alp
Banned
- Sep 1, 2011
- 39,966
- 8,990
better that then what happened to mago
Official 2013 Boxing Thread: Year is over, please lock.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
- Start date
- Status
- Aug 20, 2008
- 333
- 91
WELL DAMN..
- Sep 28, 2003
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That was nasty :x
- Jun 14, 2013
- 65
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Kovalev is a bad man
Nike Jordan
Supporter
- Jun 27, 2002
- 33,961
- 81,280
Damn Russians, you scary.
- Aug 20, 2008
- 333
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I think Kovalev takes out Stevenson.
- Jul 25, 2012
- 827
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Great stoppage by the referee in the stevenson fight. Stevenson landed some hard punches while the other guy was knocked out ob his feet.
I like stevenson over kov if they fight
I like stevenson over kov if they fight
- May 8, 2005
- 5,561
- 3,503
kovalev and stevenson would be a sick fight... but stevenson was talking about taking a vacation, so Im not sure if we see that anytime soon.
- Mar 3, 2006
- 24,717
- 436
Kovalev, Provodnikov, Golovkin, these Eastern European dudes got some rock solid punching power man. :x Each seem to have a granite chin too.
Speaking of solid power, Adonis finished dude when the shots weren't even clean
Scary. That's a great division to watch right now. HBO has the middleweights and the light heavyweights, while Showtime has the Welterweights.
Speaking of solid power, Adonis finished dude when the shots weren't even clean
Scary. That's a great division to watch right now. HBO has the middleweights and the light heavyweights, while Showtime has the Welterweights.
- Sep 28, 2003
- 28,232
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Does Vasyl Lomachenko have power? Hard to judge off one pro fight.
- Feb 25, 2010
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It didn't even look like Kovalev was hitting Sillakh that hard
Stevenson
What happened to this Darnell Boone guy? He is the only person to knockdown Andre Ward, he beat(TKO) Stevenson, and went the distance with Kovalev.
Edit: Just looked @ his boxrec. Has more Ls than Wins
Stevenson
What happened to this Darnell Boone guy? He is the only person to knockdown Andre Ward, he beat(TKO) Stevenson, and went the distance with Kovalev.
Edit: Just looked @ his boxrec. Has more Ls than Wins
Last edited:
- Sep 28, 2003
- 28,232
- 12,585
It didn't even look like Kovalev was hitting Sillakh that hard
Stevenson
What happened to this Darnell Boone guy? He is the only person to knockdown Andre Ward, he beat(TKO) Stevenson, and went the distance with Kovalev.
Edit: Just looked @ his boxrec. Has more Ls than Wins
He's like the official gatekeeper for 160-175. I haven't seen much of him, but it looks like he has sneaky hands and obviously some thudding power.
- Dec 9, 2006
- 850
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Kovalev is the Gennady Golovkin of the middleweight division. Stevenson does not want no part of Kovalev. On that note Miguel Cotto will cash out huge in 2014, I wouldn't be surprise if he takes both fights with Martinez and Canelo. I prefer Cotto take Martinez instead of Canelo because Cotto could make history by becoming the first Puerto Rican boxer to have 4 titles in different weight divisions.
- Jun 19, 2000
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I had a chance to see Jeff Lacy fight last night. He had a bout at the local casino down here. He fought some journeymen boxer. in like the second round the guy's corner threw in the towel. Based off of how short the fight was it was really no telling if Lacy looks like he can make another run.
- Feb 17, 2013
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It sounded to me like Stevenson wants no part of Kovalev. Although I don't blame him for calling out Hopkins and Froch, might as well get your money before being subjected to the power of Kovalev.
- Apr 15, 2007
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Kovalev caught him on the temple-ish area. A lot like the stevenson KO of dawson. Dude is a monster though
Haven't seen the Stevenson fight though yet want to check it out.
Haven't seen the Stevenson fight though yet want to check it out.
Yea, that's why I can't blame him too much. He's had two tough fights before Bellew and didn't really get paid all that much.
I just don't like it because it's too much to risk when B-Hop can so easily make him look like a fool for thinking he's easy money.
- Sep 28, 2003
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Can the B-Hop fight even happen with the network conflict?
I don't think the network beef is as deep rooted as GB/TR beef so I think they can get it done. B-Hop ain't drawing that big numbers on Showtime where they'd be fighting tooth and nail to make sure he stays.
Who knows though, I wouldn't be mad if Showtime did fight it. Force them to stick to fighting Kovalev. Sounds like money would be a huge issue there. Keep Froch outta this, if he doesn't give Groves a rematch...
Who knows though, I wouldn't be mad if Showtime did fight it. Force them to stick to fighting Kovalev. Sounds like money would be a huge issue there. Keep Froch outta this, if he doesn't give Groves a rematch...
Stevenson, Kovalev both win big.
