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Part of me wants to see desert storm fight floyd. Fight him without trying to prove a point i think it would make an interedting fight
Please lock.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
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Back in town, gonna update the OP and the title. Here's a recap of this past weekend. There's not much this week before November, there is a Fox Sports 1 on October 30th but no one major. November schedule will be in the first post.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Monte Carlo, Monaco
Martin Murray W-Tech. Dec. 7 Domenico Spada
Middleweight
Scores: 69-67, 68-63, 67-66
Records: Murray (29-1-1, 12 KOs); Spada (39-6, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Murray, 31, of England, has come very close to winning world titles twice, and many have argued he deserved to win both times. In 2011, he went to Germany and fought to a draw with then-titleholder Felix Sturm. In 2013, he went to Argentina to challenge then-champion Sergio Martinez in his homecoming fight, knocked the champ down and gave him a very tough night in what turned out to be a decision loss. Since the defeat to Martinez, Murray has won four fights in a row, including this one against Spada, 34, of Italy, which paved the way to a third world title shot.
Murray came into the fight knowing he had a done deal to challenge wrecking machine Gennady Golovkin for his belt on Feb. 21 (also in Monte Carlo). Golovkin had done his part by obliterating Marco Antonio Rubio in two rounds to retain his belt for the 12th time and score his 18th knockout in a row on Oct. 18 in Carson, California. Golovkin then traveled to Monte Carlo and was ringside to watch as Murray took care of his business to set up their fight.
Golovkin has been unable to get a big-name opponent to face him at middleweight or super middleweight: Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Andre Ward or Carl Froch. So, because Golovkin is going to fight in Monte Carlo for the third time, and because Murray can't get a visa to fight in the United States, and also because he is the best available opponent willing to tangle with GGG, the match was made pending each of them winning.
Murray did not look particularly good against Spada, but Spada is an awkward fighter with a tough style that probably would make most opponents look bad. That said, Murray seemed to dominate the fight despite the surprisingly close scores on two scorecards.
An accidental head-butt in the third round opened a cut in the corner of Spada's right eye. Because this bout was sanctioned by the WBC for one of its lesser belts, its strange head-butt rule was used, the rule that says that, if there is an accidental head-butt and one of the fighters suffers a cut, the uncut fighter must be docked a point. Because Spada suffered a cut and Murray did not, referee Daniel Van de Wiele had no choice but to take a point from Murray. Also because of the ties to the WBC, its terrible open scoring rule was used, so Murray knew he was ahead after the fourth round.
Spada's eye, although bleeding, did not look very bad and the cut was not in a place in which the blood was going into his eye, but Van de Wiele called timeout in the third, sixth and seventh round to have the ringside doctor check on it. After the timeout in the seventh round, the doctor recommended that the fight be stopped, and Van de Wiele waved it off at 1 minute, 19 seconds, sending the fight to the scorecards for a technical decision.
Murray got the win and, regardless of the forgettable fight, punched his ticket to the shot at Golovkin, who once again will be a heavy favorite. The Feb. 21 fight was announced at the postfight news conference.
Randy Caballero W12 Stuart Hall
Wins a vacant bantamweight title
Scores: 118-110, 116-111 (twice)
Records: Caballero (22-0, 13 KOs); Hall (16-4-2, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Many viewed Caballero, 24, of Coachella, California, as a future world titleholder from the day he turned pro after a standout amateur career, and he fulfilled that potential by beating former titleholder Hall, 34, of England, in a highly entertaining fight.
Although Hall deserved a bit more credit than he got on the one very wide scorecard, Caballero did the business in his second overseas fight in a row. Caballero, who has fought 18 of 22 pro bouts at home in Southern California, traveled to Japan in April and knocked out Kohei Oba in the eighth round to become a mandatory challenger for a 118-pound title. Caballero wound up in Monte Carlo because Hall promoter Dennis Hobson won a purse bid to give him control of where the fight would take place. Caballero should have been the mandatory challenger for titlist Paul Butler, but, after Butler won the belt from Hall on June 7, he vacated it to move down in weight. That left Hall as the next leading available contender to face Caballero for the vacant title.
Caballero's biggest moment of the fight came in the second round when he nailed Hall with a clean left-right combination to knock him down, although Hall did not appear too badly hurt.
In the fifth round, Hall fired a right that landed for a very, very bad low blow that knocked Caballero down. Referee Allan Huggins gave Caballero time to recover and issued a hard warning to Hall. Caballero shook off the foul and continued to box and counterpunch Hall, who applied relentless pressure, although it was not all that effective. There were a lot of exciting exchanges, but Caballero appeared to land the crisper punches, and they closed out the fight with a heated toe-to-toe exchange late in the 12th round.
Hall dropped to 0-2-1 in his past three as his first title defense in March ended in a second-round technical draw because opponent Martin Ward suffered a bad cut on an accidental head-butt. As for Caballero, now that he has the title in his grasp, one should expect him to make his first defense right back where he has fought so many times, his home base at the Fantasy Springs resort in Indio, California. Caballero is an excellent young fighter, and the future looks very bright for him.
