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Dawson has changed trainers 10 different times in 11 years of his career
It isn't the trainers it is Dawson.
Official 2013 Boxing Thread: Year is over, please lock.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
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Dawson has changed trainers 10 different times in 11 years of his career
It isn't the trainers it is Dawson.
aepps20
Supporter
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Chad has all the talent in the world but I don't think he has the personal responsibility and desire to be great. After every fight it's always his trainer's fault.
mikejeffjo
Banned
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Gamboa was yawn
Dawson wasn't ready for Canada dry supermanned him with the lefty WOAH
Dawson wasn't ready for Canada dry supermanned him with the lefty WOAH
Nike Jordan
Supporter
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Did 50 sign pascal?
50 reaction when Dawson got knocked out is babahhaa
50 reaction when Dawson got knocked out is babahhaa
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It didn't look that bad. But DAMN. Stoppage was fine. He was done
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Chad almost blew out his knee too Sheeeeeeeeesh
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50 
That hit :x
That hit :x
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Dawson smh. The look in his eyes told me he did not want ANY of that power. Had this fight happened in Dawson's hometown and Stevenson reacted the way he did last night, I'd be willing to bet money someone would have been shot last night. Note to Dawson though, stop going to Canada. Tough break for Angulo, that must have hurt severely for him to walk away in the middle of the fight. Lara reminds me so much of Khan in that he hops in and out and stays on his bike but is susceptible getting caught coming out of his combos. Then again, it was the power of Angulo. Maidana and Lopez was a great fight. Give credit to Lopez, kid is always game to fight. I'd like to see Lopez drop down to 140 for a while, I think he can really do damage more there right now than at 147. Gunna right in the fact Maidana can't take a legit body shot for nothing. Someone was watching and will make mental note of that for his next fight. Gamboa needs to be layed on the canvas again to wake up. He acts as if he has no competition and walks in like he has already won the fight or something.
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50 was actually campaigning to get Chad Dawson under his promotion company.
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If Angulo had any kind of defense, I mean just a little head movement I think he would have stopped Lara. That body assault was nice. The funny things is Lara threw about 5 body shots and I remember three hurting Angulo visibly. He needs to go to the body more. Josesito needs to drop down to 140 and stay for a while. I don't think maidina beats any top-level WW because he is too easy to hit and can not take a body shoot to save his life. The sad part about Chad is that Stevenson didn't even land that shot flush. All in all another great weekend for boxing.
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I don't like that they're trying to match up Matthysse vs Maidana no reason for Lucas to move up to 147 when he has numerous fighters at 140. Maybe give Matthysse a few more years at 140 then move up.
They're just trying to do Maidana vs Matthysse because both are from Argentina. Garcia needs to sign the contract to fight Matthysse.
They're just trying to do Maidana vs Matthysse because both are from Argentina. Garcia needs to sign the contract to fight Matthysse.
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Josesito doesn't have enough power to slug the way he does. Dude got heart though. Won't be a superstar but he'll give us exciting fights. I.E stand up!
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The Dawson knock out was a little shocking. Got me off my feet watching it.
I think Andre Ward is a great announcer for HBO. He nailed it on the head when he said Gamboa took too many amateur fights. That he lived breathed and ate the amateur rules. 4 rounds pick and pop get in get out...get the W. Gamboa looked great in the first 4 rounds of the fight...then just seemed to not care / not know what to do.
Angulos face after the fight :x :x :x :x
I think Andre Ward is a great announcer for HBO. He nailed it on the head when he said Gamboa took too many amateur fights. That he lived breathed and ate the amateur rules. 4 rounds pick and pop get in get out...get the W. Gamboa looked great in the first 4 rounds of the fight...then just seemed to not care / not know what to do.
Angulos face after the fight :x :x :x :x
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HBO getting burned on their Dawson investment.
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They moved on a while ago. He was used as a sacrificial lamb for Andre Ward.
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View media item 450050Saw this on FB. Ortiz vs Guerrero ?
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I was not aware that Ortiz is now under Al Haymon.
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They should make Sillakh vs Dawson since both of them got KTFO.
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The Floyd & Canelo 11 city tour starts first in NYC on 6/24 & tickets will be available for purchase for the fight same day.
Good luck to any of you guys trying to get tickets online from ticket master might be impossible.
Good luck to any of you guys trying to get tickets online from ticket master might be impossible.
Wrap up.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Carson, Calif.
Marcos Maidana TKO6 Josesito Lopez
Welterweights
Records: Maidana (34-3, 31 KOs); Lopez (30-6, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: This excellent battle won't win fight-of-the-year honors, but it will certainly be among the honorable mentions after Maidana and Lopez turned in a raging, action-packed fight -- just as was universally expected when the match was made. They fought a fierce slugfest that added another chapter to the lore of great fights that have taken place at the Home Depot Center (whose name is about to change to the StubHub Center), along with two of the four Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fights, Paul Williams-Antonio Margarito and Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado I, to name a few. In fact, this fight set the boxing attendance record for the venue, drawing a raucous sellout crowd of 8,629, which eclipsed the 8,226 who were there for Vazquez-Marquez III, the 2008 fight of the year.
The fans sure got their money's worth as Maidana, the 28-year-old former junior welterweight titlist with tremendous power, and Lopez, the 28-year-old crowd favorite from nearby Riverside, Calif., let it all hang out. Maidana had Lopez in a bit of trouble in the second round, nailing him with a right hand that practically spun him around. But Lopez is as tough as they come. He came through it OK, then the fighters spent most of the third round trading blows. Both were rocked too. Lopez, not known for his power, had a huge fourth round and had Maidana in big trouble. Lopez rocked him several times in the round and definitely hurt him with a body shot. He nailed Maidana with several flush right hands late in the round of a fight that, up to that point, was even. Maidana came back big in the fifth round, teeing off on Lopez in the final seconds of the round.
