Behind The Results w/e 10 August, 2010

Eric takes us on his weekly whirlwind worldwide tour.

August 6

Chicago, USA: Welter: Breidis Prescott (23-2) W PTS 10 Harrison Cuello (19-13-3).Light Welter: Patrick Lopez (20-2) W TKO 3 Pernice Brewer (15-1-1). Heavy: Mike Mollo (20-3-1) DREW 8 Gary Gomez (18-11-2). As both Prescott 27, and Dominican southpaw Cuello, 32, were late subs the fight took a little while to warm up. Prescott used his height and reach to control the fight but Cuello tried to force the pace. Already comfortably ahead, a knock down in the ninth nailed it down for Prescott, as he won on scores of 99-90 twice and 98-91.

Since beating Amir Khan, Prescott has been beaten by Miguel Vasquez and Kevin Mitchell so he needed a win. After losing the first, Venezuelan Lopez, marginally the outsider, just walked through previously unbeaten Brewer, 22, and was dishing out some heavy punishment when the referee stopped it. “El Elegante" a southpaw, now 32, was an outstanding amateur twice being a South American and Central American gold medal winner.

A disappointing return for Mollo, 30, as he struggled to a majority draw with 35-year-old “Pit Bull” Gomez on scores of 76-76 twice and a 77-75 for Mollo.

Hinckley, USA: Bantam: Chris Martin (19-0-2) W PTS 12 Chris Avalos (16-1). Heavy: Maurice “Sugar Moe” Harris (24-14-2,1ND) W PTS 12 Nagy Aguilera (16-4). Cruiser: Lateef Kayode (13-0) W TKO 8 Alfredo Escalera JR (18-3-1). Middle: Andy Kolle (22-2) W KO 1 Daryl Salmon (16-5).In an upset “San Diego” Kid Martin, 24, out boxed highly touted 20-year-old Avalos. Martin counter punching early and then taking over as Avalos had no Plan B, and seemed to come apart. Somehow Martin has to settle for a split decision on scores of 98-92, 97-93, 94-98. Martin was 2lbs over the weight for the fight so does not win NABO title.

Another upset as veteran Harris wins vacant USBA title with a unanimous verdict on scores of 117-111 twice and 115-113. Harris was busier and used his jab to pile up the points whilst Dominican Aguilera kept looking for the big punch. Fourth win for Harris after being out for three years. Harris lost a split verdict to Larry Holmes in 1997 and was kayoed in a round by Henry Akinwande 2001. Aguilera looked to have made a break through when he stopped former WBC champ Oleg Maskaev in December, but was stopped in two rounds by Samuel Peter in March. Kayode, 30, always looking dangerous with big hooks and uppercuts, finally catches up with Escalera in eighth and floors and stops him at the end of the round. Now twelve by KO/TKO for Freddie Roach trained Nigerian. Escalera is the son of the Puerto Rican former world champion of the same name. “Kaos” Kolle takes out overweight Salmon with a right hand. All over in 91 seconds as 28-year-old southpaw Kolle goes to 16 by KO/TKO.

El Paso, USA: Feather: Antonio Escalante (24-2) W KO 3 Edel Ruiz (34-23-4). Light Middle: Jermell Charlo (13-0) W TKO 2 Quinton Whitaker (7-7). All-Mexican battle sees 25-year-old Escalante too young and strong for veteran Ruiz, 32. Wins first two rounds and then ends it in third with body shot. Ten wins in a row for Escalante including victories over Mike Oliver, Gary Stark, Cornelius Lock and Miguel Roman. Golden Boy team prospect Charlo, 20 has it easy as he halts Whitaker in two.

Tres Isletas, Argentina: Light Welter: Cesar Cuenca (38-0,2ND) W PTS 10 Cesar Telechea (8-4-1). Southpaw Cuenca, 29, retains Argentinian title with unanimous verdict over Telechea. "El Distinto", the WBO No 2 has an amazing record of only one win by KO/TKO in his 38 victories. I can't think of any other fighter who has so many winning fights with so few coming inside the distance.

Avezzano, Italy: Super Feather: Devis Boschiero (27-0) W KO 9 Ivan Forletta (26-5-2). Light Middle: Stefano Castelucci (18-0) W PTS 6 Attila Molnar (18-17-6). Boschiero, 29, remains unbeaten and wins vacant Italian title. Boschiero takes the fight inside and his power wears down the home town fighter Forletta, 31, who is deducted a point and has to take a standing count before the kayo. Castelucci 28, saved the night for the locals as he floors poor Hungarian Molnar twice on the way to a wide points win. Molnar lost to Billy Joe Saunders in 2009.