Eleider Alvarez TKO7 Ryno Liebenberg
Light heavyweight
Records: Alvarez (16-0, 9 KOs); Liebenberg (16-1, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Alvarez, 30, a Colombia native living in Montreal, looked very good in this fight and is probably on the verge of fighting for a world title as he dropped and bloodied Liebenberg, 29, of South Africa.
Alvarez's punches were quick and sharp throughout the fight. He blooded Liebenberg's nose in the third round and opened a cut around his left eye late in the fifth round. Liebenberg's eye would gradually get worse as the fight wore on, to the point that it was a bloody mess. In the sixth round, an accidental head-butt left Alvarez with a cut on his left eye and Liebenberg was docked a point because the WBC's bizarre head-butt rule was being used, the rule that says that, if an accidental head-butt cuts a fighter, the uncut fighter loses a point. Later in the round, Alvarez made up for the lost point when he landed a terrific counter right uppercut that dropped Liebenberg to all fours.
Alvarez, quicker and sharper, continued to attack Liebenberg's damaged eye in the seventh, and it ultimately was such a mess that the ringside doctor advised referee Frank Garza to stop the fight, which he did at 1 minute, 52 seconds.
Hekkie Budler W12 Xiong Zhao Zhong
Retains a strawweight title
Scores: 118-108, 114-112 (twice)
Records: Budler (27-1, 9 KOs); Xiong (24-6-1, 14 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Budler, 26, of South Africa -- who has one of the best nicknames in boxing, "The Hexecutioner" -- fought his second fight in a row in Monte Carlo as he made his second title defense against former titlist Xiong, 32, who won a vacant belt in 2012 to become the first professional boxing titleholder from China.
Budler and Xiong turned in a fun fight as both fighters got knocked down and fought their hearts out. Xiong landed a left hand to Budler's nose to drop him in the second round. But Budler rebounded to knock Xiong down with a clean right hand to the face in the third round.
Budler suffered a cut over his left eye in the sixth round but was beginning to pull away. He hurt Xiong with a right uppercut in the 11th round and was landing the more eye-catching punches. He had Xiong in some trouble in the 12th round as he rocked him with combinations in what was a good performance in a good fight for one of the more entertaining little guys in boxing.
Saturday at Hull, England
Tommy Coyle TKO2 Michael Katsidis
Lightweight
Records: Coyle (20-2, 9 KOs); Katsidis (30-7, 24 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Coyle, 25, of England, made no secret of the fact that Katsidis, one of the pure action warriors of our time, was one of his boxing idols. Two rounds later, Coyle scored an absolutely sensational knockout and probably sent Katsidis, 34, back into retirement.
Katsidis, who twice held interim lightweight titles and was involved in numerous action-packed fights, lost four of five bouts and then retired in 2012. But, after two years away from the ring, he returned in March and won two fights in a row, albeit against lower-level opposition in Australia, including a rematch with England's Graham Earl in July. Katsidis-Earl I, which took place in England in 2007, was one of the wildest fights of the decade, and Katsidis won by fifth-round knockout.
Katsidis then returned to England to take on Coyle, whose own reputation as an action fighter has grown since his absolutely epic battle with Daniel Brizuela in February, a fight Coyle won by 12th-round knockout after both men had been down four times apiece in a blazing fight of the year candidate.
The expectations were for an all-out brawl between Coyle and Katsidis, but Coyle nipped that in the bud with his early knockout. As expected, they went right at each other in a fast-paced first round, and it was continuing in the second round until Coyle turned loose a massive counter left hook that smashed Katsidis on the side of the face and Katsidis went down flat on his back. Katsidis, with his ever-present huge heart, beat the count, but he was in absolutely no condition to continue and referee Marcus McDonnell waved off the fight at 1 minute, 33 seconds, sending Coyle, his team and the crowd into a jubilant celebration.
Although Katsidis seems to be done, at least as far as being in any more meaningful fights, Coyle is set up for a summer showdown with fellow Hull, England, boxer and good pal Luke Campbell, who won in the co-feature. Coyle and Campbell likely will fight once more before they meet in the summer in a huge fight that will surely fill an outdoor arena in their city.
Luke Campbell TKO5 Daniel Brizuela
Lightweight
Records: Campbell (9-0, 7 KOs); Brizuela (26-4-2, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Campbell, 27, of England, won an Olympic gold medal in 2012 and is on the fast track in the pros. He was taking a step up in class of opponent against Brizuela, 28, of Argentina, who made his name in England in February in a 12th-round knockout loss to Tommy Coyle in a fight of the year candidate in which both fighters were down four times each.
With Coyle and Campbell, who are good friends, on track to fight each other next summer in an all-Hull, England, showdown, Campbell had to take care of Brizuela to keep plans for that eventual fight alive. He did the job and did it well.
