed with adviser Al Haymon, suddenly said beef disappeared and he was scheduled to fight.
So Guerrero, 31, of Gilroy, California, returned to action to headline a Showtime card for a $1 million purse as the heavy, heavy favorite. But somebody apparently forgot to tell Kamegai, 31, of Japan, fighting for a modest $75,000, that he was nothing more than a bit player in an expected walkover.
Although the fight lacked the drama of a true fight-of-the-year candidate (no knockdowns, for example), this was a tremendous action battle that will go down as a solid FOY honorable mention. It was a bloody high-contact fight that was yet another great one in the increasing lore of the StubHub Center, which has become a venue where magic happens, having hosted such barnburners as Timothy Bradley Jr.-Ruslan Provodnikov, Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez I and III, Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado I, Erislandy Lara-Alfredo Angulo, Marcos Maidana-Josesito Lopez and Lucas Matthysse-John Molina (this year's FOY front-runner) in recent years.
Although Guerrero, a southpaw, never seemed to be in any major trouble, Kamegai, who suffered his first loss at the StubHub Center by decision to Johan Perez last June, pushed him very hard. They both showed incredible heart and will in a brutal fight.
They were trading fierce shots on the inside during the sixth round, with Guerrero getting the worse of it, when their heads collided and Guerrero suffered a terrible cut over his left eye, which became a blood, purple, swollen mess for the rest of the fight. But Guerrero fought through the injury and continued to pour it on, snapping Kamegai's head back with straight left hands.
They combined to throw an astonishing 1,913 punches, according to CompuBox statistics, and kept a frenetic pace for the entire fight. In the end, Guerrero, the faster man and the heavier hitter, connected on 484 of 1,082 punches (44 percent). Kamegai, who said afterward that Guerrero indeed deserved the decision, landed 293 of 831 blows (35 percent).
Vasyl Lomachenko W12 Gary Russell Jr.
Wins a vacant featherweight title
Scores: 116-112 (twice), 114-114
Records: Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO); Russell (24-1, 14 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: As much as this fight was about matching two superb southpaw prospects and former great amateurs in a very interesting showdown (Top Rank versus Golden Boy, to boot, thanks to a purse bid), it was also about determining which side's philosophy was better.
Would it be the immediate plunge into deep water against quality opponents taken by Lomachenko, 26, the two-time Olympic gold medalist (2008 and 2012) from Ukraine? Or would it be the maddeningly slow build of 2008 U.S. Olympian Russell, 26, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, who faced 24 soft touches before facing a real opponent?
After a super performance, Lomachenko got the well-deserved nod, showing perhaps that it was better to face a legitimate opponent in his October pro debut followed by a close loss in a world title fight to Orlando Salido (who didn't make weight) in March, then an immediate return to face the ultra-fast Russell, who had never been remotely tested because his opposition was so horrible.
By winning the fight and a world title in just his third pro bout, Lomachenko -- who wanted to fight for a world title in his pro debut -- tied the record for fewest fights to win a world title, which was set by Saensak Muangsurin of Thailand, winner of a junior welterweight belt in his third fight in 1975.
It turned out to be a much easier fight than anyone would have thought. Despite the horrendous draw scorecard submitted by Lisa Giampa, who put herself in C.J. Ross territory, Lomachenko dominated the fight. Scoring it a shutout in Lomachenko's favor would be more reasonable than giving Russell six rounds.
Lomachenko, the 2013 ESPN.com prospect of the year, handled Russell's speed advantage and at times battered the 2011 ESPN.com prospect of the year. He applied pressure throughout the fight, employed a vicious body attack and walked through the few punches that Russell landed. According to CompuBox statistics, Lomachenko landed 183 of 597 punches (31 percent) while Russell was limited to landing just 83 of 806 blows (a historically abysmal 10 percent). To Russell's credit, he gave Lomachenko credit for the win. What else could he do? He was so thoroughly outclassed.
As dominant as Lomachenko was in the first few rounds, he raised it a level in a big fifth round, hurting Russell to the head and body and outlanding him 23-3. Lomachenko didn't land many jabs, but one of them snapped Russell's head back in the sixth round. He did even more damage in the seventh round as he punished Russell along the ropes late in the round. By the 10th round, Russell's left eye was swelling and Lomachenko had another huge round. A big left uppercut staggered Russell in the 11th round.
It was a world-class performance from a terrific fighter, and it seems there will be more great outings to come. Lomachenko may have been the greatest amateur of all time, going 396-1. If you combine that record with his World Series of Boxing experience (6-0) and his pro record (2-1), he is an amazing 404-2 with a wealth of opponents to face in the future thanks to promoter Top Rank's deep involvement in the featherweight division. It also promotes titleholders Nonito Donaire, Evgeny Gradovich and Nicholas Walters, and a tournament of some kind is something Top Rank is considering. Lomachenko would likely be favored against any of those opponents.
