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Matthysse got robbed. As long as Devon fights in St. Louis, he's never gonna lose a decision. We saw this with Kotelnik & now Matthysse. The fight should have went 12 rounds.
2011 Official Boxing Thread: 12/30 Jermain Taylor + Andre Dirrell return on ShoBox.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
- Start date
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Matthysse got robbed. As long as Devon fights in St. Louis, he's never gonna lose a decision. We saw this with Kotelnik & now Matthysse. The fight should have went 12 rounds.
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nice montiel returns with a 2nd rd tko
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nice montiel returns with a 2nd rd tko
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How that one judge had it 96-93 for Alexander is beyond me
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Me being an Alexander fan...
I had the fight for Matthysse.
Devons judges robbed yet another fighter.
I had the fight for Matthysse.
Devons judges robbed yet another fighter.
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Me being an Alexander fan...
I had the fight for Matthysse.
Devons judges robbed yet another fighter.
I had the fight for Matthysse.
Devons judges robbed yet another fighter.
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How that one judge had it 96-93 for Alexander is beyond me
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I don't see how you're an Alexander fan tho. Hate the way he fights.
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I don't see how you're an Alexander fan tho. Hate the way he fights.
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Basically.Originally Posted by Proshares
I was a fan when he broke Witter down and KO'ed Urango. Now it's just awful to watch sometimes
I thought he'd make a splash in the division but its been all downhill since the Kotelnik fight.
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Basically.Originally Posted by Proshares
I was a fan when he broke Witter down and KO'ed Urango. Now it's just awful to watch sometimes
I thought he'd make a splash in the division but its been all downhill since the Kotelnik fight.
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Anyone have David Haye winning next weekend?
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Anyone have David Haye winning next weekend?
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Just saw the replay and Lucas definitely won and again I wasn't impressed with Devon Alexander.
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Just saw the replay and Lucas definitely won and again I wasn't impressed with Devon Alexander.
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Matthysse is going to be like Sergio Martinez knocking fools out left and right.
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Matthysse is going to be like Sergio Martinez knocking fools out left and right.
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Matthysse has some skill but I wouldn't go that far.
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Matthysse has some skill but I wouldn't go that far.
Spoiler [+]
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at St. Charles, Mo.
Devon Alexander W10 Lucas Matthysse
Junior welterweight
Scores: 96-93, 95-94 Alexander, 96-93 Matthysse
Records: Alexander (22-1, 13 KOs); Matthysse (28-2, 26 KOs)
Rafael's remark: In January, Alexander turned in the worst performance of his career and picked a terrible time to do it -- in a heavily hyped junior welterweight unification bout against Timothy Bradley Jr. Alexander lost a 10-round technical decision and his belt in an awful fight that ended with him showing no resolve to continue after claiming he couldn't see following one of the many accidental head butts that Bradley initiated. Alexander was heavily criticized for the way he fought and his perceived lack of heart at the end of the fight. With HBO still owing Alexander a seven-figure fight after the loss -- one of many head-scratching HBO business decisions -- Alexander faced rugged puncher Matthysse, 28, of Argentina. Alexander wore T-shirts during the promotion and in the dressing room before the bout emblazoned with the word "REDEMPTION," clearly owning up to his poor showing against Bradley.
Fighting in his hometown, Alexander drew a crowd of 6,238 to see whether he could indeed redeem himself against Matthysse, who two fights ago lost a debatable split decision to Zab Judah on HBO in Judah's home region of Newark, N.J. Coming into Alexander's hometown, he knew he would need to do something dramatic to win. Similarly to how he fought Judah, Matthysse got off to a slow start as the quicker Alexander outboxed him. But Matthysse brought the thunder in the fourth round, when he landed a straight right hand to drop Alexander for the first time in his career. Matthysse pressured Alexander, who tried to fire jabs and move away. Matthysse had a big seventh round, pounding Alexander, who seemed to be weakening ever so slightly. Against the wishes of trainer Kevin Cunningham, Alexander stood inside with Matthysse and played with fire in an increasingly exciting fight. Matthysse looked as though he was breaking him down in the eighth, but Alexander had a great comeback round in the ninth before Matthysse closed strong in the 10th to end a good action fight that was very close. Alexander earned a split decision. When it's a close fight, the hometown guy usually gets the nod. That is, after all, the advantage of being at home. The 96-93 scorecard for Alexander was a little surprising, but Alexander's win wasn't at all. Clearly,the fight could have gone either way, but Matthysse, disappointed by what he believed was the second hometown decision that has gone against him in the United States, should have finished Alexander off late when he had a chance. He let Alexander off the hook multiple times and paid for it. Matthysse, although he lost, did nothing to damage his reputation. There's no reason that both guys shouldn't be back in business in another major fight in a loaded 140-pound division.
