Behind The Results - worldwide boxing roundup with Eric Armit - 30th January
From Rotherbaum, where serial Cleverly avoider Juergen Braehmer made his ring return with a stoppage of Spaniard Jose Maria Guerrero, all the way over to Auckland, where Chauncy Welliver's opponent Mensah bunked off in the tenth. Behind the results with Eric Armit.
January 26
Blagnac, France Light: Samir Ziani (10-0-1) W PTS 10 Ruudy Encarnacion (23-23-3)
Hometown fighter Ziani, 21, retains WBC International Silver title for the first time with a unanimous decision over Dominican Republic born 'Black Wolf' Encarnacion. Not a puncher, despite knocking down his challenger with a left hook in the second, southpaw Ziani does a Henry Armstrong imitation with his non-stop style, which gives Encarnacion no chance to get into the fight. Scores 100-90, 99-90 and 98-91. First fight for Ziani since winning the title in July by beating Carel Sandon. The durable Encarnacion, 32, lost to Kevin Mitchell on an eighth round stoppage back in 2009, but was fresh from an upset stoppage win over Innocent Anyanwu in November.
Tokyo, Japan Fly: Takuya Kogawa (18-2) W PTS 10 Shigetaka Ikehara (22-2-2)
Similar situation in this Japanese title fight as Kogawa, 26, not a hard puncher, used a windmill style of light punches to outpoint a disappointing Ikehara. Kogawa was not always accurate with his shots, but Ikehara, although landing the harder punches, just could not get untracked. Although the judges had it close Ikehara just did not do enough to offset the busier Kogawa. Scores 96-95 twice and 96-94. Kogawa, the WBC No 13, and a former undefeated OPBF champion, lost a wide unanimous decision to Pongsaklek Wonjongkam for the WBC title in his last fight in July. Ikehara, 30, had lost in seven rounds against Rocky Fuentes for the OPBF title in 2010, but had won his last two fights.
Oklahoma City, USA Light Middle: Grady Brewer (29-14) W PTS 8 Edvan Dos Santos Barros (11-12-1)
Oklahoma resident 'Bad Boy' Brewer, 41, eases back after losses to Demetrius Andrade and Mike Medina, but is unimpressive in wining unanimous decision over 31-year-old Brazilian. Brewer in command but can’t find a finish. All three officials have it 78-74. For a while Brewer was hot scoring wins over Fernando Guerrero, Albert Onolunose and Anthony Thompson, but those two losses derailed him. Brewer has been matched tough with guys such as Kelly Pavlik, Jermain Taylor, Sechew Powell and Marco Antonio Rubio and can at least claim to be the last guy to beat IBF light middle champ Cornelius Bundrage. Barros has just two wins in his last ten fights.
January 27
Airway Heights, USA Welter: Ruslan Provodnikov (21-1) W TKO 6 David Torres (21-3-2). Light: Ji-Hoon Kim (23-7) W PTS 8 Yakubu Amidu (20-3-1). Heavy: Shane Andreesen (12-3) W PTS 8 Raphael Zumbano (31-5-1)
Russian Provodnikov adds another win as he is just too strong for Torres. Provodnikov, 28, has no frills, he is a strong aggressive fighter with plenty of stamina and a high workrate. He never gave Torres a chance to get into the fight, flooring the Washington fighter with a right in the first, and using a good jab and hard rights to stay in charge. Torres suffered a cut under his right eye, but also inflicted damage around the left eye of Provodnikov. However, Torres had neither the strength nor the skill to change the pattern of the fight. Finally, in the sixth, a tiring Torres made a last desperate throw to turn things around, but once Provodnikov fought his way off the ropes Torres wilted. A big right cross sent Torres back and down to the floor. He got up on the nine, but was bloody and shaken. He tried to take the fight to Provodnikov, but a left followed by another hard right sent him down on the edge of the ring apron, and the fight was stopped. Now 14 wins by KO/TKO for Provodnikov who had trained with Freddie Roach as part of the preparation for this fight. The Russian, who had approximately 150 amateur fights, and was European Cadet Champion (at 105lbs) has wins over Ivan Popoca, former IBF champion Javier Jauregui and DeMarcus Corley. His loss was to Mauricio Herrera on a close decision in January last year. Torres, 33, between 2003 and 2008, won 20 fights in a row before losses to Julio Diaz and Ray Beltran de-railed him. He had bounced back from the Beltran loss with draws against Santos Pakau and Mike Stewart, but had not fought since the draw with Stewart in February last year. He showed plenty of guts, but may have nowhere to go after this loss.
