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He ruined his own career by losing fights he shoulda won and being a weirdo.
Please lock.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
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He ruined his own career by losing fights he shoulda won and being a weirdo.
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He's with Joel Diaz now. Hopefully he can straighten him a little bit.
lightweight champion
Banned
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You can fix a lot things but heart ain't one of 'em.
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You don't win the fight by "putting on on a display". You win a fight by winning more rounds and that's what he did. You just talk out your ***.
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Man, please put Danny Garcia in there with Ruslan. 
This dude needs to fight an accurate power puncher. Feather fisted Herrera gave him some great shots tonight. He gets in there with a guy like Ruslan? I'd like to see how he handles THAT.
This dude needs to fight an accurate power puncher. Feather fisted Herrera gave him some great shots tonight. He gets in there with a guy like Ruslan? I'd like to see how he handles THAT.
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One bad night and now Garcia is trash, been exposed, etc.
Fickle fans
Fickle fans
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Ortiz is just a quitter
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There was no way that fight should've been scored 8-4 for Garcia by any judge. It was 7-5 Herrera or 6-6 at best. This fight happens anywhere outside of PR, Danny loses.
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Pull your skirt down kid. This is how boxing has worked since the beginning of time or did you just start tuning in? Whitaker clearly beat Chavez Sr yet ended up getting a draw, Ike Quartey beat De La Hoya yet lost by decision, I could go on and on. It's widely known that you have to take the belt from a known champ in order to win it. Herrera is a nobody therefore he wasn't going to get a decision against Danny unless he beat the snot out of him which he didn't. I clearly stated Herrera won in my opinion but this is how **** has always worked in boxing.
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lightweight champion
Banned
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Chavez/Whitaker was a draw, but I see where you're going.
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Before the fight: "Camp is going great, I feel great. There's no rush to move up to 147 lbs. "
After a bad performance: "I may need to move up."
After a bad performance: "I may need to move up."
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Bingo. I've never been sold on Danny 100%. After he took some great shots from Lucas, I was more impressed. But Lucas is a headhunter at heart. Herrera actually came with a gameplan and would've walked out of there victorious if they fought in Vegas.
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at all the talk of Danny fighting Floyd a while back never made sense
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Man, Garcia looked REALLY average last night. Not surprised by the decision. That's boxing
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Yeah my bad it was a draw. Should have been a clear win for Whitaker though. Name fighters get the benefit of the doubt unless you beat the brakes off of them. It's been that way sense forever.
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Facelube
That has to be from some sketch comedy show. No way that is real.
That has to be from some sketch comedy show. No way that is real.
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pretty much
Garcia had a bad night and should of took the Lose, I turned it off at the 8th round because I already knew what was going to happen and Herrera had zero shot at knocking him out
that doesn't mean Garcia is a fraud or cant fight anymore. I mean he beat a list of fighters recently that tells you dude can fight.
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He'll bounce back. Not worried at all. Seemed like the moment was too big for him in PR
Think he just underestimated Herrera. I wouldn't go as far as to say he got exposed or he's a fraud now. But, that's the way fans are nowadays.
I just don't like that the weight was not an issue during camp but after the fight it came up as an excuse.
Weekend wrap up.
I just don't like that the weight was not an issue during camp but after the fight it came up as an excuse.
Weekend wrap up.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Danny Garcia W12 Mauricio Herrera
Retains world junior welterweight title
Scores: 116-112 (twice), 114-114
Records: Garcia (28-0, 16 KOs); Herrera (20-4, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Garcia should count himself a bit lucky to have escaped with a majority decision and his unified titles intact after Herrera, 33, of Riverside, Calif., turned in an excellent performance while Garcia clearly did not have his best night.
There were many cries of robbery after this fight as Garcia, 25, of Philadelphia, got the nod in his fifth title defense. But it's not so much that Garcia got the decision -- although ESPN.com had it a 114-114 draw -- it was that two judges had him winning by four points apiece. That was certainly too wide, no matter who think deserved the decision. And you could see result coming from a mile away too because the WBC's awful open scoring system was utilized after the Puerto Rican commission unfortunately agreed to use it. So when the scores were announced after the fourth and eighth rounds it was clear that Herrera was going to need at least multiple knockdowns to win, and he never came close to getting Garcia off his feet.
Garcia was not at his best, but he still won his share of rounds thanks to hard punching and some quality combinations, especially later in the fight. Maybe after beating several top names, including Lucas Matthysse, Zab Judah, Amir Khan and Erik Morales twice (all in title fights), Garcia took the relatively unknown Herrera lightly, although Herrera does own a 2011 win against Ruslan Provodnikov (who won a world title in October) and engaged former titlist Mike Alvarado in a sensational slugfest in 2012. Garcia also was probably feeling the pressure to perform well in his first fight in Puerto Rico, the homeland of his parents and where he had long wanted to fight and be embraced as one of their champions.