Tavoris Cloud TKO8 Yusaf Mack
Light heavyweight
Retains a light heavyweight title
Records: Cloud (22-0, 19 KOs); Mack (29-4-2, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Cloud, 29, of Tallahassee, is starting to put together a nice run, although it would be great to see him fight more frequently. In August he made his first defense, winning a decision in a rousing slugfest with former champ Glen Johnson. Cloud followed with a lower-profile lopsided decision against Fulgencio Zuniga that was followed by this mandatory defense on HBO. Cloud is a physical fighter and an excellent puncher and always comes in great shape. All three of those attributes were on display as he dismantled Mack, who started off well by boxing and moving but eventually made a grave mistake -- he stood in front of Cloud. Through four rounds it was an even fight, but Cloud, with his relentless pressure, was walking Mack down. Mack, with his mouth hanging open, was beginning to tire as Cloud pursued him and landed some solid jabs and right hands. It seemed it was going to be just a matter of time until Cloud caught him with something big, and it happened with about 30 seconds left in the eighth round, when he nailed him with a huge left hand. Mack slumped into the corner and Cloud teed off on him, landing several chopping right hands until he fell sideways to the mat. Mack beat the count, but his eyes were cloudy. He had no response to referee Sam Williams' request for him to take a step forward, and then Williams properly called it off at 2 minutes, 57 seconds. It was a solid win for Cloud, who could be headed for a fall fight with former champ Jean Pascal or maybe one with former titlist Zsolt Erdei. Mack, 31, of Philadelphia, has been knocked out in all his losses, and it's mystifying how he qualified to be a mandatory challenger. In February 2010, Johnson stopped him in the sixth round of a title eliminator. Then Mack won a split decision against journeyman Otis Griffin, and that was apparently enough to make him mandatory. What a sick joke.
Bermane Stiverne TKO10 Ray Austin
Heavyweight
Title eliminator
Records: Stiverne (21-1-1, 20 KOs); Austin (28-6-4, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Pathetically, this was a title elimination for match for the awful WBC. The result should eliminate both of them from title contention. It was a woeful fight that HBO shockingly bought. On paper, it was one of the worst HBO fights in history -- not because of Stiverne, 32, a moderately interesting puncher who was born in Haiti, grew up in Canada and now lives in Miami. With such a dearth of heavyweight talent, showing a new face wasn't the worst idea, especially with Stiverne coming off an impressive knockout win in January that the HBO executives saw on the undercard of the Timothy Bradley-Devon Alexander undercard. But for HBO to buy Austin was a disgrace. He's a 40-year-old journeyman who has never done a thing except lose to the best guys he's faced, including a second-round knockout loss to Wladimir Klitschko in a joke of a mandatory fight that HBO also bought. And Austin was coming off a loss as well, a 10th-round disqualification to Odlanier Solis in December. Austin acquitted himself OK against Stiverne, which is more an indictment of Stiverne than anything special Austin did. Austin was up 86-84 on two scorecards, and it was 85-85 on the third going into the 10th round. That's when Stiverne, who has awesome power, scored a one-punch knockout 43 seconds into the round, connecting with a right hand near Austin's temple. Austin dropped immediately. He wobbled to his feet at nine, but referee Mike England called it off as Austin protested. Although Austin suffered a decisive knockout loss, this is Austin we're talking about. Don't be shocked to see him slither into another notable fight that the WBC and promoter Don King force down our throats, as they've done multiple times. Let's assume we won't see him on HBO again. To see Stiverne struggle against Austin, the best opponent he's faced, was unfortunate. Stiverne has the power to knock out anybody. But is it worth suffering through the rounds until he gets to that point?
Cornelius "K9" Bundrage W12 Sechew Powell
Junior middleweight
Retains a junior middleweight title
Scores: 119-109, 117-111, 115-113
Records: Bundrage (31-4, 18 KOs); Powell (26-3, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remark: In 2005, Powell knocked Bundrage out in the first round of a wild fight that featured a double knockdown. Bundrage went on to gain fame as a popular participant on "The Contender" reality series, then became the second fighter from the show to win a world title when he battered Cory Spinks into a fifth-round knockout in August in Spinks' hometown of St. Louis. Fighting for the first time since, Bundrage, 38, of Detroit, faced mandatory challenger Powell, 32, of Brooklyn, N.Y., in a rematch. With trainer Emanuel Steward in his corner after flying in for one day from heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko's training camp in Austria, Bundrage was the aggressor throughout the fight against the more tentative Powell and rolled to the decision win. After the loss, Powell blamed himself for not throwing enough combinations against Bundrage, who has come into his own since the stint on "The Contender." Besides retaining his belt, it was a big win for Bundrage, who put himself squarely into the conversation for a potential big-money unification bout this fall against rising star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
Cory Spinks G10 Shakir Ashanti
Middleweight
Scores: 100-90
Records: Spinks (38-6, 11 KOs); Ashanti (16-11, 4 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Spinks, 33, is the former undisputed welterweight champ and a two-time junior middleweight titleholder. The son of former heavyweight champ Leon Spinks is from St. Louis and was fighting in front of his hometown fans as he returned to the ring for the first time since he was relieved of his 154-pound belt in a lopsided fifth-round knockout loss to Cornelius "K9" Bundrage in St. Louis in August. Making his return, Spinks, who fought at 160 pounds (the heaviest of his career), won every round for the shutout against Ashanti, a 42-year-old journeyman from North Carolina.