Korean 'Volcano' Kim wins unanimous decision over tough Amidu. Kim, 25, only knows one way to fight, and that is going forward throwing punches until the other guy wilts. Ghanaian Amidu is also a tough customer, so there was plenty of action with both men rocked. Amidu had the better of the second round, but Kim rocked the African with hard rights in the third and fourth, only for Amidu to blast back in the fifth and sixth. Gradually Kim went ahead due to the volume, accuracy and variety of his punching, and took the unanimous decision on scores of 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94. Kim had a good spell when he beat Zolani Marali (for the IBO super feather title) and Ty Harris and stopped Panamanian Ameth Diaz inside a round (Diaz has just taken Miguel Vazquez the full distance in an IBF title fight). However, he lost a wide unanimous decision to Vazquez for the IBF title, and in a major upset was blown away in 101 seconds by Lenny Zappavigna in October 2010. This was his second fight since then. 'Black Mamba' Amidu, 27, took world rated South African Ali Funeka to a majority decision in 2007, but was stopped in seven rounds by Ricky Burns for the Commonwealth super feather title in 2008. He was then inactive for two years before moving his base to the US, where he had scored four wins. Canadian 'Shotgun Andressen springs minor upset with unanimous verdict over Brazilian. The 6’4' Andressen was the busier and simply outworked the 30-year-old Zumbano. Andressen had lost 3 of his last 4, but the win was in his last fight in June when he kayoed previously unbeaten Jonte Willis. Zumbano had won his last 15 including collecting the World International Boxing Federation title!
Puerto Colombia, Colombia Welter: Breidis Prescott (25-4) W KO 3 Joel Cassiani (6-10-1)
Prescott returns home for easy win. In his first fight in Colombia since 2007, Prescott puts poor Cassiani down and out in third. Prescott, 28, was coming off losses to Paul McCloskey and Mike Alvarado. He now has 20 wins by KO/TKO. Cassiani has lost 9 of his last 10 fights.
Giza, Egypt Light Heavy: Hany Atiyo (12-0) W PTS 10 Mazur Ali (7-8)
'Egyptian Hurricane' regains national title as he outclasses New York resident Ali. Atiyo, 28, who also holds the ABU title, wins on scores of 118-108 twice and 117-109. Ali, 36, has lost 7 of his last 8 fights.
Georgetown, Guyana Welter: Simeon Hardy (7-0) W KO 9 Iwan Azore (14-5-3)
Inexperienced Hardy kayos Azore to settle grudge match. There was bad blood between these two from the time the contract was signed. Both went out looking for an early finish. Hardy shook Azore with a right in the third. In the fourth another right put Azore down. He got up and survived the round. 'Candyman' Hardy was in front on all three cards at the end of the eighth, but tiring. In the ninth another right hand bomb from Hardy pout Azore down, and this time he was on the canvas for a number of minutes. Six wins by KO/TKO for the 25-year-old Hardy who wins WBC Cabofe title. 'Pure Gold' Azore, from Trinidad and Tobago, had been stopped in three rounds by Ionut Dan Ion in three rounds in July.
Arezzo, Italy Light Middle: Adriano Nicchi (17-3-2) W PTS 10 Domenico Salvemini (6-1). Light Welter: Michele Di Rocco (32-1-1) W PTS 6 Laszlo Komjathi (43-38-2)
A good title fight where the respective styles kept the action hot with the experience of home town fighter Nicchi making the difference. Salvemini’s tactics were to back Nicchi up and score with hooks on the inside. Nicchi’ s fast, accurate counters, and good defence made Salvemini pay as he came inside. Nicchi, 31, also paced the fight better which was important over the late rounds. An all-action seventh round saw them go toe-to-toe, but Salvemini was tiring by the end of the round, and began to show the signs of the counters he had taken, as his right eye was closing in the eighth. Nicchi swept the ninth and tenth as Salvemini tired, and retained his Italian title on scores of 98-92, 97-94 and 96-94. Second defence for Nicchi, whose only loss in his last 13 was to Lenny Bottai. For Salvemini, 27, having only just stepped up to the eight round class in his previous fight, he showed he can come again. Just a walk in the park for 'The King' Di Rocco as he floored veteran loser Komjathi in the third and fifth rounds on his way to an easy points victory. Now 15 wins in a row for Di Rocco. A former Italian amateur champion in 2001/2/3 and a quarter finalist at the 2004 Olympics, Di Rocco, 29, a former Italian and European Union champion, has been well protected. In March he will try to regain the European title he lost to Giuseppe Lauri in 2007. Komjathi, 36, is 0-14 in his fights in Italy, and has won only 2 of his last 21 fights. He lost on points to Amir Khan in 2006 and also lost to both Souleymane M’baye and Marcos Maidana.
