A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Montreal
Adonis Stevenson W12 Andrzej Fonfara
Retains world light heavyweight title
Scores: 116-109, 115-110 (twice)
Records: Stevenson (24-1, 20 KOs); Fonfara (25-3, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: What was supposed to be a walkover title defense turned out to be anything but for Stevenson, who sure didn't look like his nickname of "Superman." Although Montreal's Stevenson, making his third title defense, definitely deserved the unanimous decision he received in his hometown, this was way tougher than anyone would have expected, except probably Fonfara and his supporters.
Stevenson, a 36-year-old southpaw born in Haiti but living in Montreal, had looked sensational in his recent fights, and most wanted to see him in a unification fight with titleholder Sergey Kovalev. That bout was supposed to be on tap for the fall after a tuneup against Fonfara, but Stevenson bolted for Showtime, which was a convenient way to avoid Kovalev, who is under contract to rival HBO. By going to Showtime, Stevenson hoped to take care of Fonfara and set up a fall fight with 49-year-old unified titlist Bernard Hopkins. That is the fight likely to take place now unless Kovalev promoter Main Events is successful in its lawsuit against Stevenson and a variety of others. It claims there was a deal in place for Stevenson to face Kovalev.
Fonfara nearly made all of it a moot point. For the first seven rounds, Stevenson dominated Fonfara, 26, a Poland native living in Chicago. Stevenson dropped him with a left hand in a big first round, and it looked the mismatch most expected. By the third round, Fonfara's right eye was bleeding, and in the fifth round he was down again from a body shot. Stevenson was outclassing him, and it looked like a clear shutout through seven rounds.
But Fonfara is as game as they come. He hung in there and began to land shots, including some solid right hands. The tide began to turn in the eighth round. Stevenson began to fade, and Fonfara eventually dropped him with a right hand in the ninth round, bloodied his nose and had him in huge trouble.
Stevenson, who said he hurt his left hand (his power hand) in the second round, deserves credit for showing heart as he and Fonfara slugged it out over the final few action-packed rounds that made this a memorable fight in front of 6,342 at the Bell Centre.
Once it was clear Fonfara was not going to get the knockout, everyone knew Stevenson was going to win a decision because he was so far ahead through the first half of the fight. So Stevenson got the decision -- he had talked about thinking of nothing but getting the knockout that his late Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward always wanted -- but did not impress anyone. His performance made it seem quite obvious why he didn't want any part of Kovalev. If Fonfara could abuse him so much late in the fight, just imagine what the powerful and rugged Kovalev might do? Hopkins, a bigger name than Kovalev, probably won't hurt Stevenson, but he also poses a major risk because of his skills, experience and chin, not to mention a long history of picking one-dimensional opponents apart.
David Lemieux KO3 Fernando Guerrero
Middleweight
Records: Lemieux (32-2, 30 KOs); Guerrero (26-3, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Lemieux, 25, of Montreal, is one of boxing's biggest punchers. He was one of the sport's brightest prospects until suffering stunning back-to-back losses in 2011, a seventh-round knockout to Marco Antonio Rubio followed by a 12-round decision to former junior middleweight titlist Joachim Alcine in an all-Montreal showdown. Since then, Lemieux has won seven fights in a row, although against suspect opposition. But he looked very good against Guerrero, the best opponent he has fought since the losses.
Guerrero, a 27-year-old southpaw originally from the Dominican Republic who has lived in Salisbury, Maryland, since he was a kid, was a standout amateur and in April 2013 got a shot a middleweight titlist Peter Quillin. Things went badly for Guerrero, who was dropped four times in a seventh-round knockout loss. He rebounded with a win in November and then met Lemieux in what amounted to a crossroads fight, with the winner taking a big step forward and the loser suffering a major setback.
Lemieux left no doubt as to who was the better man, thrilling his hometown fans with a sensational performance. He crushed Guerrero, who could not stand up to his power. Lemieux dropped Guerrero in the first round and had him in huge trouble. In the second round, Guerrero took more punishment as Lemieux landed everything -- right hands, lefts, body shots, uppercuts -- and badly cut Guerrero over his right eye. In the final seconds of the round, Guerrero took a knee under an onslaught of punches. Lemieux ended the blowout in the third round when, after pummeling Guerrero with all kinds of power shots, he dropped him for the third time with a brutal right uppercut. Referee Michael Griffin counted to seven and then called off the fight at 1 minute, 56 seconds because Guerrero was obviously done.
It was an electrifying performance from Lemieux, who would have a chance against any middleweight in the world because of his destructive power. Maybe he will wind up as a future challenger for Quillin since both are on Showtime and Quillin has few other interesting opponents fighting on that network.
