A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Carson, Calif.
Gennady Golovkin KO2 Marco Antonio Rubio
Retains a middleweight title, wins a vacant interim title
Records: Golovkin (31-0, 28 KOs); Rubio (59-7-1, 51 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: GGG mania is awfully fun, isn't it? Golovkin's fight with Rubio was not expected to be much of a test. Pretty much anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the two fighters figured this had Golovkin by knockout written all over it. Yet even without a big-time competitive fight on paper the fans flocked to Golovkin's first fight on the West Coast to the tune of a sold-out crowd of 9,323 at the StubHub Center. It got to that capacity because after K2 Promotions sold all the tickets it twice added additional bleacher seats as well as standing room only tickets, the first time ever at StubHub Center. In fact, it was the biggest crowd for any event in the history of the arena.
When the electric night was over one executive from AEG, which owns the StubHub Center as well as the Staples Center a few miles away in downtown Los Angeles, said Golovkin-Rubio easily could have done big business in the bigger arena.
Golovkin surely will fill the Staples Center eventually but the point is he is on his way to superstardom -- and eventually HBO PPV -- because people want to see him and his prodigious punching power regardless of who he's fighting because he brings massive excitement and gives fans their money's worth. This was his sixth fight in the United States and each has played to increasingly larger crowds and media coverage. Golovkin's trajectory is much like that of Manny Pacquiao in his early days of fighting in the United States. The sky's the limit for Golovkin.
As he has said time and again, he wants to fight any of the big names in and around his division, but those fighters have not made themselves available in a serious manner at this point (meaning more than talk), and that means division champion Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, super middleweight champion Andre Ward, Carl Froch, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Peter Quillin and even Floyd Mayweather Jr. (at 154 pounds, where GGG said he would go to meet Mayweather, the champion of that division). There are various reasons none of those bouts have happened, so while Golovkin and his promoter, Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions, work to lure any of them into the ring, Golovkin will continue to fight the best available opponents who are willing to fight him.
On this night it was Rubio, 34, of Mexico, a veteran contender and former two-time world title challenger (losing by knockout to Kelly Pavlik and decision to Chavez) who had picked up an interim belt in his previous fight. One of the reasons Golovkin wanted to fight him was to win the interim belt because it would make him the mandatory challenger for the winner of the likely spring fight between champion Cotto and Alvarez. Golovkin claimed the interim belt, but it was vacant because Rubio blew weight by 1.8 pounds at Friday's weigh-in (costing himself $100,000 in the process).
Kazakhstan's Golovkin, 32, who lives in Germany and is in the process of moving with his family to Los Angeles, had no problems whatsoever with Rubio, who got blasted. He lost the first round and then Golovkin ate him up in the second round, landing a right hand and a left uppercut that badly rocked him. Rubio staggered into the ropes, took a few more shots and then went down on the end of a heavy left hand to the temple area. Rubio looked like he was thinking for a moment whether he was going to even try to get up. Eventually he did, but he didn't beat the count and referee Jack Reiss counted him out at 1 minute, 19 seconds.
Despite the quick nature of the fight the crowd did not seem disappointed. They got what they came for: a Golovkin KO. Even though the crowd was largely Mexican -- on a card named "Mexican Style," because that is the style with which Golovkin fights -- they were rooting for Golovkin over Rubio. It was like a Golovkin lovefest. Any why shouldn't it have been?
He retained his 160-pound title for the 12th time (which tied him with Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Felix Sturm for third place on the all-time middleweight title defense list) and raised his knockout ratio to the best among active titleholders (90.3 percent).
Golovkin's plan is to return in February in Monte Carlo -- unless a big name steps up -- and then to fight again in the United States in May. At some point one of the big names will see enough money in taking the risk of facing the most exciting fighter in boxing today and its most electrifying knockout artist. That day can't come soon enough for fight fans, or for GGG.