Maidana seemed to be taking over at that point, then finished Lopez in the sixth, dropping him to a knee with a clean right hand less than a minute into the round. Lopez was still buzzed during Maidana's follow-up attack, when the Argentine landed about eight unanswered shots. Lopez was hurt by some of them and was covering up in the corner, which forced referee Lou Moret to intervene at 1 minute, 18 seconds. It was a fine stoppage, although the proud Lopez complained about it a bit after the fight. As it turned out, Lopez was up 48-47 on two scorecards when it was stopped, while Maidana was ahead by the same score on the third scorecard.
It's a big win for Maidana, who should have a lot of options now. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer suggested that perhaps Maidana could next challenge the winner of the June 22 fight between welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi (who had a good seat for scouting; he was calling the fight for Showtime) and Adrien Broner. And it was such a good fight that even though Lopez lost his second fight in a row by knockout (he was coming off last September's mismatch against junior middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez), it shouldn't hamper him from getting right back in against a quality opponent on a big televised card. This was a totally enjoyable fight, and when fans get that kind of action, the loser doesn't really lose that much.
Erislandy Lara TKO10 Alfredo Angulo
Wins a vacant interim junior middleweight title
Records: Lara (18-1-2, 12 KOs); Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: On paper, this was the ultimate clash of styles between the southpaw Lara's technical boxing skills and quickness, and Angulo's pure brawling and aggressiveness. The question was, would Angulo be able to apply enough pressure to force Lara into a firefight? He was, and that meant we got ourselves one heckuva fight -- although one that ended in rather shocking fashion, with Angulo turning his back and quitting in a scene reminiscent of Robert Duran's famed "no mas" against Sugar Ray Leonard in their rematch.
Angulo, 30, of Mexico, came to the ring as the bigger man. He weighed 153½ pounds at Friday's official weigh-in, but he weighed 174 pounds when he got to the ring. Lara, also 30, officially 153¾, had gone up only to 164. But Lara, a former Cuban amateur star who defected and now lives in Houston, started very fast, ripping Angulo with several hard straight left hands in the opening round as he was surprisingly aggressive. But Angulo, a much better puncher, caught Lara with a short inside left hook in the fourth round, dropping him for the first time in his career. Lara rebounded well after the knockdown, although it was Angulo's round. The crowd chanted for Angulo throughout the bout -- "Perro! Perro! Perro!" -- and got really excited in the ninth when Angulo, who had been cut under his right eye earlier in the fight, dropped Lara again midway through the round as Lara walked into a left hook of an increasingly action-packed fight.
But in the 10th round, the fight came to an abrupt halt. Lara landed a right hand and a straight left -- neither punch looked very damaging -- and Angulo suddenly turned his back and walked away, leaving referee Raul Caiz Sr. no choice but to stop the fight at 1 minute, 50 seconds. It was shocking to see Angulo, known for being a warrior, quit in such a fashion, but he was obviously hurt. Angulo, who sparred with the slick Demetrius Andrade in preparation for Lara, had massive swelling around his left eye when he walked to the corner. He claimed he was thumbed, although that didn't appear to be the case on Showtime's replays, and boxing gloves now have attached thumbs. The ringside doctor thought Angulo might have had a broken orbital bone. Angulo will be seeing a specialist to examine the injury.
It was a tremendous fight, regardless of the way it ended, and both fighters figure to move on to another top-notch fight. At the time of the stoppage, Lara held a slim 85-84 lead on two scorecards while Angulo was ahead 86-83 on the other.
Jermell Charlo W12 Demetrius Hopkins
Junior middleweights
Scores: 115-113 (three times)
Records: Charlo (21-0, 10 KOs); Hopkins (33-3-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Charlo, 23, of Houston, is a very promising 154-pound prospect, along with his twin brother, Jermall, who isn't quite as advanced. Jermell Charlo took a big step by outpointing Hopkins, 32, of Philadelphia, a veteran former title challenger at junior welterweight and the nephew of light heavyweight titleholder Bernard Hopkins.
Although Charlo notched his biggest victory and gained valuable experience, it was a terrible style matchup -- they both like to counter -- and made for a woeful fight. Watching paint dry would have been more interesting. Let's be nice and just say it was a fight too tactical for most to enjoy, hence the booing from the crowd, which had no rooting interest because neither fighter has any connection to Southern California. It was close, but Charlo always seemed to have the edge against Hopkins, who used his head far too often for it to have always been an accident.
Johan Perez W10 Yoshihiro Kamegai
Welterweights
Scores: 100-90, 98-92, 97-93
Records: Perez (17-1-1, 12 KOs); Kamegai (22-1-1, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Perez, 30, a former interim junior welterweight titlist, lost that belt via seventh-round technical decision against Pablo Cesar Cano last July. After moving up to welterweight, Perez has now notched back-to-back wins, including this surprisingly lopsided victory against Kamegai, 30, of Japan. On paper, it looked like a competitive action fight. In the ring, there was some decent action, but it wasn't very competitive; Perez was better in every facet of the fight. Good win for Perez, who probably put himself in position for a bigger and better fight given the stellar group of welterweights and junior welterweights that his promoter, Golden Boy, represents.
Also on the card, junior featherweight Joseph Diaz Jr. (5-0, 3 KOs), 20, a 2012 U.S. Olympian from South El Monte, Calif., stopped San Diego-based Mexican Rigoberto Casillas (8-11-1, 6 KOs), 27, who retired on his stool at the end of the third round.
Saturday at Montreal
Adonis Stevenson TKO1 Chad Dawson
Wins world light heavyweight title
Records: Stevenson (21-1, 18 KOs); Dawson (31-3, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Stevenson landed a shot heard 'round the world, annihilating Dawson with one punch and stopping him in just 76 seconds to win the lineal 175-pound world championship to go along with an alphabet belt. Stevenson's biggest asset is his pure one-punch power, and he showed how devastating it can be in the biggest fight of his career. It was a star-making kind of KO.
Stevenson, who is 35 but didn't begin boxing as a pro until 2006, has come a long way in a short time. He worked with the late Emanuel Steward for several fights, before Steward's untimely death in October. Stevenson, who moved up to light heavyweight for this fight, learned a lot under Steward, who helped refine some of his rough edges. Now that job falls to Javon "Sugar" Hill, Steward's nephew and Stevenson's new trainer. So far, so good.