But Herrera didn't get caught up in that storyline. He went out there and fought his heart out. He frustrated Garcia with his awkward style, landed a ton of hard jabs (especially to the body) and often smothered Garcia's power. According to CompuBox, Herrera landed 221 of 695 punches (32 percent) while Garcia connected on 204 of 675 (30 percent), although it says here that Garcia's punches were harder and did more damage. Herrera cut Garcia on the bridge of the nose in the ninth round and Garcia did get his left hook going better in the final few rounds.
In the end, Garcia got the decision and then said that the plan to defend the 140-pound title once more time might be changed and that he might move up to welterweight for his next fight because he said making weight had been an issue. When he does go up, Garcia is in a prime position to be a future challenger to champion and pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. But he will have to fight a helluva lot better against him than he did against Herrera if he is to have a prayer.
Deontay Wilder KO1 Malik Scott
Heavyweights - Title eliminator
Records: Wilder (31-0, 31 KOs); Scott (36-2-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: There was a lot at stake for the winner of this fight -- a guaranteed mandatory shot at a heavyweight title, the one Vitali Klitschko recently vacated but that will be filled by the winner of the rematch between Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola on May 10. Neither Wilder nor Scott, good pals outside the ring, had really accomplished anything to be worthy of fighting in a final eliminator, but that's the sanctioning body for you. Wilder, 28, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., the 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist, has built his glittering record against woeful opposition and has been very carefully maneuvered into this position. Scott, 33, of Philadelphia, has been a chronic underachiever despite his talent and is now an unimpressive 1-2-1 in his last four fights, with both losses by knockout. Yet this match would produce a mandatory heavyweight title challenger. Pathetic.
Wilder made it look very easy because Scott didn't look like he tried. In fact, Scott threw one punch, a wide shot that wasn't close to landing. Literally. One punch. Wilder, meanwhile spent most of the round pumping a left jab until firing a left hook that seemed to catch Wilder near the temple area. Then he followed with a straight right hand that caught Scott on the gloves. Yet Scott went down near the ropes. He seemed perfectly lucid but was counted out by referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. at 1 minute, 36 seconds. It was Wilder's 18th first-round knockout and probably the end of Scott's career as far as ever being taken seriously. To many, it looked like Scott took a dive and it's hard to argue against that opinion. Scott's lack of effort and the fact that he would stay down from punches that, relative to heavyweight boxing, did not appear out of the ordinary is questionable. Scott made it look like Bruce Seldon tried very hard in his title fight with Mike Tyson. If this kind of disgrace doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth nothing in boxing will.
Juan Manuel Lopez TKO2 Daniel Ponce De Leon
Junior lightweight
Records: Lopez (34-3, 31 KOs); Ponce De Leon (45-6, 35 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Lopez, 30, of Puerto Rico, and Ponce De Leon, 33, of Mexico, are both former junior featherweight and featherweight titleholders. They are both great punchers, both southpaws and both were in dire need of a win against a notable name in order to keep their careers alive for significant fights.
Many have viewed Lopez as finished. He had not looked good in the past several fights and looked like he was totally shot when Mikey Garcia blew him out in the fourth round in June challenging for a vacant featherweight title. Ponce De Leon has also had his recent issues, including a ninth-round knockout loss to Abner Mares last May that cost him his featherweight belt.
So Lopez and Ponce De Leon met in a rematch with a lot on the line. In 2008, Lopez has knocked Ponce De Leon out in the first round to win a junior featherweight title. Coming into this fight it seemed as though Ponce De Leon had a bit more left in the tank than Lopez did but it didn't turn out that way as Lopez took him out early again, although not without major drama. Ponce De Leon decked Lopez with a hard left hand halfway through the second round and looked like he was about to finish him. But Lopez rebounded to score two knockdowns of his own in a wild round of the year candidate. He dropped Ponce De Leon with a right hook and then again from an accumulation of shots. Moments later, Lopez trapped him on the ropes and was taking it to him when referee Luis Pabon intervened at 2 minutes, 44 seconds. It was a bit of a quick stoppage as Ponce De Leon, although certainly in trouble, was throwing a punch as Pabon stepped in. Ponce De Leon complained bitterly about the stoppage and it is understandable. For Lopez, it was a career-salvaging victory that had his hometown crowd cheering wildly.
Daniel Jacobs TKO1 Milton Nunez
Middleweight
Records: Jacobs (27-1, 24 KOs); Nunez (26-10-1, 24 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Jacobs, 27, of Brooklyn, N.Y., continued his remarkable comeback with his fifth victory in a row since his improbable comeback from a cancer diagnosis and near death. Now he is on the doorstep of a second title shot. He fought for a vacant belt in 2010 and was upset in a fifth-round knockout by Dmitry Pirog. Jacobs is a more prepared and mature fighter now as he is on a collision course with fellow New Yorker and middleweight titleholder "Kid Chocolate" Peter Quillin. If Quillin wins his April 19 defense against Lucas Konecny, Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer, who promotes Quillin and Jacobs, said he will make it a priority to get the fight made for this summer at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Jacobs blasted his way past Nunez with ease to keep the title fight in his near future. He dropped Nunez, 26, of Colombia, three times in the opening stanza to make it a quick night. First came a clean left hook that dumped him face first. Jacobs put him down for the second time with an overhand right that dropped him to all fours and then scored the third knockdown on a left hook that prompted referee Ramon Pena to call off the bout at 2 minutes, 25 seconds. Nunez, who lost his fourth fight in his last five, has been stopped in seven of his 10 losses, including five times in the first round. Predicting this fight as an easy knockout for Jacobs was not exactly going out on a limbs.
