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Only if there were more refs cracking down on excessive clinching smh
Please lock.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
- Start date
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Ruslan might actually murder Rios. No way anyone survives fighting Ruslan while eating clean shots consistently - as Rios does every fight.
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Yeah Ruslan probably wins that one, Rios will make it to the final bell but will look a mess.
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Lake Shore Drive
formerly slp product
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@ Rios/ChavesThat turned into a cat fight. But ultimately Bam Bam was headed to his 3rd L.
Horrible judgement on the refs part as well. Mills Lane rolling over in his grave.
Who was the tall brunette with Chaves??
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might as well have Rios/Alvarado 3 now
Nike Jordan
Supporter
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She looks like Roselyn Sanchez
alp
Banned
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Clinching was not that bad in the fight. If he got DQd for that klitschko shouldve been also dq in his fight against povetkin. That was excessive hugging in everyone's eyes.
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That DQ was terrible. I was embarrassed for that ref, Rios started cursing and it's like the ref was coerced into making a bad judgement call from what he heard Rios say
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just watched... smh @ that DQ
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I want to see rios vs maidana that would be a slugfest. But would never happen
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Rios was so dirty in this fight smh. Leading with his head while inside. Then punching after the break this ref was terrible. He whined all fight
And Chavez got to vegas only 2 days b4 . Not an impressive showing for rios by any means
Just saw rios explanation for why dq happened smh. This dude was driving his head in dudes chin. Maybe if he learned head movement his eyed wudnt get touched so much
And Chavez got to vegas only 2 days b4 . Not an impressive showing for rios by any means
Just saw rios explanation for why dq happened smh. This dude was driving his head in dudes chin. Maybe if he learned head movement his eyed wudnt get touched so much
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True that. Rios was coming in head first a lot and also putting his head in Chaves' chest on the inside. But he wants to complain about clinching? I always looked at Rios as a brawler who always goes out on his shield but last night he appeared to be more of a diva.
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I wish I knew...
That's Chaves manager..smh 25k meanwhile Rios made 900k is insane. Chaves needs a new managerial team. Vic Drackulich meesed that fight up. The same official that officiated Khan-Collazo. Khan did more holding in that fight. Rios took an L last night he's done. Cash him out.
Who's ready for this triple header?
Nike Jordan
Supporter
- 33,901
- 81,062
Found a better pic of Chaves' hot manager...she can manage me anytime.
Weekend wrap up.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Atlantic City, N.J.
Sergey Kovalev TKO2 Blake Caparello
Retains a light heavyweight title
Records: Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs); Caparello (19-1-1, 6 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: This was like boxing's equivalent of a WWE squash match -- when the overwhelming favorite (Kovalev in this case) annihilates a hapless, unknown challenger (Caparello) and further enhances his reputation as an unbeatable destroyer.
That is exactly what happened as Kovalev -- living up to his "Krusher" nickname -- retained his title for the third time as he blitzed the unqualified Caparello, a 27-year-old Australian southpaw with zero résumé or business being in a world title fight (on HBO, no less).
Caparello talked a good game, but he was no match for the powerful Kovalev, who walked straight to him, appearing almost disdainful of his ability. Although Caparello scored a knockdown on a straight left hand in the first round, Kovalev was not hurt at all, merely going down because he was off balance after Caparello stepped on his foot. It at least made the otherwise gross mismatch (on paper and in the ring) mildly interesting until Kovalev destroyed Caparello in the second round, dropping him three times.
The first knockdown came on a right hand to the pit of the stomach. Caparello never really recovered from it as Kovalev, 31, a native of Russia living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, dropped him for a second time moments later when he buckled Caparello, forcing him to touch his knee to the mat. Seconds later, Kovalev was all over Caparello and landing all kinds of heavy blows to force him to the mat again as referee Sparkle Lee called off the fight at 1 minute, 47 seconds as Kovalev notched his ninth knockout in a row.
As uninteresting as the fight was, it at least became more interesting the day before it happened when, in a bit of a surprise, Kovalev and unified titleholder Bernard Hopkins signed for a November fight -- one that was contingent upon Kovalev retaining his title against Caparello. So Hopkins was ringside to begin the buildup for the fight, which likely will take place Nov. 8 at either Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, or the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Many thought Hopkins would be facing champion Adonis Stevenson in a fall unification fight after Stevenson ducked Kovalev and walked away from an HBO deal on the table to take a deal at Showtime in March, a move that got him sued by Kovalev promoter Main Events, which claimed the sides had a verbal agreement for Stevenson-Kovalev. But, according to Hopkins, the Stevenson side was dragging its feet to finalize a fight with him and the Kovalev camp was aggressive, leading him to make the deal for the fight and return to HBO.