Petropavl, Kazakhstan Bantam: Zhanat Zhakiyanov (17-1) W KO 1 Lookdiaw (7-4)
All over early as Hatton Promotions fighter Zhakiyanov flattens poor Thai after just two minutes of the first. The 24-year-old, fighting in his hometown, retains the WBC ABC title and makes it twelve wins in a row. He has ten wins by KO/TKO. Southpaw Lookidaw, 35, was out for a few minutes and needed help to leave the ring. Some give the Thai’s record as 17-7, but what is certain is that he has lost his last four, all by TKO/KO in under three rounds.
Trnava, Slovakia Light Heavy: Tomas Kovacs (20-0) W PTS 8 Steve Kroekel (16-18-2)
Middle: Istvan Szili (14-0) W TKO 3 Jetmir Kugi (6-1). Slovakian 'Tomi Boy' Kovacs, 34, returns to action with a win. In his first fight for almost a year WBO European champ Kovacs was streets ahead of German Kroekel, but could not finish the job. Scores 80-72, 80-73 and 79-73. 'Spartan' Szili makes it 14 wins by stopping Albanian in three. Six wins by KO/TKO for Hungarian who represented his country at two World Championships and won a gold medal at the European Union championships.
January 28
Rotherbaum, Germany Light Heavy: Juergen Braehmer (37-2) W TKO 4 Jose Maria Guerrero (29-3-1). Cruiser: Firat Arslan (32-5-1) W TKO 2 Orlando Farias (23-11). Cruiser: Rakhim Chakhkiev (12-0) W PTS 10 Alex Kotlobay (21-3-1). Heavy: Denis Boystov (30-0) W KO 4 Darnell Wilson (24-14-3). Heavy: Ruslan Chagaev (28-2-1) W PTS 8 Kertson Manswell (22-4). Middle: Rafael Bejeran (14-1) W PTS 12 Daniel Urbanski (21-8-3). Feather: Marcel Meyerdiercks (21-0) W PTS 8 Roberto Santos de Jesus (13-5). Super Feather Vitali Tajbert (22-2) W PTS 8 Jose Luis Graterol (14-11-4). Heavy: Vlad Tereshkin (14-0-1) W DIS 5 Evgeny Orlov (13-11-1)
Braehmer, 33, stops Spaniard on a cut in his first fight since April 2010. Guerrero took the fight to Braehmer from the start. Coming in behind a high guard, Guerrero would then let fly with a flurry of light punches. Braehmer was happy to fight on the retreat scoring with hard counters. In the second a wicked left uppercut to the chin from southpaw Braehmer sent the Spaniard stumbling backwards. He tumbled to the side and put one glove on the canvas, but was up straight away and took the mandatory eight count. Despite this Guerrero continued to walk in whilst Braehmer threw more uppercuts. Finally in the fourth Braehmer started to go forward landing hard hooks to the body. The end came when the referee took Guerrero to his corner to have a nose injury and a cut examined by the Doctor, who ordered the fight stopped. Braehmer looked a bit rusty, but showed some powerful punching. The German lost his WBO title when was stripped for pulling out of a fight with Nate Cleverly at short notice. Guerrero, 35, was not badly hurt at the stoppage but, he lacked the power to hurt Braehmer. Guerrero, 35, lost to Mario Veit for the European super middle title in 2003, and put up a good showing against Braehmer.