Saturday at Bethlehem, Pa.
Vyacheslav "Czar" Glazkov W12 Tomasz Adamek
Heavyweight - Title eliminator
Scores: 117-111, 117-110, 116-112
Records: Glazkov (17-0-1, 11 KOs); Adamek (49-3, 29 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In what Main Events promoter Kathy Duva appropriately called a passing of the torch, up-and-coming contender Glazkov, 29, of Ukraine, dismantled veteran warhorse Adamek, the former cruiserweight and light heavyweight titleholder who became a top heavyweight contender but never fulfilled his dream of winning a heavyweight title. Now, after this bruising loss to Glazkov, a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, it looks quite unlikely that Adamek is ever going to accomplish his goal. In fact, this loss could spell the end of the line for the 37-year-old Adamek, the Polish star living in New Jersey, who has always made good fights and always displayed his big heart. This battle with Glazkov was no different but it was Glazkov who rightly prevailed and earned the No. 2 position in one of the alphabet organization's rankings to push him a step closer to an eventual mandatory shot against champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Glazkov battered Adamek for most of the fight, although Glazkov's face was marked and swollen at the end of the tough bout. Glazkov took it to Adamek early on, displaying an accurate jab and good right hand to swell his eyes in the first few rounds. Adamek, his left eye badly swollen, looked just about done by the end of the fifth round, so credit to him for hanging in there to the final bell. Plenty of other fighters would have quit.
Glazkov rocked Adamek several times and was laying a beating on him in the middle rounds. Adamek, who had sparred extensively with Glazkov last summer, connected with some solid shots in the eighth round, but he also ate plenty in return as Glazkov's accuracy with his shots were the big difference. He had opened a big enough lead that even though Glazkov petered out in the final two rounds, he had the fight in the bag. Adamek, ever the warrior, outlanded Glazkov 55-38 in the final two rounds, according to CompuBox, and had one more big moment left in him when he wobbled Glazkov -- going 12 rounds for the first time in his career -- in the final moments of the exciting fight.
While Glazkov put himself in a great position with the victory, Adamek said he would think about retirement now that a second heavyweight title shot -- Vitali Klitschko stopped him in the 10th round of a world title fight in 2010 -- is almost certainly out of the question.
Isaac Chilemba W10 Denis Grachev
Light heavyweight
Scores: 100-90, 99-91 (twice)
Records: Chilemba (22-2-2, 9 KOs); Grachev (13-3-1, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Chilemba, 26, of South Africa, turned in one of his better performances with a dominant performance against the Russian-born San Diego-based Grachev, 31. In winning his second fight in a row, Chilemba is back on the right track after suffering a draw followed by a decision loss to England's Tony Bellew in their 2013 title elimination bouts.
Chilemba utilized his jab as a primary weapon to dominate the fight, during which he landed 326 of 772 of his punches (42 percent) while limiting the extremely ineffective Grachev to landing just 108 of 587 blows (18 percent). For such a one-sided decision, it was at least a fairly entertaining fight. Chilemba, however, consistently beat Grachev to the punch and was always in control. He opened a cut over Grachev's left eye in the fifth round.
Grachev dropped to 1-3 in his last four fights. He had made a name for himself with a strong three fight stretch in 2012 and 2013, scoring an upset eighth-round knockout of Ismayl Sillakh, losing a highly competitive decision to Lucian Bute and then handing former two-division titleholder Zsolt Erdei his first loss. But then came a first-round knockout loss to Edwin Rodriguez followed by this one-sided loss to Chilemba.
Saturday at Liverpool, England
Tony Bellew TKO12 Valery Brudov
Cruiserweight
Records: Bellew (21-2-1, 13 KOs); Brudov (41-5, 28 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In his last fight, Bellew, 31, of England, got a mandatory shot against light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson in November. He went to Quebec City for the opportunity and got crushed in a one-sided sixth-round knockout loss. Then Bellew decided to move up to cruiserweight, where he made a successful debut against Brudov, 37, of Russia, a former interim titlist with tons of experience against quality opponents - losses to Virgil Hill, Guillermo Jones, Firat Arslan and Ola Afolabi.
It was a crowd-pleasing fight and Bellew showed some pop at the heavier weight, dropping Brudov in the second round with a clean right hand to the chin and again with a right hand in the final moments of the sixth round. Brudov had a brief rally in the seventh round, hurting Bellew with a right hand. But Bellew regrouped and dominated the rest of the fight until scoring another knockdown with a huge left hook in the 12th round as referee Phil Edwards counted Brudov out with 36 seconds left in the bout. Good win for Bellew and good fight.
