Weekend Wrap Up.
Spoiler [+]
Saturday at Biloxi, Miss.
Andre Berto TKO5 Jan Zaveck
Welterweight
Wins a welterweight title
Records: Berto (28-1, 21 KOs); Zaveck (31-2, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remark: The biggest question going into this HBO main event: Would Berto be able to bounce back from the very difficult loss -- mentally and physically -- that he suffered in April, when he engaged Victor Ortiz in a tremendous slugfest? Both men hit the deck twice in the memorable battle, but it was Berto, the big favorite, who lost a unanimous decision, his undefeated record and his welterweight belt.
While Berto sulked over the loss and accused Ortiz of using performance-enhancing drugs (which he has since backed away from), he had to watch as Ortiz was picked for a multimillion dollar payday to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Sept. 17. Although Berto, 27, of Winter Haven, Fla., didn't land a fight the caliber of one against Mayweather (or Manny Pacquiao, who he had been in the running to face before the Ortiz fight), he did get a shot at the belt held by Zaveck, 35, the only titleholder in the history of Slovenia.
Although Zaveck was unknown to American fans, he can fight. He has skill, a good chin and had no fear of fighting in Berto's territory for his fourth title defense. After all, in his only previous fight outside of Europe, Zaveck had gone to South Africa and knocked out Isaac Hlatshwayo in the third round to win his belt in December 2009.
Berto and Zaveck put on quite a crowd-pleasing, competitive fight as they traded at close quarters throughout the bout. Berto relentlessly ripped Zaveck to the body, and Zaveck landed some crisp, clean, short right hands. Both guys were wobbled at different times, and it was shaping up to be a battle of attrition. But in the fifth round, Zaveck's face began to give out. Both eyes were cut and his right eye was swelling very badly. After the round was over, his corner called for the bout to be stopped as Zaveck screamed at them to allow him to continue, to no avail.
Although Berto still gets hit way too much for his good and his legs looked a bit shaky, this was a good rebound performance. Although Berto's first defense is supposed to come against mandatory challenger Randall Bailey (who stayed busy with a win on the undercard), he said he would love nothing more than a rematch with Ortiz. Whether Ortiz wins or loses against Mayweather, Ortiz-Berto II would be an ideal fight. As for Zaveck, he showed a lot and made a terrific fight. There's no reason he shouldn't be welcomed back by HBO for the right kind of matchup.
Gary Russell Jr. W8 Leonilo Miranda
Featherweight
Scores: 80-72 (twice), 79-73
Records: Russell Jr. (18-0, 10 KOs); Miranda (32-4, 30 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Not surprisingly, Russell, who has perhaps the quickest hands in boxing and is one of the sport's top prospects, ran roughshod over Miranda in a monster mismatch that belonged nowhere near the HBO airwaves. But being in the stable of Al Haymon (Russell's adviser) has its privileges. HBO didn't even have an opponent for Russell until about a week before the fight, unheard of for the network. And to make matters worse, the bout was cut from a scheduled 10-rounder to an eight-rounder -- even more special treatment for Russell, in a move supposedly agreed to because Russell, a southpaw, was dealing with a fragile left hand.
That said, Russell, 23, of Capitol Heights, Md., looked very, very good against a very, very limited opponent in Miranda, 28, of Mexico, who has now lost four of his last six (yet another questionable decision by HBO to approve such a poor opponent). Russell, a 2008 U.S. Olympian, had the overwhelming speed and skill advantage, which he used to pepper Miranda nonstop throughout the bout. Two judges appropriately had it a shutout, but it was quite surprising to see that judge Larry Ingle gave Miranda even a single round, because Russell toyed with his opponent. He jabbed relentlessly, worked the body extremely well, showed strong defense and punched in blazingly fast combinations. At one point in the fifth round, Russell ripped off a six-punch combination. It's doubtful Miranda ever saw more than two or three of the punches. Russell wobbled Miranda a couple of times in what amounted to target practice. The only knock on Russell at all was that he could not drop Miranda.