Campbell, a southpaw, was bigger, faster and stronger than Brizuela and dominated the fight. He hurt Brizuela several times and almost dropped him with a straight left hand in the fourth round. He finally sent him to the mat in the fifth round under an accumulation of punches. Brizuela beat the count, but Campbell was all over him in the follow-up attack, eventually forcing referee Ingo Barrabas to step in and stop the fight at 2 minutes, 34 seconds. This was an excellent performance from Campbell against a solid opponent.
Saturday at Fresno, Calif.
Jose Ramirez KO1 David Rodela
Junior welterweight
Records: Ramirez (12-0, 9 KOs); Rodela (17-10-3, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Ramirez, a 22-year-old 2012 U.S. Olympian from Avenal, California, has tremendous potential as a fighter and is already showing what he can do as an attraction. Fighting near his hometown, Ramirez drew more than 7,000 to the Selland Arena for a scheduled eight-round fight. It was quick but explosive as he blew away 32-year-old Rodela, of Oxnard, California, who lost for the fifth time in his past six fights and did not appear to give a quality effort in the UniMas-televised main event.
Rodela, a career lightweight, was overmatched by Ramirez, who was bigger, stronger, faster and more skillful. Ramirez got the better of the limited action, eventually putting together a solid combination. A left hand caught Rodela near the ear, and he went down to all fours. It did not look like anything close to a devastating punch, but Rodela showed no inclination to even attempt to continue. He stayed on the canvas with his head down and only began to move as referee Marcos Rosales counted him out at 50 seconds. Ramirez did his job, but Rodela did not seem to do his.
Andy Ruiz TKO1 Kenny Lemos
Heavyweight
Records: Ruiz (23-0, 17 KOs); Lemos (12-9-2, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Ruiz, 25, of Imperial, California, needed just 2 minutes, 18 seconds to knock out the hopeless Lemos, 37, of Denver, in a pathetic mismatch in which neither guy was in condition. Ruiz was a soft 272¾ pounds, 22¾ heavier than for his last fight in May even though his handlers vowed to keep him out of the ring until he got in better shape. So much for that. But against guys like Lemos, who was a softer 266¼ pounds and whose trunks were literally almost up to his armpits, Ruiz had no issues. Ruiz dropped Lemos with a body shot and then pounded on him, eventually landing a series brutal overhand rights that snapped Lemos' head back until the referee stopped the fight. Ruiz has good skills and power, but until he gets in better condition and stops wasting his time with horrible opponents he's not going anywhere.
Friday at Barranquilla, Colombia
Darleys Perez KO6 Jaider Parra
Retains an interim lightweight title
Records: Perez (31-1, 20 KOs); Parra (23-2-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In June 2013, Perez, 31, of Colombia, lost his only pro fight, a competitive decision to Yuriorkis Gamboa in an interim lightweight title bout. But after a comeback victory and Gamboa's decision to vacate, Perez claimed the interim belt in June by unanimous decision against Argenis Lopez in the Dominican Republic.
For his first defense, Perez returned to Colombia to face 31-year-old countryman Parra, who was riding a three-fight winning streak since getting knocked out in the fifth round challenging Takashi Uchiyama for his junior lightweight world title in Japan in May 2013.
Perez looked good against Parra, breaking him down and finally taking him out as he hurt him with a left and a right to the body, then dropped him with a right hand to the head. Parra went down to his knees, and referee Tony Weeks did not bother to finish the count, calling off the fight at 1 minute, 29 seconds. Perez's aim is now to face full titleholder Richar Abril.
Friday at Moscow
Alexander Povetkin KO10 Carlos Takam
Heavyweight
Records: Povetkin (28-1, 20 KOs); Takam (30-2-1, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In October 2013, Povetkin, then owner of a "regular" world title, suffered his only pro loss, getting knocked down four times in a shutout decision loss to challenging world champion Wladimir Klitschko. It was an awful performance from Povetkin, who has since won two fights in a row, including this one against Takam by huge knockout.
Povetkin, 35, the 2004 Russian Olympic gold medalist, and Takam, 33, a 2004 Olympian from Cameroon now living in France, fought basically on even terms for most of the grueling bout. But Povetkin began to take over in the ninth round. He was applying pressure and wearing Takam down. Just before the bell ended the round, Povetkin knocked Takam down with a right hand. He was up quickly, but the bell rang before Povetkin could get off another punch.
Takam was fading in the 10th round, and Povetkin continued to go after him before he unleashed a sick left hook that cracked Takam on the chin and flattened him. Takam went down spread-eagle in the middle of the ring and was out. Referee Kenny Bayless did not bother to count, instead immediately waving off the fight at 54 seconds. It was a tremendous punch and a knockout of the year candidate. It was also the kind of quality victory against a legit contender that should push Povetkin closer to another world title shot. The loss was Takam's first in 13 fights (12-0-1) since 2009, although he fought to a draw on HBO against Mike Perez in January.