Cancun, Mexico: Fly: Wilbert Uicab (29-5-1,1ND) W TKO 3 William De Sousa (15-13-1). Feather: Sergio Thompson W TKO 8 Lizardo Moreno (37-9-2). Bantam: Carlos Cuadras (17-0) W TKO 5 Jose Barrero. ”Huracan” Uicab hits too hard for Panamanian De Sousa. Uicab retains NABF title as heavy punishment in round two convinces De Sousa to retire at the bell for the third. Unbeaten in his last 11 now, 26-year-old Uicab meets tough Filipino Edrin Dapudong next month. First fight in almost two years for De Sousa and only one win in last six. Thompson floors Moreno twice early in the bout. However, stoppage in the eighth looked premature and “Pajarito’s manager climbed in the ring to dispute it with the referee. Thompson retains WBC Mundo Hispano title. “Yeyo” now claims to be 17-1 with 16 by KO/TKO. Cuadras, 21, too strong for game Barrero and halts him in five and makes it 15 by KO/TKO.

Bangkok, Thailand: Strawweight: Wanheng (14-0) W PTS 12 Jayson Rotoni (11-6-1). Bantam: Medgoen Singsurat (68-6) W TKO 5 Sulaiman Ali. Wanheng goes over old ground and again is taken the distance by Filipino Rotoni. Scores 116-112 twice and 117-111 as Wanheng retains interim WBC International title. The Thai 24-year-old was going ten rounds in only his third fight and twelve of his 14 fights have been title fights. The last time he fought Rotoni the scores were 117-112 twice and 116-112, so the spectators might have thought they were watching a film of the previous fight. Former WBC fly champ Medgoen halts Nigerian in five. Reportedly this was Ali's first pro fight. Probably the biggest discrepancy between respective records in the history of boxing. Medgoen has the honour of a third round kayo win over a weight-weakened Manny Pacquiao when winning the WBC title in 1999.

August 7

St Louis, USA: Light Welter: Devon Alexander (21-0) W PTS 12 Andriy Kotelnik (31-4-1).Light Heavy: Tavoris Cloud (21-0) W PTS 12 Glen Johnson (50-14-2). Light Middle: Cornelius Bundrage (30-4,1ND) W TKO 5 Cory Spinks (37-6). Alexander retains WBC and IBF titles but is given a much harder fight than the score of 116 -112 from all three judges made it seem. Southpaw Alexander, 23, was shaken a few times and badly cut over the right eye by a clash of heads in the fourth. He relied on hand speed and a busy style whilst former WBA champion Kotelnik landed the harder punches and was more accurate. The slow start by Ukrainian Kotelnik, 32, may have cost him the fight as he finished the stronger fighter and the scores did not do him credit. It was the second defence of his WBC title and first of his IBF for Alexander. Kotelnik had won the WBA title from Gavin Rees in 2008 but was totally outclassed in losing the title to Amir Khan in July last year.

Cloud retains IBF title and again the scores are 116-112 from all three officials. This time not so controversial. Cloud started fast and had the veteran former IBF champion badly hurt in the fifth and shaky in the sixth. However, as with the pattern with the rest of the fight, it would be one good round then one indifferent round. Johnson, now 41, used all of his experience to stay busy and steal rounds but did not do enough to take the decision. Only the third fight in almost two years for Cloud and the first since he won the IBF title by beating Clinton Woods in August 2009. Johnson had a three bout series with Woods, which included his title winning effort in 2004. Controversy over the gloves used by Cloud and they are confiscated at the end of the fight.

Yet another upset as Bundrage, 37, makes it one-sided. Constantly pressurising champion Spinks, 32, who is shaken in each of the first two rounds. Spinks steadies the ship in the third and fourth, but slips and falls through the ropes at the start of the fifth. On the resumption Bundrage floors Spinks and when Spinks regains his feet the referee stops the fight. Detroiter Bundrage, trained by Manny Steward, wins IBF title after almost 15 year as a pro.

Buenos Aires, Argentina: Welter: Diego Chaves (15-0) W PTS 12 Jefferson Goncalo(22-9-3). Super Middle: Javier Maciel (16-1) W TKO 1 Valentin Ochoa (20-16-2) . A walk in the park for “La Joya” as Chaves wins every round against 39-year-old Brazilian. With vicious left hooks to the body Chaves, 25, forces a standing count in the fifth but has to go the distance in defence of his WBO Latino title. Scores 120-107 twice and 120-108. Puncher “La Bestia” Maciel, 24, floors Ochoa twice and makes it ten by KO/TKO. Ochoa one win in last eleven.