Arslan stops Argentinian with body shots. This was a hunt as Farias sped around the ring scoring with quick, light flurries whilst Arslan just walked forward behind a high guar just trying to corner Farias. The end in the second came from a southpaw left to the body with put Farias down ne beat the count, but was floored by another body shot and before the count was completed just walked back to his corner and out of the fight. Third win for the former WBA secondary champion since returning from back-to-back losses to Guillermo Jones and Steve Herelius. Farias, 38, loses when he steps up. 'The Machine' Chakhkiev rolls on. Kotolbay never in the fight as Russian southpaw Chakhkiev, 29, just too strong and punches too hard. Kotlobay, also Russian, hurt at the end of both the first and second rounds and floored in the third with a body shot. He loses his WBC Baltic title on scores of 100-89 twice and 99-89. Chakhkiev was a World Championships silver medal winner and took the gold at the 2008 Olympics. Kotlobay, 31, was halted in one round by Enzo Maccarinelli for the European title in 2010.
Boystov wins without extending himself. Wilson, small and overweight, just uses weak jab and wild overhand rights to unsettle Russian. Boystov, 25, content to walk Wilson down without really landing anything big. Finally a hard right at the end of the third hurts Wilson and at the start of the fourth a right cross puts the American down. Wilson makes no effort to rise and is counted out on one knee. WBC/WBA No 4 Boystov has 25wins by KO/TKO. He has beaten Ondrej Pala, Vinny Maddalone and Taras Bidenko, but this was only his second fight in 15 months. Wilson, 37, has won only one of his last eight, and that was over an injured Juan Carlos Gomez.
Former WBA champion Chagaev, 33, returns with a win after losing to Alex Povetkin for the vacant WBA secondary title in August. The Uzbek southpaw, weighing a career high, took a little while to shake off some rust, but from the fourth he dominated with heavy shots from his left. Manswell just could not handle the power of Chagaev and as he tired was under more pressure. Chagaev came near to finishing it when he floored Manswell with two left hooks in the last, but had to settle for a points win. Scores 80-71, 80-73 and 79-73. Chagaev has had to overcome health problems, which have twice seen him declared champion in recess, but is still a force in the division. Manswell, 35, from Trinidad and Tobago, lost his way with three losses in a row in 2011 to Bermane Stiverne, Mike Perez and Cedric Boswell.
Dominican Bejeran 'Tony Roman', 30, retained the WBO European title with a points win over Pole Urbanski. Bejeran was well ahead, but made sure by putting Urbanski down in the last round. Scores 120-107, 117-110 and 116-111. Bajeran’s loss came last April to a guy with a 10-10-2 record, and Urbanski, who has now lost 3 of his last 4 fights, including a stoppage loss to a guy with a 5-5-1 record, is not in the European top 30,which puts the WBO European champion and the title into context. Meyerdiecks makes it 21 wins with unanimous verdict over Brazilian. Lack of a punch may hold the talented 24-year-old back. Former WBC super feather champ Tajbert wins clearly over Venezuelan, but does not impress. Scores 79-73, 78-74 and 78-76. The 6’9' Orlov fouls his way out of the fight. After deducting three points for various infractions, the referee threw him out in the fifth. Tereshkin24, had been inactive since April 2010, and was showing signs of tiring.
Springfield, USA Light Middle: Cory Spinks (39-6) W PTS 12 Sechew Powell (26-4). Cruiser: BJ Flores (27-1) W TKO 6 Hugo Pineda (39-6-1)
Spinks positions himself for another title shot as he wins close unanimous verdict over southpaw Powell, 32, in IBF eliminator. The 33-year-old southpaw was simply the better boxer, picking up points and rounds with his jab and nullifying Powell’s attacks with good movement. Powell stayed in the fight all the way but just could not get through with enough to turn the tide. Scores 115-113 twice and 116-112. Only the second fight for Spinks since losing his IBF title to Cornelius Bundrage in October 2010. First fight for talented Powell since losing in a title challenge to Bundrage in June. Poor match sees Flores register another win. Flores floors 40-year-old Pineda and then stops him in six. Third win for Flores since loss to Danny Green for IBO title in November 2010. Southpaw Pineda, started his career weighing 125lbs and was 197lbs for this one. He had been inactive since July 2008.