Rakhim Chakhkiev KO4 Giacobbe Fragomeni
Wins vacant European cruiserweight title
Records: Chakhkiev (20-1, 15 KOs); Fragomeni (32-5-2, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Chakhkiev, 31, of Russia, the 2008 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist, got a cruiserweight world title opportunity in June 2013 and dropped Krzysztof Wlodarczyk in the third round but got dropped himself three times thereafter and stopped in the eighth round.
Chakhkiev, a southpaw, has won four in a row with this stopping of former world titleholder Fragomeni, 45, of Italy, who was also stopped by Wlodarczyk in the sixth round of a title shot in December 2013.
Chakhkiev, with quicker hands, couldn't miss. In the third round, he put together a nice combination punctuated by a right hand to the side of the head that dropped Fragomeni to his knees, with him barely beating the count. In the fourth round, Chakhkiev landed a powerful right hand to Fragomeni's neck to drop him to his knees again. This time, referee Ian John-Lewis counted him out at 52 seconds. Chakhkiev is so strong that another title shot shouldn't be too far away.
Manuel Charr TKO5 Michael Grant
Heavyweight
Records: Charr (27-2, 16 KOs); Grant (48-6, 36 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In a meeting of former world title challengers, Charr, 30, a native of Lebanon living in Germany, beat up hapless and totally shot 42-year-old Chicago native Grant in a sad display until Grant quit on his stool after the fifth round. Grant did not even look as if he wanted to be in the ring. Yes, Grant, loser of two in a row by knockout and three of his past five, is still fighting 14 years after Lennox Lewis obliterated him in two rounds of a world championship fight. Charr, who was stopped in the fourth round challenging Vitali Klitschko for his title in 2012 in what turned out to be Klitschko's final fight, rebounded from a seventh-round knockout loss to former titlist Alexander Povetkin in May.
Saturday at Monte Carlo, Monaco
Martin Murray W-Tech. Dec. 7 Domenico Spada
Middleweight
Scores: 69-67, 68-63, 67-66
Records: Murray (29-1-1, 12 KOs); Spada (39-6, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Murray, 31, of England, has come very close to winning world titles twice, and many have argued he deserved to win both times. In 2011, he went to Germany and fought to a draw with then-titleholder Felix Sturm. In 2013, he went to Argentina to challenge then-champion Sergio Martinez in his homecoming fight, knocked the champ down and gave him a very tough night in what turned out to be a decision loss. Since the defeat to Martinez, Murray has won four fights in a row, including this one against Spada, 34, of Italy, which paved the way to a third world title shot.
Murray came into the fight knowing he had a done deal to challenge wrecking machine Gennady Golovkin for his belt on Feb. 21 (also in Monte Carlo). Golovkin had done his part by obliterating Marco Antonio Rubio in two rounds to retain his belt for the 12th time and score his 18th knockout in a row on Oct. 18 in Carson, California. Golovkin then traveled to Monte Carlo and was ringside to watch as Murray took care of his business to set up their fight.
Golovkin has been unable to get a big-name opponent to face him at middleweight or super middleweight: Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Andre Ward or Carl Froch. So, because Golovkin is going to fight in Monte Carlo for the third time, and because Murray can't get a visa to fight in the United States, and also because he is the best available opponent willing to tangle with GGG, the match was made pending each of them winning.
Murray did not look particularly good against Spada, but Spada is an awkward fighter with a tough style that probably would make most opponents look bad. That said, Murray seemed to dominate the fight despite the surprisingly close scores on two scorecards.
An accidental head-butt in the third round opened a cut in the corner of Spada's right eye. Because this bout was sanctioned by the WBC for one of its lesser belts, its strange head-butt rule was used, the rule that says that, if there is an accidental head-butt and one of the fighters suffers a cut, the uncut fighter must be docked a point. Because Spada suffered a cut and Murray did not, referee Daniel Van de Wiele had no choice but to take a point from Murray. Also because of the ties to the WBC, its terrible open scoring rule was used, so Murray knew he was ahead after the fourth round.
Spada's eye, although bleeding, did not look very bad and the cut was not in a place in which the blood was going into his eye, but Van de Wiele called timeout in the third, sixth and seventh round to have the ringside doctor check on it. After the timeout in the seventh round, the doctor recommended that the fight be stopped, and Van de Wiele waved it off at 1 minute, 19 seconds, sending the fight to the scorecards for a technical decision.
Murray got the win and, regardless of the forgettable fight, punched his ticket to the shot at Golovkin, who once again will be a heavy favorite. The Feb. 21 fight was announced at the postfight news conference.
Randy Caballero W12 Stuart Hall
Wins a vacant bantamweight title
Scores: 118-110, 116-111 (twice)
Records: Caballero (22-0, 13 KOs); Hall (16-4-2, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Many viewed Caballero, 24, of Coachella, California, as a future world titleholder from the day he turned pro after a standout amateur career, and he fulfilled that potential by beating former titleholder Hall, 34, of England, in a highly entertaining fight.
