Behind the Results w/e January 9th 2011

Now that East Fife can now concentrate on the league after they were pipped at the post in the Cup on Saturday, Eric feels much more relaxed about life in general. Let's see what the anorak's anorak has to tell us this week.

January 6

Nakhon Phanom, Thailand: Straw: Wanhenk Menayothin (15-0) W T DEC 10 Remy Cuambot (7-5-1). Fly: Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (78-3-1) W TKO 4 Heri Purnomo. Wanhenk retains interim WBC silver belt for third time with a technical decision after Filipino novice unable to continue due to a cut. Light punching Wanhenk, 25, rated No 5 by the WBC, in front on all three cards. WBC fly champ Pongsaklek warms-up for defence against Edgar Sosa with a fourth round stoppage of Indonesian. Southpaw Pongsaklek, 33, lost two of his first four fights, but has now lost only one of his last 78.

January 7

Las Vegas, USA: Light Welter: Mauricio Herrera (16-1) W PTS 12 Ruslan Provodnikov (17-1). Light Middle: Demetrius Andrade (12-0) W PTS 8 Alberto Herrera (7-2-1). Minor upset as southpaw Herrera comes on over the second half of the fight to just edge out the previously unbeaten 26-year-old Russian. Scores 116-112 twice and 115-113. Herrera wins the vacant USBA title, but this one could have gone either way. Herrera, 30, had lost his unbeaten tag on a split decision to world rated Mike Anchondo in his last fight. A mixed night for the Herrera brothers as former world amateur champion Andrade’s better class and flashy southpaw combinations dominate fight. Scores 80-72 twice and 79-73.

Fairfield, USA: Middle: Brandon Gonzales (14-0,1ND) W PTS 8 Lester Gonzalez (11-2-1). Brandon “Flawless” Gonzales, 26, given eight goods rounds by useful Gonzalez. Brandon just quicker and more accurate boxing gave him control, but Cuban southpaw Gonzales, 33, always in the fight. Scores 78-74 twice and 79-73.

Chiang Khon, Thailand: Light: Thai Tor Silachai (20-2) W TKO 2 Arnel Donal (10-2-1). Bantam: Pungluang Sor Singyu (32-1) W PTS 6 Phudphadnoi Muangsima (0-1). One-sided as a series of attacks from WBO No 9 Silachai, 26 see Filipino Donal retire at the end of the second round. Seventh defence of WBO Orient title for Silachai. WBO No 6 Pungluang, 22, given good six rounds by novice. Pungluang lost a split verdict to useful young Belgian Stephane Jamoye, Jamie McDonnell’s next challenger, in May 2009.

Epernay, France: Light Heavy: Geard Ajetovic (18-4-1) W TKO 1 Jackson Chanet (29-3). Middle: Israel Carrillo (14-2,2ND) W PTS 12 Michael Recloux (17-11-2). Formerly British-based Serbian Ajetovic, 29, in control from the bell. Hurts Chanet within 30 seconds with a big right then puts him down again with another. Chanet's head hits the bottom rope, but he gets up at count of 7, at which point referee Daniel Van de Wiele stops it just as towel comes in. Ajetovic had tough losses at middle to Daniel Geale, Matthew Macklin and Dmitry Pirog and may have more success at the higher weight. Former European super middleweight champion Chanet, 32, was having his first fight for 14 months. Ajetovic wins vacant WBC Mediterranean title. Spanish champion Carrillo also wins a vacant WBC Mediterranean title with clear unanimous verdict over Belgian champion Recloux. Recloux starts well but a punch after the bell in the second round starts a swelling under his right eye. Carillo, 31, almost finishes it with a big attack in the fourth and scores a knockdown in eighth. Carillo on top the rest of the way and Recloux, 27, could have been pulled out, but stays to the final bell. Scores 116-109, 116-110 and a too close 115-112. One of Carrillo’s losses was to former WBA champion Gabriel Campillo. Recloux was outpointed by Martin Murray in 2008.