Russell is an elite prospect with world champion/pound-for-pound potential. If HBO wants to keep televising his fights, it should require his handlers -- Haymon and Golden Boy -- to match him with a much higher grade of opposition based on his amateur background and obvious talent. It looks very much like the kid can handle it.
Randall Bailey W10 Yoryi Estrella
Welterweight
Scores: 100-89 (twice), 98-91
Records: Bailey (42-7, 36 KOs); Estrella (10-6-2, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Bailey, 36, a former junior welterweight titlist from Miami, cruised to a decision against the Dominican Republic's Estrella, 31, in a stay-busy fight while awaiting a mandatory title shot. Bailey, who scored a fifth-round knockdown with an uppercut in the one-sided fight, had been titleholder's Jan Zaveck's mandatory challenger. But Zaveck asked the IBF for an exception to face Andre Berto in an optional defense in the main event. So instead, Bailey, who is promoted by Lou DiBella (same as Berto), was put on the undercard, with the guarantee that he would be the next opponent for the main event winner, which proved to be Berto. Bailey didn't get the knockout most expected -- he is one of the best pure punchers in the sport -- but he handed Estrella his third consecutive loss and made him 0-4-1 in his past five bouts.
Thomas Oosthuzien W12 Aaron Pryor Jr.
Super middleweight
Scores: 117-111 (three times)
Records: Oosthuzien (16-0-1, 11 KOs); Pryor Jr. (16-4, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Promoter Lou DiBella has been excited about his recent signing of South African southpaw Oosthuzien to a co-promotional deal with Rodney Berman, one of the top promoters in South Africa. DiBella had seen Oosthuzien, 22, on video but was excited to see him fight in person in his American debut and was pleased with what he saw against Cincinnati's Pryor, 33, the son of Hall of Famer Aaron Pryor. Oosthuzien used a strong body attack and overcame a bad cut over his right eye to pound out the decision against Pryor, a much-improved fighter who was coming off an upset decision win against longtime contender Librado Andrade on May 6. DiBella also promotes Pryor and said he had thought about releasing him if he lost. But he said he was so happy with Pryor's performance and effort in defeat that he would continue promoting him.
Saturday at Yerevan, Armenia
Vic Darchinyan W12 Evans Mbamba
Bantamweight
Scores: 120-107 (twice), 119-107
Records: Darchinyan (37-3-1, 27 KOs); Mbamba (18-2, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Darchinyan is known to fight fans in the United States because the former flyweight and junior bantamweight titlist has been a regular on Showtime for years and has made numerous entertaining bouts. But Darchinyan, 35, who lives in Australia, is originally from Armenia and has always wanted to fight in his birth country. So this was his chance as he faced Mbamba (in defense of a minor bantamweight belt) in the main event of the first professional boxing card in Armenia, which drew a crowd of about 12,000 (including the president of the country), according to promoter Gary Shaw.
In December, Darchinyan lost a bloody split decision to Abner Mares in the semifinals of Showtime's four-man bantamweight tournament, but rebounded with a terrific performance against Yonnhy Perez to win a five-round technical decision in the April consolation match. Now back in Armenia, Darchinyan powered past Mbamba with a dominant near-shutout performance in a fight in which both men suffered cuts. Although the big-hitting Darchinyan didn't get the knockout, he did just about everything else as he battered the game Mbamba throughout the fight, including scoring a knockdown in the first round on a body shot.
Mbamba, 29, of South Africa, dropped his second fight in his past three. His losses have come in the only fights he has had outside of South Africa. The other was a lopsided decision to Tomas Rojas for an interim junior bantamweight title in Mexico in October 2009.
Saturday at Los Mochis, Mexico
Humberto Soto TKO2 Jose Alfaro
Junior welterweight
Records: Soto (56-7-2, 33 KOs); Alfaro (25-8, 22 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Soto, a former lightweight and junior lightweight titlist, made the fourth and final defense of his lightweight belt in June with an 11-round technical decision against Motoki Sasaki in what he had already announced would be his last fight at 135 pounds.
