[h2]Berto beats back Collazo challenge[/h2]
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By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive
Scott Foster/Fightwireimages.com Digging deep: Andre Berto, left, poured it on late to clinch the win over Luis Collazo.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
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| Welterweight
Andre Berto W12 Luis Collazo
Retains a welterweight title
Scores: 116-111, 114-113 (twice) |
Records: Berto, 24-0, 19 KOs; Collazo, 29-4, 14 KOs
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Rafael's remark: Babied by promoter Lou DiBella, manager Al Haymon and HBO throughout his career, Berto finally stepped up against a legitimate top-10 welterweight and passed the brutally stiff test, edging Collazo in a fantastic fight that we ought to be talking about 11 months from now when it comes time to discuss fight of the year candidates. The 25-year-old Berto, a 2004 Olympian and the 2006 ESPN.com prospect of the year, banged it out with former titleholder Collazo, 27, in a crowd-pleasing bout that had all sorts of momentum swings and furious exchanges.
Both guys were cut and both laid their hearts out to try to win. But it was Berto, fighting like he wanted it more down the stretch, who won the late rounds, especially the 12th, to seal the tight fight. You know that 116-111 score turned in by judge Bill Clancy? No way. There was simply no way in hell this was a five-point fight. If you thought Collazo deserved the decision, which would not be an unreasonable position, it could be a one or two-point fight either way. But Berto, making the second defense of his belt, got the nod and it's hard to argue against the decision. His shots seemed to be harder and his hands were faster, although Collazo threw so many punches. He started awfully fast, rocking Berto and nearly knocking him down in the first round. Berto also was docked a point for holding in the fourth round by referee Keith Hughes. Collazo appeared to tire in the middle rounds before regaining his wind, but by then Berto was in another gear as he closed really strong. Berto connected on 266 of 682 shots (39 percent) and Collazo landed 222 of 812 shots (27 percent), according to CompuBox statistics.
It was a great fight and a great test for an outstanding young fighter in Berto. DiBella told ESPN.com that Berto likely will defend his title again in the late spring or summer and then has promised Collazo, who also lost a razor-close decision to Ricky Hatton a few years ago, a rematch. He deserves it.
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| Welterweight
Sadam Ali TKO1 Ricky Thompson |
Records: Ali, 1-0, 1 KO; Thompson, 1-5, 1 KO
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| Rafael's remark: New Yorker Ali, 20, the U.S. Olympic lightweight (132 pounds) in Beijing, made his pro debut, becoming the fourth member of Team USA to turn pro. He was matched soft and did as expected, scoring the knockout against Thompson, 27. Ali dropped Thompson with a right hand, and although Thompson beat the count, the fight was waved off at 1:42. |
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Saturday at Biloxi, Miss.
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| Cruiserweight
Victor Emilio Ramirez TKO10 Alexander Alekseev
Wins a vacant interim cruiserweight title
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Records: Ramirez, 14-1, 12 KOs; Alekseev, 16-1, 15 KOs
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Rafael's remark: Talk about a surprise. Universum has been grooming Alekseev -- 27, a native of Uzbekistan living in Germany -- to be a star and this was supposed to be a showcase victory for him. But this is why they fight the fights. Ramirez, 24, fighting for the first time outside of Argentina, started a bit slowly as Alekseev was able to put some rounds in the bank with his boxing ability. But the aggressive Ramirez turned things in his favor when he caught Alekseev with some body shots and wobbled him in the sixth round. Although Alekseev returned the body attack in the seventh and hurt Ramirez, the latter shook it off. Ramirez was connecting with head shots and rocked Alekseev again in the ninth and almost knocked him down at the end of the round. After the round, Alekseev's corner threw in the towel and the fight was called off, officially, one second into the 10th round. Ramirez claimed an interim belt. Why it was available will remain another in the vast catalog of sanctioning organization greed. David Haye vacated the title last year and Enzo Maccarinelli and Johnathon Banks were supposed to meet for the vacant belt in December before Banks sprained his ankle. Maccarinelli will fight Banks or somebody else (if Banks takes a possible fight with division king Tomasz Adamek) for the vacant title. So why exactly was an interim title made available? Follow the money.
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Saturday at Düsseldorf, Germany
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| Welterweight
Jose Luis Castillo TKO2 James Wayca
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Records: Castillo, 57-9-1, 49 KOs; Wayca, 16-8, 8 KOs
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Rafael's remark: On the first show of Top Rank's new series on Mexico's TV Azteca and its U.S. sister network, Azteca America, former lightweight champion Castillo -- now 35 and a shell of his former self after so many wars -- steamrolled to the victory against journeyman Wayca, 30, who dropped to 3-6 in his past nine fights, with each loss during the stretch coming via knockout in less than five rounds. Castillo scored a first-round knockdown and finished Wayca in the second with a body shot. It was Castillo's first bout since a one-sided decision loss to Sebastian Lujan in July on ESPN2. Castillo might no longer be among the best, but he'll undoubtedly keep fighting these kind of fights just to make a living.
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Saturday at Hermosillo, Mexico
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| Junior middleweight
Eromosele Albert W10 Germaine Sanders
Scores: 100-90 (three times) |
Records: Albert, 22-2-1, 10 KOs; Sanders, 27-7, 17 KOs
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Rafael's remark: In the ESPN2 "Friday Night Fights" main event, Albert, 34, rolled to an easy decision as he won every round on all three scorecards. If you saw one round, you know exactly how the whole fight went -- Albert asserting himself at his own pace and Sanders, 38, who has lost four in a row, doing nothing in return. Sanders took the fight on five days' notice. Albert was originally supposed to serve as fodder for former welterweight titlist Carlos Quintana, but he hurt his ankle and pulled out of the fight. It was a decent rebound performance for Albert, who had a miserable 2008, drawing with Ossie Duran and getting stiffened by James Kirkland in one round.