Saturday at Cologne, Germany
Felix Sturm W12 Matthew Macklin
Middleweight
Retains a middleweight title
Scores: 116-112 (twice) Sturm, 115-113 Macklin
Records: Sturm (36-2-1, 15 KOs); Macklin (28-3, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Sturm, 32, is a hero in Germany, probably the nation's most popular active native fighter. He's held a middleweight belt three times and was making the 10th defense of his current reign. It turned out to be his toughest fight in years and one he did not deserve to win. Macklin, 29, an Irish fighter from England, completely outfought him for almost all of the very entertaining fight. A couple of rounds were close, but Macklin clearly deserved the victory. And even if you thought that Sturm did win, surely not by the obscene 116-112 margins on scorecards that by judges Roberto Ramirez and Jose Ignacio Martinez turned in. This wasn't just Sturm winning a close fight by getting the benefit of the doubt of his home court; this was a robbery of the highest degree. (I called the fight as part of Epix's American broadcast team and thought Sturm won it 117-111, although I could see 116-112 -- but no possible way to give it to Sturm. Broadcast partners Bruce Beck and former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis also had Macklin winning. Macklin said the German television network that aired the fight also had him winning by four points.)
For Macklin, it was a heartbreaking defeat. The former two-time European champion had tried to lure lineal champion Sergio Martinez into a fight to no avail. Then he was supposed to fight Winky Wright in Las Vegas on Golden Boy's April 9 HBO PPV card -- a great way to introduce himself to the American audience -- but Wright bailed with a hand injury. Then Macklin was offered a title eliminator against Khoren Gevor. But before the deal was signed, Sturm's people offered him the shot, which Macklin quickly accepted. Macklin started very fast, punching with abandon against Sturm, who stayed in a defensive shell and barely threw any punches in the first several rounds. Macklin appeared to be putting round after round in the bank with his outstanding work rate, constant pressure and a bruising body attack that left Sturm's flanks red. Sturm, who has one of the best jabs in boxing, normally controls his opponents with it. But he never got it going and never used his skills to keep Macklin at bay. He looked lethargic at times, falling into the ropes apparently to catch his wind once in a while. Although he did land some solid shots on Macklin, it seemed that every time he did, Macklin had an answer for him. Only in the 12th round did Sturm seem to do any real damage. He had Macklin reeling a bit in the closing moments of the fight, but it seemed like way too little, way too late.
Of course, Macklin was on Sturm's turf, and Germany is notorious for hometown decisions. This was one of them. Although Sturm said he thought he won in his postfight interview, he seemed almost embarrassed and offered Macklin a rematch. Macklin, who showed class after the outrageous decision, simply outfought Sturm the entire fight, and it did not even seem all that close. He should have won and can at least know that he made a big impression in his first major fight on the world stage. He made it exciting and proved he is one of the world's best middleweights, with or without an alphabet belt around his waist.
Saturday at Cozumel, Mexico
Humberto Soto W Technical Decision 10 Motoki Sasaki
Lightweight
Retains a lightweight title
Scores: 100-88, 99-89 (twice)
Records: Soto (56-7-2, 32 KOs); Sasaki (36-9-1, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Soto was scheduled to defend his title against Urbano Antillon on the May 7 Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley pay-per-view undercard in a rematch of the 2010 ESPN.com fight of the year. However, Soto abruptly withdrew a few weeks before the fight. The 31-year-old claimed he was owed more than $1 million by promoter Top Rank, which had more or less left the handling of Soto's career to Mexican promoter Fernando Beltran, Top Rank's longtime associate. After leaving them, apparently without either of them seeming to care much, Soto, of Mexico, made his fourth -- and presumably last -- lightweight defense. Soto, also a former junior lightweight titlist and interim featherweight titleholder has designs on crashing the big-money junior welterweight division. First came this defense against Japan's Sasaki, 35, who has fluctuated between lightweight and welterweight for years. He had once fought for a welterweight belt, losing a decision in Ukraine to Vyacheslav Senchenko in 2009. Soto turned in a dominant performance. He swarmed Sasaki and never really allowed him to get comfortable in the ring. In the fifth round, Soto clubbed him with a right hand and followed with two lefts to the body, knocking Sasaki down with about 40 seconds left in the round. Sasaki, whose face was showing the wear of the beating, looked quite worn out and dejected when the fight resumed, but he survived to make it out of the round as Soto continued to go for his body. Sasaki, a desperate fighter, tried to make it a rough, dirty fight. Finally, in the 10th round, referee Frank Gentile docked a point from Sasaki for continually leading with his head. Later in the round, Sasaki was warned for pushing Soto to the canvas and threatened with a disqualification. With about two minutes left in the 11th round, Soto slipped on the wet canvas, which was giving the fighters footing problems all night. A few seconds later, Sasaki charged at Soto, who slipped again, juking out of his way. As soon as he hit the deck, Soto grabbed his right knee, which he apparently injured when he fell. After it became clear that Soto would be unable to continue, the fight was waived off. They ruled it a technical decision and went to the scorecards, where Soto was way ahead through the 10th round.