Nicholas Walters TKO6 Nonito Donaire
Wins a featherweight title
Records: Walters (25-0, 21 KOs); Donaire (33-3, 21 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Walters announced his arrival on the world scene and did so in a major way, as the "Axe Man" blasted out Donaire and perhaps dropped the curtain on his run near the top of the sport. The "Filipino Flash," showing nothing but class in defeat, described what happened to him as well as anyone possibly could have: "He overwhelmed and knocked the s--- out of me." He sure did.
Donaire, 31, a Philippines native from San Leandro, California, had won world titles in four weight classes: flyweight, bantamweight, junior featherweight and featherweight, plus an interim belt at junior bantamweight. He was the 2012 fighter of the year and on everyone's pound-for-pound list for the past several years. But he has not been the same since his great 2012. He lost to Guillermo Rigondeaux in a junior featherweight unification and then looked bad when he moved up to featherweight and had to rally for a ninth-round knockout against the faded Vic Darchinyan in a rematch. In his first fight of 2014, Donaire also did not look good despite capturing a featherweight belt by fifth-round technical decision against Simpiwe Vetyeka. Donaire, making his first featherweight title defense, did not need to face the dangerous but unknown Walters, owner of a secondary title coming into the bout, but wanted to fight him. He deserves credit for that even if it proved to be a bad decision as Walters, 28, of Jamaica, did a job on him in a very exciting fight.
Donaire started off well enough, including hurting Walters and nearly dropping him with a huge left hook late in the second round. Landing that punch in the smaller weight classes used to put guys to sleep. Against a big strong featherweight like Walters it still did damage, but couldn't drop him. After that brief moment, it was all downhill for Donaire, whose face was a mess by the end of the fight, as he was bleeding over both eyes.
A pro for 13 years, Donaire had never been knocked down until Walters cracked him twice. Walters landed a flush right uppercut late in the third round to drop Donaire. Walters was clearly in control of the fight when he ended it in highlight-reel style, knocking Donaire to the mat face first with a hammer-like right hand behind the ear. Donaire, whose heart is unquestioned, got to his feet, but he was totally gone and referee Raul Caiz Jr. waved off the fight at 2 minutes, 59 seconds. It signaled the birth of a new star in the division and the possible goodbye of another.
Top Rank, which co-promotes Walters, is deep at featherweight. Promoter Bob Arum said before the fight he hoped to match the winner with titleholder Vasyl Lomachenko (who was ringside), assuming Lomachenko is successful with his own title defense Nov. 22 on the Manny Pacquiao-Chris Algieri undercard. Arum also promotes titleholder Evgeny Gradovich, and Jhonny Gonzalez, who is not with Top Rank, was ringside scouting the fight. Walters, with his great power, outgoing personality and fan-friendly fighting style, is sure to be back in another marquee fight.
Edwin Rodriguez W10 Azea Augustama
Light heavyweight
Scores: 100-90 (twice), 99-91
Records: Rodriguez (25-1, 16 KOs); Augustama (17-2, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Eleven months ago, Rodriguez was due to challenge super middleweight world champion Andre Ward. But Rodriguez, 29, a Dominican Republic native living in Worcester, Massachusetts, was two pounds overweight (170) and could not fight for the title. The bout went ahead and Ward made Rodriguez look like an amateur in an easy decision win.
Despite not making weight and then losing badly in a bad fight to Ward, Rodriguez was still owed a lucrative return bout on HBO, which promised him one in the contract. This was that fight, which HBO hid away on HBO Latino instead of putting him on the main network. But because of that contract Rodriguez still got paid an obscene $225,000, according to the California State Athletic Commission, for this mediocre fight.
Considering Rodriguez's long layoff he fought well and looked fairly sharp against a durable opponent in Augustama, 31, a Hollywood, Florida-based Haiti native. Rodriguez looked like he was in good shape as he moved up to light heavyweight and, amazingly, he was actually back in the ring before Ward, who still has not fought since their bout last year.
Rodriguez had no problems with Augustama, who ate a lot of punches and did not have all that much to offer in return other than the occasional right hand. Rodriguez was well in control all the way in a workmanlike effort.