Kell Brook TKO8 Alvaro Robles
Welterweight
Records: Brook (32-0, 22 KOs); Robles (17-3, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Brook, 27, of England, kept his perfect record intact with yet another win against a less-than-impressive opponent. But this fight was the final step for Brook before what is supposed to be a mandatory title shot in his next fight against the winner of the April 19 bout between titleholder Shawn Porter and former titlist Paulie Malignaggi. With the opportunity at stake, Brook's team was not going to take any chances and fed him Mexico's tough but overmatched Robles, who was fighting outside of his home country for the first time and a massive underdog.
Brook took him apart as expected, dishing out a brutal beating along the way. Brook started a little slowly but was rolling by the time the fight ended. He lashed Robles, who had no notion of defense, with uppercuts and right hands. In the fourth round, Robles, already trailing, had a point deducted by referee John Latham for hitting Brook below the belt. Brook battered Robles and nearly stopped him in the seventh round and was teeing off on him again in the eighth when Robles corner threw in the towel and Latham called off the fight at 1 minute, 35 seconds.
Kevin Mitchell TKO2 Mikheil Avakyan
Lightweight
Records: Mitchell (37-2, 27 KOs); Avakyan (21-12-4, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Mitchell, 29, of England, has been a good contender for several years but knocked out in his two losses against his best opponents, getting stopped in the third round of an interim title bout by Michael Katsidis in 2010 and by then-titlist Ricky Burns in the fourth round in 2012. Since the loss to Burns, Mitchell has put together four consecutive wins, including this blowout of Avakyan, 22, of Georgia (the former Soviet territory), which could pave the way for another title shot. There is talk that he may challenge Mexico's Miguel Vazquez on May 31 on the undercard of the Carl Froch-George Groves super middleweight title rematch in London. Avakyan was no match for Mitchell, who hurt him with almost every punch. He dominated the first round, dropping him twice. Mitchell dropped Avakyan, who was bleeding from his nose, with a right hand in the third round. He beat the count, but referee Steve Gray waved off the fight with 53 seconds left in the round. Mitchell did what he was supposed to do against a very poor opponent.
Saturday at Palenque, Mexico
Fernando Montiel W10 Cristobal Cruz
Junior lightweight
Scores: 97-91, 96-92, 94-94
Records: Montiel (51-4-2, 38 KOs); Cruz (40-16-3, 24 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Montiel, 35, of Mexico, a former three-division titleholder, and former featherweight titleholder Cruz, 36, also of Mexico, are both past their best days but they hooked up in a good, competitive fight.
Montiel, the fresher of the two, won his fifth fight in row, aided significantly by two knockdowns. He dropped Cruz with a sweeping left hook in the second round and a right hand to the side of the head in the fourth round, which wasn't a hard knockdown but was certainly legitimate. Montiel, however, could not put Cruz away and had his struggles down the stretch. The 97-91 scorecard in Montiel's favor seemed overly generous. Cruz lost his second fight in a row and for the fourth time in his last five bouts. Going back to 2009, Cruz is 1-5-2, including a decision loss to Orlando Salido in a 2010 featherweight title fight.
Saturday at Moscow
Grigory Drozd KO1 Jeremy Ouanna
Retains European cruiserweight title
Records: Drozd (38-1, 26 KOs); Ouanna (14-9, 3 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Drozd, 34, of Russia made the first defense of the European title in explosive fashion against a very poor opponent in Ouanna, 32, of France, who lost his second fight in a row and was stopped for the first time in his career.
Drozd scored a beautiful knockout, hammering Ouanna with a clean right hand to the side of the face that dropped him hard. He managed to get to his knees but referee Daniel Van de Wiele counted him out at 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
Rakhim Chakhkiev TKO9 Juho Haapoja
Cruiserweight
Records: Chakhkiev (18-1, 14 KOs); Haapoja (20-5-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In 2008, Chakhkiev, 31, won an Olympic gold medal for Russia. When he got his first world title shot against Krzysztof Wlodarczyk last June, Chakhkiev was stopped in the eighth round of a very good fight in which both men were knocked down. Chakhkiev may get a rematch with Wlodarczyk after winning his second in a row since the defeat. Chakhkiev dominated Haapoja, 33, of Finland. He was ahead 80-71 on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Chakhkiev, a southpaw, ended the fight in the ninth round when he landed a hard left hand and Haapoja took a step back before dropping to a knee on a delayed reaction. He beat the count, but he was in no condition to go on, prompting referee Anssi Perajoki to stop the fight 26 seconds into the round.
Friday at Toowoomba, Australia
Michael Katsidis TKO3 Eddy Comaro
Lightweight
Records: Katsidis (29-6, 24 KOs); Comaro (27-18-5, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: For several years in the mid-2000s, Katsidis, 33, of Australia, was one of the most exciting fighters in boxing. He was in several dramatic battles and exciting slugfests, twice won interim lightweight belts and faced some of the elite fighters in the business, including Juan Manuel Marquez, Robert Guerrero, Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Ricky Burns. But after a 1-4 stretch, Katsidis retired after losing a decision to Albert Mensah at junior welterweight in 2012.