Saturday at Quebec City
Adonis Stevenson TKO6 Tony Bellew
Retains world light heavyweight title
Records: Stevenson (23-1, 20 KOs); Bellew (20-2-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: It was yet another explosive performance from "Superman" Stevenson, who dominated Bellew before the violent conclusion and kept himself in the conversation for fighter of the year honors. Stevenson, 36, of Montreal, one of the most exciting fighters in boxing and also one of its most destructive punchers, won the lineal light heavyweight championship in June with a 76-second, one-punch destruction of Chad Dawson. Stevenson, 36, of Montreal, followed by dishing out a one-sided beating to former titlist Tavoris Cloud, which ended in Cloud's corner throwing in the towel after the seventh round. Making his second title defense, Stevenson faced England's Bellew, 30, the mandatory challenger whose only previous defeat had come by majority decision in a world title fight against then-titleholder Nathan Cleverly in 2011.
Stevenson, the star of the show and the main reason 8,450 turned out to the Colisee Pepsi on a bitterly cold and snowy night, continued to impress as he took Bellew apart with relative ease. Stevenson took his time and was pitching a shutout against Bellew through five rounds. Bellew was avoiding the big shots, but seemed so concerned about what he might take in return that he didn't display nearly enough offense to win any rounds. Stevenson, a southpaw, had rattled Bellew a couple of times earlier in the fight with his powerful straight left hand but did major damage with it in the sixth round.
Stevenson landed a clean left on the chin to drop Bellew, who had nothing to keep Stevenson off him when the fight resumed. Stevenson went right to him again and nailed him with two more flush left hands. Bellew's legs were like jelly, and the only reason he seemed to still be on his feet was because he had backed into a corner and was leaning against the ring post. At that point, referee Michael Griffin jumped in and stopped the bout at 1 minute, 50 seconds and prevented Stevenson from landing a couple of free shots that might have done even more damage to Bellew, who paid a steep price after taunting Stevenson at the weigh-in the day before.
Stevenson's power is freakish, and it seems as though anyone who gets touched by one of his clean shots -- and sometimes just a grazing shot -- lands in big, big trouble. The same goes for titleholder Sergey Kovalev, who blasted out Ismayl Sillakh in the co-feature on a card designed to pump folks up for an eventual Stevenson-Kovalev showdown for light heavyweight supremacy. Consider boxing fans pumped up.
Ideally, that would be their next fight. Stevenson said he would be willing to face Kovalev for the "right" money, but admitted he prefers a fight with titleholder Bernard Hopkins, super middleweight titlist Carl Froch or the winner of the all-Montreal showdown between former light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal and former super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute. Hopefully, the money will be right and boxing fans will get Stevenson-Kovalev, the best fight in the 175-pound division and one of the best that can be made in boxing.
Sergey Kovalev KO2 Ismayl Sillakh
Retains a light heavyweight title
Records: Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs); Sillakh (21-2, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: About a year ago, Kovalev, 30, a native of Russia living in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was an unknown fighter in the United States. But after hooking up with Main Events, which gave him valuable television exposure and regular opportunities to face solid opposition, "Krusher" Kovalev has soared to the top of the division. The current top 175-pounder in the world is either champion Adonis Stevenson or Kovalev, who opened the Stevenson-headlined show and did his part to stoke interest in their eventual meeting, which could (and hopefully) will come as soon as their next fight.
In August, Kovalev traveled to Wales for his first title opportunity and destroyed Nathan Cleverly, pasting him in a fourth-round knockout. Making his first defense, Kovalev was matched with the tall, quick and powerful Sillakh, 28, a native of Ukraine living in Simi Valley, Calif. But for all of Sillakh's talents, there were major doubts about his chin, which was exposed in an upset eighth-round knockout loss to Denis Grachev in an April 2012 fight that Sillakh had been winning easily. Sillakh rebounded to string together four consecutive victories (albeit against weak opposition) and put himself in position to challenge for a title. Unfortunately for him, it came against one of the best punchers in boxing.
Sillakh actually had a solid first round, but Kovalev is like a train going downhill. In the second round, he continued to apply relentless pressure and fire with both hands, eventually catching Sillakh with a clean straight right hand on the chin. Sillakh, his nose bloodied, went down hard and was taunted by Kovalev while he was on the mat. As soon as the fight resumed, Kovalev attacked again and finished him with another crushing right and two left hands behind it. Sillakh went down hard in a heap, and referee Marlon B. Wright waved off the fight at 52 seconds as Sillakh rolled around on the canvas, seemingly with no idea where he was.
Kovalev, who closed out his year 4-0 -- all wins by knockout inside four rounds -- probably would be favored against every light heavyweight in the world except maybe Stevenson, and vice versa. That's a fight that must happen -- and sooner rather than later.
Saturday at Chester, W. Va.