Devon Alexander W10 Jesus Soto Karass
Welterweights
Scores: 99-91 (twice), 97-93
Records: Alexander (26-2, 14 KOs); Soto Karass (28-10-3, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: This was a critical fight for Alexander, the 27-year-old southpaw from St. Louis and former welterweight and junior welterweight titlist, and he did exactly what he needed to -- win, look good and entertain the fans -- in an excellent performance that should put him in position for another major fight.
It was the opposite of his last bout, when Alexander looked very sluggish in a decision loss to Shawn Porter in December that cost him his welterweight world title. But he looked much better against Soto Karass, 31, the hard-charging Mexican journeyman, who always makes a good fight -- the key reason he was fighting on Showtime or Showtime PPV for the fifth consecutive fight (even though he is now 2-3 in those bouts).
Alexander looked sharp as he boxed and moved well, but he also had no problem mixing it up with Soto Karass, then getting out of the way. His speed gave Soto Karass problems, and his better pedigree was obvious. They both were in there winging away, combining to throw 1,632 punches, according to CompuBox statistics.
Alexander, however, was far more accurate. He landed 277 of 709 (30 percent) while Soto Karass connected on 193 of 923 blows (21 percent). The big difference was in the power shot category; Alexander had a huge margin, landing 212 of 405 (a very high 52 percent). Soto Karass lacks defensive skills and Alexander exploited that weakness throughout the fight.
Alexander is often defensive-minded, but he went after Soto Karass at times, and when Soto Karass was coming forward, Alexander countered very well.
Soto Karass, who pulled upsets against former titleholder Andre Berto and Selcuk Aydin in 2013, lost his second in a row. He was stopped by Keith Thurman in an interim title bout in December.
Chad Dawson KO1 George Blades
Cruiserweights
Records: Dawson (32-3, 18 KOs); Blades (23-6, 16 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: At one time, Chad Dawson was the legit light heavyweight world champion and a regular in the pound-for-pound top 10. That was then and this is now.
Dawson, 31, of New Haven, Connecticut, showed he is light years from when he was at his best; he was making his return from two harrowing knockout losses in a row and a year out of the ring. He was destroyed in the 10th round of a one-sided fight when he dropped down to super middleweight to challenge champion Andre Ward in 2012 and followed it last June by losing his title by knockout in 76 seconds to Adonis Stevenson.
Dawson returned against soft touch Blades, a 39-year-old journeyman from Indianapolis, who lost his second in a row by knockout and fourth of six by stoppage. As awful as Blades looked, Dawson didn't look much better despite the victory.
Dawson called this the beginning of the next chapter of his career, but he was in no shape at all and did not appear to take the fight seriously, even after all the time off and a claim that he trained for the fight for three months. The contract weight for the bout was 179 pounds but Dawson weighed in at 182¾. He did not attempt to lose any of the extra weight and was fined $3,000 (20 percent of his $15,000 purse) by the California State Athletic Commission. Then Dawson blew up to a whopping 202 pounds on fight night compared to Blades, who made weight (177½) and rehydrated only to 186.
Two minutes into the fight, Dawson dropped Blades with a left hand to the body. He got up at the count of seven and was quickly down again on the end of two short right hands. He got to a knee and had no interest in continuing, popping up after referee Raul Caiz Jr. counted him out at 2 minutes, 35 seconds. Sure, Dawson won the fight, but he did not help his cause at all. Now, not only are there still questions about whether he has anything left, but there are also questions about whether he cares about fighting anymore.
Dominic Breazeale TKO3 Devin Vargas
Heavyweights
Records: Breazeale (11-0, 10 KOs); Vargas (18-4, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Breazeale, 28, of Alhambra, California, is a former college football quarterback who picked up boxing late and wound up as a 2012 U.S. Olympic super heavyweight. He's raw and a project, but he's 6-foot-6, 251 pounds, has good power and has shown some potential.
He was facing Vargas, 32, of Toledo, Ohio, who was the 2004 U.S. Olympic heavyweight representative and team captain. His career has gone nowhere, however. He got knocked out for the third fight in a row and fourth time in five fights. This bout was also his second fight since coming back earlier this year after not fighting since 2011. He probably should head back to retirement after this performance.
It was a decent little scrap, but Breazeale, who took a few clean shots well, was getting the better of the considerable action. He dropped Vargas with a short right hand to the side of the head in the second round. Vargas complained to referee Thomas Taylor that Breazeale hit him behind the head, but he was hit on the side of the head and leaned into the punch when he bent over.