Katsidis eventually reunited with longtime manager and trainer Brendon Smith and made a comeback in his hometown against Comaro, 27, of Indonesia, a rather non-threatening opponent. In other words, just what the doctor ordered for a hometown fight - his first since 2006 - coming off a long layoff.
After an uneventful opening round, the pace accelerated in the second round and Katsidis drove Comaro to the deck with a right hand at the end of the round. Katsidis unloaded numerous shots to the body and head early in the third round and eventually notched another knockdown when Comaro took a knee under heavy fire. Comaro was reluctant to continue but when he did all it took was one more brief flurry of punches to drop him again as referee Steve Marshall called off the fight at 1 minute, 11 seconds.
Friday at Kissimmee, Fla.
Jonathan Oquendo W12 Guillermo Avila
Featherweight
Scores: 117-110, 116-111 (twice)
Records: Oquendo (24-3, 16 KOs); Avila (12-2, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Oquendo, 30, of Puerto Rico, took the fight on short notice and rolled to a unanimous decision in the season opener of "Boxeo Telemundo." Oquendo won his second fight in a row since Puerto Rican rival and former junior featherweight titlist Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. stopped him in the seventh round in 2012. Oquendo took the fight to Avila, scoring a knockdown in the fifth round. Avila, 21, of Mexico dropped to 1-2 in his last three with his other defeat coming to Vazquez by 12-round decision in September.
Saturday at Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Danny Garcia W12 Mauricio Herrera
Retains world junior welterweight title
Scores: 116-112 (twice), 114-114
Records: Garcia (28-0, 16 KOs); Herrera (20-4, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Garcia should count himself a bit lucky to have escaped with a majority decision and his unified titles intact after Herrera, 33, of Riverside, Calif., turned in an excellent performance while Garcia clearly did not have his best night.
There were many cries of robbery after this fight as Garcia, 25, of Philadelphia, got the nod in his fifth title defense. But it's not so much that Garcia got the decision -- although ESPN.com had it a 114-114 draw -- it was that two judges had him winning by four points apiece. That was certainly too wide, no matter who think deserved the decision. And you could see result coming from a mile away too because the WBC's awful open scoring system was utilized after the Puerto Rican commission unfortunately agreed to use it. So when the scores were announced after the fourth and eighth rounds it was clear that Herrera was going to need at least multiple knockdowns to win, and he never came close to getting Garcia off his feet.
Garcia was not at his best, but he still won his share of rounds thanks to hard punching and some quality combinations, especially later in the fight. Maybe after beating several top names, including Lucas Matthysse, Zab Judah, Amir Khan and Erik Morales twice (all in title fights), Garcia took the relatively unknown Herrera lightly, although Herrera does own a 2011 win against Ruslan Provodnikov (who won a world title in October) and engaged former titlist Mike Alvarado in a sensational slugfest in 2012. Garcia also was probably feeling the pressure to perform well in his first fight in Puerto Rico, the homeland of his parents and where he had long wanted to fight and be embraced as one of their champions.
But Herrera didn't get caught up in that storyline. He went out there and fought his heart out. He frustrated Garcia with his awkward style, landed a ton of hard jabs (especially to the body) and often smothered Garcia's power. According to CompuBox, Herrera landed 221 of 695 punches (32 percent) while Garcia connected on 204 of 675 (30 percent), although it says here that Garcia's punches were harder and did more damage. Herrera cut Garcia on the bridge of the nose in the ninth round and Garcia did get his left hook going better in the final few rounds.
In the end, Garcia got the decision and then said that the plan to defend the 140-pound title once more time might be changed and that he might move up to welterweight for his next fight because he said making weight had been an issue. When he does go up, Garcia is in a prime position to be a future challenger to champion and pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. But he will have to fight a helluva lot better against him than he did against Herrera if he is to have a prayer.
Deontay Wilder KO1 Malik Scott
Heavyweights - Title eliminator
Records: Wilder (31-0, 31 KOs); Scott (36-2-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: There was a lot at stake for the winner of this fight -- a guaranteed mandatory shot at a heavyweight title, the one Vitali Klitschko recently vacated but that will be filled by the winner of the rematch between Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola on May 10. Neither Wilder nor Scott, good pals outside the ring, had really accomplished anything to be worthy of fighting in a final eliminator, but that's the sanctioning body for you. Wilder, 28, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., the 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist, has built his glittering record against woeful opposition and has been very carefully maneuvered into this position. Scott, 33, of Philadelphia, has been a chronic underachiever despite his talent and is now an unimpressive 1-2-1 in his last four fights, with both losses by knockout. Yet this match would produce a mandatory heavyweight title challenger. Pathetic.
Wilder made it look very easy because Scott didn't look like he tried. In fact, Scott threw one punch, a wide shot that wasn't close to landing. Literally. One punch. Wilder, meanwhile spent most of the round pumping a left jab until firing a left hook that seemed to catch Wilder near the temple area. Then he followed with a straight right hand that caught Scott on the gloves. Yet Scott went down near the ropes. He seemed perfectly lucid but was counted out by referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. at 1 minute, 36 seconds. It was Wilder's 18th first-round knockout and probably the end of Scott's career as far as ever being taken seriously. To many, it looked like Scott took a dive and it's hard to argue against that opinion. Scott's lack of effort and the fact that he would stay down from punches that, relative to heavyweight boxing, did not appear out of the ordinary is questionable. Scott made it look like Bruce Seldon tried very hard in his title fight with Mike Tyson. If this kind of disgrace doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth nothing in boxing will.
