A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at New York
Gennady Golovkin TKO3 Daniel Geale
Retains a middleweight title
Records: Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs); Geale (30-3, 16 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's GGG!! Golovkin, with one booming knockout after another -- followed by his having a huge smile on his face while giving postfight interviews in endearing broken English -- is creating boxing hysteria as if he is our sport's version of Superman.
Golovkin did it again against Geale with a one-punch knockout against a quality opponent, electrifying the crowd of 8,572 in his first main event in the Madison Square Garden main arena (which was scaled for 9,000) after filling the smaller, roughly 5,000-seat Theater at MSG twice before. After how Golovkin destroyed Geale, you can count on his crowds -- and the hype -- to continue to grow even bigger.
There are some cranks who still don't want to give Golovkin, who is one of the best fighters in the world, credit. But it is not fair to Monday morning quarterback about Geale. Some are saying, well, he wasn't that good. Who is he? When will Golovkin fight a real opponent? Forget all that gibberish.
Geale, 33, of Australia, was a real opponent. He was good, a legitimate top-5 middleweight. He was a former unified middleweight world titleholder with credible victories on his record, including two split-decision title-winning efforts in Germany, against Felix Sturm and Sebastian Sylvester. He made successful title defenses, and his only two previous losses were an avenged defeat to countryman and former titleholder Anthony Mundine and a split decision that could have gone either way but cost him a world title last summer in a rousing fight of the year contender against Darren Barker. Geale was the best opponent Golovkin has faced so far as a professional and was expected to give him competition. But Golovkin is that good. Sometimes you just need to believe what your eyes tell you.
Golovkin, 32, of Kazakhstan, is a complete fighter with good speed and defense, a huge amateur background (including a 2004 Olympic silver medal), ring intelligence and crushing power. In making his 11th title defense, Golovkin scored his 17th knockout in a row (he hasn't heard the final bell since an eight-round decision win in 200
and raised his knockout ratio to 90 percent, the best among the active titleholders in boxing. And he made it look easy.
He pressured Geale immediately, and, although Geale did a good job of using lateral movement to avoid the power for much of the first round -- which, by the way, shamefully ran for four minutes because the New York State Athletic Commission timekeeper did not do his job -- he could not avoid it forever.
Golovkin, fighting for the first time since his father's unexpected death in February, which caused Golovkin to cancel an April 26 fight with Andy Lee, scored the first knockdown of the fight in the second round, sending Geale to the mat from a flurry of punches late in the round. Geale also suffered a cut over his right eye in the second round, and it seemed as if the end might be near. It came in the third round, and in most impressive fashion, as Geale landed a really good right hand to Golovkin's forehead but Golovkin was simultaneously throwing his own right hand, which he basically threw going backward but connected clean on Geale's chin to knock him down. Geale beat the count, but his legs were a total mess and he knew he was done, nodding as referee Michael Ortega waved off the fight at 2 minutes, 43 seconds.
Golovkin's biggest problem now is going to be finding a top opponent to fight him. He agreed to move up to super middleweight and fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but Chavez could not come to terms with his promoter and Golovkin faced Geale instead. Super middleweight champion Andre Ward -- the one fighter who might be able to give him a serious run -- is inactive and in a legal snit with his promoter. So Golovkin is calling out for a 160-pound unification fight. Titlist Peter Quillin -- a New Yorker, to boot -- would be an interesting opponent, but it's a hard fight to make given Quillin's association with adviser Al Haymon and Showtime and Golovkin's contract with HBO. Lineal champion Miguel Cotto, the Garden's biggest draw, who won the title last month in dominant fashion against Sergio Martinez, makes sense and is the fight Golovkin most wants, but it seems highly unlikely that Cotto's handlers are going to put the undersized middleweight in the ring with such a beast, especially with the prospect of a Canelo Alvarez fight next year.
That leaves the possibility of titleholder Sam Soliman, another Australian, who is 40 and won a belt against Sturm in May. It's probably not the most compelling fight, but it would give Golovkin the chance to win another belt, which is what he wants. All we want, however, is to see GGG in the biggest fights.
Bryant Jennings W12 Mike Perez
Heavyweight
Title eliminator
Scores: 115-112, 114-113 Jennings, 114-113 Perez
Records: Jennings (19-0, 10 KOs); Perez (20-1-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: After such a dismal fight, it is, frankly, sad to think about the state of the heavyweight division beyond champion Wladimir Klitschko, the real champion. Jennings and Perez both had a chance to really raise their stock, but neither did in a sloppy affair that had a few decent moments of action but not nearly enough to keep the crowd from growing very restless.