Saturday at Culiacan, Mexico
Fernando Montiel TKO3 Nehomar Cermeno
Junior featherweight
Records: Montiel (45-3-2, 35 KOs); Cermeno (20-4, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remark: On Feb. 19, Nonito Donaire scored a massive second-round knockout against Montiel to relieve him of his two bantamweight titles. It was a brutal knockout, and it was not unreasonable to think that Montiel, a longtime titleholder who won belts in three divisions, would struggle to make a comeback. After all, he turned 32 in March and has been boxing professionally since 1996. In his return Montiel did not pick on an obscure, journeyman opponent to blow out. Instead, he faced Venezuela's Cermeno, 31, a highly respected former interim bantamweight titleholder who lost back-to-back split decisions to Anselmo Moreno in world title bouts in 2010. Although Cermeno entered the bout with Montiel having lost three of his past four fights -- the two to Cermeno and a split decision to Victor Terrazas in a January junior featherweight eliminator -- he certainly figured to be a dangerous opponent for an aging fighter fighting at the heaviest weight of his career (122 pounds) and coming off a nasty knockout loss. The opening round was mostly a feeling-out session before things heated up a bit late in the second round, as Montiel connected with a flurry of punches and had Cermeno grabbing on to him just before the round ended with him slipping to the canvas as Montiel extricated himself from the clinch. Apparently, Montiel had caught him with a good punch, because even though the bell rang to begin the third round, he refused to leave his corner to fight. The referee oddly counted to 10 with Cermeno standing in his corner, but refusing to fight. So Montiel gets the victory, a nice bounce-back win under odd circumstances.
Saturday at Philadelphia
Mike Jones TKO2 Raul Munoz
Welterweight
Records: Jones (25-0, 19 KOs); Munoz (21-14-1, 16 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Jones, 28, had not fought in his hometown of Philadelphia in a little more than two years but returned for this stay busy fight on "Top Rank Live." The rising contender was coming off a decisive points win over Jesus Soto Karass on HBO in February in a rematch of their closely contested brawl in November. But Top Rank and Russell Peltz, Jones' co-promoters, weren't going to allow Jones to sit around waiting for another HBO date. He needs to fight, so they lined up Munoz, a 35-year-old journeyman club fighter from Topeka, Kan. Jones was obviously a massive favorite, but it's still good for him to get into the ring and perform, which he did well against his overmatched opponent. Jones did as he pleased in the opening round before crushing Munoz in the second. He hurt Munoz with a right to the body and landed several more shots before he connected with a big overhand right and knocked him out at 2 minutes, 29 seconds. It was not a competitive fight at all and didn't figure to be one, but it was a pretty knockout. Jones is supposed to next fight in Atlantic City, N.J., where he also sells tickets, on Sept. 10 on the untelevised undercard of featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa's next bout. Top Rank's Bob Arum got a little bit of publicity for the Jones-Munoz mismatch when he said leading up to the bout that he would put Jones "on a list" as a future possible opponent for Manny Pacquiao. Jones' response after knocking out Munoz was, "I am waiting for the phone call from Bob Arum. If anything happens to [Juan Manuel] Marquez on July 16 [in his tuneup before facing Pacquiao on Nov. 12], I will take the fight with Pacquiao. He is such a great warrior. Let's see how he deals with my right hand. I am much more confident now and am ready for big fights."
On the untelevised undercard, Mike Oliver (25-2, 8 KOs), of Hartford, Conn., scored a unanimous six-round decision against Felipe Almanza (18-25-4, 9 KOs) -- 58-56 (three times) -- and did not get cut or injured, clearing the way for him to challenge featherweight titlist Orlando Salido (35-11-2, 23 KOs) in Mexico on July 23 (Fox Deportes).