Atlantic City, USA Feather: Pat Hyland (25-0) W PTS 8 Emmanuel Lucero (26-9-1). Bantam: Paul Hyland (21-2) W PTS 6 Arturo Santiago (7-5-1). Middle: Franklin Gonzalez (15-9) W PTS 4 Eddie Hyland (16-2). Heavy: Derric Rossy (26-5) W PTS 8 Livin Castillo (16-11)
The Hyland brothers finished 2-1 on this show. Pat, 28, had the hardest test on paper against experienced Mexican Lucero. In his first fight since August, Pat took a while to get into the fight as Lucero found his way through with body shots. However, the fast, accurate and harder punching of the 'Punisher' saw Pat take the unanimous decision on scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75. Paul, 27, also won as he hit hard and showed good defensive work in outpointing late sub Santiago. Scores 78-74 from all three officials. Eddie was the lone loser and yet his task did not look too hard on paper. However, he was rocked in the first, and never really got into the fight losing on scores of 39-37 twice and 40-36. Eddie, 30, had won his last twelve fights. Dominican southpaw Gonzalez, 35, had lost 6 of his last 7 going in. Rossy, 31, managed to have Ecuadorian veteran Castillo rocking a few times, but could not finish the job in a slow ponderous match. Scores 78-74 from all three judges. Rossy had lost to Eddie Chambers, Kubrat Pulev and Maurice Harris in 2011, so needed a win. Southpaw Castillo has lost 6 of his last 7.
Verona, USA Heavy: Tony Grano (19-2-1) W TKO 3 Brian Minto (35-5). Heavy: Eric Fields (20-1) W PTS 8 Derrick Brown (13-7 3)
Grano returns to the ring, and to the winning column. After two close rounds Grano, 31, explodes in the third and floors Minto heavily with a combination. Minto made it to his feet, and tried to fight back, but Grano nailed him again, and with Minto landing face first the fight is stopped immediately. Now 15 wins by KO/TKO for Grano, and second win since upset stoppage loss to Nicolai Firth in 2010. Minto, 37, in first fight since October 2010, has lost three of his last four, but the other two losses were to Chris Arreola and to Marco Huck in a challenge for the WBO cruiser title. Fields also trying to rebuild, makes it nine wins in a row since loss to Ola Afolabi in 2008. Easily outpoints Brown who has now lost his last five. Scores 79-73 twice and 80-72.
Sint Truiden, Belgium Light Middle: Jackson Osei Bonsu (39-5) W KO 4 Zoran Cvek (7-17-3)
Bonsu continues his light middle campaign with a kayo of poor Croat opponent. The 30-year-old from Ghana makes it 28 wins by KO/TKO and five wins in the new division. Cvek, 33, only two wins in his last 13 fights.
Tijuana, Mexico Fly: Felipe Salguero (16-2-1) W KO 5 Carlos Melo (21-14-1)
Panamanian Melo had the speed and skill, but Salguero stayed in front of him and walked him down. The body punches of the Mexican slowed Melo. In the fifth Salguero finally landed the big punches he had been looking for and Melo went down and stayed down. After losing his first two fights, Salguero is now unbeaten in his last 17. 'Shangai' Melo, 29, lost to Edgar Sosa for the WBC light fly title in 2009.
Chihuahua, Mexico Light: Alejandro Sanabria (31-1-1) W KO 4 Jhunriel Ramonal (12-5-1). Middle: Marcos Reyes (23-1) W TKO 4 Isaac Mendez (11-3). Super Fly: Victor Zaleta (20-2) W Raul Hidalgo (15-5). Fly: Odilon Zaleta (13-1) W PTS 8 Javier Franco (17-6-1)
Sanabria keeps alive his hopes of a shot at Antonio DeMarco with a kayo of Filipino Ramonal. Sanabria put on the pressure in the first round, but the Filipino gave him trouble in the shape of some good counters and some headwork that saw Sanabria sporting a small cut on his right eyebrow. Sanabria patiently walked down Ramonal, but the Filipino used his head, forearms and finally a rabbit punch, to such an extent that the referee took a point from him in the fourth. Sanabria then opened up and a volley of punches finished off with a right, ended the fight. Now 24 wins by KO/TKO for 'Skinny', as he defends his WBC Silver title. His lone loss was an upset defeat at the hands of Robinson Castellanos in 2010. In his seven fights since then Rocky Juarez, Alejandro Barrera and Vivino Rufio are in his list of victims. Third loss by KO/TKO for Ramonal, 22, who holds the Filipino super bantamweight title! 'Golden' Reyes wins battle of punchers. Both guys throwing bombs from the first. In the third the power of Reyes brought the finish as he landed a series of hooks and uppercuts to put 'Black Rooster' Mendez down. He was up and taking the mandatory count but was finished and the referee stopped the fight. Reyes 24 retains WBC Fecombox title and wins vacant WBC International title. Reyes has beaten Yori Boy Campas Mauro Lucero and Jose Luis Zertuche. He has 21 wins by KO/TKO. Mendez has a punch but no chin. The Zaleta brothers both scored wins. Former WBO super fly challenger Victor just edged past Hidalgo on a split decision but Odilion was too good for Franco and had him on the verge of a stoppage on a number of occasions but had to settle for wide unanimous verdict. Both brothers were outstanding amateurs.