Although Hall deserved a bit more credit than he got on the one very wide scorecard, Caballero did the business in his second overseas fight in a row. Caballero, who has fought 18 of 22 pro bouts at home in Southern California, traveled to Japan in April and knocked out Kohei Oba in the eighth round to become a mandatory challenger for a 118-pound title. Caballero wound up in Monte Carlo because Hall promoter Dennis Hobson won a purse bid to give him control of where the fight would take place. Caballero should have been the mandatory challenger for titlist Paul Butler, but, after Butler won the belt from Hall on June 7, he vacated it to move down in weight. That left Hall as the next leading available contender to face Caballero for the vacant title.
Caballero's biggest moment of the fight came in the second round when he nailed Hall with a clean left-right combination to knock him down, although Hall did not appear too badly hurt.
In the fifth round, Hall fired a right that landed for a very, very bad low blow that knocked Caballero down. Referee Allan Huggins gave Caballero time to recover and issued a hard warning to Hall. Caballero shook off the foul and continued to box and counterpunch Hall, who applied relentless pressure, although it was not all that effective. There were a lot of exciting exchanges, but Caballero appeared to land the crisper punches, and they closed out the fight with a heated toe-to-toe exchange late in the 12th round.
Hall dropped to 0-2-1 in his past three as his first title defense in March ended in a second-round technical draw because opponent Martin Ward suffered a bad cut on an accidental head-butt. As for Caballero, now that he has the title in his grasp, one should expect him to make his first defense right back where he has fought so many times, his home base at the Fantasy Springs resort in Indio, California. Caballero is an excellent young fighter, and the future looks very bright for him.
Eleider Alvarez TKO7 Ryno Liebenberg
Light heavyweight
Records: Alvarez (16-0, 9 KOs); Liebenberg (16-1, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Alvarez, 30, a Colombia native living in Montreal, looked very good in this fight and is probably on the verge of fighting for a world title as he dropped and bloodied Liebenberg, 29, of South Africa.
Alvarez's punches were quick and sharp throughout the fight. He blooded Liebenberg's nose in the third round and opened a cut around his left eye late in the fifth round. Liebenberg's eye would gradually get worse as the fight wore on, to the point that it was a bloody mess. In the sixth round, an accidental head-butt left Alvarez with a cut on his left eye and Liebenberg was docked a point because the WBC's bizarre head-butt rule was being used, the rule that says that, if an accidental head-butt cuts a fighter, the uncut fighter loses a point. Later in the round, Alvarez made up for the lost point when he landed a terrific counter right uppercut that dropped Liebenberg to all fours.
Alvarez, quicker and sharper, continued to attack Liebenberg's damaged eye in the seventh, and it ultimately was such a mess that the ringside doctor advised referee Frank Garza to stop the fight, which he did at 1 minute, 52 seconds.
Hekkie Budler W12 Xiong Zhao Zhong
Retains a strawweight title
Scores: 118-108, 114-112 (twice)
Records: Budler (27-1, 9 KOs); Xiong (24-6-1, 14 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Budler, 26, of South Africa -- who has one of the best nicknames in boxing, "The Hexecutioner" -- fought his second fight in a row in Monte Carlo as he made his second title defense against former titlist Xiong, 32, who won a vacant belt in 2012 to become the first professional boxing titleholder from China.
Budler and Xiong turned in a fun fight as both fighters got knocked down and fought their hearts out. Xiong landed a left hand to Budler's nose to drop him in the second round. But Budler rebounded to knock Xiong down with a clean right hand to the face in the third round.
Budler suffered a cut over his left eye in the sixth round but was beginning to pull away. He hurt Xiong with a right uppercut in the 11th round and was landing the more eye-catching punches. He had Xiong in some trouble in the 12th round as he rocked him with combinations in what was a good performance in a good fight for one of the more entertaining little guys in boxing.
Saturday at Hull, England
Tommy Coyle TKO2 Michael Katsidis
Lightweight
Records: Coyle (20-2, 9 KOs); Katsidis (30-7, 24 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Coyle, 25, of England, made no secret of the fact that Katsidis, one of the pure action warriors of our time, was one of his boxing idols. Two rounds later, Coyle scored an absolutely sensational knockout and probably sent Katsidis, 34, back into retirement.
Katsidis, who twice held interim lightweight titles and was involved in numerous action-packed fights, lost four of five bouts and then retired in 2012. But, after two years away from the ring, he returned in March and won two fights in a row, albeit against lower-level opposition in Australia, including a rematch with England's Graham Earl in July. Katsidis-Earl I, which took place in England in 2007, was one of the wildest fights of the decade, and Katsidis won by fifth-round knockout.
Katsidis then returned to England to take on Coyle, whose own reputation as an action fighter has grown since his absolutely epic battle with Daniel Brizuela in February, a fight Coyle won by 12th-round knockout after both men had been down four times apiece in a blazing fight of the year candidate.