Johan Perez W12 Paul Spadafora
Wins a vacant interim junior welterweight title
Scores: 117-111, 115-113, 114-114
Records: Perez (18-1-1, 12 KOs); Spadafora (48-1-1, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In the silly world of organizations with multiple world titles in the same weight class, Perez, 30, of Venezuela, can proclaim himself to be a two-time interim titleholder after a majority decision win against Spadafora, 38, the crowd favorite from nearby Pittsburgh. From 1999 to 2003, Spadafora held a lightweight belt and made eight defenses. But since his final title defense, a bloody draw with Leonard Dorin in a unification fight, Spadafora hasn't been a factor at all while dealing with an alcohol problem and a jail sentence for the non-fatal shooting of his former girlfriend. After his return, Spadafora fought sporadically until recently, when he stayed on track enough to fight twice in each of the past two years.
Spadafora, a southpaw with good skills but little pop, tried to box against Perez and had some early success, but Perez outworked him for long stretches of the fight and Spadafora, known for being a good defensive fighter, got hit quite a bit. Perez cut him over the left eye in the fourth round and continued to beat Spadafora -- whom Golden Boy said it signed to a promotional deal not long before the fight -- to the punch for most of the fight. Perez suffered a cut over his right eye in the sixth round. Although the bout was competitive, Perez rightfully got the decision thanks to his better work rate.
Spadafora's undefeated record, protected for so long, went by the wayside as he faced his first real opponent in a decade. Perez won his third fight in a row (all by decision) since losing his first interim belt by seventh-round technical decision to Pablo Cesar Cano in July 2012.
Saturday at London
Dereck Chisora TKO3 Ondrej Pala
Heavyweights
Records: Chisora (19-4, 13 KOs); Pala (32-4, 22 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Chisora, 29, of England, had been scheduled to make the first defense of his European heavyweight title against Matteo Modugno (14-0, 8 KOs) of Italy, but Modugno dropped out about 10 days before the fight after suffering two broken ribs during a sparring session. Pala, 29, of the Czech Republic, stepped in on short notice, although the European title was no longer at stake.
It turned out to be a disappointing fight, one with an odd ending. Chisora got off to a good start and was getting to Pala in the first round, backing him into the ropes and teeing off with right hands while Pala tied up his left hand. In the third round, Chisora was firing combinations and worked Pala into a corner. That's when Pala turned his back while Chisora continued to throw punches. Chisora hit Pala with an ill-advised right hand directly behind the head -- a very dangerous punch that he could have been disqualified for -- and then reached around Pala and nailed him with a left hook that seemed to really hurt him. With Pala having turned away from Chisora and seemingly not about to turn back to face him, referee Jan Christensen had no choice but to stop the fight, which he did at 31 seconds.
It was an unsatisfying end, although Chisora recorded his fourth consecutive stoppage victory since a three-fight losing streak in 2011 and 2012, which included a robbery split decision loss to Robert Helenius, a decision loss to Vitali Klitschko in a world title bout and a fifth-round knockout loss to countryman and former titlist David Haye. After the fight, Chisora and his team called for a rematch with England's Tyson Fury, who outpointed Chisora in 2011.
Saturday at Quezon City, Philippines
Donnie Nietes TKO3 Sammy Gutierrez
Retains a junior flyweight title
Records: Nietes (32-1-4, 18 KOs); Gutierrez (33-10-2, 23 KOs),
Rafael's remarks: Nietes, 31, of the Philippines, won a strawweight title in 2007 and made four defenses before moving up in weight and winning a junior flyweight belt in 2011. He made his third defense against Gutierrez, 27, of Mexico, who had held an interim strawweight belt in 2010 and 2011.
Nietes made easy work of Gutierrez, who hit the deck twice in the first round, first from a right hand during a flurry and then moments later on a nasty right uppercut-left hand combination. Nietes was close to a first-round stoppage, but the round ended as Gutierrez was taking heavy punishment. Nietes pounded him some more in the second round and continued to hammer Gutierrez in the third round, finally putting him away with a clean right hand that dropped him face-first to the mat. Gutierrez showed huge heart to beat the count, but he was done and referee Celestino Ruiz properly called off the fight at 2 minutes, 58 seconds.
It was a devastating performance from Nietes, who has been one of the more underrated smaller fighters for several years. Nietes was coming off a majority draw in a March defense against Moises Fuentes of Mexico, and they could be headed for a rematch in March.
Also on the card, strawweight Merlito Sabillo (23-0-1, 12 KOs), 29, of the Philippines, made the second defense of his belt, retaining it on a split draw against Carlos Buitrago (27-0-1, 16 KOs), 21, of Nicaragua in an all-action slugfest. One judge had it 115-113 for Sabillo, one submitted the same score for Buitrago, and one judge scored the fight 114-114.
Saturday at Baton Rouge, La.
Jeff Lacy TKO3 Martin Verdin
Light heavyweights
Records: Lacy (26-4, 18 KOs); Verdin (20-17-2, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Lacy, 36, of St. Petersburg, Fla., was a 2000 U.S. Olympian and held a super middleweight title from 2004 to 2006, making four successful defenses before suffering a bad beating and losing a lopsided decision to Joe Calzaghe in a unification fight. Lacy was never the same after that fight, going 4-3, suffering major shoulder issues and quitting boxing after an inexcusable decision loss to journeyman Dhafir Smith in 2010.