Fighting in front of his home crowd at the Bell Centre -- the epicenter of Montreal's outstanding fight scene -- Stevenson barely let the fans get settled in their seats before the fight was over. A southpaw, Stevenson pushed out a right jab and came behind it with a big left cross that smashed into Dawson's chin. Dawson was trying to throw a right hand, but it never reached the target. Stevenson's shot did, however, and Dawson went crashing to the mat, landing flat on his back. Somehow Dawson made it to his feet, but he was unsteady and glassy-eyed, and when he wobbled backward into the ring ropes, referee Michael Griffin did the only thing he could do and stopped the fight. It set off a wild celebration in the ring as Stevenson and his team were overjoyed with the huge victory.
For Dawson, 30, who is from New Haven, Conn., and lives in Las Vegas, questions abound after he suffered his second knockout loss in a row. He had changed trainers yet again for this fight -- going back to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad after parting ways with John Scully -- and said he would be strong at 175 pounds. In his previous fight in September, Dawson dropped to 168 pounds and challenged Andre Ward for the super middleweight title. But he was weight-drained, and Ward dominated, dropping Dawson three times and stopping him in the 10th round. Dawson blamed the weight, but he can't do that this time. Because he has been stopped twice in a row, no longer has a title and has never been an attraction or an exciting fighter, his future is definitely up in the air.
For Stevenson, it's the exact opposite: He's on a strong run, having won his eighth fight in a row (all by knockout) since his lone defeat, to Darnell Boone, which he avenged in March; he's the real champ at light heavyweight and he is a growing attraction in Quebec. And after how Stevenson performed against Dawson in an HBO main event, he can count on the network money rolling in again.
Yuriorkis Gamboa W12 Darleys Perez
Wins a vacant interim lightweight title
Scores: 116-111 (twice), 115-112
Records: Gamboa (23-0, 16 KOs); Perez (28-1, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Wake up, wake up! This bout undoubtedly put a lot of people to sleep. Gamboa was once a dynamic and explosive fighter. Now he's a bore, although skilled enough to outbox most opponents, including the one-dimensional Perez, 29, a 2008 Colombian Olympian, who walked forward but didn't seem to have much of a plan. Gamboa, 31, the Miami-based 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist, didn't seem all that interested in fighting after a couple of rounds of this dreadful bout.
Gamboa had unified belts as a featherweight, won an interim belt at junior lightweight in December and was moving up to lightweight to fight at 135 pounds for the first time. Because of promotional issues, this was only Gamboa's fourth fight since late 2010, although now he seems to be settling in with rapper/promoter Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, who couldn't have been happy with Saturday's performance. Gamboa, who was implicated in the South Florida Biogenesis clinic performance-enhancing-drug scandal, scored a flash knockdown in the first round, which Perez had been winning to that point. It probably shouldn't have been ruled a knockdown by referee Marlon Wright because Gamboa only cuffed Perez around the head with a right hand and basically threw him off balance.
Gamboa opened a good lead, but Perez won some of the middle rounds, when Gamboa seemed to lose as much interest as most people watching. In the 11th round, Perez was robbed of a knockdown when he landed a left hand on Gamboa's chin and dropped him. But Wright, who has had his inconsistent moments (remember Lucian Bute-Librado Andrade I?), blew the call and ruled it a slip. As it turned out, the error didn't change the result on the scorecards.
Jose Pedraza TKO7 Sergio Villanueva
Lightweights
Records: Pedraza (13-0, 9 KOs); Villanueva (25-2-2, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Pedraza, a 2008 Olympian and one of Puerto Rico's top prospects, got a really nice televised showcase here, as his fight on the Chad Dawson-Adonis Stevenson undercard was carried by HBO Latino. Pedraza, 24, is worth a look too. He's well-built and has good skills and power. He took his time and broke Villanueva down with an assortment of hard body shots and combinations, dropping him three times overall.
There was good back-and-forth action, but Pedraza, who switched between right-handed and southpaw stances, was dominant. With 30 seconds left in the fifth round, Pedraza snapped off a quick left to the head and a left uppercut to the solar plexus. The body shot was hard, and Villanueva went down to a knee in the middle of the ring. He barely beat the count, and the round ended a few seconds later.
In the seventh round, Pedraza cornered him and landed five shots, dropping Villanueva to his rear end. Later in the round, he sent Villanueva to a knee again on a right hook to the body. Villanueva was in the process of getting up when his corner threw in the towel and referee Jean-Guy Brousseau called off the fight at 2 minutes, 59 seconds. Villanueva, 21, of Mexico, who was facing his best opponent, saw his three-fight winning streak end.
Also on the card, Montreal middleweight David Lemieux (29-2, 28 KOs), 24, an uber-prospect before he suffered back-to-back upset losses in 2011, scored three first-round knockdowns to knock out Robert Swierzbinski (11-2, 3 KOs), 31, of Poland, at 2 minutes, 21 seconds.
Saturday at Berlin
Marco Huck W12 Ola Afolabi
Retains a cruiserweight title
Scores: 117-111, 115-113, 114-114
Records: Huck (36-2-1, 25 KOs); Afolabi (19-3-4, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Huck, 28, of Germany, and Afolabi, 33, of England, were fighting for the third time, although it wasn't a rubber match. Huck outpointed Afolabi in a 2009 title defense, then fought him to a brutal draw in May 2012, forcing him to take the mandated rematch two fights later. Whatever debate there was about the draw in the second fight was settled on Saturday as Huck, who retained his title for the 11th time, clearly won another good fight -- although one that wasn't quite as action-packed as last year's great scrap.
Huck got out to a big lead and held it, even though Afolabi had some success in the later rounds and even hurt Huck. Overall, the third fight featured a steady stream of action that became more heated as the fight moved along. By the 10th round, they were slugging toe-to-toe. Afolabi had a tiring Huck in some trouble, but Huck, as he usually does, rallied back to hurt Afolabi, who showed the same great chin he has always had. Huck landed a fierce right hand in the 11th round that didn't even budge Afolabi. That had to be discouraging to Huck, who took a lot of heavy shots in the 12th round. Afolabi rocked him with multiple right hands in the final round, including in the last 30 seconds, but couldn't get him off his feet.