It was also disappointing to see a fight with such significance decided on a debatable point deduction from Perez in the final round. In the end, Jennings squeezed out the split decision because referee Harvey Dock took a point from Perez for pushing Jennings' head down and hitting as they were being broken up. Had Dock not deducted the point, the fight would have been a draw.
But Dock did take the point, and that enabled Jennings, 29, of Philadelphia, to score the biggest victory of his career as he will now be the mandatory challenger for the winner of the bout between world titleholder Bermane Stiverne and current mandatory challenger Deontay Wilder, who are supposed to meet before the end of the year. Whoever wins that fight will have to face Jennings in his next defense, probably in the first half of 2015.
Perez, 28, a former Cuban amateur standout who defected and now lives in Ireland, was fighting his first fight under the tutelage of trainer Adam Booth, and, although Perez started off well, he faded badly down the stretch. He was ahead on all the scorecards for most of the fight until Jennings, who looked in great shape, was able to flourish late against a tiring and seemingly out of shape Perez, who weighed 242¼ pounds, second heaviest of his career and 11 pounds more than his previous fight, a draw against Carlos Takam in January in a fight in which he also faded badly in the second half.
Jennings and Perez had been scheduled to headline their own HBO card May 24 in Corpus Christi, Texas, but Perez suffered a left shoulder injury in a sparring session and the bout was called off with two weeks to go. Perez said his shoulder was fine going into the rescheduled fight, so that was not an issue in his uneven performance.
Jennings said he expected Perez to be more aggressive, as he was in the fight in November that he won against Magomed Abdusalamov, after which Abdusalamov wound up with a serious brain injury. That fight took a physical and mental toll on Perez, and he wasn't nearly as aggressive against Takam or Jennings as he was against Abdusalamov. Because Perez fought differently, Jennings said, he tried to adjust his style but was not able to do what he wanted, even though he possessed a height advantage and better conditioning -- Perez looked gassed after about seven rounds. According to CompuBox statistics, Jennings landed 149 of 513 punches (29 percent) and Perez connected on 116 of 571 (20 percent). Both fighters landed some hard punches, but there was too much holding and breaks in the action to get anyone too excited about either man going forward.
Saturday at Riga, Latvia
Roy Jones Jr. TKO5 Courtney Fry
Cruiserweight
Records: Jones (58-8, 41 KOs); Fry (18-6, 6 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: At 45 and nearly a decade past his best days when he was the dominant pound-for-pound king, Jones, of Pensacola, Florida, soldiers on still with the mindset that he can win a cruiserweight world title. That seems like a long shot, but Jones, who has won world titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight, carried on with this victory against Fry, a 39-year-old journeyman from England, who lost his third fight in a row and looked horrendous doing it.
Fighting for the first time since December, Jones, who performed one of his rap songs while still in the ring after the fight, won his fourth bout in a row, although each has come against obscure opposition and three have come overseas, in Russia, Poland and now Latvia, of all places. Jones also scored his first knockout since stopping former super middleweight titlist Jeff Lacy in the 10th round in August 2009.
He had an easy time with hapless Fry, who did almost nothing but stare at Jones, throw a few jabs and generally look petrified to throw anything of consequence. Jones was a lot quicker and was able to land solid shots with both hands, although he never had Fry in any particular trouble until the end of the fight.
Late in the fourth round, he caught Fry with a nice right hand followed by a left to the body. With 10 seconds left in the fifth round, Jones landed his best shot, a leaping left hook that hit Fry on the chin and knocked him down to his rear end against the ropes. Fry got up quickly with blood streaming from his nose, but the round ended before Jones could get off another punch. Fry's corner stopped the fight after the round. Despite the degradation of his skills over the years, Jones probably will always be able to beat these kinds of opponents. Against a top-quality cruiserweight, it is likely to be another story.
Heavyweight James Toney (76-9-3, 46 KOs), a long-faded 45-year-old three-division titleholder (and former Jones victim), was scheduled to fight on the undercard, but his fight was canceled, which is a good thing.