Kovalev is much younger and more powerful than Hopkins, who will be two months shy of his 50th birthday when they meet. There are many think Kovalev will crush Hopkins and end his career by handing him his first knockout loss. But Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs), still looking good at 49 and coming off a dominant unification victory against Beibut Shumenov on April 19, is a supreme defender and has awesome ring intelligence. He has also made a career out of proving the naysayers wrong and pulling huge upsets, as he did against Felix Trinidad, Antonio Tarver and Kelly Pavlik. It is just silly to count the old man out. The matchup should make for a fascinating fight come November.
Saturday at Las Vegas
Brandon Rios W-DQ9 Diego Chaves
Welterweight
Records: Rios (32-2-1, 23 KOs); Chaves (23-2, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Thank you, referee Vic Drakulich, for single-handedly ruining an otherwise excellent fight with odd point deductions and a miserable decision to ultimately disqualify Chaves for no apparent reason at 1 minute, 26 seconds of the ninth round of their scheduled 10-rounder.
Drakulich has often been an overzealous referee, and never did it show more than during this fight that, while a bit chippy with some rough tactics, certainly did not rise to the level of having three point deductions (two from Chaves, one from Rios) and then a DQ.
Rios, 28, of Oxnard, California, a former lightweight titlist, got back in the win column of two straight losses last year -- decisions to Mike Alvarado in their hellacious rematch and a one-sided drubbing by Manny Pacquiao -- and a five-month suspension for testing positive for a banned stimulant following the fight with Pacquiao. But he was not happy with the way he got the victory.
Chaves, 28, of Argentina, is a former interim welterweight titlist who put on a good performance two fights ago when he came to the United States and was stopped in the 10th round of his interim title loss to Keith Thurman last year. The fight with Rios shaped up as a classic slugfest but almost was called off because of a computer crash that was holding up visas around the world for travelers to the United States. Ultimately, Chaves got his visa at the last minute and made it to Las Vegas on Thursday morning following a 15-hour journey and two flights.
It looked like fans would be rewarded for the efforts to get Chaves into the country because the fight started very, very quickly as they both charged to each other in an intense first round.
But when the rough stuff started, Drakulich took a point from Chaves in the third round for holding Rios' arm. Drakulich had warned Chaves once before but the deduction was unwarranted since there had been only one previous warning (usually there are two before a deduction) and it seemed like a normal clinch.
Rios and Chaves continued to fight head-to-head and chest-to-chest, although Chaves did better when he stayed on the outside and fired straight punches at Rios. In the fifth round, Drakulich again over-officiated when he took a point from Rios after Chaves went down the mat off a clinch. But Rios did not appear to purposely push him down. It was another uncalled-for deduction.
When Rios and Chaves were battling inside during the sixth round, Chaves butted Rios, who was throwing rabbit punches. Drakulich called timeout, called them together and warned them to knock off the rough stuff or he would disqualify somebody. After the warning, Chaves landed two tremendous right hands and the round ended with Rios having a bloody nose. At some point, Chaves also suffered a cut over his left eye in a fight that was very, very close.
In the eighth round, they were in close again and Chaves rubbed the wrist area of his glove against Rios' face and shoved him, eliciting another point deduction from Chaves. At this point, Drakulich had lost total control of the fight and you could sense a DQ coming.
In the ninth round, they both wound up on the canvas after a clinch and when the fight resumed they wound up in another clinch. Nothing particular happened during the clinch and when Drakulich broke them up, he disqualified Chaves even though no foul had occurred at that moment. It was bizarre.
Chaves was ahead 75-74 on two scorecards with Rios ahead 75-74 on the third card at the time of DQ. Chaves seemed dumbfounded as to why he was disqualified. Rios was angry, claiming that Chaves had continually rubbed him in the eyes and was sent to the hospital for an MRI after complaining of a headache and dizziness, and also have his left eye checked. The MRI was clear. It was just another weird night at the fights, with Drakulich due in the Nevada State Athletic Commission office on Monday to review the video and explain his actions, which were responsible for marring a good fight.
Jessie Vargas W12 Anton Novikov
Retains a junior welterweight title
Scores: 118-111 (twice), 117-111
Records: Vargas (25-0, 9 KOs); Novikov (29-1, 10 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In April, Vargas, 25, of Las Vegas, claimed a secondary title with a debatable decision against Russian southpaw Khabib Allakhverdiev. Making his first defense, Vargas beat another Russian southpaw in the 26-year-old Novikov.
While the decision wasn't controversial -- Vargas did deserve it -- the scorecards were laughable. For the judges to only give Novikov two or three rounds is an insult to the excellent work Novikov did. With the way the judges have treated Vargas at home, good luck beating him in a close fight.