As hard as Afolabi fought, he can't argue the decision this time, and didn't, saying afterward: "I gave my best, but it wasn't enough. Huck is the rightful winner, as I have no excuses at all." Classy. As good as the three bouts were, Huck has proved his point: He is the better man, and it's time to move on. Afolabi can compete with any cruiserweight and might get a title shot elsewhere. But Huck is headed to a likely October rematch with former titleholder Firat Arslan, whom he narrowly outpointed in November in the fight Huck took between the second and third bouts with Afolabi.
Saturday at Las Vegas
Juan Carlos Sanchez W12 Roberto Sosa
Junior bantamweight title remains vacant
Scores: 117-110 (twice), 116-111
Records: Sanchez (16-1-1, 8 KOs); Sosa (24-1, 14 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Mexico's Sanchez, who fought for the first time in the United States and first time on American television, was supposed to make his third title defense, a mandatory, against Sosa. And although Sanchez struggled to make the division limit of 115 pounds, he apparently had done so after multiple attempts at Friday's weigh-in. However at the Saturday morning weight check mandated by the IBF, Sanchez was informed that he had not actually made weight, that the 115.2 pounds he weighed couldn't be rounded down and that he had been stripped of the title. So the fight went on, but the title was left vacant and only Sosa, 28, of Argentina, was eligible to win it. But after Sanchez won the clear decision, it went unfilled. It is not yet known whether Sanchez, 22, will be given a shot to reclaim the belt.
Against Sosa, Sanchez, a southpaw, didn't appear to feel any impact from the weight struggle. He kept the aggressive but shorter Sosa at bay with a nice right jab. Sanchez was taking most of the rounds in an entertaining fight and was clearly on his way to a points win when he added the cherry on top of his victory by scoring a knockdown in the final round. Sanchez landed a short left hand with about 35 seconds left in the fight, sending Sosa to his backside. Sosa wasn't badly hurt and continued to try for the home run punch for the remaining few seconds of the fight, but to no avail.
On the undercard, 21-year-old blue-chip junior featherweight prospect Jessie Magdaleno (15-0, 11 KOs) of Las Vegas scored three knockdowns (two in the second round and one in the fourth) in a fourth-round knockout victory in a scheduled eight-rounder against Nicaragua's Henry Maldonado (16-2, 11 KOs), who was stopped inside five rounds for the second consecutive fight.
Saturday at Greenhithe, England
James DeGale TKO4 Stjepan Bozic
Super middleweights
Records: DeGale (16-1, 11 KOs); Bozic (26-7, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: DeGale, 27, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist for Great Britain, returned to action just three weeks after stopping Sebastien Demers in the second round in Canada on May 17, in his first fight in North America. Returning home to England, DeGale had an easy time with Bozic, 38, of Croatia, who is nothing more than an opponent at this point.
Still, the activity is good for DeGale, even if his opponents sometimes leave something to be desired. DeGale probably isn't too far away from challenging for a world title, as he won his sixth fight in a row since his bitter majority decision loss to rival countryman George Groves. He would like to eventually challenge countryman Carl Froch for his belts, but first things came first -- taking care of Bozic, who owns an amateur win against Froch.
DeGale didn't take long breaking down Bozic, who quit at the end of the fourth round. Bozic, a former world title challenger, has lost three of his past five fights, including also quitting against Arthur Abraham in the second round in 2011. DeGale, a southpaw, attacked Bozic's body throughout the fight, although some of the shots strayed low. A left hand below the belt hurt Bozic in the third round, and referee Ian John-Lewis issued DeGale a warning. A minute into the fourth round, DeGale went low again with another damaging left hand. This one hurt Bozic even worse. Although John-Lewis called a timeout so that Bozic could recover, it was surprising that he didn't dock a point from DeGale. When the round ended, Bozic quit. DeGale will have to watch the low shots in the future because not all referees will be as generous as John-Lewis.
Friday at Shelton, Wash.
Andrey Klimov W10 John Molina
Lightweights
Scores: 97-93, 96-94, 95-95
Records: Klimov (16-0, 8 KOs); Molina (25-3, 20 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In September, Molina, 30, of Covina, Calif., was knocked out in 44 seconds challenging then-lightweight titlist Antonio DeMarco in the biggest fight of his career. It was an embarrassing loss, though Molina rebounded with a nice fourth-round knockout win against Dannie Williams in January. But Molina's road back hit another huge pothole with this upset loss to Los Angeles-based Klimov, 30, of Russia.
As usual, Molina was aggressive and pressed the action, landing some hard shots. He also opened a cut over Klimov's left eye in the third round. But Klimov, not nearly the puncher that Molina is, took the blows with no issues. And although his punches didn't have much steam on them, he was active and let his hands fly, which must have gotten the attention of the judges in a solid fight that was hard to score. It really could have gone either way. (ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas had it 95-95.)
Klimov might land a title shot at some point in a lightweight division that is awfully thin at the top. Molina will keep plugging away and might wind up getting another shot if he can put together a couple of wins, but it seems more and more doubtful that he will ever reach the promised land of a world title.
Friday at Verona, N.Y.
Nick Brinson W10 Jorge Melendez
Middleweights
Scores: 99-90, 98-91, 96-92
Records: Brinson (15-1-2, 6 KOs); Melendez (26-3-1, 25 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Melendez, a Miguel Cotto protégé from Puerto Rico, was supposed to face Mexico's Luis Grajeda. When he dropped out at the last minute, Brinson, 25, from nearby Rochester, N.Y., took the fight on less than a week's notice and pulled the upset against hyped prospect Melendez, 24, in what turned out to be a good fight.
Melendez, with all his knockouts, was supposed to blow through Brinson, who had to drop 5 pounds on the day of the weigh-in to make the 158-pound contract weight. The weight loss didn't seem to hamper Brinson, who started fast and never really let up in a surprisingly one-sided but highly entertaining fight. The fourth round was the best of the fight -- a round of the year candidate -- as both men were knocked down.