Saturday at Philadelphia
Steve Cunningham TKO7 Natu Visinia
Heavyweight
Records: Cunningham (28-6, 13 KOs); Visinia (10-1, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Cunningham, 38, of Philadelphia, is a former two-time cruiserweight titlist who moved up to heavyweight in 2012 and was fighting in the division for the sixth consecutive time. Cunningham, just 205 pounds, is almost always smaller than his opponent, and in this case the difference was massive, as the 278-pound Visinia, 30, a native of Samoa now fighting out of Clinton, Illinois, outweighed him by 73 pounds.
No worries, however, as Cunningham (who actually had a longer reach) was faster and vastly more experienced than Visinia, whose opposition coming into the fight was a complete joke. Before facing Cunningham, he had never been in a fight scheduled for longer than six rounds and had faced only two opponents with winning records (6-1 and 3-1).
Cunningham, with his 9-year-old daughter Kennedy's impending heart transplant on his mind, had the hometown fans behind him as he steadily broke Visinia down until his corner stopped the fight after the seventh round with his face and mouth a bloody mess. The stoppage was Cunningham's first as a heavyweight and first since winning a vacant cruiserweight belt by fifth-round TKO against Troy Ross in 2010.
Visinia's one big moment of the fight came in the fifth round when he dropped Cunningham to all fours with a right hand to the shoulder. Cunningham did not look hurt in the least and popped right back. He seemed shocked that referee Gary Rosato ruled it a knockdown, but it was.
Edner Cherry TKO2 Osumanu Akaba
Lightweight
Records: Cherry (33-6-2, 18 KOs); Akaba (31-7-1, 24 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Cherry has been a pro since 2001 and although he does not get much hype, he is a very good fighter and gives fans their money's worth fight in and fight out. He is always in shape and, frankly, it a head-scratcher why he doesn't get more television air time. Since 2006, he has only lost two decisions, to Paulie Malignaggi in 2007 and in a junior welterweight world title bout to Timothy Bradley Jr. in 2009.
The 32-year-old Cherry, a native of the Bahamas living in Wauchula, Florida, has also been relatively inactive, in part because he hasn't been able to get on television. But he did get on NBC Sports Net's "Fight Night" in the opener and looked sensational taking out Akaba with ease. Cherry was initially scheduled to face former title challenger Jerry Belmontes but he pulled out with a wrist injury a week before the fight and Akaba, 34, a native of Ghana living in Prichard, Alabama, who was training for another fight in November, took the bout on short notice. It proved to be a bad decision because Cherry manhandled him. They both came to fight and had no problem going right at each other but Cherry was the much stronger man. He dropped Akaba three times in the second round for the knockout, all with his powerful left hand. When he hit the deck for the third time, referee Shawn Clark waved off the fight at 2 minutes, 15 seconds. Akaba lost his second fight in a row. Cherry is now unbeaten in his last 10 fights (9-0 with a no-contest).
Thursday at Auckland, New Zealand
Joseph Parker W10 Sherman Williams
Heavyweight
Scores: 100-90 (twice), 97-94
Records: Parker (11-0, 9 KOs); Williams (36-14-2, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The 22-year-old Parker, who is 6-foot-2, 231 pounds, is one of boxing's most heralded heavyweight prospects and already a very popular in his home country of New Zealand. He has a strong amateur foundation and has moved along nicely as a professional. He was taking a small step up in class against Williams, 42, of the Bahamas, an extremely experienced old pro, who has faced opponents such as Evander Holyfield, Robert Helenius and Ruslan Chagaev.
Parker mostly dominated the fight en route to the lopsided decision, although Williams used every veteran move in the book to try to make Parker uncomfortable, including leading with his head, throwing low blows and rabbit-punching. But Williams also did land his solid overhand right a few times. Although Parker, who fought just two months ago in the United States, got the victory, Williams complained bitterly about the two shutout scorecards. He crashed Parker's postfight interview, demanded a rematch and promised to knock Parker out inside six rounds. The television interviewer then asked Williams why didn't he do that in the fight that had just concluded. Good question. Williams had no answer, and Parker moves on to bigger and better fights.
... when he can't get those big name fights we all beg for, what is he supposed to do not fight at all?