January 8

Schymkent, Kazakhstan: Light Heavy: Beibut Shumenov (11-1) W KO 6 William Joppy (39-7-2). Light Heavy: Gayrat Ahmedov (16-0-1) W TKO 4 Tursunboy Abdullakimov (13-5). Welter: Ravshan Hudaynazarov (14-0) W TKO 10 Jose Luis Cruz (41-8-2). Light Welter: Alexandr Zhuravskiy (10-0) W TKO 6 Ruben Galvan (27-15-4,2ND).Fighting in his hometown Shumenov, 27, retains his WBA title for the second time; with a stoppage of late sub Joppy. Shumenov was always in charge, floored Joppy with a right in fifth and ended it with a body punch early in the sixth. Joppy was to have fought on the under card but the WBA agreed to him as a challenger when WBO champion Jurgen Brahmer pulled out of the unification fight. Former WBA middleweight champion Joppy, 40, had lost twice and drawn with modest Cory Cummings in his previous three fights.

Uzbek’s Ahmedov, 32, retained his interim PABA title, and collect the WBA International title, as he battered Abdullakimoiv for four rounds and won when his challenger retired at the end of the fourth. Now 12 by KO/TKO for Ahmedov. WBA No13 Hudaynazarov looked on his way to a quick win as he floored Mexican veteran Cruz, 34, in the first. However, Cruz used his experience and durability to stay in the fight. In the end a bad cut over the right eye of Cruz was ruled too bad for him to continue. The Las Vegas-based Uzbek has 12 wins by KO/TKO and in this mad boxing world won the WBA Fedlatin title. Cruz was close to a world title shot when he drew with Carlos Baldomir in a WBC welterweight final eliminator, but Baldomir got the shot and Cruz faded. Former top amateur Zhuravskiy works over poor American Galvan and floors and stops him in sixth for WBA International title. Galvan, 38, from Indiana, has now failed to win any of his last eight fights.

Greeley, USA: Light: Edner Cherry (28-6-2) W TKO 2 Ever Perez (12-20). No real test for Cherry, 28, as he jumps on Colombian veteran from the first bell and hands out a beating before finishing it in the second. Now four wins by KO/TKO for “Cherry Bomb” since losing to Tim Bradley for WBC light welter title in September 2008. Poor Perez, 36, has lost 6 of his last 8, all six by KO/TKO.

Mexico City, Mexico: Straw: Ganigan Lopez (15-4) W PTS 12 Armando Torres (15-7). Bantam Christian Esquivel (21-2) W TKO 2 Eduardo Garcia (21-6-1). Fly Oscar Blanquet (26-3-1) W KO 1 Arturo Castro. Feather: Juan Antonio Rodriguez (16-2) W TKO 8 Ariel Vazquez (10-4,1ND). Feather: Salvador Sanchez (20-4-3) W KO 4 Erick Perez .Southpaw Lopez, 29, retains WBC silver belt with wide unanimous decision over Torres. Torres started well but a crunching body punch in the fifth took the steam out of him and the speedier Lopez had Torres hurt again in the seventh and dominated from there. Scores 117-112 twice and 118-111. Torres, who turned pro in Japan, and lost to Juan Carlos Reveco for the interim WBA title, is the nephew of former WBC fly champion German Torres.

Esquivel, 24, and “Bambino” Garcia go toe-to-toe and Garcia shakes Esquivel and looks to be on top in the first. However, a big right from “Italiano” Esquivel in the second puts Garcia down. He beats the count but then Esquivel scores heavily and the referee stops the fight. First defence of WBC silver belt for Esquivel who has 16 wins by KO/TKO, and, as this was a WBC final eliminator, looks for a title shot. Garcia, a former WBA super fly title challenger, had won six in a row since that losing title fight against Nobuo Nashiro in 2006. All over in 34 seconds as a body shot from Blanquet puts Castro down and he is counted out. Now 17 by KO/TKO by Blanquet and 14 wins in a row. In an all-southpaw battle Rodriguez took a while to get going. Was badly hurt in the sixth by Nicaraguan and also lost a point for low blows. Turns it on in the seventh and Vazquez is retired in his corner before the start of the eighth. Sixth defence of his WBC Youth title for Rodriguez, also twelve wins in a row and 15 wins by KO/TKO. He had beaten Vazquez in nine rounds in August. Second win on the show for nephew of a former Mexican world champion as poor match sees Sanchez kayo Perez in fourth. Sanchez, 25, is the nephew of the former world featherweight champion of the same name.