Moving up to the 140-pound junior welterweight division, Soto, 31, made his debut in the weight class in his hometown against Alfaro and dominated before the odd conclusion. An accidental head-butt in the second round opened a cut on Alfaro's right eyelid and one over Soto's right eye. When the action resumed, Soto took it to Alfaro. He battered him around the ring and wobbled him with a powerful right hand. Alfaro's cut was bleeding heavily -- and he was also cut under the left eye -- when referee Gelasio Perez Huerta called a timeout for the ringside doctor to examine his cut. It seemed as though the doctor indicated that the referee should stop the fight, and he did, calling it off at one minute of the round. In the United States, the bout would have been ruled a no-contest. In Mexico, however, it was ruled a TKO in Soto's favor.
Despite the weird ending, Soto seemed well on his way to victory as the obviously stronger fighter. He had Alfaro on the run during the second round and seemingly on the verge of quitting. Soto, with his good chin and willingness to engage, could certainly fit into some good matches in the strong junior welterweight division. Alfaro, 27, of Nicaragua, briefly held a lightweight belt in late 2007 and early 2008. He dropped to 2-4 in his past six fights, including losses in notable fights against Erik Morales and Antonio DeMarco for an interim title.
Saturday at San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Marco Antonio Rubio TKO5 Mohammed Akrong
Middleweight
Records: Rubio (52-5-1, 45 KOs); Akrong (13-4, 10 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Mexico's Rubio, 31, has been close to a title shot for awhile, especially after scoring a major upset when he knocked out hot prospect David Lemieux in April. But with all the WBC nonsense that surrounded the stripping of Sergio Martinez and the title opportunity of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Rubio has been stuck waiting. But he has been staying busy and winning, this lopsided win against Akrong being no exception. Rubio won his ninth fight in a row since suffering a ninth-round TKO when challenging then middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik for the title in February 2009.
Rubio had no trouble dispatching Akrong, but at least he got in a few rounds of work before getting rid of him. Rubio took a few decent shots, but he mainly played target practice against Akrong, who followed Rubio around and ate a lot of leather. Rubio spent most of the fourth round battering him around the ring. It was more of the same in the fifth round, when Akrong, his left eye bleeding, finally went down and into the ropes after Rubio connected with a left hook to the body. Akrong got up immediately but had a look of resignation on his face, and he was clearly in no shape to continue when referee Jerry Venzor called it off with 58 seconds left in the round.
Fighting outside of Africa for the first time, Akrong, 28, of Ghana, saw his three-fight winning streak come to a halt. Rubio, meanwhile, will likely continue to stay active while hoping for the elusive title shot.
Saturday at Mexicali, Mexico
Omar Chavez TKO1 Alberto Martinez
Welterweight
Records: Chavez (27-0-1, 20 KOs); Martinez (15-2, 10 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Chavez, 21, of Mexico -- the son of Hall of Famer Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and the younger brother of middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. -- remains raw and untested, but he will beat guys like Martinez all day long. In the main event of "Top Rank Live," Chavez blew away Mexican countryman Martinez, a hand-picked opponent whose wins have come against the worst possible competition imaginable. Many of his opponents were winless, and combined they had a record of 24-74-3 before Martinez faced Chavez.
Chavez rocked Martinez's head back repeatedly with stiff jabs and then nailed him with a left hook to the chin that dropped him, with his head coming to rest as it leaned on the bottom ring rope. Martinez tried to get up, but referee Juan Jose Ramirez called it off at 2 minutes 51 seconds as Chavez notched the win with ease. With Jorge Paez Jr. having fought on the undercard, there is a good chance the sons of famous fighting fathers will meet in their next fight.