Saturday at Sheffield, England
Kell Brook W12 Lovemore N'dou
Welterweight
Scores: 119-110 (twice), 118-111
Records: Brook (24-0, 16 KOs); N'dou (48-13-2, 31 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Brook, 25, is one of England's rising contenders and closing in on a welterweight title opportunity. There was talk of a fight between Brook and American contender Mike Jones for an interim belt, but it never really got serious, so Brook was matched with N'dou, who once held a paper junior welterweight belt for about five minutes and now plays the role of veteran stepping-stone. He's lost to such notable opponents as Paulie Malignaggi (twice), Miguel Cotto, Sharmba Mitchell, Junior Witter, Kermit Cintron and, in his last fight, rising star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Brook now has something in common with all of those guys -- he, too, was unable to score a knockout against N'dou, who has never been stopped. Although Brook's eight-fight knockout streak ended, he pitched a near shutout. He moved around, used his jab and generally beat N'dou to the punch the entire fight. He hurt N'dou with an uppercut in the 10th round, but he survived -- as always.
Friday at Frisco, Texas
Brian Vera KO8 Eloy Suarez
Middleweight
Records: Vera (19-5, 12 KOs); Suarez (11-12-1, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Vera, 29, of Fort Worth, Texas, is known for two things
Saturday at St. Charles, Mo.
Devon Alexander W10 Lucas Matthysse
Junior welterweight
Scores: 96-93, 95-94 Alexander, 96-93 Matthysse
Records: Alexander (22-1, 13 KOs); Matthysse (28-2, 26 KOs)
Rafael's remark: In January, Alexander turned in the worst performance of his career and picked a terrible time to do it -- in a heavily hyped junior welterweight unification bout against Timothy Bradley Jr. Alexander lost a 10-round technical decision and his belt in an awful fight that ended with him showing no resolve to continue after claiming he couldn't see following one of the many accidental head butts that Bradley initiated. Alexander was heavily criticized for the way he fought and his perceived lack of heart at the end of the fight. With HBO still owing Alexander a seven-figure fight after the loss -- one of many head-scratching HBO business decisions -- Alexander faced rugged puncher Matthysse, 28, of Argentina. Alexander wore T-shirts during the promotion and in the dressing room before the bout emblazoned with the word "REDEMPTION," clearly owning up to his poor showing against Bradley.
Fighting in his hometown, Alexander drew a crowd of 6,238 to see whether he could indeed redeem himself against Matthysse, who two fights ago lost a debatable split decision to Zab Judah on HBO in Judah's home region of Newark, N.J. Coming into Alexander's hometown, he knew he would need to do something dramatic to win. Similarly to how he fought Judah, Matthysse got off to a slow start as the quicker Alexander outboxed him. But Matthysse brought the thunder in the fourth round, when he landed a straight right hand to drop Alexander for the first time in his career. Matthysse pressured Alexander, who tried to fire jabs and move away. Matthysse had a big seventh round, pounding Alexander, who seemed to be weakening ever so slightly. Against the wishes of trainer Kevin Cunningham, Alexander stood inside with Matthysse and played with fire in an increasingly exciting fight. Matthysse looked as though he was breaking him down in the eighth, but Alexander had a great comeback round in the ninth before Matthysse closed strong in the 10th to end a good action fight that was very close. Alexander earned a split decision. When it's a close fight, the hometown guy usually gets the nod. That is, after all, the advantage of being at home. The 96-93 scorecard for Alexander was a little surprising, but Alexander's win wasn't at all. Clearly,the fight could have gone either way, but Matthysse, disappointed by what he believed was the second hometown decision that has gone against him in the United States, should have finished Alexander off late when he had a chance. He let Alexander off the hook multiple times and paid for it. Matthysse, although he lost, did nothing to damage his reputation. There's no reason that both guys shouldn't be back in business in another major fight in a loaded 140-pound division.
Tavoris Cloud TKO8 Yusaf Mack
Light heavyweight
Retains a light heavyweight title
Records: Cloud (22-0, 19 KOs); Mack (29-4-2, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Cloud, 29, of Tallahassee, is starting to put together a nice run, although it would be great to see him fight more frequently. In August he made his first defense, winning a decision in a rousing slugfest with former champ Glen Johnson. Cloud followed with a lower-profile lopsided decision against Fulgencio Zuniga that was followed by this mandatory defense on HBO. Cloud is a physical fighter and an excellent puncher and always comes in great shape. All three of those attributes were on display as he dismantled Mack, who started off well by boxing and moving but eventually made a grave mistake -- he stood in front of Cloud. Through four rounds it was an even fight, but Cloud, with his relentless pressure, was walking Mack down. Mack, with his mouth hanging open, was beginning to tire as Cloud pursued him and landed some solid jabs and right hands. It seemed it was going to be just a matter of time until Cloud caught him with something big, and it happened with about 30 seconds left in the eighth round, when he nailed him with a huge left hand. Mack slumped into the corner and Cloud teed off on him, landing several chopping right hands until he fell sideways to the mat. Mack beat the count, but his eyes were cloudy. He had no response to referee Sam Williams' request for him to take a step forward, and then Williams properly called it off at 2 minutes, 57 seconds. It was a solid win for Cloud, who could be headed for a fall fight with former champ Jean Pascal or maybe one with former titlist Zsolt Erdei. Mack, 31, of Philadelphia, has been knocked out in all his losses, and it's mystifying how he qualified to be a mandatory challenger. In February 2010, Johnson stopped him in the sixth round of a title eliminator. Then Mack won a split decision against journeyman Otis Griffin, and that was apparently enough to make him mandatory. What a sick joke.