Saying he wanted to make a run at another world title, Lacy made his ring return after nearly three years out of action to face club fighter Verdin, 37, of Dulac, in a scheduled eight-rounder.
Lacy looked rusty and his timing was off, neither of which should come as much of a surprise after his long layoff. He also got hit more than he should have. But Lacy appeared to be in terrific shape (as always) and landed the harder punches. Late in the second round, he unloaded some hard combinations that sent Verdin into the ropes. In the third round, Lacy found his groove and was landing lefts and rights with abandon, snapping Verdin's head back in a sustained attack before Verdin's corner threw in the towel and referee Larry Berger called off the fight at 1 minute, 19 seconds.
After the fight, Lacy sounded serious about continuing on his quest for another title. This was just the kind of fight he needed to ease back into things after such a long layoff.
Saturday at Mexicali, Mexico
Jorge Paez Jr. TKO7 Ivan Hernandez
Welterweights
Records: Paez (37-4-1, 22 KOs); Hernandez (29-5, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Mexico's Paez, the son of former lightweight titlist and showman Jorge Paez Sr., turned 26 on the day of this fight and gifted himself a nice knockout win. Paez started a bit slowly and probably lost the first two rounds, but then he got on track.
In the fourth round, Paez landed a solid left hook to the chin and dropped Hernandez awkwardly to his rear end. Paez was all over Hernandez when the fight resumed, but when Hernandez's mouthpiece came out, he got valuable time to recover when the referee called a timeout to have it replaced. It was a mistake, because there was no lull in the action when the timeout was called, and the interruption might have cost Paez a stoppage in that round. But in the seventh, Paez landed a left uppercut that spun Hernandez around and dropped him to his knees, prompting the referee to wave off the fight with 1 minute, 28 seconds left in the round.
During the postfight television interview, Erik Morales, the former four-division titleholder who sat ringside, entered the ring and challenged Paez to fight him. Paez, of course, accepted. It was all very WWE-like, but Zanfer Promotions said the fight could take place in March, either in Mexicali, Paez's hometown, or Tijuana, Morales' hometown.
Morales, 37, hasn't fought since suffering back-to-back losses to Danny Garcia in junior welterweight title fights, including getting badly knocked out in the fourth round of their rematch in October 2012, a fight before which Morales tested positive for a banned substance but was allowed to fight.
Hernandez, 32, of Colombia, turned pro in 2001 and fought until early 2007 but then didn't fight again for four years, returning in 2011 and winning twice. Then he didn't fight in 2012 and has now been knocked out in both of his 2013 bouts.
Zolani Tete TKO10 Juan Carlos Sanchez
Junior bantamweight title eliminator
Records: Tete (18-3, 16 KOs); Sanchez (17-2-1, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Tete, 24, of South Africa, traveled to Sanchez's home country and pulled the upset against the former titlist to become the mandatory challenger for the belt held by Japanese titleholder Daiki Kameda (who will fight Liborio Solis in a unification fight on Tuesday in Osaka, Japan).
Sanchez, a 22-year-old southpaw from Mexico, had been stripped of his 115-pound belt in June because he failed to make weight for a title defense against Roberto Sosa, whom he outpointed the next night, leaving the title vacant. After a September knockout victory, Sanchez was given a chance to face Tete for the right to challenge for his old belt, which Kameda won on Sept. 3.
Although a heavy underdog, Tete, who lost a decision to Sosa in a 2012 eliminator and was knocked out in the fifth round by countryman Moruti Mthalane in a 2012 flyweight world title fight, got the job done in a fight in which both men were down. Tete dropped Sanchez in the fifth round, and Tete rebounded to score a knockdown in the sixth round. Tete, however, seemingly was on the verge of being disqualified after referee Gary Ritter docked points from him in the eighth and ninth rounds for excessive holding. But in the 10th round, with Sanchez fading, Tete caught him with an overhand left, sending Sanchez crashing to his back in a corner. As Sanchez struggled to get to his feet, Ritter counted him out at 2 minutes, 43 seconds.
Saturday at Colon City, Panama
Celestino Caballero TKO2 Jimmy Aburto
Featherweights
Records: Caballero (37-5, 24 KOs); Aburto (14-3-2, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: From 2005 to 2010, Caballero was one of the top junior featherweights in the world, winning a belt in 2006, unifying two titles in 2008 and making eight overall defenses. After back-to-back losses, Caballero won a featherweight belt in 2011 and made one defense before being stripped for not making a mandatory defense. When he returned in April, he lost a split decision to Robinson Castellanos. Making his return from that defeat, Caballero, 37, of Panama, blew out Nicaragua's Aburto, 21, who previously had never faced any opponent of consequence.