Jorge Paez Jr. TKO3 Rodrigo Juarez
Welterweight
Records: Paez Jr. (29-4-1, 18 KOs); Juarez (15-14-1, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Paez, 23, of Mexico, is the son of "The Clown Prince of Boxing," flamboyant former featherweight titlist Jorge Paez. The kid got a lot of hype when he turned pro, but never lived up to the lofty expectations. He is certainly good enough, however, to beat opponents of the incredibly limited ability of Juarez, 28, also of Mexico, who lost his sixth fight in a row and eighth in his past nine fights. This was a mismatch when the contract was signed. Paez dropped Juarez with a flush uppercut in the first minute of the fight to set the tone for the bout. In the third round, Paez teed off on Juarez, landing a series of shots that forced him into the corner, when referee Benito Quinones intervened at 1 minute, 2 seconds. The win could set up Paez for a fight with main event winner Omar Chavez, the son of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.
Friday at Salinas, Calif.
Eloy Perez KO2 Daniel Jimenez
Junior lightweight
Records: Perez (22-0-2, 6 KOs); Jimenez (20-4-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Perez, 24, of Salinas, Calif., got a chance to fight in his hometown in the main event of Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo Tecate" and gave his fans something to cheer about with a rare knockout. And it wasn't just any old knockout, but a pretty explosive one from out of nowhere. He softened Jimenez up midway through the opening round when he dropped him with a counter right hand to the head. Jimenez was a bit wobbly, and though he was allowed to continue, he seemed to be in trouble. Sure enough, Perez landed a left this time to score a second knockdown with about 20 seconds left in the round. Again Jimenez survived, but not for long. Perez landed a wide-open left hook to the chin of Jimenez, whose whole body went limp and crashed into the bottom ring rope. Referee Edward Collantes immediately called it off, at 56 seconds into the round. It was quite a spectacular, and unexpected, performance from Perez -- a good prospect, but not a guy who has flashed much power. If Perez's Golden Boy stablemate Adrien Broner defeats titlist Ricky Burns when they meet in November, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see Perez get a shot at Broner. Jimenez, 30, of Puerto Rico, saw his three-fight winning streak come to an end.
Andre Berto TKO5 Jan Zaveck
Welterweight
Wins a welterweight title
Records: Berto (28-1, 21 KOs); Zaveck (31-2, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remark: The biggest question going into this HBO main event: Would Berto be able to bounce back from the very difficult loss -- mentally and physically -- that he suffered in April, when he engaged Victor Ortiz in a tremendous slugfest? Both men hit the deck twice in the memorable battle, but it was Berto, the big favorite, who lost a unanimous decision, his undefeated record and his welterweight belt.
While Berto sulked over the loss and accused Ortiz of using performance-enhancing drugs (which he has since backed away from), he had to watch as Ortiz was picked for a multimillion dollar payday to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Sept. 17. Although Berto, 27, of Winter Haven, Fla., didn't land a fight the caliber of one against Mayweather (or Manny Pacquiao, who he had been in the running to face before the Ortiz fight), he did get a shot at the belt held by Zaveck, 35, the only titleholder in the history of Slovenia.
Although Zaveck was unknown to American fans, he can fight. He has skill, a good chin and had no fear of fighting in Berto's territory for his fourth title defense. After all, in his only previous fight outside of Europe, Zaveck had gone to South Africa and knocked out Isaac Hlatshwayo in the third round to win his belt in December 2009.
Berto and Zaveck put on quite a crowd-pleasing, competitive fight as they traded at close quarters throughout the bout. Berto relentlessly ripped Zaveck to the body, and Zaveck landed some crisp, clean, short right hands. Both guys were wobbled at different times, and it was shaping up to be a battle of attrition. But in the fifth round, Zaveck's face began to give out. Both eyes were cut and his right eye was swelling very badly. After the round was over, his corner called for the bout to be stopped as Zaveck screamed at them to allow him to continue, to no avail.