Jermell Charlo W12 Charlie Ota
Junior middleweight
Scores: 118-109 (twice), 115-111
Records: Charlo (24-0, 11 KOs); Ota (24-2-1, 16 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Charlo, 24, of Houston, has been knocking on the door for a title shot over the past year in which he has beaten fringe contenders Demetrius Hopkins and Gabriel Rosado. Charlo, whose twin brother Jermall is also an emerging contender at 154 pounds, is a good boxer with quick hands and a good amateur background. His performance against Ota, 32, a New Yorker based in Japan, however, left a bit to be desired.
Although Charlo won with little issue, he could have been sharper and a bit more dynamic against an opponent who did not have all that much to offer. Charlo did get off some solid combinations as he racked up points, but he also suffered the first knockdown of his career, a flash knockdown -- Charlo claimed it was a slip -- in the third round. It looked like Ota got in a right hand that caused an off-balance Charlo to go down. In any event, Charlo bounced back fine and was not hurt.
In the ninth round, Charlo nailed Ota below the belt with a left hand. It was clearly not a purposeful punch, but referee Jean-Guy Brousseau docked him a point. Ota suffered his first loss since an eight-round decision in 2007.
Julian Williams KO8 Michael Medina
Junior middleweight
Records: Williams (16-0-1, 10 KOs); Medina (26-5-2, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Williams, 24, of Philadelphia, is a fine-looking prospect who is getting better and better and making an impression with every outing. In addition to Medina, Williams has already beaten some experienced veterans such as former titlist Joachim Alcine, Orlando Lora and Freddy Hernandez. He also was easily beating fellow unbeaten prospect Hugo Centeno in September when the fight was ruled a no-contest in the fourth round when Centeno seemed to quit after an accidental head-butt.
Williams once again looked good against Medina, 27, of Modesto, California, who was fighting for the first time in 14 months -- since he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Willie Nelson when he suffered a broken right ankle on a knockdown. Williams hammered Medina throughout the bout, landing an outrageous 64 percent of his power shots (163 of 253), according to CompuBox statistics. In the eighth round, Williams drilled Medina with a pair of clean right hands and a window-dressing left. He went down to his rear end, and referee Alain Villeneuve counted him out at 1 minute, 59 seconds. Williams looks like he is ready to step up to the next level of opponent.
Eleider "Storm" Alvarez W10 Alexander Johnson
Light heavyweight
Scores: 97-92 (three times)
Records: Alvarez (15-0, 8 KOs); Johnson (15-2, 6 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Alvarez, 30, a Montreal-based native of Colombia, has gotten a lot of hype north of the border, but although he beat Johnson with little issue, he once again failed to impress. While Johnson had no interest in engaging, Alvarez did not seem too interested in going after him either. It made for a dreadful fight that looked more like a weak sparring session. The onus was on Alvarez, considered the prospect, to make the fight, and he did not do it. He did put hurt on Johnson in the fifth round, first on a low blow that drew a warning from referee Marlon B. Wright. Moments after the fight resumed, Alvarez nailed Johnson, 32, of Washington, D.C., with a combination, including a hard right hand that did the most damage and sent him scurrying across the ring and taking a knee for the only knockdown of the fight with two minutes left in the round.
Saturday at Acapulco, Mexico
Jhonny Gonzalez Tech. Dec. 10 Clive Atwell
Retains a featherweight title
Scores: 99-89, 98-90, 96-92
Records: Gonzalez (56-8, 47 KOs); Atwell (12-1-1, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In August, Gonzalez, 32, of Mexico, regained a belt he had previously held when he pulled a major upset by dropping Abner Mares twice and knocking him out in the first round. Not long after the fight, Mares exercised his contractual right to a rematch and it was scheduled for Feb. 15. Then Mares suffered a training injury and the fight was called off -- and not rescheduled, because neither side really seemed too interested.
So Gonzalez took this defense against Atwell, 25, who was fighting outside of his native Guyana for the first time. Atwell had fashioned his unbeaten record against woeful opposition, so the fact that he was given a world title fight was dubious. His performance showed how little he warranted a title fight, but Gonzalez didn't exactly look great either despite winning fairly handily.
The crowd was restless and booed at times during the fight for the lack of action, but Gonzalez was controlling the action. In the seventh round, referee Laurence Cole had no choice but to take a point away from Atwell after an accidental head-butt cut Gonzalez over the right eye. That is because of the WBC's bizarre rule that says the fighter who is uncut in the event of an accidental head-butt loses a point.
Another accidental head-butt late in the 10th round opened a bad cut over Gonzalez's left eye. The cut poured blood as Cole once again had to take a point from Atwell, and then the fight was stopped because of the wound, sending the fight to the scorecards for a technical decision. Gonzalez was easily ahead, but it was not a fight he will remember fondly.