Mexico City, Mexico: Fly: Edgar Sosa (39-6) W TKO 4 Jose Luis Varela (15-8,1ND).Bantam: Chris Esquivel (20-2) W PTS 12 Tshifhiwa Munyai (20-2-1). Bantam: Mario Macias (20-5) W PTS 10 Alex Espinoza(9-4).Super Feather: Carlos Cardenas (12-4-1) W KO 1 Azael Villegas . Feather: Juan Antonio Rodriguez (12-2) W TKO 3 Hugo Partida (15-3-2). Bantam: Mario Macias (19-5) W PTS 10 Alex Espinoza (9-4). Sosa eases back by outclassing “Olympio” Varela. Former WBC light fly champ Sosa in control from the start, floors Venezuelan Varela, 32, in third and is hurting him with body punches when referee stops it. Many observers thought South African Munyai was robbed against “Italiano” Esquivel. He was battering him so badly in the last that the fight could easily have been stopped. Esquivel built an early lead, and was still in front on the open scoring in the eighth. He had a big ninth, but faded over the last three rounds.

A point deduction against the “Atomic Spider” in the fifth and a knock down scored by Esquivel in the ninth proved the difference as the 23-year-old Mexican won the vacant WBC Silver belt on scores of 114-112 twice and 115-112. Munyai is a former undefeated Commonwealth bantam champion, and this was his second fight in ten days, with a Trans-Atlantic flight thrown in. Munyai won the Commonwealth title by stopping Martin Power in 2006 and halted both Lee Haskins and Power in defences, but lost a non-title bout in England to Osumanu Akaba in July 2008, his only previous loss. NABF champ “Huracan” Macias 25, takes a unanimous verdict over Venezuelan Espinoza in a non title bout. “El Profeta” Cardenas, the only Venezuelan winner on the show, as he kayos lanky Mexican Villegas in just 52 seconds. In the second defence of his WBC Youth title southpaw “Boy” Rodriguez floors and halts useful Partida in third. Now eleven by KO/TKO for Rodriguez.

Hermosillo, Mexico: Fly: Manuel Vargas (28-5-1) W TKO 6 Mike Arango (30-9-3). Super Fly: Juan Francisco Estrada (14-0) W TKO 2 Carlos Rodriguez (17-7-4).Feather: Roberto Marroquin (15-0) W TKO 3 Jesus Quintero (8-5-2). “Monkey” Vargas, 29, batters outclassed Colombian Arango who stays in his corner at the start of the sixth. Vargas, a former WBO interim strawweight champ, has fought Donnie Nietes at 105lbs and Nonito Donaire at 115lbs, and needs to decide where he belongs. Arango had lost only one of his last ten and that was to Ramiro Garcia. Local boy Estrada, 20, goes to twelve by KO/TKO and Texan Marroquin continues his education with easy stoppage of soft-chinned Quintero. Now 13 by KO/TKO for former top amateur.

Carsoli, Italy: Super Middle: Lorenzo Di Giacomo (40-3-1) W TKO 3 Norbert Nagy (9-5). Home town picnic for 32-year-old Di Giacomo as he halts china-chinned Hungarian in three. Tokyo, Japan: Super Bantam: Akifumi Shimoda (21-2-1) W TD 5 Chang-Hyun Son (12-0-1). Unfortunate early ending. Southpaw Shimoda , 24, in front when a clash of heads in fourth round leaves both men with cuts. Shimoda retains OPBF title on technical decision over Korean champion.

New York, USA: Super Bantam: Rey Lopez (31-8-3) W TKO 1 Mauricio Martinez (35-10-1). Super Middle: Lennox Allen (12-0-1) DREW 8 Darnell Boone (17-15-3). Feather: Gary Stark (23-3) W PTS 6 Leo Arrocha (10-13-2). All over in 81 seconds as Lopez floors a washed up Martinez three times. Colombian Lopez, 36, wins vacant New York State title by kayoing 35-year-old Panamanian. A Colombian against a Panamanian for the NY State title! Martinez is a former WBO bantam champ. He won the title by beating Lester Fuentes in Manchester and stopped Esham Pickering in one round in a defence in Sheffield, both in 2000.

Dreary majority draw as Guyanan southpaw Allen, 25, fails to dominate against experienced Boone. Scores 76-76 twice and 78-74 for Allen. Boone lost 5 of his last 6 now but in his last fight stopped unbeaten Canadian Adonis Stevenson. Stark disappointing as he struggles with mediocre Panamanian. Result majority verdict for Stark on 58-56, 58-57 and 57-57 but point deduction against Arrocha was the difference.