Saturday at Phoenix
Jose Benavidez Jr. TKO1 Henry Aurad
Welterweight
Records: Benavidez (21-0, 15 KOs); Aurad (16-9-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Benavidez, 22, of Phoenix, is a former standout amateur with huge pro potential, but he has been hampered by hand injuries. There are those at his promoter, Top Rank, who have also questioned his desire. He was fighting in his hometown for the first time as a professional, and headlining on UniMas' "Solo Boxeo," and he put on a blistering performance against designated loser Aurad, 30, a Colombian living in Miami, who dropped to 2-5 in his past seven with each of the losses coming by knockout, including three of them in the first round.
Benavidez rocked Aurad with a right hand that sent him sagging into the ropes in the first minute of the fight, and it should have been ruled a knockdown because the ropes held him up, but referee Wes Melton did not call it. A left and a right a moment later did send him to the canvas face-first for the first official knockdown. Aurad was unsteady when he rose and was down again a few seconds later under huge pressure as Benavidez sank in hard shots with nothing coming back at him. Aurad was wobbling all over the place when he got to his feet, and Melton waved off the mismatch at 1 minute, 50 seconds.
Oscar Valdez W8 Juan Ruiz
Heavyweight
Scores: 80-71 (three times)
Records: Valdez (12-0, 11 KOs); Ruiz (23-14, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Valdez, 23, was a two-time Mexican Olympian and has been one of boxing's brightest prospects since turning pro in November 2012. He has been blitzing through all of his opponents with ease, and Top Rank, his promoter, wanted him to get in rounds. Enter Ruiz, 35, of Newhall, California, who, even though he has now lost nine fights in a row, has still never been knocked out in any of his 14 defeats. Valdez threw everything he had at him but couldn't get Ruiz to go anywhere, settling for a shutout decision that sent him the distance for the first time. Valdez totally dominated, although Ruiz put himself into an bigger hole when referee Chris Flores took away a point for his excessive holding in the eighth round.
Saturday at Dessau, Germany
Robert Stieglitz TKO10 Sergey Khomitsky
Super middleweight
Records: Stieglitz (47-4, 27 KOs); Khomitsky (29-11-2, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: On March 1, Stieglitz, 33, a Russia native living in Germany, lost a split decision and his 168-pound world title to Arthur Abraham in their rubber match. Stieglitz made his ring return against Khomitsky, 39, of Belarus, in a bloody fight with an unusual and unsatisfying ending to an otherwise interesting fight.
It was a solid action fight with relatively unknown Khomitsky holding his own and having his moments. He was aggressive and went after Stieglitz, who was up for the challenge, making for a fun fight in which Stieglitz suffered a cut over his right eye in the sixth round. In the ninth round, it looked as if an accidental head-butt caused the bloody gash on Khomitsky's bald scalp. Late in the ninth round, it appeared as though Khomitsky dropped Stieglitz with a left hook, but referee Zbigniew Lagosz ruled that he went down on a slip, even though a punch very obviously landed. Then the fight ended in bizarre fashion. Khomitsky was having issues with the tape on his gloves, which had to be re-taped at times during the fight. When the tape came loose yet again on both of Khomitsky's gloves early in the 10th round, Lagosz called timeout so they could be re-taped. Khomitsky's corner took too much time to get the job done, according to Lagosz, and he suddenly waved off the fight 12 seconds into the round to give Stieglitz a surprising -- and entirely uncalled for -- TKO victory. It was very strange and a very poor job by Lagosz. Khomitsky has every right to be outraged by the poor, poor stoppage.
Saturday at Manchester, England
Billy Joe Saunders KO8 Emanuel Blandamura
Wins vacant European middleweight title
Records: Saunders (20-0, 11 KOs); Blandamura (22-1, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: After British heavyweight contender Dereck Chisora withdrew a week before his main event rematch with fellow contender Tyson Fury because of a fractured left hand and Fury withdrew just hours before facing replacement opponent Alexander Ustinov because his uncle was hospitalized, the show nonetheless went on with Saunders, 24, a 2008 British Olympian, and Blandamura, 34, of Italy, being elevated to main event status.