Bermane Stiverne TKO10 Ray Austin
Heavyweight
Title eliminator
Records: Stiverne (21-1-1, 20 KOs); Austin (28-6-4, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Pathetically, this was a title elimination for match for the awful WBC. The result should eliminate both of them from title contention. It was a woeful fight that HBO shockingly bought. On paper, it was one of the worst HBO fights in history -- not because of Stiverne, 32, a moderately interesting puncher who was born in Haiti, grew up in Canada and now lives in Miami. With such a dearth of heavyweight talent, showing a new face wasn't the worst idea, especially with Stiverne coming off an impressive knockout win in January that the HBO executives saw on the undercard of the Timothy Bradley-Devon Alexander undercard. But for HBO to buy Austin was a disgrace. He's a 40-year-old journeyman who has never done a thing except lose to the best guys he's faced, including a second-round knockout loss to Wladimir Klitschko in a joke of a mandatory fight that HBO also bought. And Austin was coming off a loss as well, a 10th-round disqualification to Odlanier Solis in December. Austin acquitted himself OK against Stiverne, which is more an indictment of Stiverne than anything special Austin did. Austin was up 86-84 on two scorecards, and it was 85-85 on the third going into the 10th round. That's when Stiverne, who has awesome power, scored a one-punch knockout 43 seconds into the round, connecting with a right hand near Austin's temple. Austin dropped immediately. He wobbled to his feet at nine, but referee Mike England called it off as Austin protested. Although Austin suffered a decisive knockout loss, this is Austin we're talking about. Don't be shocked to see him slither into another notable fight that the WBC and promoter Don King force down our throats, as they've done multiple times. Let's assume we won't see him on HBO again. To see Stiverne struggle against Austin, the best opponent he's faced, was unfortunate. Stiverne has the power to knock out anybody. But is it worth suffering through the rounds until he gets to that point?
Cornelius "K9" Bundrage W12 Sechew Powell
Junior middleweight
Retains a junior middleweight title
Scores: 119-109, 117-111, 115-113
Records: Bundrage (31-4, 18 KOs); Powell (26-3, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remark: In 2005, Powell knocked Bundrage out in the first round of a wild fight that featured a double knockdown. Bundrage went on to gain fame as a popular participant on "The Contender" reality series, then became the second fighter from the show to win a world title when he battered Cory Spinks into a fifth-round knockout in August in Spinks' hometown of St. Louis. Fighting for the first time since, Bundrage, 38, of Detroit, faced mandatory challenger Powell, 32, of Brooklyn, N.Y., in a rematch. With trainer Emanuel Steward in his corner after flying in for one day from heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko's training camp in Austria, Bundrage was the aggressor throughout the fight against the more tentative Powell and rolled to the decision win. After the loss, Powell blamed himself for not throwing enough combinations against Bundrage, who has come into his own since the stint on "The Contender." Besides retaining his belt, it was a big win for Bundrage, who put himself squarely into the conversation for a potential big-money unification bout this fall against rising star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
Cory Spinks G10 Shakir Ashanti
Middleweight
Scores: 100-90
Records: Spinks (38-6, 11 KOs); Ashanti (16-11, 4 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Spinks, 33, is the former undisputed welterweight champ and a two-time junior middleweight titleholder. The son of former heavyweight champ Leon Spinks is from St. Louis and was fighting in front of his hometown fans as he returned to the ring for the first time since he was relieved of his 154-pound belt in a lopsided fifth-round knockout loss to Cornelius "K9" Bundrage in St. Louis in August. Making his return, Spinks, who fought at 160 pounds (the heaviest of his career), won every round for the shutout against Ashanti, a 42-year-old journeyman from North Carolina.
