Behind The Results w/e 7 June 2010

Eric takes us on a tour of the globe's boxing rings at breakneck speed with his unrivalled world digest.

June 2

Sydney, Australia: Super Middle: Daniel Geale (23-1) W TKO 11 Kariz Kariuki (21-9 2). Light Middle: Robert Medley (28-3) W TKO 3 Sergio Aparicio (13-3-1,1ND). Feather: Billy Dib (27-1,1ND ) W TKO 1 Vacharakrit Senahan(17-3-1).Super Middle: Junior Talipeau (15-1-1 ) W PTS 8 Nader Hamdan (42-8-1).Super Middle: Shannan Taylor ( 50-8-3) W TKO 1 Ben Costello (6-4-1).Tasmanian Geale, 29, again shows his class as he moves up to super middle and outboxes taller Australian-based Kenyan, breaks him down and forces stoppage in eleventh round to win vacant IBF Pan Pacific title. Geale’s only loss was a split verdict against Tony Mundine Jr in May 2009. Kariuki game and tough.

Medley, 29, beats up then floors in third and halts modest Argentinian prelim fighter for IBF Australasian title. Don’t bother asking how Argentinian qualifies for this. Medley beaten twice by Isaac Hlatshwayo in IBO welter title fights and lost to Mundine Jr in January at middle. Too easy for Dib as he impressively floors Thai three times. Dib’s only loss was to Steve Luevano for the WBO title in October 2008. He has had six wins and a technical draw since then.

A great little scrap sees New Zealander Talipeau, 26, take a very close split verdict over 36-year-old Hamdan on scores of 77-76, 78-74 and 76-77. Harder punching came from Talipeau and the skill from veteran Hamdan. In January Talipeau and Hamdan clashed heads in the first round resulting in a technical draw. A third fight is a possibility. Hamdan lost to Mundine Jr for the WBA secondary title in 2008. Experienced Taylor, 38, takes only 94 seconds to finish novice Costello. Taylor lost here to Richard Williams in four rounds back in 2001.

June 3

Commerce, USA: Giovanni Lorenzo (29-2) W KO 3 Daryl Salmon (16-4).Bantam: Leo Santa Cruz (13-0-1) W TKO 3 Jose Angel Cota . Super Bantam: Austreberto Juarez (9-0) W PTS 6 Ernie Marquez (9-7-1). Dominican Lorenzo, 29, much too good for southpaw Salmon. Floors him at the end of the first and puts him away with left hook in third. Lanky Lorenzo lost to Sebastian Sylvester for the vacant IBF title last September. Four losses in a row for Salmon who has typically misleading Mid West record. Mexican prospect Santa Cruz, 21, floors fellow-countryman in second and hurts him again in third for stoppage. Former amateur star Juarez stays unbeaten with wide unanimous points verdict over Marquez. Juarez , 25, was 2003 National Golden Gloves and US champion and won the US championship again in 2004.

Worley, USA: Favio Medina (22-2-3) W PTS 10 Damian Frias (16-3). Heavy: Skyler Anderson (16-1-1) W TEC DEC 6 Bobby O’Bannon (8-3). Local hope Medina, 29, throws away the first two rounds with a slow start, but then takes control and wins unanimous decision over 33-year-old Cuban southpaw to retain WBC USNBC title. Now has just one loss in his last 23. Anderson floored in fifth but cuts O’Bannon under right eye and wins technical decision . The 23-year-old 6’7” tall Anderson is unbeaten in his last 16.

June 4

Hattersheim am Main, Germany: Heavy: Juan Carlos Gomes (47-2,1ND) W PTS 8 Oezcan Cetinkaya (17-7-1). Heavy: Konstantin Airich (15-2-2 ) W TKO 2 Alex Kahl (15-5-1 ). Not so much the “Black Panther” more like a cat playing with a mouse for 36-year-old Cuban southpaw. Gomez wins every round without really trying against 32-year-old Turk, who is set on survival. Third win for former WBC cruiser champ since stoppage loss to Vitali Klitschko in March 2009. Airich, 31, scores two knockdowns in the first round and another in the second and halts overmatched fellow German Kahl. Airich was stopped in seven rounds by Danny Williams in 2008, the only fight he has lost inside the distance.