Aburto attempted to pressure and rough up Caballero, who was trying to box and move. He also got a little dirty, and was warned by referee Abdiel Barragan for hitting behind the head in the second round. Aburto got a bit too careless jumping in against Caballero, who dropped him to his knees with a clean counter right hand. Aburto tried to ride it out, but Caballero was all over him. He hurt Aburto with a long right hand and a left hook, and had him on the ropes. After Caballero hammered him with a right and a left to the body and Aburto covered up, Barragan stepped in and ended the bout at 1 minute, 41 seconds. It was Caballero's first victory since a successful featherweight title defense against Satoshi Hosono in December 2011.
Wednesday at Sydney
Anthony Mundine TKO6 Shane Mosley
Junior middleweights
Records: Mundine (45-5, 27 KOs); Mosley (47-9-1, 39 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In just the latest example of a once-great fighter having no idea that he should no longer be in the ring, Mosley went to Australia and suffered the first stoppage loss of a likely Hall of Fame career.
Mosley, 42, of Pomona, Calif., was a three-division champion -- lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight -- and was widely considered the world's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the early 2000s after his first victory against Oscar De La Hoya for the welterweight world title. That seems like a lifetime ago after Mosley labored against Mundine, 38, of Australia, a former two-time super middleweight titlist. Mundine also has seen better days, but he had more than enough against Mosley, easily handling him before back spasms caused Mosley to retire following the sixth round in a forgettable fight. At the time of the stoppage, Mundine was up on all three scorecards, 60-55, 58-56 and 58-56.
Mundine, coming off a loss to then-middleweight titlist Daniel Geale in a rematch of a previous Mundine victory, somehow thinks that a win over the long-faded Mosley is going to land him a fight with current pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mundine is living in fantasyland.
So, too, is Mosley if he carries on with a career that basically has been finished since 2009. Mosley is 1-4-1 in his past six fights, and things will almost certainly get worse rather than better. He has had a great career, but it's clearly over. Hopefully, Mosley will realize it.
Adonis Stevenson TKO6 Tony Bellew
Retains world light heavyweight title
Records: Stevenson (23-1, 20 KOs); Bellew (20-2-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: It was yet another explosive performance from "Superman" Stevenson, who dominated Bellew before the violent conclusion and kept himself in the conversation for fighter of the year honors. Stevenson, 36, of Montreal, one of the most exciting fighters in boxing and also one of its most destructive punchers, won the lineal light heavyweight championship in June with a 76-second, one-punch destruction of Chad Dawson. Stevenson, 36, of Montreal, followed by dishing out a one-sided beating to former titlist Tavoris Cloud, which ended in Cloud's corner throwing in the towel after the seventh round. Making his second title defense, Stevenson faced England's Bellew, 30, the mandatory challenger whose only previous defeat had come by majority decision in a world title fight against then-titleholder Nathan Cleverly in 2011.
Stevenson, the star of the show and the main reason 8,450 turned out to the Colisee Pepsi on a bitterly cold and snowy night, continued to impress as he took Bellew apart with relative ease. Stevenson took his time and was pitching a shutout against Bellew through five rounds. Bellew was avoiding the big shots, but seemed so concerned about what he might take in return that he didn't display nearly enough offense to win any rounds. Stevenson, a southpaw, had rattled Bellew a couple of times earlier in the fight with his powerful straight left hand but did major damage with it in the sixth round.
Stevenson landed a clean left on the chin to drop Bellew, who had nothing to keep Stevenson off him when the fight resumed. Stevenson went right to him again and nailed him with two more flush left hands. Bellew's legs were like jelly, and the only reason he seemed to still be on his feet was because he had backed into a corner and was leaning against the ring post. At that point, referee Michael Griffin jumped in and stopped the bout at 1 minute, 50 seconds and prevented Stevenson from landing a couple of free shots that might have done even more damage to Bellew, who paid a steep price after taunting Stevenson at the weigh-in the day before.
Stevenson's power is freakish, and it seems as though anyone who gets touched by one of his clean shots -- and sometimes just a grazing shot -- lands in big, big trouble. The same goes for titleholder Sergey Kovalev, who blasted out Ismayl Sillakh in the co-feature on a card designed to pump folks up for an eventual Stevenson-Kovalev showdown for light heavyweight supremacy. Consider boxing fans pumped up.
Ideally, that would be their next fight. Stevenson said he would be willing to face Kovalev for the "right" money, but admitted he prefers a fight with titleholder Bernard Hopkins, super middleweight titlist Carl Froch or the winner of the all-Montreal showdown between former light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal and former super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute. Hopefully, the money will be right and boxing fans will get Stevenson-Kovalev, the best fight in the 175-pound division and one of the best that can be made in boxing.
Sergey Kovalev KO2 Ismayl Sillakh
Retains a light heavyweight title
Records: Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs); Sillakh (21-2, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: About a year ago, Kovalev, 30, a native of Russia living in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was an unknown fighter in the United States. But after hooking up with Main Events, which gave him valuable television exposure and regular opportunities to face solid opposition, "Krusher" Kovalev has soared to the top of the division. The current top 175-pounder in the world is either champion Adonis Stevenson or Kovalev, who opened the Stevenson-headlined show and did his part to stoke interest in their eventual meeting, which could (and hopefully) will come as soon as their next fight.