They continued to trade in the third round, but Vargas was tiring, and when Breazeale landed another blow to the same part of head that caused the knockdown, Vargas grabbed his head, turned his back and leaned over the ropes, a sign of resignation that forced Taylor to call off the fight at 2 minutes, 26 seconds. Vargas again complained that he was hit behind the head, but the shot was clean and perfectly legal. Breazeale has faced weak opposition, so this rates as his most notable win so far.
Also of note on the undercard, Argentine welterweight Fabian Maidana, the 22-year-old younger brother of Marcos Maidana, made his professional debut, winning a four-round decision on scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 39-37 against Eddie Diaz, 25, who was also making his pro debut.
Saturday at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Nadjib Mohammedi TKO7 Anatoliy Dudchenko
Light heavyweight title eliminator
Records: Mohammedi (35-3, 21 KOs); Dudchenko (19-3, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In a surprisingly one-sided fight, the shorter Mohammedi, 29, of France, who was fighting in the United States for the first time, won his 11th fight in a row as he beat up on Ukraine's Dudchenko, 35, who lives in Los Angeles.
Mohammedi, the underdog, walked Dudchenko down, pinned him on the ropes time and again and banged away, constantly scoring with his right hand. He opened a cut on the bridge of Dudchenko's nose in the sixth round, bruised his face and basically did what he pleased.
Dudchenko had basically no offense to speak of. According to CompuBox statistics, he landed just 28 of 200 punches (14 percent) while Mohammedi connected on 137 of 357 (38 percent), many of them flush, head-snapping blows.
Mohammedi had Dudchenko in trouble late in the sixth round as he landed right hands and uppercuts and had him covering up before the bell sounded. Dudchenko came out for the seventh round but was done. Mohammedi was all over him early in the round as he landed a variety of punches. He had to have landed more than a dozen unanswered shots, including a huge right hand that badly rocked Dudchenko, before referee Shawn Clark stepped in 37 seconds into the round.
It was an excellent performance from the awkward Mohammedi, who became the mandatory challenger for one of the two world title belts owned by Bernard Hopkins. But Hopkins will likely first face champion Adonis Stevenson to unify three of the alphabet belts in the fall, meaning Mohammedi would be first in line to face the winner.
Dudchenko saw a 16-fight winning streak since 2008 come to an end in his first bout since signing with promoter Main Events.
Saturday at Cancun, Mexico
Cristian Mijares TKO7 Sebastian Daniel Rodriguez
Featherweights
Records: Mijares (50-8-2, 25 KOs); Rodriguez (20-7-1, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Mijares, a 32-year-old southpaw from Mexico, is a two-time junior bantamweight titleholder and, during his 2007-08 first reign in which he unified titles, many had him ranked on the pound-for-pound list. He has had his ups and downs and was coming off a near-shutout decision loss in December, when he challenged Leo Santa Cruz for his junior featherweight world title.
Mijares moved up in weight for his return against Rodriguez, 30, of Argentina, who was fighting his first name opponent and was boxing outside of his country for the first time as he dropped to 1-2 in his last three fights.
The shorter Rodriguez tried to rush to the inside by throwing wild shots, but the far-more-experienced Mijares was able to keep him off with a nice jab and lateral movement. In the fourth round, Rodriguez had Mijares in a little bit of trouble as he trapped him in a corner and began to swing with both hands, catching Mijares with a wild left hand to the head. Mijares weathered the storm, however, and was able to fight off the ropes.
Mijares was controlling the action for most of the fight and Rodriguez appeared to be fading a bit in the seventh, when Mijares caught him clean with a solid straight left hand that dropped him. He was up at the count of seven, but moments later he ate a short right hook and went down again, this time face-first and referee Florentino Lopez waved the fight off without a count just as the seventh round was about to end. Nice knockout for Mijares, who might get himself another world title shot eventually.
Saturday at Monte Carlo
Martin Murray W12 Max Bursak
Middleweights
Scores: 119-109 (twice), 117-112
Records: Murray (28-1-1, 12 KOs); Bursak (29-3-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Murray, 31, of England, is a former interim titlist and two-time world title challenger, drawing with Felix Sturm in 2011 and losing a unanimous decision to Sergio Martinez for the real title in 2013. Since the defeat to Martinez, Murray is now 3-0 after this one-sided and rather uneventful fight against Bursak in which neither man did a whole lot.