Sydney, Australia: Light Middle: Ryan Waters (20-2-2) W PTS 12 Garry Comer (20-9-1). Good win for Waters in tough scrap with southpaw Comer, 34, a former Australian champion. Waters, 32, has trouble with Comer’s style, and they heads clash often but Waters takes his unbeaten run to 20 and retains WBO Asia Pacific and Oriental titles.

Pont-Sainte-Maxence, France: Light Welter: Yvan Mendy (20-1) W PTS 12 Peter McDonagh (15-17). Mendy,25, wins vacant WBF Intercontinental title. Great little scrap as Mendy works at close quarters for all twelve rounds and McDonagh, 32, countering off the ropes. Irishman has good fourth round but Mendy body punching and all-out aggression wins him the fight. McDonagh plays his part in the scrap and gets great ovation from crowd. Scores 119-113 and 117-112 twice.

Louvroil, France: Light Middle: Mouez Fhima (19-1-1) W PTS 12 Frederic Serre (11-6). Fhima starts slowly as Serre forces action in the early rounds. Tunisian Fhima, 29, takes control and in the end wins comfortable unanimous decision on scores of 117-111 twice and 118-110 to win vacant IBF Mediterranean title. Thirteen wins in the row for Fhima.

Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany: Heavy: Timo Hoffmann (39-7-1) W TKO 2 Harry Duiven Jr (14-7-1 ). Middle: Lukas Konecny (44-3) W PTS 8 Konstantin Mahankou (15-21). Hometown hero Hoffmann, 35, returns after a year of inactivity and crushes Duiven. Right hand puts Duiven down in second and referee stops it with Duiven unable to defend himself. First fight for the 6’7” Hoffmann since loss to Frans Botha for the WBF title. He was beaten on points by Henry Akinwande in 2003. Dutchman Duiven, 22, now lost 4 of his last five. His claim to fame is to have beaten his own father in a pro fight in 2006. Routine workout for Czech former WBO title challenger Konecny , who is mandatory challenger to Ryan Rhodes. Mahankou lost on points to George Groves in November.

Turin, Italy: Light Middle: Nefzi Ayoub (15-0-1,1ND) W PTS 12 Luca Michael Pasqua (15-3). Super Feather: Antonio De Vitis (16-1-1) W TKO 1 Nordine Barmou (11-15-1). Tunisian-born Belgian Ayoub,26, wins vacant IBF International title with majority verdict over hometown favorite Pasqua on scores of 116-112 twice and 114-114. Eight wins in a row for De Vitis as he floors Frenchman twice and halts him in 95 seconds.

Panama City, Panama: Feather: Irving Berry (17-1-2) W PTS 10 Roinet Caballero (27-10-1).Light Welter: Alberto Mosquera (13-0,1ND) W TKO 4 Heraclides Barrantes (7-3-1). Berry 24 beats Caballero on close unanimous verdict scores of 97-92, 96-93 and 96-95 to retain Panamanian title. Now 13 wins in a row for Berry. Southpaw prospect Mosquera, 23 makes it ten by KO/TKO with easy stoppage win. Juncos, Puerto Rico: Feather: Luis Cruz (14-0) W TKO 6 Eric Estrada (8-1). Super Bantam: Jayson Velez (13-0) W TKO 3 Juan Cruz (5-6). Luis Cruz has too much skill and power for Estrada. Dominates bout and applies the finish with knockdown in sixth. Referee stops the fight without a count. Velez, 22, has an easy night against late sub Cruz. Scores knockdown in third and southpaw Cruz retires in his corner. Now eleven by KO/TKO for promising Velez.