Although Berto still gets hit way too much for his good and his legs looked a bit shaky, this was a good rebound performance. Although Berto's first defense is supposed to come against mandatory challenger Randall Bailey (who stayed busy with a win on the undercard), he said he would love nothing more than a rematch with Ortiz. Whether Ortiz wins or loses against Mayweather, Ortiz-Berto II would be an ideal fight. As for Zaveck, he showed a lot and made a terrific fight. There's no reason he shouldn't be welcomed back by HBO for the right kind of matchup.
Gary Russell Jr. W8 Leonilo Miranda
Featherweight
Scores: 80-72 (twice), 79-73
Records: Russell Jr. (18-0, 10 KOs); Miranda (32-4, 30 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Not surprisingly, Russell, who has perhaps the quickest hands in boxing and is one of the sport's top prospects, ran roughshod over Miranda in a monster mismatch that belonged nowhere near the HBO airwaves. But being in the stable of Al Haymon (Russell's adviser) has its privileges. HBO didn't even have an opponent for Russell until about a week before the fight, unheard of for the network. And to make matters worse, the bout was cut from a scheduled 10-rounder to an eight-rounder -- even more special treatment for Russell, in a move supposedly agreed to because Russell, a southpaw, was dealing with a fragile left hand.
That said, Russell, 23, of Capitol Heights, Md., looked very, very good against a very, very limited opponent in Miranda, 28, of Mexico, who has now lost four of his last six (yet another questionable decision by HBO to approve such a poor opponent). Russell, a 2008 U.S. Olympian, had the overwhelming speed and skill advantage, which he used to pepper Miranda nonstop throughout the bout. Two judges appropriately had it a shutout, but it was quite surprising to see that judge Larry Ingle gave Miranda even a single round, because Russell toyed with his opponent. He jabbed relentlessly, worked the body extremely well, showed strong defense and punched in blazingly fast combinations. At one point in the fifth round, Russell ripped off a six-punch combination. It's doubtful Miranda ever saw more than two or three of the punches. Russell wobbled Miranda a couple of times in what amounted to target practice. The only knock on Russell at all was that he could not drop Miranda.
Russell is an elite prospect with world champion/pound-for-pound potential. If HBO wants to keep televising his fights, it should require his handlers -- Haymon and Golden Boy -- to match him with a much higher grade of opposition based on his amateur background and obvious talent. It looks very much like the kid can handle it.
Randall Bailey W10 Yoryi Estrella
Welterweight
Scores: 100-89 (twice), 98-91
Records: Bailey (42-7, 36 KOs); Estrella (10-6-2, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Bailey, 36, a former junior welterweight titlist from Miami, cruised to a decision against the Dominican Republic's Estrella, 31, in a stay-busy fight while awaiting a mandatory title shot. Bailey, who scored a fifth-round knockdown with an uppercut in the one-sided fight, had been titleholder's Jan Zaveck's mandatory challenger. But Zaveck asked the IBF for an exception to face Andre Berto in an optional defense in the main event. So instead, Bailey, who is promoted by Lou DiBella (same as Berto), was put on the undercard, with the guarantee that he would be the next opponent for the main event winner, which proved to be Berto. Bailey didn't get the knockout most expected -- he is one of the best pure punchers in the sport -- but he handed Estrella his third consecutive loss and made him 0-4-1 in his past five bouts.
Thomas Oosthuzien W12 Aaron Pryor Jr.
Super middleweight
Scores: 117-111 (three times)
Records: Oosthuzien (16-0-1, 11 KOs); Pryor Jr. (16-4, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Promoter Lou DiBella has been excited about his recent signing of South African southpaw Oosthuzien to a co-promotional deal with Rodney Berman, one of the top promoters in South Africa. DiBella had seen Oosthuzien, 22, on video but was excited to see him fight in person in his American debut and was pleased with what he saw against Cincinnati's Pryor, 33, the son of Hall of Famer Aaron Pryor. Oosthuzien used a strong body attack and overcame a bad cut over his right eye to pound out the decision against Pryor, a much-improved fighter who was coming off an upset decision win against longtime contender Librado Andrade on May 6. DiBella also promotes Pryor and said he had thought about releasing him if he lost. But he said he was so happy with Pryor's performance and effort in defeat that he would continue promoting him.