The rematch with Mares may still happen later this year, but there is also talk in Mexico that Gonzalez could defend against countryman Jorge Arce, the popular brawler and former multidivisional titleholder who is looking for a featherweight title shot.
Saturday at Tijuana, Mexico
David Sanchez W12 Breilor Teran
Wins a vacant interim junior bantamweight title
Scores: 116-111 (three times)
Records: Sanchez (25-2-2, 19 KOs); Teran (13-10-1, 6 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The WBA approved this farce of a fight for an unnecessary interim title belt even though Japan's Kohei Kono won the vacant full title by knockout on March 26. Even if an interim belt was warranted, why on earth was Teran, of Venezuela, given the opportunity? His résumé is a joke, including the fact that in his previous fight he beat a guy who was 5-foot-8. Sanchez, 34, of Mexico, maintained control throughout the bout, which did provide some solid action. Sanchez gave himself a bit of a cushion early in the 11th round when he sent Teran to his rear end on the end of a right hand.
Also on the card, former junior flyweight titleholder Edgar Sosa (50-8, 30 KOs), 34, of Mexico, fought for the first since losing a decision in Japan to Akira Yaegashi challenging for his flyweight world title in December. In Sosa's return, he picked up his 50th career victory with a knockout of former junior flyweight title challenger Omar Salado (24-8-2, 15 KOs), 34, of Mexico, who retired on his stool after the fourth round.
Friday at Verona, N.Y. -- Boxcino tournament finals
Petr Petrov TKO8 Fernando Carcamo
Lightweight
Records: Petrov (35-4-2, 17 KOs); Carcamo (17-6, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Petrov, 31, who is from Russia but lives in Spain, made a big impression on his way to the Boxcino lightweight tournament championship. In 2011, he was knocked out in the fourth round challenging then-junior welterweight titleholder Marcos Maidana, but he eventually returned to the lightweight division. In the tournament, Petrov won his quarterfinal by six-round decision against Fedor Papazov and then knocked out Chris Rudd in the fourth round of the semifinals. As good as he looked in those fights, he was even more dominant against Carcamo, the 23-year-old heavy hitter from Mexico.
Carcamo blew away Samuel Neequaye in the second round of the quarterfinals and took an eight-round decision against Miguel Angel Gonzalez in the semifinals, but he didn't look anything like that against Petrov. Carcamo looked unsteady and perhaps weight drained as Petrov dominated. After the sixth round, Carcamo's trainer, Joel Diaz, threatened to stop the bout if Carcamo didn't start to fight. He never did.
In the seventh round, Petrov punished Carcamo, including landing a huge right hand that badly rocked him with about 25 seconds to go. A left hook nearly dropped him moments later, as did a brutal combination just before the bell. The fight probably should have been stopped at that point, but referee **** Pakozdi let it go. In the corner after the round, Diaz was indecisive. He said the fight was over and even told Pakozdi before quickly changing his mind and saying he would give Carcamo one more round. All the while, Carcamo sat there in a daze. The fight did continue, briefly. After Petrov nailed Carcamo with various clean shots, Pakozdi stepped in and stopped it 40 seconds into the eighth round. It was a decisive, impressive win for Petrov, who could make some noise in a shallow 135-pound weight class.
Willie Monroe Jr. W10 Brandon Adams
Middleweight
Scores: 99-91 (three times)
Records: Monroe (18-1, 6 KOs); Adams (14-1, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Monroe, 27, of Rochester, New York, had the home crowd behind him as he clearly outboxed his pal Adams, 24, of Los Angeles, to take the Boxcino middleweight crown in the final of the eight-man tournament that began in February.
Monroe, a southpaw and the nephew of former middleweight contender Willie "The Worm" Monroe, won all three of his tournament bouts by decision, a six-rounder against Donatas Bondorovas in the quarterfinals, eight-rounder over Vitaliy Kopylenko in the semis and then this strong outing against the more explosive Adams in the final. Adams had gotten here with a fourth-round knockout of Daniel Edouard in the quarterfinals and an eight-round split decision against Raymond Gatica in the semifinals.
Monroe did what he did throughout the tournament, outbox his opponent. He stayed mostly on the outside and used his more polished skills, good quickness, lateral movement and sound jab to control Adams. Many of the rounds were competitive, but Monroe won most of them, hence the wide scorecards. Adams' best moment probably was in the sixth round when he briefly rattled Monroe with a solid right hand that sent him into the ropes. But Monroe, who said after the fight he planned to drop down to junior middleweight, regrouped and won going away.
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