Miami, USA: Light Middle: Yudel Jhonson (7-0) WTKO 8 Juliano Ramos (16-4,1ND). Light Welter: Brad Solomon (12-0) W PTS 10 Kenny Galarza (13-1). With a wealth of amateur experience behind him Cuban Jhonson, 28, had too much skill and power for modest Brazilian Ramos, 30. Jhonson almost has him out in seventh and Ramos is taking punishment when fight stopped in eighth. Southpaw Jhonson had won his last four all by first round K0/TKO.

Excellent boxer vs. puncher match sees Solomon win battle of unbeaten former top amateurs. Solomon takes no chances and boxes rings around Galarza who loses a point for low blows. Scores 100-89 twice and 99-90 show Solomon’s dominance. Solomon, a three-time National Golden Gloves champ also beat Demetrius Andrade as an amateur. Galarza, a 24-year-old Puerto Rican had won all of his pro fights by KO/TKO. Coincidentally he lost to Jhonson when winning a bronze medal in the 2006 Central American & Caribbean Games. Beat Liam Shinkwin in his Junior days.

Tampa, USA: Light: Mercito Gesta (18-0-1) W TKO 4 Oscar Meza (19-4). Middle: Noe Gonzalez (24-1 ) W KO 6 Michi Munoz (22-5 ). Heavy: Lenroy Thomas (16-1) W PTS 6 Joe Rabotte (8-13-1). Latest Filipino prospect lives up to his “No Mercy” nickname. Gesta power finally too much for tough 23-year-old Mexican who tries to press the fight but is floored with body shot in fourth and does not come out for fifth. Meza, who had difficulty making the weight, had lost only one of his last 14 including a win over Jorge Paez Jr. Gesta wins vacant WBO Americas title. Munoz competitive until the fifth when he starts to fade and body punch from Gonzalez, 31, finishes him in sixth. Ten wins in a row and nine by KO/TKO for Uruguayan former WBA title challenger, including a jaw breaking kayo of Mariano Carrera last August. Thomas strength gives him the edge in foul filled fight and he takes unanimous verdict on scores of 60-53 twice 59-54.

June 5

New York, USA: Light Middle: Miguel Cotto (35-2) W TKO 9 Yuri Foreman (28-1). Light Middle: Vanes Martirosyan (28-0) W PTS 10 Joe Greene (22-1). Middle: Pawel Wolak (27-1) W PTS 10 James Moore (17-3 ). Feather: Jorge Diaz (14-0) W TKO 6 Jae Sung Lee (10-3-1). Light: Abner Cotto (8-0) W PTS 6 Edgar Portillo (6-5-1). In the end the strength and power of Cotto proves too much for the light punching Israeli, and Miguel wins a world title for the fourth time and becomes a three division champion, with a stoppage win in the ninth.

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican might have lost the fourth round, and some of the other rounds were close, but he looked to be in front when Foreman, also 29, slipped and injured his knee in the seventh (a recurrence of an old injury). Foreman was given time out and decided to continue, but from then on Cotto was on top and Foreman under pressure. Confusion reigned in the eighth as with Foreman again under pressure, someone in Cotto’s corner threw a towel in to the ring, and people began to climb through the ropes. The referee Arthur Mercante Jr threw them and the towel out again, but in the ninth Cotto floored Foreman with a left hook to the body and the fight was halted. Cotto, with new trainer Emanuel Steward in his corner, wins WBA title in his first fight since his loss to Manny Pacquiao in November.

It was Foreman’s first defence of the title that he won from Daniel Santos in November. Although there was only a six fight difference between their number of wins as pros the telling statistic on power was that Cotto had won 27 by KO/TKO and Foreman just eight, also this was only Foreman’s second world title fight but No 27 for Cotto.

Another win for 24-year-old Armenian-born Martirosyan as his accurate jabs and counters give him the edge over aggressor Greene. Both fighters suffer damage, as the area around Martirosyan’s left eye began to swell and southpaw Greene, 24, was cut in eighth and floored briefly in the last. Martirosyan retains his NABO & NABF titles on scores of 96-93 twice and 98-91. Both unbeaten fighters competed in the 2004 US Olympic trials in different weight divisions. Martirosyan beat Andre Berto and went to the Olympics. Greene lost to Andre Dirrell, but went on to win a silver medal in the world junior championships.