In August, Kovalev traveled to Wales for his first title opportunity and destroyed Nathan Cleverly, pasting him in a fourth-round knockout. Making his first defense, Kovalev was matched with the tall, quick and powerful Sillakh, 28, a native of Ukraine living in Simi Valley, Calif. But for all of Sillakh's talents, there were major doubts about his chin, which was exposed in an upset eighth-round knockout loss to Denis Grachev in an April 2012 fight that Sillakh had been winning easily. Sillakh rebounded to string together four consecutive victories (albeit against weak opposition) and put himself in position to challenge for a title. Unfortunately for him, it came against one of the best punchers in boxing.
Sillakh actually had a solid first round, but Kovalev is like a train going downhill. In the second round, he continued to apply relentless pressure and fire with both hands, eventually catching Sillakh with a clean straight right hand on the chin. Sillakh, his nose bloodied, went down hard and was taunted by Kovalev while he was on the mat. As soon as the fight resumed, Kovalev attacked again and finished him with another crushing right and two left hands behind it. Sillakh went down hard in a heap, and referee Marlon B. Wright waved off the fight at 52 seconds as Sillakh rolled around on the canvas, seemingly with no idea where he was.
Kovalev, who closed out his year 4-0 -- all wins by knockout inside four rounds -- probably would be favored against every light heavyweight in the world except maybe Stevenson, and vice versa. That's a fight that must happen -- and sooner rather than later.
Saturday at Chester, W. Va.
Johan Perez W12 Paul Spadafora
Wins a vacant interim junior welterweight title
Scores: 117-111, 115-113, 114-114
Records: Perez (18-1-1, 12 KOs); Spadafora (48-1-1, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In the silly world of organizations with multiple world titles in the same weight class, Perez, 30, of Venezuela, can proclaim himself to be a two-time interim titleholder after a majority decision win against Spadafora, 38, the crowd favorite from nearby Pittsburgh. From 1999 to 2003, Spadafora held a lightweight belt and made eight defenses. But since his final title defense, a bloody draw with Leonard Dorin in a unification fight, Spadafora hasn't been a factor at all while dealing with an alcohol problem and a jail sentence for the non-fatal shooting of his former girlfriend. After his return, Spadafora fought sporadically until recently, when he stayed on track enough to fight twice in each of the past two years.
Spadafora, a southpaw with good skills but little pop, tried to box against Perez and had some early success, but Perez outworked him for long stretches of the fight and Spadafora, known for being a good defensive fighter, got hit quite a bit. Perez cut him over the left eye in the fourth round and continued to beat Spadafora -- whom Golden Boy said it signed to a promotional deal not long before the fight -- to the punch for most of the fight. Perez suffered a cut over his right eye in the sixth round. Although the bout was competitive, Perez rightfully got the decision thanks to his better work rate.
Spadafora's undefeated record, protected for so long, went by the wayside as he faced his first real opponent in a decade. Perez won his third fight in a row (all by decision) since losing his first interim belt by seventh-round technical decision to Pablo Cesar Cano in July 2012.
Saturday at London
Dereck Chisora TKO3 Ondrej Pala
Heavyweights
Records: Chisora (19-4, 13 KOs); Pala (32-4, 22 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Chisora, 29, of England, had been scheduled to make the first defense of his European heavyweight title against Matteo Modugno (14-0, 8 KOs) of Italy, but Modugno dropped out about 10 days before the fight after suffering two broken ribs during a sparring session. Pala, 29, of the Czech Republic, stepped in on short notice, although the European title was no longer at stake.
It turned out to be a disappointing fight, one with an odd ending. Chisora got off to a good start and was getting to Pala in the first round, backing him into the ropes and teeing off with right hands while Pala tied up his left hand. In the third round, Chisora was firing combinations and worked Pala into a corner. That's when Pala turned his back while Chisora continued to throw punches. Chisora hit Pala with an ill-advised right hand directly behind the head -- a very dangerous punch that he could have been disqualified for -- and then reached around Pala and nailed him with a left hook that seemed to really hurt him. With Pala having turned away from Chisora and seemingly not about to turn back to face him, referee Jan Christensen had no choice but to stop the fight, which he did at 31 seconds.
It was an unsatisfying end, although Chisora recorded his fourth consecutive stoppage victory since a three-fight losing streak in 2011 and 2012, which included a robbery split decision loss to Robert Helenius, a decision loss to Vitali Klitschko in a world title bout and a fifth-round knockout loss to countryman and former titlist David Haye. After the fight, Chisora and his team called for a rematch with England's Tyson Fury, who outpointed Chisora in 2011.