Saturday at Cologne, Germany
Felix Sturm W12 Matthew Macklin
Middleweight
Retains a middleweight title
Scores: 116-112 (twice) Sturm, 115-113 Macklin
Records: Sturm (36-2-1, 15 KOs); Macklin (28-3, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Sturm, 32, is a hero in Germany, probably the nation's most popular active native fighter. He's held a middleweight belt three times and was making the 10th defense of his current reign. It turned out to be his toughest fight in years and one he did not deserve to win. Macklin, 29, an Irish fighter from England, completely outfought him for almost all of the very entertaining fight. A couple of rounds were close, but Macklin clearly deserved the victory. And even if you thought that Sturm did win, surely not by the obscene 116-112 margins on scorecards that by judges Roberto Ramirez and Jose Ignacio Martinez turned in. This wasn't just Sturm winning a close fight by getting the benefit of the doubt of his home court; this was a robbery of the highest degree. (I called the fight as part of Epix's American broadcast team and thought Sturm won it 117-111, although I could see 116-112 -- but no possible way to give it to Sturm. Broadcast partners Bruce Beck and former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis also had Macklin winning. Macklin said the German television network that aired the fight also had him winning by four points.)
For Macklin, it was a heartbreaking defeat. The former two-time European champion had tried to lure lineal champion Sergio Martinez into a fight to no avail. Then he was supposed to fight Winky Wright in Las Vegas on Golden Boy's April 9 HBO PPV card -- a great way to introduce himself to the American audience -- but Wright bailed with a hand injury. Then Macklin was offered a title eliminator against Khoren Gevor. But before the deal was signed, Sturm's people offered him the shot, which Macklin quickly accepted. Macklin started very fast, punching with abandon against Sturm, who stayed in a defensive shell and barely threw any punches in the first several rounds. Macklin appeared to be putting round after round in the bank with his outstanding work rate, constant pressure and a bruising body attack that left Sturm's flanks red. Sturm, who has one of the best jabs in boxing, normally controls his opponents with it. But he never got it going and never used his skills to keep Macklin at bay. He looked lethargic at times, falling into the ropes apparently to catch his wind once in a while. Although he did land some solid shots on Macklin, it seemed that every time he did, Macklin had an answer for him. Only in the 12th round did Sturm seem to do any real damage. He had Macklin reeling a bit in the closing moments of the fight, but it seemed like way too little, way too late.
Of course, Macklin was on Sturm's turf, and Germany is notorious for hometown decisions. This was one of them. Although Sturm said he thought he won in his postfight interview, he seemed almost embarrassed and offered Macklin a rematch. Macklin, who showed class after the outrageous decision, simply outfought Sturm the entire fight, and it did not even seem all that close. He should have won and can at least know that he made a big impression in his first major fight on the world stage. He made it exciting and proved he is one of the world's best middleweights, with or without an alphabet belt around his waist.
Saturday at Cozumel, Mexico
Humberto Soto W Technical Decision 10 Motoki Sasaki
Lightweight
Retains a lightweight title
Scores: 100-88, 99-89 (twice)
Records: Soto (56-7-2, 32 KOs); Sasaki (36-9-1, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Soto was scheduled to defend his title against Urbano Antillon on the May 7 Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley pay-per-view undercard in a rematch of the 2010 ESPN.com fight of the year. However, Soto abruptly withdrew a few weeks before the fight. The 31-year-old claimed he was owed more than $1 million by promoter Top Rank, which had more or less left the handling of Soto's career to Mexican promoter Fernando Beltran, Top Rank's longtime associate. After leaving them, apparently without either of them seeming to care much, Soto, of Mexico, made his fourth -- and presumably last -- lightweight defense. Soto, also a former junior lightweight titlist and interim featherweight titleholder has designs on crashing the big-money junior welterweight division. First came this defense against Japan's Sasaki, 35, who has fluctuated between lightweight and welterweight for years. He had once fought for a welterweight belt, losing a decision in Ukraine to Vyacheslav Senchenko in 2009. Soto turned in a dominant performance. He swarmed Sasaki and never really allowed him to get comfortable in the ring. In the fifth round, Soto clubbed him with a right hand and followed with two lefts to the body, knocking Sasaki down with about 40 seconds left in the round. Sasaki, whose face was showing the wear of the beating, looked quite worn out and dejected when the fight resumed, but he survived to make it out of the round as Soto continued to go for his body. Sasaki, a desperate fighter, tried to make it a rough, dirty fight. Finally, in the 10th round, referee Frank Gentile docked a point from Sasaki for continually leading with his head. Later in the round, Sasaki was warned for pushing Soto to the canvas and threatened with a disqualification. With about two minutes left in the 11th round, Soto slipped on the wet canvas, which was giving the fighters footing problems all night. A few seconds later, Sasaki charged at Soto, who slipped again, juking out of his way. As soon as he hit the deck, Soto grabbed his right knee, which he apparently injured when he fell. After it became clear that Soto would be unable to continue, the fight was waived off. They ruled it a technical decision and went to the scorecards, where Soto was way ahead through the 10th round.