First, Brinson dropped Melendez to his rear end with a right-left combination early in the round, after which the fight became a slugfest. Then Melendez returned the favor, hammering Brinson with a left hook and several other follow-up shots, turning his legs into jelly. Brinson appeared to be out when he fell into the ropes, which held him up, causing referee Charlie Fitch to properly call a knockdown with about 30 seconds left in the wild round. Somehow Brinson survived to the end of the round.
In the ninth, Fitch docked a point from Melendez for hitting Brinson behind the head after he had previously been warned for doing the same thing. Brinson was hurt from the shot, and the ringside doctor checked on him. The fight was nearly called off, but Brinson begged to continue and was allowed to, and wound up picking up the best win of his career.
Jeffrey Fontanez W8 Jose Alejandro Rodriguez
Lightweights
Scores: 78-73, 77-74 Fontanez, 76-75 Rodriguez
Records: Fontanez (12-0, 9 KOs); Rodriguez (18-11, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The original co-feature on this card was supposed to pit undefeated bantamweights Jonathan Vidal (17-0, 9 KOs) of Puerto Rico against Mexico's Mario Munoz (13-0-1, 10 KOs). But when Munoz came in at 125 pounds (7 pounds over the limit), the New York State Athletic Commission called off the fight. That paved the way for Fontanez-Rodriguez to be upgraded unexpectedly to the Showtime broadcast and, for that reason, extended from a scheduled six-round bout to an eight-rounder. But neither fighter capitalized on the opportunity, as they put on a lackluster bout that featured little action.
Fontanez, 20, of Puerto Rico -- who is trained by Jose Cotto (Miguel's older brother) -- did gain valuable experience by going eight rounds for the first time in a split-decision victory, although he seemingly tired in the late rounds of a fight that proved to be much tougher for him than expected. Rodriguez, 25, of Mexico, is a very experienced opponent -- he was facing his eighth undefeated prospect -- and had his best moment late in the seventh round when he clocked Fontanez with a right hand and knocked him down. But it was too little, too late.
Saturday at Carson, Calif.
Marcos Maidana TKO6 Josesito Lopez
Welterweights
Records: Maidana (34-3, 31 KOs); Lopez (30-6, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: This excellent battle won't win fight-of-the-year honors, but it will certainly be among the honorable mentions after Maidana and Lopez turned in a raging, action-packed fight -- just as was universally expected when the match was made. They fought a fierce slugfest that added another chapter to the lore of great fights that have taken place at the Home Depot Center (whose name is about to change to the StubHub Center), along with two of the four Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fights, Paul Williams-Antonio Margarito and Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado I, to name a few. In fact, this fight set the boxing attendance record for the venue, drawing a raucous sellout crowd of 8,629, which eclipsed the 8,226 who were there for Vazquez-Marquez III, the 2008 fight of the year.
The fans sure got their money's worth as Maidana, the 28-year-old former junior welterweight titlist with tremendous power, and Lopez, the 28-year-old crowd favorite from nearby Riverside, Calif., let it all hang out. Maidana had Lopez in a bit of trouble in the second round, nailing him with a right hand that practically spun him around. But Lopez is as tough as they come. He came through it OK, then the fighters spent most of the third round trading blows. Both were rocked too. Lopez, not known for his power, had a huge fourth round and had Maidana in big trouble. Lopez rocked him several times in the round and definitely hurt him with a body shot. He nailed Maidana with several flush right hands late in the round of a fight that, up to that point, was even. Maidana came back big in the fifth round, teeing off on Lopez in the final seconds of the round.
Maidana seemed to be taking over at that point, then finished Lopez in the sixth, dropping him to a knee with a clean right hand less than a minute into the round. Lopez was still buzzed during Maidana's follow-up attack, when the Argentine landed about eight unanswered shots. Lopez was hurt by some of them and was covering up in the corner, which forced referee Lou Moret to intervene at 1 minute, 18 seconds. It was a fine stoppage, although the proud Lopez complained about it a bit after the fight. As it turned out, Lopez was up 48-47 on two scorecards when it was stopped, while Maidana was ahead by the same score on the third scorecard.
It's a big win for Maidana, who should have a lot of options now. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer suggested that perhaps Maidana could next challenge the winner of the June 22 fight between welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi (who had a good seat for scouting; he was calling the fight for Showtime) and Adrien Broner. And it was such a good fight that even though Lopez lost his second fight in a row by knockout (he was coming off last September's mismatch against junior middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez), it shouldn't hamper him from getting right back in against a quality opponent on a big televised card. This was a totally enjoyable fight, and when fans get that kind of action, the loser doesn't really lose that much.
Erislandy Lara TKO10 Alfredo Angulo
Wins a vacant interim junior middleweight title
Records: Lara (18-1-2, 12 KOs); Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: On paper, this was the ultimate clash of styles between the southpaw Lara's technical boxing skills and quickness, and Angulo's pure brawling and aggressiveness. The question was, would Angulo be able to apply enough pressure to force Lara into a firefight? He was, and that meant we got ourselves one heckuva fight -- although one that ended in rather shocking fashion, with Angulo turning his back and quitting in a scene reminiscent of Robert Duran's famed "no mas" against Sugar Ray Leonard in their rematch.
Angulo, 30, of Mexico, came to the ring as the bigger man. He weighed 153½ pounds at Friday's official weigh-in, but he weighed 174 pounds when he got to the ring. Lara, also 30, officially 153¾, had gone up only to 164. But Lara, a former Cuban amateur star who defected and now lives in Houston, started very fast, ripping Angulo with several hard straight left hands in the opening round as he was surprisingly aggressive. But Angulo, a much better puncher, caught Lara with a short inside left hook in the fourth round, dropping him for the first time in his career. Lara rebounded well after the knockdown, although it was Angulo's round. The crowd chanted for Angulo throughout the bout -- "Perro! Perro! Perro!" -- and got really excited in the ninth when Angulo, who had been cut under his right eye earlier in the fight, dropped Lara again midway through the round as Lara walked into a left hook of an increasingly action-packed fight.