Close fight to begin with, then Poland’s Wolak’s pressure tells, and Moore tires over the last four rounds. Scores 97-93 twice and 96-94 for Wolak, 28, his sixth win since close loss to Ishe Smith in 2008. Ireland’s Moore, 32, lost three of last five, but tough opposition including Foreman. The punching power of Diaz ,22, gives him win, but its is just as well that the South Korean was not a heavy puncher as Diaz showed poor defence as South Korean gets in some good thumps. Diaz scores knockdown in first and is battering Lee in sixth when fight stopped. Pan American silver medalist Cotto, cousin of Miguel, too classy for Portillo and wins wide unanimous verdict on scores of 59-55 twice and 58-56.

Nuebrandenburg, Germany: Cruiser: Steve Cunningham (23-2) W TKO 4 Troy Ross (23-2). Middle: Sebastian Sylvester (33-3-1) DREW 12 Roman Karmazin (40-3-2,1ND). Cruiser: Yoan Pablo Hernandez (22-1) W PTS 8 Zach Page (20-29-2). Heavy: Oleg Platov (29-1,1ND) W TKO 6 Gbenga Oloukun (18-6).Cunningham has to climb off the floor at the end of the fourth to regain the vacant IBF title, but Ross unlucky as he is stopped on a cut under his left eye which was ruled to be caused by a punch even though it was Cunningham’s thumb which accidentally took a chunk out of his lower eyelid. Fight fairly equal up to then with Cunningham’s jab showing strongly. Now based in Germany, USS Cunningham, 33, lost the title to Tomasz Adamek in 2008. Guyana-born Ross, also 33, a southpaw, is a former Commonwealth champion, who beat Hastings Rasani, John Keeton and Tony Booth inside the distance here in 2007.

Sylvester retains his IBF title with a draw against former IBF light middle champ Karmazin. In a close, tough fight, it was the aggression of Karmazin against the faster hands and defensive work of Sylvester who also scored well on the inside. Karmazin claimed to be hampered by a thumb in the eye early, but got back into the fight and did well in the middle rounds. Sylvester scored heavily in the tenth having Karmazin hurt and badly cut around his left eye, but this could have gone either way. A brawl started around the Supervisor handling the score cards and the result of a split draw was not announced for about 10 minutes. Scores 118-111 for Sylvester, 117-111 for Karmazin and 114-114. Sylvester stopped Steve Bendall in a EBU title defence in 2006, and Karmazin boxed here in 2001 and halted Dave Walker in a EBU title defence in 2003.

Cuban southpaw Hernandez, 25, puts Page back in his place as he wins every round for unanimous decision. Scores 80-72 on all cards. Eighth win in a row for Hernandez since shock loss to Wayne Braithwaite in 2008. Journeyman Page, 37, had scored an upset win over previously unbeaten Seb Kober in January. Ukrainian Platov, 27, extends his unbeaten run to 25 as he has Nigerian down in rounds one, two and five and forces the stoppage in the sixth. Platov holds wins over Colin Kenna, Henry Akinwande and fought a no decision with Danny Williams. After 16 wins in a row Oloukun seems finished at the age of 27 as he is now 2-6 in his last eight contests.

Istanbul, Turkey: Welter: Selcuk Aydin (20-0) W PTS 12 Ionut Dan Ion (26-1). Heavy: Yakup Saglam (25-0) W TKO 3 Marcel Zeller (22-7).Hometown fighter Aydin wins some stupid WBC Silver Belt world title! Floors Canadian-based Romanian Ion (Jo Jo Dan) in first round, but the taller southpaw Ion, moving up from light welter, gets right back into the fight and sweeps next three rounds. Ion hurt again in eighth but from then on it is very close with Ion better boxing skills seeming to give him edge over the harder punching of 26-year-old “Mini-Tyson”. Aydin takes close split verdict on scores of 116-111, 114-113, 113-114. Aydin beat Mario Kindelan as an amateur, but lost twice to Frankie Gavin. Too easy for unbeaten 33-year-old Turk Saglam who now has 21 by KO/TKO.