Mexico City, Mexico Feather: Robinson Castellanos (14-9) W PTS 12 Orlando Ruiz (14-3). Welter: Pablo Munguia (14-3) W TKO 7 Joel Juarez (32-19-2). Welter: Felipe Ugalde (14-0) W RTD 2 Leo Corona (10-14)
Tough fight for WBC No 4 Castellanos. The WBC Silver champion found that Nicaraguan Ruiz was a smart and strong boxer. However, after the first two rounds 'Robin Hood' Castellanos, 29, went to the body and scored well with hooks and uppercuts to take the next two rounds. Ruiz fought back to share the next two, but from the sixth to the eleventh it was Castellanos who was scoring the heaviest. Ruiz staged a rally in the last, but needed a knockout. Scores 117-111 twice and 117-112 as Castellanos made a successful third title defence. Castellanos has nine wins by KO/TKO. He has turned his career around with 9 wins in his last 10 fights, including victories over Sanabria, Chris Perez and Albert Garza. Southpaw Ruiz, 27, was coming off a good victory in September when he won the Nicaraguan super bantam title with a decision over previously unbeaten Rene Alvarado. 'The Gravedigger' Munguia too young, strong and aggressive for veteran Juarez and retains his national title for the second time. Former champion Juarez showed plenty of guts but could not match the power of Munguia. Juarez spits his gum shield out twice. Finally in the third, under pressure he spits his gum shield out for a third time. In the same round Munguia puts Juarez down with a right. Juarez gets up, but goes down again and sits out the count. Now 10 wins in his last 11 fights for Munguia. Juarez fights rarely last the distance. He has 27 wins by KO/TKO and 17 losses the same way. Disappointing end to fight as Corona retires at the end of the second with a dislocated shoulder. Now 13 wins by KO/TKO for 'Pinocchio'
Auckland, New Zealand Heavy: Chauncy Welliver (52-5-1) W TKO 10 Moyoyo Mensah (21-9-1)
Welliver, 28, continues unbeaten run but in strange circumstances. Ghanaian Mensah gives Welliver some early problems with his style, but from the sixth Welliver is in charge and scoring heavily. Suddenly in the tenth Mensah just turns away and climbs out of the ring. Welliver given a win on a 'stoppage'. Welliver wins/retains a whole list of titles which I won’t even bother listing. The 'Hillyard Hammer', who splits his time between the US and New Zealand, has been unbeaten in last 17, and his only loss in his last 35 has been to Odlanier Solis, but Solis is the only name he has faced in that period. On the basis of quantity rather than quality Welliver is No 6 with the WBC.
Cebu City, Philippines Fly: Milan Melindo (26-0) W TKO 7 Juan Esquer (27-9-2). Feather: Lorenzo Villaneuva (22-0,1ND) W TKO 1 Diego Ledesma (18-5-2). Straw: Merlito Sabillo (17-0) W PTS 8 Sofyan Effendi (11-12-2)
Fly: Mhar Jhun Macahilig (14-1) W KO 2 Kaichon (25-10)
A farcical ending saw Mexican Esquer put on a ham acting display to try to con the referee into giving him a disqualification win. Esquer’s rushing style was made for Melindo who had no trouble countering the Mexican and was dominating the fight. In the fourth a clear low blow from the Filipino saw Esquer descend to the floor rolling in agony. He made 5 or 6 'brave' tries at regaining his feet and when no disqualification was forthcoming he got up and survived the round. The sixth saw Esquer suffering more punishment and he was looking for a way out. With Melindo in a corner Esquer landed a low punch. As the referee stepped in to warn Esquer, the Mexican fell to the canvas claiming Melindo had landed a low blow. In fact Melindo had not even landed a punch, and when Esquer refused to continue the referee stopped the fight. It is unfortunate that Melindo was robbed of a clear win as there was no way Esquer was going to be able to last the distance.