The more skilled Murray, however, controlled what little action there was and knew it because the bout was conducted using the terrible open scoring system (the fight was for a WBC regional belt). Murray landed some decent uppercuts and whenever Bursak did try to go on offense and bull his way inside, Murray did a good job of tying him up and not allowing him to get his punches off.
In the end, this was an easy fight to score as Murray got the win and figures to move on to a bigger fight. Former European middleweight champion Bursak, 29, of Ukraine, lost his second fight in a row.
Hekkie Budler KO8 Pigmy Muangchaiyaphum Kokietgym
Retains a strawweight title
Records: Budler (26-1, 9 KOs); Kokietgym (52-7-2, 22 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Budler, 26, of South Africa (and sporting blue hair), was dominant in his first title defense, his second fight outside of his home country. Budler, not known for his punching power, scored four knockdowns in the victory against Kokietgym, 32, of Thailand, a 15-year pro getting his second opportunity to fight for a strawweight world title (after a 2010 split-decision loss in a vacant title bout).
Although both fighters were content to fight at a measured pace, Budler -- known as the Hexecutioner -- was the boss in almost every round. He scored the first knockdown late in the fourth round, when a right hand got through and Kokietgym was forced to put his glove on the canvas to steady himself. In the final seconds of the seventh round, he scored another knockdown on a left hook to the body. Budler came out in the eighth round targeting the body again and landed another hard shot to Kokietgym's gut for the third knockdown 20 seconds into the round. Budler continued to pound Kokietgym's body and dropped him yet again, this time with a right hand doing the trick as referee Raul Caiz Sr. counted him out at 1 minute, 6 seconds.
Youri Kalenga W12 Mateusz Masternak
Wins a vacant interim cruiserweight title
Scores: 116-112, 115-113 Kalenga, 115-113 Masternak
Records: Kalenga (20-1, 13 KOs); Masternak (32-2, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: More silly interim title stuff from the WBA, which has Denis Lebedev as its full titleholder but made this belt available for no apparent reason. Neither guy remotely deserved to be in a title fight.
Kalenga, 26, a native of Congo living in France, has never faced any top opponents, much less beaten anyone of note, and four fights ago he lost a wide 10-round decision to a guy who was 11-18-3. Masternak, 27, of Poland, has faced better opposition but had never beaten anyone of consequence; he was three fights removed from an 11th-round knockout loss to Grigory Drozd in a European title fight in October.
Nonetheless, Kalenga goes home with a belt after a bruising victory, one which he certainly deserved to win by unanimous decision despite some oddball scoring by one judge. He took the fight to Masternak round after round and was clearly the more powerful puncher. Kalenga's constant aggressiveness and much busier output had Masternak taking a lot of shots and fading in the later rounds of a poor performance. Kalenga raised swelling on the right side of Masternak's head by the 10th round and showed heart even to make it to the final bell.
Thursday at Bayamon, Puerto Rico
McWilliams Arroyo KO2 Frolian Saludar
Flyweight title eliminator
Records: Arroyo (15-1, 13 KOs); Saludar (19-1-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The 28-year-old Arroyo (14-1, 12 KOs) was a 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian, 2009 world amateur champion and a top prospect despite a four-round decision loss in 2010. He was fighting for the first time in 16 months, mainly because the eliminator, originally slated to be against Rocky Fuentes in December, was canceled.
Despite the layoff, Arroyo (whose twin brother McJoe Arroyo knocked out Hernan "Tyson" Marquez in the 11th round of a junior bantamweight title eliminator on June 14) looked sharp against Saludar, 25, of the Philippines, as he became the mandatory challenger for 112-pound titleholder Amnat Ruenroeng (13-0, 5 KOs) of Thailand.
Arroyo and Saludar, who was fighting outside of the Philippines for the first time, engaged nicely in the opening round as both were aggressive and throwing punches. It looked like it would turn into a good back-and-forth fight, even after Arroyo staggered Saludar with an overhand left 45 seconds into the round. Saludar recovered quickly but soon ate another left that rocked him, then Arroyo flattened him with a nasty left hook to the chin. Saludar tried to get to his feet, but didn't come close as referee Geno Rodriguez counted him out at 2 minutes, 25 seconds. Arroyo has a lot of talent and his presence adds to the excellent depth of an underrated division.
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He isn't fighting Lara even if he wins, there's no money there.
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I think he fights Canelo whether or not he wins.
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Cotto martinez a flop. Only 350K buys
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Cotto martinez a flop. Only 350K buys
Sheeeeeeeeeeeesh! I expected at least 500K minimum.
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Kamegai ate a lot of punches, dude was just getting stuck all night. To me, defensive fighters who move their heads and manipulate spacing are the more entertaining fighters. Just IMO