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| Middleweight
Angel Hernandez W10 James McGirt Jr.
Scores: 96-95, 96-94 (twice) |
Records: Hernandez, 29-7, 16 KOs; McGirt Jr., 19-2-1, 9 KOs
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| Rafael's remark: Although McGirt has great bloodlines as the son of former two-time world champion Buddy McGirt (his father and trainer), the younger McGirt, 26, is clearly never going to reach the lofty levels achieved by the elder McGirt. If he was as good as his media releases say he is, he would have easily dispatched the game-but-long-faded Angel Hernandez, 33, who moved to 5-5 in his past 10 fights (including a lopsided 2005 loss to Winky Wright for a junior middleweight title). In the end, it was a close fight, which was announced on ESPN2 as a majority decision for Hernandez, leaving the McGirts stunned. Turns out, it was actually unanimous for Hernandez. Although McGirt was quicker than Hernandez and more skillful, he let Hernandez crowd him, work on the inside and bully him. The loss continued an inconsistent run for McGirt, who was knocked out by Carlos De Leon Jr. last April, rebounded for a solid decision against Raymond Joval in July and then fought to a draw with the unheralded Marcus Upshaw in November. |
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Friday at Key West, Fla.
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| Featherweight
Orlando Cruz KO5 Leonilo Miranda
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Records: Cruz, 16-0-1, 7 KOs; Miranda, 24-1, 23 KOs
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| Rafael's remark: This is the kind of "ShoBox" main event that is most intriguing: When both fighters are undefeated, both are somewhat unknown and both are in with what figures to be their best opponent. In this case, it was Cruz, a 2000 Puerto Rican Olympian whose career has moved slowly, who passed his test and Mexico's Miranda who flamed out in the battle of southpaws. It had been a competitive and entertaining fight going into the fifth round when Cruz, who had been rocked in the third round, crushed Miranda with a dynamic left hand to the chin and put him flat on his back. Miranda, fighting outside of his home state of Sonora, struggled to his feet but could not beat the count. |
| Lightweight
Marvin Quintero TKO3 Nick Casal
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Records: Quintero, 15-1, 12 KOs; Casal, 18-4-1, 14 KOs
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| Rafael's remark: Nothing fancy here other than Quintero and Casal trading all out in a brutal slugfest until Casal, telling his corner he had no legs, quit after the third round. It was a surprising and disappointing end to what had been an all-out slugfest. Although both were absorbing a lot of punches, Quintero, of Mexico, was doing more damage. He poured on punches in the third round, after which Casal, 23, the one-time prospect, simply wanted no more. As Showtime analyst Steve Farhood said afterward, it seemed like Casal was not only quitting the fight, but quitting boxing as well. Quintero won his 11th in a row since suffering his lone defeat, a first-round TKO loss to Balam Castellanos in 2005. |
| Featherweight
Gary Russell Jr. TKO3 Antonio Reyes
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Records: Russell Jr., 1-0, 1 KO; Reyes, 3-3, 0 KOs
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| Rafael's remark: Russell, 20, was the 2008 U.S. Olympic bantamweight but never fought in Beijing. His story of passing out the night before the first weigh-in while cutting weight and being disqualified was well documented over the summer. Turning the page, the decorated amateur with the flashy style made his professional debut in the more comfortable featherweight division and he put on an impressive show. With exposure on the season debut of Showtime's "ShoBox," Russell showed he's going to be a fun prospect to watch climb the pro ladder. For a kid in his first pro fight, he was matched solidly and delivered an exciting, knockout performance that should have fans mighty interested in seeing him again. He displayed fast hands and poise as he dropped Reyes near the end of the second round with some massive shots. Reyes, game to the end, somehow made it to his feet. But he didn't last much longer as Russell, of Capitol Heights, Md., attacked him from the outset of the third round. He was laying a beating on Reyes when referee Steve Smoger made a perfect stoppage 21 seconds into the round. |
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Friday at Tulsa, Okla.
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| Junior middleweight
Sechew Powell TKO3 Christian Lloyd Joseph
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Records: Powell, 25-2, 15 KOs; Joseph, 12-8-3, 5 KOs
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Rafael's remark: On the comeback trail, Powell was matched awfully soft, so it should come as little surprise that he blew out Joseph, 36, who lost his fourth in a row and fifth of his past sixth. Powell, 29, who won his second in a row, is trying to get his career back on track after being stopped by Deandre Latimore in the seventh round in June and subsequently failing the post-fight drug test, for which he was fined and suspended. He was all over Joseph from the start and hurt him in the opening round. Finally, in the third, referee Frank Gentile stopped the bout after Joseph was rocked with unanswered shots.
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| Light heavyweight
Edison Miranda KO3 Manuel Esparza
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Records: Miranda, 31-3, 27 KOs; Esparza, 20-9-1, 5 KOs
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| Rafael's remark: The last time he was in the ring, Miranda was blown away by middleweight titleholder Arthur Abraham in the fourth round of their super middleweight nontitle rematch in June. Making his comeback, Miranda, 28, was matched as soft as can be and took care of Esparza, 30, with ease, fighting as a light heavyweight. He dropped Esparza in the second round and knocked him out with a left to the nose the following round. As exciting as Miranda is, it's hard to envision him beating the elite at light heavyweight or super middleweight. But he's always fun to watch. Esparza, 30, fought for only the second time since 2000 and fell to 1-5 in his past six. |
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Wednesday at Hollywood, Fla.
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