But in the 10th round, the fight came to an abrupt halt. Lara landed a right hand and a straight left -- neither punch looked very damaging -- and Angulo suddenly turned his back and walked away, leaving referee Raul Caiz Sr. no choice but to stop the fight at 1 minute, 50 seconds. It was shocking to see Angulo, known for being a warrior, quit in such a fashion, but he was obviously hurt. Angulo, who sparred with the slick Demetrius Andrade in preparation for Lara, had massive swelling around his left eye when he walked to the corner. He claimed he was thumbed, although that didn't appear to be the case on Showtime's replays, and boxing gloves now have attached thumbs. The ringside doctor thought Angulo might have had a broken orbital bone. Angulo will be seeing a specialist to examine the injury.
It was a tremendous fight, regardless of the way it ended, and both fighters figure to move on to another top-notch fight. At the time of the stoppage, Lara held a slim 85-84 lead on two scorecards while Angulo was ahead 86-83 on the other.
Jermell Charlo W12 Demetrius Hopkins
Junior middleweights
Scores: 115-113 (three times)
Records: Charlo (21-0, 10 KOs); Hopkins (33-3-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Charlo, 23, of Houston, is a very promising 154-pound prospect, along with his twin brother, Jermall, who isn't quite as advanced. Jermell Charlo took a big step by outpointing Hopkins, 32, of Philadelphia, a veteran former title challenger at junior welterweight and the nephew of light heavyweight titleholder Bernard Hopkins.
Although Charlo notched his biggest victory and gained valuable experience, it was a terrible style matchup -- they both like to counter -- and made for a woeful fight. Watching paint dry would have been more interesting. Let's be nice and just say it was a fight too tactical for most to enjoy, hence the booing from the crowd, which had no rooting interest because neither fighter has any connection to Southern California. It was close, but Charlo always seemed to have the edge against Hopkins, who used his head far too often for it to have always been an accident.
Johan Perez W10 Yoshihiro Kamegai
Welterweights
Scores: 100-90, 98-92, 97-93
Records: Perez (17-1-1, 12 KOs); Kamegai (22-1-1, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Perez, 30, a former interim junior welterweight titlist, lost that belt via seventh-round technical decision against Pablo Cesar Cano last July. After moving up to welterweight, Perez has now notched back-to-back wins, including this surprisingly lopsided victory against Kamegai, 30, of Japan. On paper, it looked like a competitive action fight. In the ring, there was some decent action, but it wasn't very competitive; Perez was better in every facet of the fight. Good win for Perez, who probably put himself in position for a bigger and better fight given the stellar group of welterweights and junior welterweights that his promoter, Golden Boy, represents.
Also on the card, junior featherweight Joseph Diaz Jr. (5-0, 3 KOs), 20, a 2012 U.S. Olympian from South El Monte, Calif., stopped San Diego-based Mexican Rigoberto Casillas (8-11-1, 6 KOs), 27, who retired on his stool at the end of the third round.
Saturday at Montreal
Adonis Stevenson TKO1 Chad Dawson
Wins world light heavyweight title
Records: Stevenson (21-1, 18 KOs); Dawson (31-3, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Stevenson landed a shot heard 'round the world, annihilating Dawson with one punch and stopping him in just 76 seconds to win the lineal 175-pound world championship to go along with an alphabet belt. Stevenson's biggest asset is his pure one-punch power, and he showed how devastating it can be in the biggest fight of his career. It was a star-making kind of KO.
Stevenson, who is 35 but didn't begin boxing as a pro until 2006, has come a long way in a short time. He worked with the late Emanuel Steward for several fights, before Steward's untimely death in October. Stevenson, who moved up to light heavyweight for this fight, learned a lot under Steward, who helped refine some of his rough edges. Now that job falls to Javon "Sugar" Hill, Steward's nephew and Stevenson's new trainer. So far, so good.
Fighting in front of his home crowd at the Bell Centre -- the epicenter of Montreal's outstanding fight scene -- Stevenson barely let the fans get settled in their seats before the fight was over. A southpaw, Stevenson pushed out a right jab and came behind it with a big left cross that smashed into Dawson's chin. Dawson was trying to throw a right hand, but it never reached the target. Stevenson's shot did, however, and Dawson went crashing to the mat, landing flat on his back. Somehow Dawson made it to his feet, but he was unsteady and glassy-eyed, and when he wobbled backward into the ring ropes, referee Michael Griffin did the only thing he could do and stopped the fight. It set off a wild celebration in the ring as Stevenson and his team were overjoyed with the huge victory.
For Dawson, 30, who is from New Haven, Conn., and lives in Las Vegas, questions abound after he suffered his second knockout loss in a row. He had changed trainers yet again for this fight -- going back to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad after parting ways with John Scully -- and said he would be strong at 175 pounds. In his previous fight in September, Dawson dropped to 168 pounds and challenged Andre Ward for the super middleweight title. But he was weight-drained, and Ward dominated, dropping Dawson three times and stopping him in the 10th round. Dawson blamed the weight, but he can't do that this time. Because he has been stopped twice in a row, no longer has a title and has never been an attraction or an exciting fighter, his future is definitely up in the air.
For Stevenson, it's the exact opposite: He's on a strong run, having won his eighth fight in a row (all by knockout) since his lone defeat, to Darnell Boone, which he avenged in March; he's the real champ at light heavyweight and he is a growing attraction in Quebec. And after how Stevenson performed against Dawson in an HBO main event, he can count on the network money rolling in again.
Yuriorkis Gamboa W12 Darleys Perez
Wins a vacant interim lightweight title
Scores: 116-111 (twice), 115-112
Records: Gamboa (23-0, 16 KOs); Perez (28-1, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Wake up, wake up! This bout undoubtedly put a lot of people to sleep. Gamboa was once a dynamic and explosive fighter. Now he's a bore, although skilled enough to outbox most opponents, including the one-dimensional Perez, 29, a 2008 Colombian Olympian, who walked forward but didn't seem to have much of a plan. Gamboa, 31, the Miami-based 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist, didn't seem all that interested in fighting after a couple of rounds of this dreadful bout.