The expectations were for an all-out brawl between Coyle and Katsidis, but Coyle nipped that in the bud with his early knockout. As expected, they went right at each other in a fast-paced first round, and it was continuing in the second round until Coyle turned loose a massive counter left hook that smashed Katsidis on the side of the face and Katsidis went down flat on his back. Katsidis, with his ever-present huge heart, beat the count, but he was in absolutely no condition to continue and referee Marcus McDonnell waved off the fight at 1 minute, 33 seconds, sending Coyle, his team and the crowd into a jubilant celebration.
Although Katsidis seems to be done, at least as far as being in any more meaningful fights, Coyle is set up for a summer showdown with fellow Hull, England, boxer and good pal Luke Campbell, who won in the co-feature. Coyle and Campbell likely will fight once more before they meet in the summer in a huge fight that will surely fill an outdoor arena in their city.
Luke Campbell TKO5 Daniel Brizuela
Lightweight
Records: Campbell (9-0, 7 KOs); Brizuela (26-4-2, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Campbell, 27, of England, won an Olympic gold medal in 2012 and is on the fast track in the pros. He was taking a step up in class of opponent against Brizuela, 28, of Argentina, who made his name in England in February in a 12th-round knockout loss to Tommy Coyle in a fight of the year candidate in which both fighters were down four times each.
With Coyle and Campbell, who are good friends, on track to fight each other next summer in an all-Hull, England, showdown, Campbell had to take care of Brizuela to keep plans for that eventual fight alive. He did the job and did it well.
Campbell, a southpaw, was bigger, faster and stronger than Brizuela and dominated the fight. He hurt Brizuela several times and almost dropped him with a straight left hand in the fourth round. He finally sent him to the mat in the fifth round under an accumulation of punches. Brizuela beat the count, but Campbell was all over him in the follow-up attack, eventually forcing referee Ingo Barrabas to step in and stop the fight at 2 minutes, 34 seconds. This was an excellent performance from Campbell against a solid opponent.
Saturday at Fresno, Calif.
Jose Ramirez KO1 David Rodela
Junior welterweight
Records: Ramirez (12-0, 9 KOs); Rodela (17-10-3, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Ramirez, a 22-year-old 2012 U.S. Olympian from Avenal, California, has tremendous potential as a fighter and is already showing what he can do as an attraction. Fighting near his hometown, Ramirez drew more than 7,000 to the Selland Arena for a scheduled eight-round fight. It was quick but explosive as he blew away 32-year-old Rodela, of Oxnard, California, who lost for the fifth time in his past six fights and did not appear to give a quality effort in the UniMas-televised main event.
Rodela, a career lightweight, was overmatched by Ramirez, who was bigger, stronger, faster and more skillful. Ramirez got the better of the limited action, eventually putting together a solid combination. A left hand caught Rodela near the ear, and he went down to all fours. It did not look like anything close to a devastating punch, but Rodela showed no inclination to even attempt to continue. He stayed on the canvas with his head down and only began to move as referee Marcos Rosales counted him out at 50 seconds. Ramirez did his job, but Rodela did not seem to do his.
Andy Ruiz TKO1 Kenny Lemos
Heavyweight
Records: Ruiz (23-0, 17 KOs); Lemos (12-9-2, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Ruiz, 25, of Imperial, California, needed just 2 minutes, 18 seconds to knock out the hopeless Lemos, 37, of Denver, in a pathetic mismatch in which neither guy was in condition. Ruiz was a soft 272¾ pounds, 22¾ heavier than for his last fight in May even though his handlers vowed to keep him out of the ring until he got in better shape. So much for that. But against guys like Lemos, who was a softer 266¼ pounds and whose trunks were literally almost up to his armpits, Ruiz had no issues. Ruiz dropped Lemos with a body shot and then pounded on him, eventually landing a series brutal overhand rights that snapped Lemos' head back until the referee stopped the fight. Ruiz has good skills and power, but until he gets in better condition and stops wasting his time with horrible opponents he's not going anywhere.
Friday at Barranquilla, Colombia
Darleys Perez KO6 Jaider Parra
Retains an interim lightweight title
Records: Perez (31-1, 20 KOs); Parra (23-2-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In June 2013, Perez, 31, of Colombia, lost his only pro fight, a competitive decision to Yuriorkis Gamboa in an interim lightweight title bout. But after a comeback victory and Gamboa's decision to vacate, Perez claimed the interim belt in June by unanimous decision against Argenis Lopez in the Dominican Republic.
For his first defense, Perez returned to Colombia to face 31-year-old countryman Parra, who was riding a three-fight winning streak since getting knocked out in the fifth round challenging Takashi Uchiyama for his junior lightweight world title in Japan in May 2013.
Perez looked good against Parra, breaking him down and finally taking him out as he hurt him with a left and a right to the body, then dropped him with a right hand to the head. Parra went down to his knees, and referee Tony Weeks did not bother to finish the count, calling off the fight at 1 minute, 29 seconds. Perez's aim is now to face full titleholder Richar Abril.