Saunders, fighting for the first time in 10 months because of an injury layoff, suffered a cut over his left eye in the second round and got all he could handle from Blandamura in a highly competitive bout. The ending was spectacular as Saunders absolutely crushed Blandamura with a clean overhand right that didn't knock him down but sent him staggering literally across the ring into the ropes. He bounced off the ropes and was out on his feet now leaning against the ropes as Saunders rushed him and landed two more punches before referee Robin Dolpierre could pull him off. Dolpierre began to count as Blandamura was upright but glassy-eyed with no idea where he was. Dolpierre waved off the fight at 2 minutes, 58 seconds, as Blandamura eventually slid down and was sitting on the bottom ring rope with his mouthpiece hanging out. What a sensational punch from Saunders.
Saturday at Villaflores, Mexico
Fernando Montiel KO1 Jesus Rios
Featherweight
Records: Montiel (52-4-2, 39 KOs); Rios (30-6-1, 21 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Mexico's Montiel, 35, has won world titles in three weight classes -- flyweight, junior bantamweight and bantamweight -- in his 18-year career and is eyeing a shot at a featherweight title. He just might get one. Since losing a close decision to Victor Terrazas (who later won a junior featherweight title) in 2011, Montiel has won six in a row, none more dominant than this destruction of Rios, 30, also of Mexico.
Montiel needed all of 96 seconds to blow him away with a single, perfectly placed left hook to the liver. Rios went down to his knees and was clearly in agony as he took the full count from referee Miguel Angel Canul. Rios saw a three-fight winning streak (each by KO) come to an end.
Friday at Chicago
Roberto Garcia W10 Breidis Prescott
Welterweight
Scores: 96-93, 96-92, 95-94
Records: Garcia (36-3, 23 KOs); Prescott (27-6, 20 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In his first fight since signing with powerful adviser Al Haymon, Garcia, 34, of Weslaco, Texas, scored a solid victory over Prescott, 31, of Colombia, in the ESPN2 "Friday Night Fights" main event.
Since a decision loss in 2010 to former titleholder Antonio Margarito (in Margarito's first fight after his 16-month suspension for trying to fight Shane Mosley with loaded hand wraps), Garcia notched his eighth fight in a row and is now in a prime position to land a big-time fight, especially when you consider his fan-friendly style and the fact that Haymon also controls most of the top welterweights.
Garcia dominated the early rounds, then overcame a knockdown in the opening moments of the ninth round when Prescott, who has lost two of three and four of his past seven fights, dropped him to his rear end with a clean straight right hand. Garcia got up quickly and, although he lost the round, had enough in the bank to win the well-deserved decision in a pretty good fight, although each man committed his share of fouls, including low blows and punches after the bell.
Caleb Truax W10 Derek Ennis
Middleweight
Scores: 99-90, 97-93 (twice)
Records: Truax (24-1-2, 14 KOs); Ennis (24-5-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Truax, 30, of Osseo, Minnesota, outworked Ennis, 33, of Philadelphia, to win a clear decision in a forgettable fight. That was more the fault of Ennis, who did little. Truax, one of the latest additions to powerful adviser Al Haymon's stable, is unbeaten in his past seven fights (6-0-1) since he dropped former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor but lost a 10-round decision to him in April 2012.
Dominant Truax was the aggressor and heavier hitter, and he used a solid jab and decent body attack against Ennis, who spent too much time languishing on the ropes and not throwing nearly enough punches to mount any sort of serious attack, although he opened a cut over Truax's right eye in the final round. Ennis has lost two of his past three fights and three of his past five. No need to see him on television again anytime soon. His nickname is "Pooh," and he fought like it.
Also on the card, Notre Dame graduate, Subway sandwich pitchman and light heavyweight Mike Lee (13-0, 7 KOs). Lee, more suspect than prospect at this point, struggled to win a six-round majority decision against Paul Gonsalves (7-4, 3 KOs), 36, of Hyannis, Massachusetts, on scores of 58-56, 58-56 and 57-57 in a slow-paced fight. Lee's trainer for the second fight in a row was former heavyweight titleholder Chris Byrd.
Friday at Indio, California
Frankie Gomez W10 Vernon Paris
Junior welterweight
Scores: 100-89 (three times)
Records: Gomez (18-0, 13 KOs); Paris (28-2, 16 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Nicknamed the "Pitbull," Gomez, 22, of East Los Angeles, was a star amateur and a likely 2012 U.S. Olympian before turning pro with much fanfare in 2010. Conditioning issues, a seeming lack of dedication and a drug arrest have hampered his development, but this was the kind of impressive win that could mark his turning the corner. Paris, 26, of Detroit, whose only previous loss was a ninth-round knockout to former world titleholder Zab Judah in a 2012 title eliminator, had won two bouts since then, and many expected him to be highly competitive against Gomez.