Saturday at Quezon City, Philippines
Donnie Nietes TKO3 Sammy Gutierrez
Retains a junior flyweight title
Records: Nietes (32-1-4, 18 KOs); Gutierrez (33-10-2, 23 KOs),
Rafael's remarks: Nietes, 31, of the Philippines, won a strawweight title in 2007 and made four defenses before moving up in weight and winning a junior flyweight belt in 2011. He made his third defense against Gutierrez, 27, of Mexico, who had held an interim strawweight belt in 2010 and 2011.
Nietes made easy work of Gutierrez, who hit the deck twice in the first round, first from a right hand during a flurry and then moments later on a nasty right uppercut-left hand combination. Nietes was close to a first-round stoppage, but the round ended as Gutierrez was taking heavy punishment. Nietes pounded him some more in the second round and continued to hammer Gutierrez in the third round, finally putting him away with a clean right hand that dropped him face-first to the mat. Gutierrez showed huge heart to beat the count, but he was done and referee Celestino Ruiz properly called off the fight at 2 minutes, 58 seconds.
It was a devastating performance from Nietes, who has been one of the more underrated smaller fighters for several years. Nietes was coming off a majority draw in a March defense against Moises Fuentes of Mexico, and they could be headed for a rematch in March.
Also on the card, strawweight Merlito Sabillo (23-0-1, 12 KOs), 29, of the Philippines, made the second defense of his belt, retaining it on a split draw against Carlos Buitrago (27-0-1, 16 KOs), 21, of Nicaragua in an all-action slugfest. One judge had it 115-113 for Sabillo, one submitted the same score for Buitrago, and one judge scored the fight 114-114.
Saturday at Baton Rouge, La.
Jeff Lacy TKO3 Martin Verdin
Light heavyweights
Records: Lacy (26-4, 18 KOs); Verdin (20-17-2, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Lacy, 36, of St. Petersburg, Fla., was a 2000 U.S. Olympian and held a super middleweight title from 2004 to 2006, making four successful defenses before suffering a bad beating and losing a lopsided decision to Joe Calzaghe in a unification fight. Lacy was never the same after that fight, going 4-3, suffering major shoulder issues and quitting boxing after an inexcusable decision loss to journeyman Dhafir Smith in 2010.
Saying he wanted to make a run at another world title, Lacy made his ring return after nearly three years out of action to face club fighter Verdin, 37, of Dulac, in a scheduled eight-rounder.
Lacy looked rusty and his timing was off, neither of which should come as much of a surprise after his long layoff. He also got hit more than he should have. But Lacy appeared to be in terrific shape (as always) and landed the harder punches. Late in the second round, he unloaded some hard combinations that sent Verdin into the ropes. In the third round, Lacy found his groove and was landing lefts and rights with abandon, snapping Verdin's head back in a sustained attack before Verdin's corner threw in the towel and referee Larry Berger called off the fight at 1 minute, 19 seconds.
After the fight, Lacy sounded serious about continuing on his quest for another title. This was just the kind of fight he needed to ease back into things after such a long layoff.
Saturday at Mexicali, Mexico
Jorge Paez Jr. TKO7 Ivan Hernandez
Welterweights
Records: Paez (37-4-1, 22 KOs); Hernandez (29-5, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Mexico's Paez, the son of former lightweight titlist and showman Jorge Paez Sr., turned 26 on the day of this fight and gifted himself a nice knockout win. Paez started a bit slowly and probably lost the first two rounds, but then he got on track.
In the fourth round, Paez landed a solid left hook to the chin and dropped Hernandez awkwardly to his rear end. Paez was all over Hernandez when the fight resumed, but when Hernandez's mouthpiece came out, he got valuable time to recover when the referee called a timeout to have it replaced. It was a mistake, because there was no lull in the action when the timeout was called, and the interruption might have cost Paez a stoppage in that round. But in the seventh, Paez landed a left uppercut that spun Hernandez around and dropped him to his knees, prompting the referee to wave off the fight with 1 minute, 28 seconds left in the round.
During the postfight television interview, Erik Morales, the former four-division titleholder who sat ringside, entered the ring and challenged Paez to fight him. Paez, of course, accepted. It was all very WWE-like, but Zanfer Promotions said the fight could take place in March, either in Mexicali, Paez's hometown, or Tijuana, Morales' hometown.
Morales, 37, hasn't fought since suffering back-to-back losses to Danny Garcia in junior welterweight title fights, including getting badly knocked out in the fourth round of their rematch in October 2012, a fight before which Morales tested positive for a banned substance but was allowed to fight.
Hernandez, 32, of Colombia, turned pro in 2001 and fought until early 2007 but then didn't fight again for four years, returning in 2011 and winning twice. Then he didn't fight in 2012 and has now been knocked out in both of his 2013 bouts.
Zolani Tete TKO10 Juan Carlos Sanchez
Junior bantamweight title eliminator
Records: Tete (18-3, 16 KOs); Sanchez (17-2-1, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Tete, 24, of South Africa, traveled to Sanchez's home country and pulled the upset against the former titlist to become the mandatory challenger for the belt held by Japanese titleholder Daiki Kameda (who will fight Liborio Solis in a unification fight on Tuesday in Osaka, Japan).