Friday at Moscow
Alexander Povetkin KO10 Carlos Takam
Heavyweight
Records: Povetkin (28-1, 20 KOs); Takam (30-2-1, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In October 2013, Povetkin, then owner of a "regular" world title, suffered his only pro loss, getting knocked down four times in a shutout decision loss to challenging world champion Wladimir Klitschko. It was an awful performance from Povetkin, who has since won two fights in a row, including this one against Takam by huge knockout.
Povetkin, 35, the 2004 Russian Olympic gold medalist, and Takam, 33, a 2004 Olympian from Cameroon now living in France, fought basically on even terms for most of the grueling bout. But Povetkin began to take over in the ninth round. He was applying pressure and wearing Takam down. Just before the bell ended the round, Povetkin knocked Takam down with a right hand. He was up quickly, but the bell rang before Povetkin could get off another punch.
Takam was fading in the 10th round, and Povetkin continued to go after him before he unleashed a sick left hook that cracked Takam on the chin and flattened him. Takam went down spread-eagle in the middle of the ring and was out. Referee Kenny Bayless did not bother to count, instead immediately waving off the fight at 54 seconds. It was a tremendous punch and a knockout of the year candidate. It was also the kind of quality victory against a legit contender that should push Povetkin closer to another world title shot. The loss was Takam's first in 13 fights (12-0-1) since 2009, although he fought to a draw on HBO against Mike Perez in January.
Rakhim Chakhkiev KO4 Giacobbe Fragomeni
Wins vacant European cruiserweight title
Records: Chakhkiev (20-1, 15 KOs); Fragomeni (32-5-2, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Chakhkiev, 31, of Russia, the 2008 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist, got a cruiserweight world title opportunity in June 2013 and dropped Krzysztof Wlodarczyk in the third round but got dropped himself three times thereafter and stopped in the eighth round.
Chakhkiev, a southpaw, has won four in a row with this stopping of former world titleholder Fragomeni, 45, of Italy, who was also stopped by Wlodarczyk in the sixth round of a title shot in December 2013.
Chakhkiev, with quicker hands, couldn't miss. In the third round, he put together a nice combination punctuated by a right hand to the side of the head that dropped Fragomeni to his knees, with him barely beating the count. In the fourth round, Chakhkiev landed a powerful right hand to Fragomeni's neck to drop him to his knees again. This time, referee Ian John-Lewis counted him out at 52 seconds. Chakhkiev is so strong that another title shot shouldn't be too far away.
Manuel Charr TKO5 Michael Grant
Heavyweight
Records: Charr (27-2, 16 KOs); Grant (48-6, 36 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In a meeting of former world title challengers, Charr, 30, a native of Lebanon living in Germany, beat up hapless and totally shot 42-year-old Chicago native Grant in a sad display until Grant quit on his stool after the fifth round. Grant did not even look as if he wanted to be in the ring. Yes, Grant, loser of two in a row by knockout and three of his past five, is still fighting 14 years after Lennox Lewis obliterated him in two rounds of a world championship fight. Charr, who was stopped in the fourth round challenging Vitali Klitschko for his title in 2012 in what turned out to be Klitschko's final fight, rebounded from a seventh-round knockout loss to former titlist Alexander Povetkin in May.
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YOUR GRACE
formerly jep619
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broner maidana is on showtime gonna watch the replay and remember the lols
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Agreed. I may have exaggerated just a little but I'm a sucker for a nice tactical chess match in the ring, but I can also see these guys throwing flurries and exchanging blows quite a bit more than people think.
lightweight champion
Banned
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Michael Grant still fights? Why does he do that to himself? He knows he has no desire to be in a ring with whoever stands across from him.
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Pacquiao/Algieri is a farce.
I don't care how much of a problem he poses on paper.
This fight is shameful.
I don't care how much of a problem he poses on paper.
This fight is shameful.
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I think I'm gonna bet on Algieri for this fight. Bob Arum seems pretty committed to making Algieri his GWH.
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Dec 13 is 
Stacked card
Mares
Ortiz
Khan
Etc
Stacked card
Mares
Ortiz
Khan
Etc
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Actually, Algieri isn't promoted by Arum/Top Rank.
Honestly, I think there's a lot more to be gained from Pacquiao winning and Algieri was probably chosen because he's not perceived to be too threatening. Generally Arum likes to keep fights in-house because even in the event of an upset, at least he has a stake in the winner whereas here it wouldn't be the case. Also, I'm really speculating here some, but Arum seems to have a really good relationship with the Venetian and I think he's just putting on this fight to further build his relationship with them and it's being that Algieri isn't being seen as too threatening, it's a low-risk/high-reward showcase fight between the tax breaks, large casino fees, and domestic PPV sales.
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Chris Algieri did not get this fight with Pacquiao with no strings attached. HBO probably has him locked down with a multiple fight deal. Even though Algieri is not a Top Rank fighter, Bob Arum will benefit from Algieri winning because he has all of the worthwhile 140-147 lbers that can fight on HBO.
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It's nowhere near as shameful as Ortiz and Guerrero getting Floyd after they both beat Berto. Ruslan > Andre.