The brilliantly talented 23-year-old 'Method Man' is not a great puncher, but he has plenty of skill, and has already beaten former world champions Carlos Tamara and Muhammad Rachman and in his last fight beat tough Mexican Francisco Rosas. Esquer was a huge disappointment. He had fought in good company, and lost to Tamara for the WBO light fly title in 2007, but this showing was pathetic. WBO No 3 Melindo retains WBO Orient title. Southpaw Villanueva was aiming to show how he had improved after a brief spell training with Freddie Roach. Unfortunately he did not hang around long enough to give more than a glimpse. A southpaw left cross crashed onto the jaw of Ledesma and sent him to the canvas. He beat the count but was floored again and the fight was stopped. The 26-year-old 'Thunderbolt has won 21 by KO/TKO. He still has some rough edges but is in the right camp to get those smoothed out. Third loss inside the distance for Ledesma. 'Tiger' Sabillo, 28, the Philippines and OPBF champion, and WBA No 12, has a good workout on his way to unanimous verdict over Indonesian 'Cobra' Effendi. Scores 78-74 from all three judges. Only 2 wins in his last 8 fights for Effendi, but against good opposition. Yet another young Filipino came through with an impressive win. Macahilig, 21, put former WBO light fly challenger Kaichon down with a wicked left hook to the body. The Thai had the edge in height and reach and had a good first round. However, when Macahilig landed that left the fight was over. Nine wins in a row for Macahilig and his eighth win by KO/TKO.
Caloocan City, Philippines Bantam: Marvin Mabait (16-0-2) W PTS 12 Rey Perez (13-2) Fly: Sonny Boy Jaro (33-10-7) W TKO 1 Sam Apuya (7-9). Super Bantam: Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr. (8-0) W KO 1 Superjames Singmanasak (1-5)
Southpaw Mabait, 24, boxes his way to victory, and wins Philippines title with wide unanimous verdict. Perez suffered a cut up on his forehead and another on his left eyebrow, but neither was serious. Mabait was the better boxer and dominated in most of the rounds. Perez, 21, a light puncher, had lost on points to former WBA super fly champ Nobuo Nashiro in July. Mismatch sees Jaro finish late sub Apuya in the first. A flurry of punches put Apuya down. A further series of hooks sent Apuya down outside the ropes and the fight is stopped. Jaro, 29, a former Philippines and OPBF champion, lasted just 65 seconds in a challenge to Giovanni Segura for the WBA light fly title in 2009. He also lost on points to Edgar Sosa for the WBC title in 2008. He has 23 wins by KO/TKO. Apuya has lost 7 of his last 8 fights. Penalosa continues his march as he floors poor Thai twice. The young southpaw put Singmanasak down with a left hook. The Thai got up but was nailed with a straight left for the finish. All eight of Juniors wins have come by KO/TKO but he can have learned nothing from this match.
Huntington, USA Light Welter: Chris Algieri (13-0) W PTS 8 Curtis Smith (10-6). Light Welter: Issouf Kinda (11-0) W PTS 8 Angel Rios (9-9)
Good win for home town fighter. Algieri, 27, a former kickboxer, makes better start as both are willing g to strand and trade. The faster hands and workrate of Algieri see him build and early lead and hold off a strong finish by Smith. Scores 80-72 twice and 78-74. Kinda remains unbeaten with unanimous decision. The 23-year-old represented Burkina Faso at the World Junior and World Senior championships.
Agadir, Morocco Bantam: Hassan Azaouagh (10-6) W KO 3 Jerome Thomas (12-1-1). Light Middle: Frank Haroche Horta (29-8-5) W PTS 6 Bronislav Kubin (12-8-1)
Big upset as 25-year-old Azaouagh ends the unbeaten run of former amateur star Thomas. When these two met last June Thomas, 33, won on points. It looked as though it might go the same way again as Thomas took the first with fast hooks with both hands. The second still saw Thomas the faster and busier, but Azaouagh was punching much harder and shortening the distance. In third a right hook to the chin put Thomas down. Thomas got up, but the next attack saw him go down again and the fights was stopped. Azaouagh wins inaugural Francophone title and has won his last five fights. Thomas was one the most successful French boxers of all time, but left it too late to turn pro. Southpaw Horta, 31, extends current unbeaten run to 13 with comfortable points win over Czech Kubin. In two visits to Britain Horta has lost to Mark Thompson and beaten Dean Byrne. A durable Kubin has only failed to last the distance once but has registered only two wins in his last nine fights.