Sanchez, a 22-year-old southpaw from Mexico, had been stripped of his 115-pound belt in June because he failed to make weight for a title defense against Roberto Sosa, whom he outpointed the next night, leaving the title vacant. After a September knockout victory, Sanchez was given a chance to face Tete for the right to challenge for his old belt, which Kameda won on Sept. 3.
Although a heavy underdog, Tete, who lost a decision to Sosa in a 2012 eliminator and was knocked out in the fifth round by countryman Moruti Mthalane in a 2012 flyweight world title fight, got the job done in a fight in which both men were down. Tete dropped Sanchez in the fifth round, and Tete rebounded to score a knockdown in the sixth round. Tete, however, seemingly was on the verge of being disqualified after referee Gary Ritter docked points from him in the eighth and ninth rounds for excessive holding. But in the 10th round, with Sanchez fading, Tete caught him with an overhand left, sending Sanchez crashing to his back in a corner. As Sanchez struggled to get to his feet, Ritter counted him out at 2 minutes, 43 seconds.
Saturday at Colon City, Panama
Celestino Caballero TKO2 Jimmy Aburto
Featherweights
Records: Caballero (37-5, 24 KOs); Aburto (14-3-2, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: From 2005 to 2010, Caballero was one of the top junior featherweights in the world, winning a belt in 2006, unifying two titles in 2008 and making eight overall defenses. After back-to-back losses, Caballero won a featherweight belt in 2011 and made one defense before being stripped for not making a mandatory defense. When he returned in April, he lost a split decision to Robinson Castellanos. Making his return from that defeat, Caballero, 37, of Panama, blew out Nicaragua's Aburto, 21, who previously had never faced any opponent of consequence.
Aburto attempted to pressure and rough up Caballero, who was trying to box and move. He also got a little dirty, and was warned by referee Abdiel Barragan for hitting behind the head in the second round. Aburto got a bit too careless jumping in against Caballero, who dropped him to his knees with a clean counter right hand. Aburto tried to ride it out, but Caballero was all over him. He hurt Aburto with a long right hand and a left hook, and had him on the ropes. After Caballero hammered him with a right and a left to the body and Aburto covered up, Barragan stepped in and ended the bout at 1 minute, 41 seconds. It was Caballero's first victory since a successful featherweight title defense against Satoshi Hosono in December 2011.
Wednesday at Sydney
Anthony Mundine TKO6 Shane Mosley
Junior middleweights
Records: Mundine (45-5, 27 KOs); Mosley (47-9-1, 39 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In just the latest example of a once-great fighter having no idea that he should no longer be in the ring, Mosley went to Australia and suffered the first stoppage loss of a likely Hall of Fame career.
Mosley, 42, of Pomona, Calif., was a three-division champion -- lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight -- and was widely considered the world's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the early 2000s after his first victory against Oscar De La Hoya for the welterweight world title. That seems like a lifetime ago after Mosley labored against Mundine, 38, of Australia, a former two-time super middleweight titlist. Mundine also has seen better days, but he had more than enough against Mosley, easily handling him before back spasms caused Mosley to retire following the sixth round in a forgettable fight. At the time of the stoppage, Mundine was up on all three scorecards, 60-55, 58-56 and 58-56.
Mundine, coming off a loss to then-middleweight titlist Daniel Geale in a rematch of a previous Mundine victory, somehow thinks that a win over the long-faded Mosley is going to land him a fight with current pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mundine is living in fantasyland.
So, too, is Mosley if he carries on with a career that basically has been finished since 2009. Mosley is 1-4-1 in his past six fights, and things will almost certainly get worse rather than better. He has had a great career, but it's clearly over. Hopefully, Mosley will realize it.
- Jan 27, 2012
- 16,006
- 4,734
Gennady Golovkin vs Osumanu Adama on Feb 1 ..
- Jan 7, 2004
- 28,043
- 10,466
Ticket officially purchased for the card at Barclays on Saturday. 14 rows back.
War Trout, Alexander the Great, Ant, Super Judah.
Need restaurants and bars before or after the fights in Brooklyn.
War Trout, Alexander the Great, Ant, Super Judah.
Need restaurants and bars before or after the fights in Brooklyn.
If you take the C train to Lafayette Avenue and walk down either South Elliot Place or South Portland Place towards Atlantic (both are right there when you get out of the station), you'll have your choice of bars/restaurants. There's a ton of new places that just recently opened up in the last couple years. Not as much right around Barclays IIRC.
- Jan 7, 2004
- 28,043
- 10,466
Good looks, Pro. I plan to eat and drink like a King. This is my first live boxing event.
Nobody is picking Trout in my circles. I need him to beat Lara.
Nobody is picking Trout in my circles. I need him to beat Lara.
- Status