Saturday at Yerevan, Armenia
Vic Darchinyan W12 Evans Mbamba
Bantamweight
Scores: 120-107 (twice), 119-107
Records: Darchinyan (37-3-1, 27 KOs); Mbamba (18-2, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Darchinyan is known to fight fans in the United States because the former flyweight and junior bantamweight titlist has been a regular on Showtime for years and has made numerous entertaining bouts. But Darchinyan, 35, who lives in Australia, is originally from Armenia and has always wanted to fight in his birth country. So this was his chance as he faced Mbamba (in defense of a minor bantamweight belt) in the main event of the first professional boxing card in Armenia, which drew a crowd of about 12,000 (including the president of the country), according to promoter Gary Shaw.
In December, Darchinyan lost a bloody split decision to Abner Mares in the semifinals of Showtime's four-man bantamweight tournament, but rebounded with a terrific performance against Yonnhy Perez to win a five-round technical decision in the April consolation match. Now back in Armenia, Darchinyan powered past Mbamba with a dominant near-shutout performance in a fight in which both men suffered cuts. Although the big-hitting Darchinyan didn't get the knockout, he did just about everything else as he battered the game Mbamba throughout the fight, including scoring a knockdown in the first round on a body shot.
Mbamba, 29, of South Africa, dropped his second fight in his past three. His losses have come in the only fights he has had outside of South Africa. The other was a lopsided decision to Tomas Rojas for an interim junior bantamweight title in Mexico in October 2009.
Saturday at Los Mochis, Mexico
Humberto Soto TKO2 Jose Alfaro
Junior welterweight
Records: Soto (56-7-2, 33 KOs); Alfaro (25-8, 22 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Soto, a former lightweight and junior lightweight titlist, made the fourth and final defense of his lightweight belt in June with an 11-round technical decision against Motoki Sasaki in what he had already announced would be his last fight at 135 pounds.
Moving up to the 140-pound junior welterweight division, Soto, 31, made his debut in the weight class in his hometown against Alfaro and dominated before the odd conclusion. An accidental head-butt in the second round opened a cut on Alfaro's right eyelid and one over Soto's right eye. When the action resumed, Soto took it to Alfaro. He battered him around the ring and wobbled him with a powerful right hand. Alfaro's cut was bleeding heavily -- and he was also cut under the left eye -- when referee Gelasio Perez Huerta called a timeout for the ringside doctor to examine his cut. It seemed as though the doctor indicated that the referee should stop the fight, and he did, calling it off at one minute of the round. In the United States, the bout would have been ruled a no-contest. In Mexico, however, it was ruled a TKO in Soto's favor.
Despite the weird ending, Soto seemed well on his way to victory as the obviously stronger fighter. He had Alfaro on the run during the second round and seemingly on the verge of quitting. Soto, with his good chin and willingness to engage, could certainly fit into some good matches in the strong junior welterweight division. Alfaro, 27, of Nicaragua, briefly held a lightweight belt in late 2007 and early 2008. He dropped to 2-4 in his past six fights, including losses in notable fights against Erik Morales and Antonio DeMarco for an interim title.
Saturday at San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Marco Antonio Rubio TKO5 Mohammed Akrong
Middleweight
Records: Rubio (52-5-1, 45 KOs); Akrong (13-4, 10 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Mexico's Rubio, 31, has been close to a title shot for awhile, especially after scoring a major upset when he knocked out hot prospect David Lemieux in April. But with all the WBC nonsense that surrounded the stripping of Sergio Martinez and the title opportunity of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Rubio has been stuck waiting. But he has been staying busy and winning, this lopsided win against Akrong being no exception. Rubio won his ninth fight in a row since suffering a ninth-round TKO when challenging then middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik for the title in February 2009.