Juan Manuel Lopez TKO2 Daniel Ponce De Leon
Junior lightweight
Records: Lopez (34-3, 31 KOs); Ponce De Leon (45-6, 35 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Lopez, 30, of Puerto Rico, and Ponce De Leon, 33, of Mexico, are both former junior featherweight and featherweight titleholders. They are both great punchers, both southpaws and both were in dire need of a win against a notable name in order to keep their careers alive for significant fights.
Many have viewed Lopez as finished. He had not looked good in the past several fights and looked like he was totally shot when Mikey Garcia blew him out in the fourth round in June challenging for a vacant featherweight title. Ponce De Leon has also had his recent issues, including a ninth-round knockout loss to Abner Mares last May that cost him his featherweight belt.
So Lopez and Ponce De Leon met in a rematch with a lot on the line. In 2008, Lopez has knocked Ponce De Leon out in the first round to win a junior featherweight title. Coming into this fight it seemed as though Ponce De Leon had a bit more left in the tank than Lopez did but it didn't turn out that way as Lopez took him out early again, although not without major drama. Ponce De Leon decked Lopez with a hard left hand halfway through the second round and looked like he was about to finish him. But Lopez rebounded to score two knockdowns of his own in a wild round of the year candidate. He dropped Ponce De Leon with a right hook and then again from an accumulation of shots. Moments later, Lopez trapped him on the ropes and was taking it to him when referee Luis Pabon intervened at 2 minutes, 44 seconds. It was a bit of a quick stoppage as Ponce De Leon, although certainly in trouble, was throwing a punch as Pabon stepped in. Ponce De Leon complained bitterly about the stoppage and it is understandable. For Lopez, it was a career-salvaging victory that had his hometown crowd cheering wildly.
Daniel Jacobs TKO1 Milton Nunez
Middleweight
Records: Jacobs (27-1, 24 KOs); Nunez (26-10-1, 24 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Jacobs, 27, of Brooklyn, N.Y., continued his remarkable comeback with his fifth victory in a row since his improbable comeback from a cancer diagnosis and near death. Now he is on the doorstep of a second title shot. He fought for a vacant belt in 2010 and was upset in a fifth-round knockout by Dmitry Pirog. Jacobs is a more prepared and mature fighter now as he is on a collision course with fellow New Yorker and middleweight titleholder "Kid Chocolate" Peter Quillin. If Quillin wins his April 19 defense against Lucas Konecny, Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer, who promotes Quillin and Jacobs, said he will make it a priority to get the fight made for this summer at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Jacobs blasted his way past Nunez with ease to keep the title fight in his near future. He dropped Nunez, 26, of Colombia, three times in the opening stanza to make it a quick night. First came a clean left hook that dumped him face first. Jacobs put him down for the second time with an overhand right that dropped him to all fours and then scored the third knockdown on a left hook that prompted referee Ramon Pena to call off the bout at 2 minutes, 25 seconds. Nunez, who lost his fourth fight in his last five, has been stopped in seven of his 10 losses, including five times in the first round. Predicting this fight as an easy knockout for Jacobs was not exactly going out on a limbs.
Saturday at Bethlehem, Pa.
Vyacheslav "Czar" Glazkov W12 Tomasz Adamek
Heavyweight - Title eliminator
Scores: 117-111, 117-110, 116-112
Records: Glazkov (17-0-1, 11 KOs); Adamek (49-3, 29 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In what Main Events promoter Kathy Duva appropriately called a passing of the torch, up-and-coming contender Glazkov, 29, of Ukraine, dismantled veteran warhorse Adamek, the former cruiserweight and light heavyweight titleholder who became a top heavyweight contender but never fulfilled his dream of winning a heavyweight title. Now, after this bruising loss to Glazkov, a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, it looks quite unlikely that Adamek is ever going to accomplish his goal. In fact, this loss could spell the end of the line for the 37-year-old Adamek, the Polish star living in New Jersey, who has always made good fights and always displayed his big heart. This battle with Glazkov was no different but it was Glazkov who rightly prevailed and earned the No. 2 position in one of the alphabet organization's rankings to push him a step closer to an eventual mandatory shot against champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Glazkov battered Adamek for most of the fight, although Glazkov's face was marked and swollen at the end of the tough bout. Glazkov took it to Adamek early on, displaying an accurate jab and good right hand to swell his eyes in the first few rounds. Adamek, his left eye badly swollen, looked just about done by the end of the fifth round, so credit to him for hanging in there to the final bell. Plenty of other fighters would have quit.