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You can't be serious.
Ortiz and Guerrero were far more established, stronger and experienced fighters than the pillow fisted college professor/kickboxer Algieri, that came out of nowhere.
Take that Pac-Stanning elsehwere. It's blurring your logic.
This isn't about Floyd/Pac-man. It's about whats right and wrong and the legitimacy of the sport.
Ortiz and Guerrero were far more established, stronger and experienced fighters than the pillow fisted college professor/kickboxer Algieri, that came out of nowhere.
Take that Pac-Stanning elsehwere. It's blurring your logic.
This isn't about Floyd/Pac-man. It's about whats right and wrong and the legitimacy of the sport.
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Algieri has only had 20 professional boxing matches in his 30 years of life.
Provodnikov who himself was waiting to be exposed by someone who boxes him down, is the ONLY name of note on his resume. And he almost got killed early on in that fight.
Ortiz was at one time the next big star in boxing. With champions like Maidana, Nate Campbell, Lamont Peterson, Vivian Harris and Berto on his resume before he even fought Floyd.
No way on Earth Algieri deserves this fight.
I don't care if he looks good or even wins the fight, this is a joke.
A first ballot future HoF'er fighting a personal trainer with a 20 fight resume.
Provodnikov who himself was waiting to be exposed by someone who boxes him down, is the ONLY name of note on his resume. And he almost got killed early on in that fight.
Ortiz was at one time the next big star in boxing. With champions like Maidana, Nate Campbell, Lamont Peterson, Vivian Harris and Berto on his resume before he even fought Floyd.
No way on Earth Algieri deserves this fight.
I don't care if he looks good or even wins the fight, this is a joke.
A first ballot future HoF'er fighting a personal trainer with a 20 fight resume.
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They only did one episode of Hopkins/Kovalev 24/7 and showed it like 3 weeks before the fight?
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I think so, I am disappointed. They could've showed us a lot more.
Btw, I've been thinking about the Ali-Abregu fight a lot lately. Initially I thought Abregu is going to stop Ali, but now I'm thinking Ali has a good chance of winning by decision.
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Don't forget this is a non-PPV card and it probably isn't in their budget to produce a multi-part series for this type of card In fact, to my knowledge, they've never produced a multi-part series for anything other than a PPV.
Here's a little bonus (~10 minutes) that HBO uploaded yesterday if anyone cares to watch though it mainly focuses on Main Events and Kovalev::
Here's a little bonus (~10 minutes) that HBO uploaded yesterday if anyone cares to watch though it mainly focuses on Main Events and Kovalev::
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B-Hop a fool for wearing that alien mask in the doctors office 
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Showtime did for Broner vs Madiana.
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That's true but it's a different network. I don't want to speculate too much since I don't know the ins-and-outs of their business but whatever reason HBO typically doesn't invest too much into the promotion of non-PPV cards not to mention it's quite expensive to produce a 24/7 series. According to this article it cost about 1.4 million to produce what I assume to be a 4-part 24/7 series and that was written years ago.
EDIT: Wanted to add that apparently the promoters generally pay for the cost for the promotional shows, at least for PPV. From the article linked (this also seems to apply to 24/7):
I'm curious as to why there is such a discrepancy between the cost of a 4-part 24/7 series compared to the old "Countdown" series which seem pretty similar even when you divide the cost per episode with 24/7.
EDIT: Wanted to add that apparently the promoters generally pay for the cost for the promotional shows, at least for PPV. From the article linked (this also seems to apply to 24/7):
I'm curious as to why there is such a discrepancy between the cost of a 4-part 24/7 series compared to the old "Countdown" series which seem pretty similar even when you divide the cost per episode with 24/7.
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That's all well and good but don't understand airing it so far in advance of the fight either.
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Yeah, I thought it was kind of strange they aired it so far in advance.
EDIT: I forget that it was aired after the Golovkin-Rubio card and HBO doesn't have any other cards in between. Maybe they get more viewership when airing directly after a card opposed to having it aired by itself on a Saturday night.
EDIT: I forget that it was aired after the Golovkin-Rubio card and HBO doesn't have any other cards in between. Maybe they get more viewership when airing directly after a card opposed to having it aired by itself on a Saturday night.
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Pac-stan, lol you guys are comedians for sure. Ortiz a rising star huh? The same guy that said he doesn't deserve to be hit like that when he QUIT against Maidana huh? Ortiz was never going to be special. The kid never had the heart or courage for this kind of brutal sport. Chris just out boxed a guy who 99% of the fighters in the division were avoiding with one eye SHUT. If Ortiz and Guerrero deserved to fight Floyd then you can't say Chris doesn't deserve to fight Pacquiao. Remind me again who Manny can fight that's NOT on GB promotions? Or wouldn't be a recycled fight in the TR stable? What happens if Chris actually wins? Is the fight considered a fluke since he "didn't deserve the fight"? You guys slay me lol......"Well even though he won he really didn't because he didn't deserve the fight in the first place so it's like the fight never took place."