Gamboa had unified belts as a featherweight, won an interim belt at junior lightweight in December and was moving up to lightweight to fight at 135 pounds for the first time. Because of promotional issues, this was only Gamboa's fourth fight since late 2010, although now he seems to be settling in with rapper/promoter Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, who couldn't have been happy with Saturday's performance. Gamboa, who was implicated in the South Florida Biogenesis clinic performance-enhancing-drug scandal, scored a flash knockdown in the first round, which Perez had been winning to that point. It probably shouldn't have been ruled a knockdown by referee Marlon Wright because Gamboa only cuffed Perez around the head with a right hand and basically threw him off balance.
Gamboa opened a good lead, but Perez won some of the middle rounds, when Gamboa seemed to lose as much interest as most people watching. In the 11th round, Perez was robbed of a knockdown when he landed a left hand on Gamboa's chin and dropped him. But Wright, who has had his inconsistent moments (remember Lucian Bute-Librado Andrade I?), blew the call and ruled it a slip. As it turned out, the error didn't change the result on the scorecards.
Jose Pedraza TKO7 Sergio Villanueva
Lightweights
Records: Pedraza (13-0, 9 KOs); Villanueva (25-2-2, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Pedraza, a 2008 Olympian and one of Puerto Rico's top prospects, got a really nice televised showcase here, as his fight on the Chad Dawson-Adonis Stevenson undercard was carried by HBO Latino. Pedraza, 24, is worth a look too. He's well-built and has good skills and power. He took his time and broke Villanueva down with an assortment of hard body shots and combinations, dropping him three times overall.
There was good back-and-forth action, but Pedraza, who switched between right-handed and southpaw stances, was dominant. With 30 seconds left in the fifth round, Pedraza snapped off a quick left to the head and a left uppercut to the solar plexus. The body shot was hard, and Villanueva went down to a knee in the middle of the ring. He barely beat the count, and the round ended a few seconds later.
In the seventh round, Pedraza cornered him and landed five shots, dropping Villanueva to his rear end. Later in the round, he sent Villanueva to a knee again on a right hook to the body. Villanueva was in the process of getting up when his corner threw in the towel and referee Jean-Guy Brousseau called off the fight at 2 minutes, 59 seconds. Villanueva, 21, of Mexico, who was facing his best opponent, saw his three-fight winning streak end.
Also on the card, Montreal middleweight David Lemieux (29-2, 28 KOs), 24, an uber-prospect before he suffered back-to-back upset losses in 2011, scored three first-round knockdowns to knock out Robert Swierzbinski (11-2, 3 KOs), 31, of Poland, at 2 minutes, 21 seconds.
Saturday at Berlin
Marco Huck W12 Ola Afolabi
Retains a cruiserweight title
Scores: 117-111, 115-113, 114-114
Records: Huck (36-2-1, 25 KOs); Afolabi (19-3-4, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Huck, 28, of Germany, and Afolabi, 33, of England, were fighting for the third time, although it wasn't a rubber match. Huck outpointed Afolabi in a 2009 title defense, then fought him to a brutal draw in May 2012, forcing him to take the mandated rematch two fights later. Whatever debate there was about the draw in the second fight was settled on Saturday as Huck, who retained his title for the 11th time, clearly won another good fight -- although one that wasn't quite as action-packed as last year's great scrap.
Huck got out to a big lead and held it, even though Afolabi had some success in the later rounds and even hurt Huck. Overall, the third fight featured a steady stream of action that became more heated as the fight moved along. By the 10th round, they were slugging toe-to-toe. Afolabi had a tiring Huck in some trouble, but Huck, as he usually does, rallied back to hurt Afolabi, who showed the same great chin he has always had. Huck landed a fierce right hand in the 11th round that didn't even budge Afolabi. That had to be discouraging to Huck, who took a lot of heavy shots in the 12th round. Afolabi rocked him with multiple right hands in the final round, including in the last 30 seconds, but couldn't get him off his feet.
As hard as Afolabi fought, he can't argue the decision this time, and didn't, saying afterward: "I gave my best, but it wasn't enough. Huck is the rightful winner, as I have no excuses at all." Classy. As good as the three bouts were, Huck has proved his point: He is the better man, and it's time to move on. Afolabi can compete with any cruiserweight and might get a title shot elsewhere. But Huck is headed to a likely October rematch with former titleholder Firat Arslan, whom he narrowly outpointed in November in the fight Huck took between the second and third bouts with Afolabi.
Saturday at Las Vegas
Juan Carlos Sanchez W12 Roberto Sosa
Junior bantamweight title remains vacant
Scores: 117-110 (twice), 116-111
Records: Sanchez (16-1-1, 8 KOs); Sosa (24-1, 14 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Mexico's Sanchez, who fought for the first time in the United States and first time on American television, was supposed to make his third title defense, a mandatory, against Sosa. And although Sanchez struggled to make the division limit of 115 pounds, he apparently had done so after multiple attempts at Friday's weigh-in. However at the Saturday morning weight check mandated by the IBF, Sanchez was informed that he had not actually made weight, that the 115.2 pounds he weighed couldn't be rounded down and that he had been stripped of the title. So the fight went on, but the title was left vacant and only Sosa, 28, of Argentina, was eligible to win it. But after Sanchez won the clear decision, it went unfilled. It is not yet known whether Sanchez, 22, will be given a shot to reclaim the belt.
Against Sosa, Sanchez, a southpaw, didn't appear to feel any impact from the weight struggle. He kept the aggressive but shorter Sosa at bay with a nice right jab. Sanchez was taking most of the rounds in an entertaining fight and was clearly on his way to a points win when he added the cherry on top of his victory by scoring a knockdown in the final round. Sanchez landed a short left hand with about 35 seconds left in the fight, sending Sosa to his backside. Sosa wasn't badly hurt and continued to try for the home run punch for the remaining few seconds of the fight, but to no avail.
On the undercard, 21-year-old blue-chip junior featherweight prospect Jessie Magdaleno (15-0, 11 KOs) of Las Vegas scored three knockdowns (two in the second round and one in the fourth) in a fourth-round knockout victory in a scheduled eight-rounder against Nicaragua's Henry Maldonado (16-2, 11 KOs), who was stopped inside five rounds for the second consecutive fight.