Glazkov rocked Adamek several times and was laying a beating on him in the middle rounds. Adamek, who had sparred extensively with Glazkov last summer, connected with some solid shots in the eighth round, but he also ate plenty in return as Glazkov's accuracy with his shots were the big difference. He had opened a big enough lead that even though Glazkov petered out in the final two rounds, he had the fight in the bag. Adamek, ever the warrior, outlanded Glazkov 55-38 in the final two rounds, according to CompuBox, and had one more big moment left in him when he wobbled Glazkov -- going 12 rounds for the first time in his career -- in the final moments of the exciting fight.
While Glazkov put himself in a great position with the victory, Adamek said he would think about retirement now that a second heavyweight title shot -- Vitali Klitschko stopped him in the 10th round of a world title fight in 2010 -- is almost certainly out of the question.
Isaac Chilemba W10 Denis Grachev
Light heavyweight
Scores: 100-90, 99-91 (twice)
Records: Chilemba (22-2-2, 9 KOs); Grachev (13-3-1, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Chilemba, 26, of South Africa, turned in one of his better performances with a dominant performance against the Russian-born San Diego-based Grachev, 31. In winning his second fight in a row, Chilemba is back on the right track after suffering a draw followed by a decision loss to England's Tony Bellew in their 2013 title elimination bouts.
Chilemba utilized his jab as a primary weapon to dominate the fight, during which he landed 326 of 772 of his punches (42 percent) while limiting the extremely ineffective Grachev to landing just 108 of 587 blows (18 percent). For such a one-sided decision, it was at least a fairly entertaining fight. Chilemba, however, consistently beat Grachev to the punch and was always in control. He opened a cut over Grachev's left eye in the fifth round.
Grachev dropped to 1-3 in his last four fights. He had made a name for himself with a strong three fight stretch in 2012 and 2013, scoring an upset eighth-round knockout of Ismayl Sillakh, losing a highly competitive decision to Lucian Bute and then handing former two-division titleholder Zsolt Erdei his first loss. But then came a first-round knockout loss to Edwin Rodriguez followed by this one-sided loss to Chilemba.
Saturday at Liverpool, England
Tony Bellew TKO12 Valery Brudov
Cruiserweight
Records: Bellew (21-2-1, 13 KOs); Brudov (41-5, 28 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In his last fight, Bellew, 31, of England, got a mandatory shot against light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson in November. He went to Quebec City for the opportunity and got crushed in a one-sided sixth-round knockout loss. Then Bellew decided to move up to cruiserweight, where he made a successful debut against Brudov, 37, of Russia, a former interim titlist with tons of experience against quality opponents - losses to Virgil Hill, Guillermo Jones, Firat Arslan and Ola Afolabi.
It was a crowd-pleasing fight and Bellew showed some pop at the heavier weight, dropping Brudov in the second round with a clean right hand to the chin and again with a right hand in the final moments of the sixth round. Brudov had a brief rally in the seventh round, hurting Bellew with a right hand. But Bellew regrouped and dominated the rest of the fight until scoring another knockdown with a huge left hook in the 12th round as referee Phil Edwards counted Brudov out with 36 seconds left in the bout. Good win for Bellew and good fight.
Kell Brook TKO8 Alvaro Robles
Welterweight
Records: Brook (32-0, 22 KOs); Robles (17-3, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Brook, 27, of England, kept his perfect record intact with yet another win against a less-than-impressive opponent. But this fight was the final step for Brook before what is supposed to be a mandatory title shot in his next fight against the winner of the April 19 bout between titleholder Shawn Porter and former titlist Paulie Malignaggi. With the opportunity at stake, Brook's team was not going to take any chances and fed him Mexico's tough but overmatched Robles, who was fighting outside of his home country for the first time and a massive underdog.
Brook took him apart as expected, dishing out a brutal beating along the way. Brook started a little slowly but was rolling by the time the fight ended. He lashed Robles, who had no notion of defense, with uppercuts and right hands. In the fourth round, Robles, already trailing, had a point deducted by referee John Latham for hitting Brook below the belt. Brook battered Robles and nearly stopped him in the seventh round and was teeing off on him again in the eighth when Robles corner threw in the towel and Latham called off the fight at 1 minute, 35 seconds.
Kevin Mitchell TKO2 Mikheil Avakyan
Lightweight
Records: Mitchell (37-2, 27 KOs); Avakyan (21-12-4, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Mitchell, 29, of England, has been a good contender for several years but knocked out in his two losses against his best opponents, getting stopped in the third round of an interim title bout by Michael Katsidis in 2010 and by then-titlist Ricky Burns in the fourth round in 2012. Since the loss to Burns, Mitchell has put together four consecutive wins, including this blowout of Avakyan, 22, of Georgia (the former Soviet territory), which could pave the way for another title shot. There is talk that he may challenge Mexico's Miguel Vazquez on May 31 on the undercard of the Carl Froch-George Groves super middleweight title rematch in London. Avakyan was no match for Mitchell, who hurt him with almost every punch. He dominated the first round, dropping him twice. Mitchell dropped Avakyan, who was bleeding from his nose, with a right hand in the third round. He beat the count, but referee Steve Gray waved off the fight with 53 seconds left in the round. Mitchell did what he was supposed to do against a very poor opponent.