Rubio had no trouble dispatching Akrong, but at least he got in a few rounds of work before getting rid of him. Rubio took a few decent shots, but he mainly played target practice against Akrong, who followed Rubio around and ate a lot of leather. Rubio spent most of the fourth round battering him around the ring. It was more of the same in the fifth round, when Akrong, his left eye bleeding, finally went down and into the ropes after Rubio connected with a left hook to the body. Akrong got up immediately but had a look of resignation on his face, and he was clearly in no shape to continue when referee Jerry Venzor called it off with 58 seconds left in the round.
Fighting outside of Africa for the first time, Akrong, 28, of Ghana, saw his three-fight winning streak come to a halt. Rubio, meanwhile, will likely continue to stay active while hoping for the elusive title shot.
Saturday at Mexicali, Mexico
Omar Chavez TKO1 Alberto Martinez
Welterweight
Records: Chavez (27-0-1, 20 KOs); Martinez (15-2, 10 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Chavez, 21, of Mexico -- the son of Hall of Famer Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and the younger brother of middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. -- remains raw and untested, but he will beat guys like Martinez all day long. In the main event of "Top Rank Live," Chavez blew away Mexican countryman Martinez, a hand-picked opponent whose wins have come against the worst possible competition imaginable. Many of his opponents were winless, and combined they had a record of 24-74-3 before Martinez faced Chavez.
Chavez rocked Martinez's head back repeatedly with stiff jabs and then nailed him with a left hook to the chin that dropped him, with his head coming to rest as it leaned on the bottom ring rope. Martinez tried to get up, but referee Juan Jose Ramirez called it off at 2 minutes 51 seconds as Chavez notched the win with ease. With Jorge Paez Jr. having fought on the undercard, there is a good chance the sons of famous fighting fathers will meet in their next fight.
Jorge Paez Jr. TKO3 Rodrigo Juarez
Welterweight
Records: Paez Jr. (29-4-1, 18 KOs); Juarez (15-14-1, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Paez, 23, of Mexico, is the son of "The Clown Prince of Boxing," flamboyant former featherweight titlist Jorge Paez. The kid got a lot of hype when he turned pro, but never lived up to the lofty expectations. He is certainly good enough, however, to beat opponents of the incredibly limited ability of Juarez, 28, also of Mexico, who lost his sixth fight in a row and eighth in his past nine fights. This was a mismatch when the contract was signed. Paez dropped Juarez with a flush uppercut in the first minute of the fight to set the tone for the bout. In the third round, Paez teed off on Juarez, landing a series of shots that forced him into the corner, when referee Benito Quinones intervened at 1 minute, 2 seconds. The win could set up Paez for a fight with main event winner Omar Chavez, the son of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.
Friday at Salinas, Calif.
Eloy Perez KO2 Daniel Jimenez
Junior lightweight
Records: Perez (22-0-2, 6 KOs); Jimenez (20-4-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Perez, 24, of Salinas, Calif., got a chance to fight in his hometown in the main event of Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo Tecate" and gave his fans something to cheer about with a rare knockout. And it wasn't just any old knockout, but a pretty explosive one from out of nowhere. He softened Jimenez up midway through the opening round when he dropped him with a counter right hand to the head. Jimenez was a bit wobbly, and though he was allowed to continue, he seemed to be in trouble. Sure enough, Perez landed a left this time to score a second knockdown with about 20 seconds left in the round. Again Jimenez survived, but not for long. Perez landed a wide-open left hook to the chin of Jimenez, whose whole body went limp and crashed into the bottom ring rope. Referee Edward Collantes immediately called it off, at 56 seconds into the round. It was quite a spectacular, and unexpected, performance from Perez -- a good prospect, but not a guy who has flashed much power. If Perez's Golden Boy stablemate Adrien Broner defeats titlist Ricky Burns when they meet in November, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see Perez get a shot at Broner. Jimenez, 30, of Puerto Rico, saw his three-fight winning streak come to an end.