It turned out to be the opposite as Gomez routed him for the shutout decision victory in which Gomez was aggressive against Paris throughout the fight. He had a huge fourth round, knocking Paris down early in the round with a left hook and repeatedly hurting him, especially with body punches. Paris took a pounding as the fight went on, but he somehow made it to the final bell. However, he lost every single round, and none of them was really that close. This goes down as by far Gomez's biggest victory to date and could signal the beginning of a serious rise toward a title shot.
Terrell Gausha KO1 Ronnie Warrior Jr.
Middleweight
Records: Gausha (11-0, 6 KOs); Warrior (15-9-1, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Gausha, 26, of Cleveland, was a 2012 U.S. Olympian, and he needed little effort to get rid of Warrior, 37, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who had won two fights in row heading into the fight but is now 2-7 in his past nine fights. Warrior, a southpaw, took the fight on six days' notice and was five pounds overweight. But the fight went on anyway, with Gausha blowing him out --- which came as no surprise. Gausha spent most of the round hitting Warrior with right hands but cornered him as the round wound down and fired a four-punch combination, including a digging right hand to the body that did the damage and knocked him down. Warrior went down against the ring post, and referee Raul Caiz Sr. counted him out at 2 minutes, 59 seconds.
Friday at Verona, New York
Antoine Douglas D10 Michel Soro
Middleweight
Scores: 95-95 (twice), 96-94 Soro
Records: Douglas (14-0-1, 9 KOs); Soro (23-1-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Douglas, 21, of Burke, Virginia, stepped up in competition to face Soro, 26, a former world title challenger from France, and they battled to a draw in the main event of a quadrupleheader celebrating the 200th episode of Showtime's prospect-oriented series "ShoBox: The New Generation." The main event was a classic example of the kind of fights the series strives to put on -- prospects stepping up in their toughest challenge to date. That's what Douglas got against Soro, a replacement opponent but a solid one.
It was basically a fight in two halves, with Douglas dominating the first half of the fight with an excellent jab. A tear in Soro's left glove caused a delay in the fourth round, but when the fight resumed Douglas went right back to doing his thing.
Then it was Soro's turn to take over. Soro, who lost a decision challenging then-junior middleweight titlist Zaurbek Baysangurov in May 2012 in Ukraine, began to find Douglas with his right hand. Finally, in the eighth round, he rocked Douglas with a right hand and several punches after the initial shot. Douglas was in big trouble, but Soro was unable to close the show. From there on, Douglas was in survival mode for the remainder of the fight as Soro was relentless in going after him. But he made it to the final bell and escaped with a draw that has to be considered a disappointment despite Soro's experience advantage. A rematch would make sense.
Jerry Odom TKO7 Vilier Quinonez
Super middleweight
Records: Odom (12-0, 11 KOs); Quinonez (8-1, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Odom, 21, of Washington, D.C., made a big splash as he went past the fourth round for the first time (in his first scheduled eight-rounder) and scored a spectacular knockout against Quinonez, 29, a former Cuban amateur standout who defected and now lives in Miami.
The fight got off to a bloody start with an accidental head clash near the end of the first round opening a cut over Quinonez's left eye. Odom was tested, but he passed well.
He dropped Quinonez in the fourth round with a clean right hand before suffering a cut over his left eye, the first cut of his career, in the sixth round on an apparent accidental head-butt. But Odom shook it off and finished Quinonez impressively in the seventh round, staggering him with a right hand and nailing him several more times before Quinonez, a southpaw, went down and referee Charlie Fitch waved off the fight without a count at 2 minutes, 25 seconds.
Also on the card, welterweight Cecil McCalla (19-0, 6 KOs), 29, of Randallstown, Maryland, rolled to a near-shutout eight-round decision against late replacement Oscar Godoy (13-3, 6 KOs), 24, of Watsonville, California, winning by scores of 80-72, 80-72 and 79-73.
In the eight-round opener, lightweight Tony Luis (18-2, 7 KOs), 26, of Ontario, used an array of power punches and body shots to outpoint Wanzell Ellison (11-1-1, 5 KOs), 25, of Newark, New Jersey, by scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75.
He said that? It's not like there's a whole lot of other fights out there for him.