Saturday at Palenque, Mexico
Fernando Montiel W10 Cristobal Cruz
Junior lightweight
Scores: 97-91, 96-92, 94-94
Records: Montiel (51-4-2, 38 KOs); Cruz (40-16-3, 24 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Montiel, 35, of Mexico, a former three-division titleholder, and former featherweight titleholder Cruz, 36, also of Mexico, are both past their best days but they hooked up in a good, competitive fight.
Montiel, the fresher of the two, won his fifth fight in row, aided significantly by two knockdowns. He dropped Cruz with a sweeping left hook in the second round and a right hand to the side of the head in the fourth round, which wasn't a hard knockdown but was certainly legitimate. Montiel, however, could not put Cruz away and had his struggles down the stretch. The 97-91 scorecard in Montiel's favor seemed overly generous. Cruz lost his second fight in a row and for the fourth time in his last five bouts. Going back to 2009, Cruz is 1-5-2, including a decision loss to Orlando Salido in a 2010 featherweight title fight.
Saturday at Moscow
Grigory Drozd KO1 Jeremy Ouanna
Retains European cruiserweight title
Records: Drozd (38-1, 26 KOs); Ouanna (14-9, 3 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Drozd, 34, of Russia made the first defense of the European title in explosive fashion against a very poor opponent in Ouanna, 32, of France, who lost his second fight in a row and was stopped for the first time in his career.
Drozd scored a beautiful knockout, hammering Ouanna with a clean right hand to the side of the face that dropped him hard. He managed to get to his knees but referee Daniel Van de Wiele counted him out at 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
Rakhim Chakhkiev TKO9 Juho Haapoja
Cruiserweight
Records: Chakhkiev (18-1, 14 KOs); Haapoja (20-5-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In 2008, Chakhkiev, 31, won an Olympic gold medal for Russia. When he got his first world title shot against Krzysztof Wlodarczyk last June, Chakhkiev was stopped in the eighth round of a very good fight in which both men were knocked down. Chakhkiev may get a rematch with Wlodarczyk after winning his second in a row since the defeat. Chakhkiev dominated Haapoja, 33, of Finland. He was ahead 80-71 on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Chakhkiev, a southpaw, ended the fight in the ninth round when he landed a hard left hand and Haapoja took a step back before dropping to a knee on a delayed reaction. He beat the count, but he was in no condition to go on, prompting referee Anssi Perajoki to stop the fight 26 seconds into the round.
Friday at Toowoomba, Australia
Michael Katsidis TKO3 Eddy Comaro
Lightweight
Records: Katsidis (29-6, 24 KOs); Comaro (27-18-5, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: For several years in the mid-2000s, Katsidis, 33, of Australia, was one of the most exciting fighters in boxing. He was in several dramatic battles and exciting slugfests, twice won interim lightweight belts and faced some of the elite fighters in the business, including Juan Manuel Marquez, Robert Guerrero, Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Ricky Burns. But after a 1-4 stretch, Katsidis retired after losing a decision to Albert Mensah at junior welterweight in 2012.
Katsidis eventually reunited with longtime manager and trainer Brendon Smith and made a comeback in his hometown against Comaro, 27, of Indonesia, a rather non-threatening opponent. In other words, just what the doctor ordered for a hometown fight - his first since 2006 - coming off a long layoff.
After an uneventful opening round, the pace accelerated in the second round and Katsidis drove Comaro to the deck with a right hand at the end of the round. Katsidis unloaded numerous shots to the body and head early in the third round and eventually notched another knockdown when Comaro took a knee under heavy fire. Comaro was reluctant to continue but when he did all it took was one more brief flurry of punches to drop him again as referee Steve Marshall called off the fight at 1 minute, 11 seconds.
Friday at Kissimmee, Fla.
Jonathan Oquendo W12 Guillermo Avila
Featherweight
Scores: 117-110, 116-111 (twice)
Records: Oquendo (24-3, 16 KOs); Avila (12-2, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Oquendo, 30, of Puerto Rico, took the fight on short notice and rolled to a unanimous decision in the season opener of "Boxeo Telemundo." Oquendo won his second fight in a row since Puerto Rican rival and former junior featherweight titlist Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. stopped him in the seventh round in 2012. Oquendo took the fight to Avila, scoring a knockdown in the fifth round. Avila, 21, of Mexico dropped to 1-2 in his last three with his other defeat coming to Vazquez by 12-round decision in September.
- 28,214
- 12,565
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2003
Herrera says he wants Matthysse. 
- 3,738
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- Dec 29, 2012
Herrera was a bad style matchup for Danny period point blank. The moment wasn't to big nor was it an off night. He is going to have problems with any crafty guy that can box patiently and not come charging at him slugging. Danny likes for dudes to come at him so he can counter them with left hooks and body shots. A fighter like Herrera wouldn't do that so Danny would struggle. A fighter like Pac fits his style while fighters like Bradley don't. Styles make fights.
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- Feb 6, 2010
Now that would be interesting down the line if he could move up Pac vs Swift