Lanus, Argentina: Super Feather: Vicente Rodriguez (31-2-1) W KO 3 Victor Coronel (14-8-1). Massacre as “El Mono” floors fragile Paraguayan twice in the first. Puts him down again in the second, and only the bell saves Coronel. Another two-handed attack in the third puts Coronel down and out. Now 17 by KO/TKO for 25-year-old Rodriguez.

Tokyo, Japan: Light Middle: Charlie Ota (16-1-1) W TKO 6 Taisei Marumoto (28-10-1). Light: Nihito Arakawa (19-1-1) W TKO 8 Hiroshi Nakamori (29-2-1). New Yorker Ota (real name Bellamy) too young and fast for veteran Marumoto and wears him down with body attack. Ota, 29, cuts Marumoto, 34, by his right eye in fourth and cuts him again in fifth and forces stoppage with volley in sixth. Successful fourth defence of his OPBF and third defence of his Japanese titles by Ota and now has eleven wins by KO/TKO. Ota is unbeaten in his last eleven and rated No 10 by the WBA. Southpaw Arakawa has to climb off the floor to retain his national title in his second defence. Floored by a counter at the end of the first, and badly hurt, Arakawa, the WBA’s No 7, took a couple of rounds to get his act together and then was in control. Nakamori lost a point for hitting after the bell at the end of the sixth. Nakamori, 34, examined in his corner at the end of the seventh and a sustained attack in the eighth brought the referees intervention. Second try at winning the title for puncher Nakamori. Fourth try at winning an OPBF title for Nakamori.

Tacoma, USA: Light Heavy: Lafarrell Bunting (18-3-1) W PTS 10 Matt O’Brien (18-2). The tactics of the respective boxers made this an unexciting night. Bunting, 30, was content to dominate with his jab and O'Brien, although the heavier puncher threw too few shots. Difficult to score, but “Fabulous Fairway” Bunting gets majority verdict on scores of 97-93, 96-94 and 95-95. Bunting lost on points to Jean Pascal on points in 2007 and was then inactive until beating Canadian Junior Moar in November last year. Canadian O'Brien, 30, also rusty, he was having only his second fight in almost four years.

January 9

Punta del Este, Uruguay: Super Middle: Noe Gonzalez Alcoba (26-1) W TKO 3 Gustavo Magallanes (29-2). Super Bantam: Caril Herrera (27-1,1ND) W TKO 6 Miguel Villegas (6-10). Middle: John Jackson (9-0) W PTS 6 Carlos Araya (7-5). Local hero “El Carbonero” Gonzalez wins vacant WBC silver belt with easy win over Mexican veteran. Clash of styles makes for untidy first round. Gonzalez then too fast and punching too hard for Magallanes who is deducted a point in second for a low blow. Gonzalez, 31, scores knockdown in third and referee steps in to save 39-year-old Magallanes. Now twelve wins in a row, eleven by KO/TKO, for Gonzalez since points loss to Felix Sturm for WBA middle title in 2007. Local papers called him a world champion and said the win put Gonzalez up there with Carl Froch, Andre Ward and Lucien Bute! Magallanes lost in eight rounds to Khoren Gevor and was then out for five years. This was his second fight since his return. Another local boy, Herrera, wins vacant WBC Latino title with stoppage of Argentinian oldie. Southpaw Herrera, 30, has 17 wins by KO/TKO. His loss was a stoppage by Filipino AJ Banal in an IBF super flyweight eliminator in 2008. Poor Villegas, 35, is 3-8 in his last eleven. Jackson, the son of former WBA light middle and WBC middle champion Julien, taken the distance for the first time but wins every round. Scores 60-54 from all officials. The 21-year-old Jackson was a good amateur and represented the US Virgin Isles in the 2008 Olympics.

Kampala, Uganda: Light Middle: Badru Lusambya (22-2-2) W TKO 2 Vicky Lolengo. Welter: Solomon Bogere (8-1-1) W TKO 2 Ronny Katwalo (0-4). Easy wins for Lusambya and Bogere. Lusambya makes it 20 by KO/TKO with stoppage of late sub Lolengo from DCR. “Mr Crush” was himself crushed in two rounds by Craig Watson for the vacant Commonwealth title in April. Bogere, out of action for eight months, has seven by KO/TKO, but poor opposition.