Acapulco, Mexico: Light Fly: Edgar Sosa (38-6) W KO 2 Roberto Leyva(27-12-1). Light: Daniel Estrada (21-1-1) TEC DRAW 4 Reyes Velasquez (9-0-2).Super Bantam: Giovanni Caro (17-8-4) W DIS 3 Jose Gutierrez (12-9-2). Bantam: Christian Esquivel (18-2) W KO 2 Luis Valdez (14-5-1). Light: Carlos Zarate Jr (8-0) W KO 1 Miguel Camacho ( 0-4). Former WBC champ Sosa puts away former IBF strawweight champ Leyva with a left uppercut. Sosa’ first fight since suffering triple fracture of his left cheekbone in losing his title to Rodel Mayol in November. Leyva had been disqualified for butting in his last fight and gave Sosa a test with a clash of heads in the first, and some choice lefts, but Sosa, 30, came through ok. Leyva is well down the slippery slope with six wins in his last 18 fights. Estrada,25, retains WBC CABOFE title as clash of heads leaves Velasquez with bad cut and bout equal at that point. The 5’10 ½” tall Estrada now unbeaten in last 19. Heads again, but this time Nicaraguan Gutierrez, in trouble throughout the fight, disqualified for deliberate butt.

“Italiano” Esquivel finishes Valdez with a right to the body to win WBC FECOMBOX title. Now 19 wins in a row. Zarate Junior makes it five first round wins, three in a row.

Bruay-la-Buissière, France: Light: Guillame Salingue (27-0) W PTS 10 Pierre Francois Bonicel (17-5-3). Salingue, 28, clear winner in front of his home fans and ties it up with strong finish to retain French title for the second time on scores of 98-92 twice and 100-92. Second title shot for Bonicel, a loser to Andy Morris here in November, who announced his retirement after the fight.

Georgetown, Guyana: Middle: Hector Camacho Jr (52-3-1,1ND) W PTS 12 Denny Dalton (16-9-1). Easy for Camacho Junior, 31, as “Deadly” Dalton totally outclassed by Camacho Junior. Now eight wins in a row, but strange that in these multi-title days with his name, and 52 wins, Camacho has never fought for a world title. First fight for Dalton since losing to Howard Eastman in 2008.

Tokyo, Japan: Fly: Rocky Fuentes (26-6-2) W TKO 11 Shigetaka Ikehara (20-2-2). Super Feather: Takashi Miura (19-1-2) W TKO 3 Hiroto Takeshita (13-9-1). Feather: Ryol Li Lee (16-1-1) W PTS 10 Hisashi Amagasa (15-4-2). Great slugging match as Filipino Fuentes retains OPBF title. Both fighters on the point of being floored in early rounds and battle sways back and forwards. Fuentes, 24, and rated No 9 by the WBC, finally breaks though in eleventh and has Ikehara out on his feet when towel is thrown in and referee stops the fight. In fourth defence of his national title southpaw Miura floors and halts Takeshita in third. Now 15 by KO/TKO for WBA No 10. Ryol (Retsuri) Li Lee makes successful first defence of his national title with 98-93 twice and 98-94 verdict over hard-punching Amagasa.

Pachuca, Mexico: Light: Jose Perea (18-0) W TKO 8 Edgar Barcenas (21-10-4). Fly: Wilbert Uicab (28-5-1,1ND) W TKO 8 Fernando Cupul (22-4,2ND). Toe-to-toe battle but the body punching of local Perea too much for experienced Barcenas, 33, who retires at the end of the eighth. Perea, the only guy to beat Daniel Estrada (see Acapulco show), retains WBC Fecarbox title. NABF champ Uicab retains Mexican title and goes 2-1 ahead in series with Cupul. Uicab unbeaten in his last ten since split decision loss to Cupul in 2008.