Saturday at Culiacan, Mexico
Fernando Montiel TKO3 Nehomar Cermeno
Junior featherweight
Records: Montiel (45-3-2, 35 KOs); Cermeno (20-4, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remark: On Feb. 19, Nonito Donaire scored a massive second-round knockout against Montiel to relieve him of his two bantamweight titles. It was a brutal knockout, and it was not unreasonable to think that Montiel, a longtime titleholder who won belts in three divisions, would struggle to make a comeback. After all, he turned 32 in March and has been boxing professionally since 1996. In his return Montiel did not pick on an obscure, journeyman opponent to blow out. Instead, he faced Venezuela's Cermeno, 31, a highly respected former interim bantamweight titleholder who lost back-to-back split decisions to Anselmo Moreno in world title bouts in 2010. Although Cermeno entered the bout with Montiel having lost three of his past four fights -- the two to Cermeno and a split decision to Victor Terrazas in a January junior featherweight eliminator -- he certainly figured to be a dangerous opponent for an aging fighter fighting at the heaviest weight of his career (122 pounds) and coming off a nasty knockout loss. The opening round was mostly a feeling-out session before things heated up a bit late in the second round, as Montiel connected with a flurry of punches and had Cermeno grabbing on to him just before the round ended with him slipping to the canvas as Montiel extricated himself from the clinch. Apparently, Montiel had caught him with a good punch, because even though the bell rang to begin the third round, he refused to leave his corner to fight. The referee oddly counted to 10 with Cermeno standing in his corner, but refusing to fight. So Montiel gets the victory, a nice bounce-back win under odd circumstances.
Saturday at Philadelphia
Mike Jones TKO2 Raul Munoz
Welterweight
Records: Jones (25-0, 19 KOs); Munoz (21-14-1, 16 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Jones, 28, had not fought in his hometown of Philadelphia in a little more than two years but returned for this stay busy fight on "Top Rank Live." The rising contender was coming off a decisive points win over Jesus Soto Karass on HBO in February in a rematch of their closely contested brawl in November. But Top Rank and Russell Peltz, Jones' co-promoters, weren't going to allow Jones to sit around waiting for another HBO date. He needs to fight, so they lined up Munoz, a 35-year-old journeyman club fighter from Topeka, Kan. Jones was obviously a massive favorite, but it's still good for him to get into the ring and perform, which he did well against his overmatched opponent. Jones did as he pleased in the opening round before crushing Munoz in the second. He hurt Munoz with a right to the body and landed several more shots before he connected with a big overhand right and knocked him out at 2 minutes, 29 seconds. It was not a competitive fight at all and didn't figure to be one, but it was a pretty knockout. Jones is supposed to next fight in Atlantic City, N.J., where he also sells tickets, on Sept. 10 on the untelevised undercard of featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa's next bout. Top Rank's Bob Arum got a little bit of publicity for the Jones-Munoz mismatch when he said leading up to the bout that he would put Jones "on a list" as a future possible opponent for Manny Pacquiao. Jones' response after knocking out Munoz was, "I am waiting for the phone call from Bob Arum. If anything happens to [Juan Manuel] Marquez on July 16 [in his tuneup before facing Pacquiao on Nov. 12], I will take the fight with Pacquiao. He is such a great warrior. Let's see how he deals with my right hand. I am much more confident now and am ready for big fights."
On the untelevised undercard, Mike Oliver (25-2, 8 KOs), of Hartford, Conn., scored a unanimous six-round decision against Felipe Almanza (18-25-4, 9 KOs) -- 58-56 (three times) -- and did not get cut or injured, clearing the way for him to challenge featherweight titlist Orlando Salido (35-11-2, 23 KOs) in Mexico on July 23 (Fox Deportes).
Saturday at Sheffield, England
Kell Brook W12 Lovemore N'dou
Welterweight
Scores: 119-110 (twice), 118-111
Records: Brook (24-0, 16 KOs); N'dou (48-13-2, 31 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Brook, 25, is one of England's rising contenders and closing in on a welterweight title opportunity. There was talk of a fight between Brook and American contender Mike Jones for an interim belt, but it never really got serious, so Brook was matched with N'dou, who once held a paper junior welterweight belt for about five minutes and now plays the role of veteran stepping-stone. He's lost to such notable opponents as Paulie Malignaggi (twice), Miguel Cotto, Sharmba Mitchell, Junior Witter, Kermit Cintron and, in his last fight, rising star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Brook now has something in common with all of those guys -- he, too, was unable to score a knockout against N'dou, who has never been stopped. Although Brook's eight-fight knockout streak ended, he pitched a near shutout. He moved around, used his jab and generally beat N'dou to the punch the entire fight. He hurt N'dou with an uppercut in the 10th round, but he survived -- as always.
Friday at Frisco, Texas
Brian Vera KO8 Eloy Suarez
Middleweight
Records: Vera (19-5, 12 KOs); Suarez (11-12-1, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Vera, 29, of Fort Worth, Texas, is known for two things