Saturday at Greenhithe, England
James DeGale TKO4 Stjepan Bozic
Super middleweights
Records: DeGale (16-1, 11 KOs); Bozic (26-7, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: DeGale, 27, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist for Great Britain, returned to action just three weeks after stopping Sebastien Demers in the second round in Canada on May 17, in his first fight in North America. Returning home to England, DeGale had an easy time with Bozic, 38, of Croatia, who is nothing more than an opponent at this point.
Still, the activity is good for DeGale, even if his opponents sometimes leave something to be desired. DeGale probably isn't too far away from challenging for a world title, as he won his sixth fight in a row since his bitter majority decision loss to rival countryman George Groves. He would like to eventually challenge countryman Carl Froch for his belts, but first things came first -- taking care of Bozic, who owns an amateur win against Froch.
DeGale didn't take long breaking down Bozic, who quit at the end of the fourth round. Bozic, a former world title challenger, has lost three of his past five fights, including also quitting against Arthur Abraham in the second round in 2011. DeGale, a southpaw, attacked Bozic's body throughout the fight, although some of the shots strayed low. A left hand below the belt hurt Bozic in the third round, and referee Ian John-Lewis issued DeGale a warning. A minute into the fourth round, DeGale went low again with another damaging left hand. This one hurt Bozic even worse. Although John-Lewis called a timeout so that Bozic could recover, it was surprising that he didn't dock a point from DeGale. When the round ended, Bozic quit. DeGale will have to watch the low shots in the future because not all referees will be as generous as John-Lewis.
Friday at Shelton, Wash.
Andrey Klimov W10 John Molina
Lightweights
Scores: 97-93, 96-94, 95-95
Records: Klimov (16-0, 8 KOs); Molina (25-3, 20 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In September, Molina, 30, of Covina, Calif., was knocked out in 44 seconds challenging then-lightweight titlist Antonio DeMarco in the biggest fight of his career. It was an embarrassing loss, though Molina rebounded with a nice fourth-round knockout win against Dannie Williams in January. But Molina's road back hit another huge pothole with this upset loss to Los Angeles-based Klimov, 30, of Russia.
As usual, Molina was aggressive and pressed the action, landing some hard shots. He also opened a cut over Klimov's left eye in the third round. But Klimov, not nearly the puncher that Molina is, took the blows with no issues. And although his punches didn't have much steam on them, he was active and let his hands fly, which must have gotten the attention of the judges in a solid fight that was hard to score. It really could have gone either way. (ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas had it 95-95.)
Klimov might land a title shot at some point in a lightweight division that is awfully thin at the top. Molina will keep plugging away and might wind up getting another shot if he can put together a couple of wins, but it seems more and more doubtful that he will ever reach the promised land of a world title.
Friday at Verona, N.Y.
Nick Brinson W10 Jorge Melendez
Middleweights
Scores: 99-90, 98-91, 96-92
Records: Brinson (15-1-2, 6 KOs); Melendez (26-3-1, 25 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Melendez, a Miguel Cotto protégé from Puerto Rico, was supposed to face Mexico's Luis Grajeda. When he dropped out at the last minute, Brinson, 25, from nearby Rochester, N.Y., took the fight on less than a week's notice and pulled the upset against hyped prospect Melendez, 24, in what turned out to be a good fight.
Melendez, with all his knockouts, was supposed to blow through Brinson, who had to drop 5 pounds on the day of the weigh-in to make the 158-pound contract weight. The weight loss didn't seem to hamper Brinson, who started fast and never really let up in a surprisingly one-sided but highly entertaining fight. The fourth round was the best of the fight -- a round of the year candidate -- as both men were knocked down.
First, Brinson dropped Melendez to his rear end with a right-left combination early in the round, after which the fight became a slugfest. Then Melendez returned the favor, hammering Brinson with a left hook and several other follow-up shots, turning his legs into jelly. Brinson appeared to be out when he fell into the ropes, which held him up, causing referee Charlie Fitch to properly call a knockdown with about 30 seconds left in the wild round. Somehow Brinson survived to the end of the round.
In the ninth, Fitch docked a point from Melendez for hitting Brinson behind the head after he had previously been warned for doing the same thing. Brinson was hurt from the shot, and the ringside doctor checked on him. The fight was nearly called off, but Brinson begged to continue and was allowed to, and wound up picking up the best win of his career.
Jeffrey Fontanez W8 Jose Alejandro Rodriguez
Lightweights
Scores: 78-73, 77-74 Fontanez, 76-75 Rodriguez
Records: Fontanez (12-0, 9 KOs); Rodriguez (18-11, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The original co-feature on this card was supposed to pit undefeated bantamweights Jonathan Vidal (17-0, 9 KOs) of Puerto Rico against Mexico's Mario Munoz (13-0-1, 10 KOs). But when Munoz came in at 125 pounds (7 pounds over the limit), the New York State Athletic Commission called off the fight. That paved the way for Fontanez-Rodriguez to be upgraded unexpectedly to the Showtime broadcast and, for that reason, extended from a scheduled six-round bout to an eight-rounder. But neither fighter capitalized on the opportunity, as they put on a lackluster bout that featured little action.
Fontanez, 20, of Puerto Rico -- who is trained by Jose Cotto (Miguel's older brother) -- did gain valuable experience by going eight rounds for the first time in a split-decision victory, although he seemingly tired in the late rounds of a fight that proved to be much tougher for him than expected. Rodriguez, 25, of Mexico, is a very experienced opponent -- he was facing his eighth undefeated prospect -- and had his best moment late in the seventh round when he clocked Fontanez with a right hand and knocked him down. But it was too little, too late.
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serious question... what has Arturo Gatti done to be in the boxing Hall of fame?
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I mean he did a lot for the sport as a whole
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He had world titles at 130 and 140 but i think most deservedly was he entertained fans. Was in fight of the year four times 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2003.
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Plus he died and he's Canadian.
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