Vargas was facing a much bigger man. While both made the 140-pound limit, Novikov, who was officially 139½ at Friday's weigh-in, came in at 157 pounds on fight night while Vargas, 140 at the weigh-in, rehydrated only to 148. So the fight was functionally a welterweight against a middleweight, but that did not deter Vargas, who landed a lot of good jabs and left hooks to the body while Novikov got in several solid straight left hands. Both fighters came forward and it made for an entertaining fight waged at a crisp pace.
They both landed combinations and applied pressure. Vargas seemed to be in command through the first half of the fight and should have been ahead 4-2 in rounds. In the sixth round, he landed his best shot of the fight, a terrific right hand that buckled Novikov, who amazingly did not go down. Novikov continued to pressure Vargas in the middle rounds and appeared to even the fight up by the end of the eighth round. Both guys showed excellent chins as they each took some clean shots. In the end, Vargas took the 12th round, which was good enough for a 115-113 victory on the scorecard of HBO unofficial scorer Harold Lederman, one of the all-time great judges in the sport. He was spot on.
Vargas, who landed 191 of 783 punches (24 percent) to Novikov's 223 of 812 (27 percent), according to CompuBox, deserved the victory. That was not controversial. The wide scores, however, are what gave many pause and once again called into question the judging.
In an interesting side note, Novikov's trainer is Ernie Zavala, who went 21-5 in his pro career, which ended by a sixth-round knockout to Vargas in 2010.
The undercard featured several Top Rank prospects, including junior featherweight Jessie Magdaleno, 2012 U.S. Olympian and junior welterweight Jose Rodriguez and middleweight Shane Mosley Jr., all of whom scored victories.
Magdaleno (19-0, 15 KOs), 22, of Las Vegas, dropped Carlos Rodriguez (18-15-4, 10 KOs), 30, of Mexico, three times en route to a seventh-round stoppage. Ramirez (11-0, 8 KOs), 21, of Avenal, California, cruised to a shutout eight-round decision (80-72, 80-72, 80-71) against Alfred Romero, 35, of Denver. Mosley (2-0, 2 KOs), 23, of Pomona, California, the son of three-division champion Shane Mosley (who is his trainer), knocked out Jerome Jones (1-1-1, 1 KO), 29, of Spokane, Washington, in the first round.
Saturday at Chetumal, Mexico
Sergio Thompson W10 Adones Aguelo
Junior lightweight
Title eliminator
Scores: 97-92, 96-93 (twice)
Records: Thompson (30-3, 26 KOs); Aguelo (21-10-2, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: While the fight was billed as an official title eliminator, that is odd given that it was only a scheduled 10-round fight; formal eliminators are supposed to be 12 rounds. But what else would you expect from the WBC? The bout was supposed to serve as an eliminator for which the winner, Thompson, would move a step close to a mandatory title shot against 130-pound titlist Takashi Miura.
Thompson, 30, who was fighting in his hometown, lost a decision to Miura for his belt last August in Cancun, Mexico, getting knocked down twice in a unanimous decision loss (in which he also floored Miura). Thompson has now won three fights in a row, however, after outpointing Aguelo, 26, of the Philippines, who has lost two of his last three fights and had no business being in a title eliminator in the first place.
The stronger Thompson consistently beat Aguelo to the punch in a fight that was entertaining all the way -- like most Thompson fights. Thompson, who had swelling under his left eye, had a big sixth round, rocking Aguelo with various shots to the head and body. A clean right hand to the jaw dropped Aguelo with about 18 seconds left in the round, bringing the crowd to its feet. Aguelo beat the count and Thompson got in another big right hand before the round ended. From there, Thompson was in control of the fight.
Friday at Shelton, Wash.
Gabriel Campillo TKO5 Thomas Williams Jr.
Light heavyweight
Title eliminator
Records: Campillo (24-6-1, 10 KOs); Williams Jr. (17-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Make no mistake: This was supposed to be a victory for Williams, the fine 26-year-old prospect from Washington, D.C., and move him a step closer to a mandatory shot at one of the 175-pound title belts that Bernard Hopkins currently holds. Campillo, a 35-year-old southpaw from Spain and a former world titleholder, was viewed by most as an old, shot fighter with little left in the tank who was ripe for the picking. He came into the fight having lost three of his last five bouts, including getting destroyed in three rounds by Sergey Kovalev, who later won a world title, and knocked out in the ninth round by Andrzej Fonfara two fights ago.
Williams, also a southpaw, meanwhile, was on a good run, having scored three nice wins in a row against decent veteran opponents in Enrique Ornelas (by third-round knockout in April), Cornelius White (in a wild first-round KO win in January) and Yusaf Mack (on points in November). Williams' career was on a major upswing. But that's why they fight the fights.
Campillo's camp called the fight his "last tango," meaning a loss would probably spell retirement. And early on it did not look good for Campillo as Williams clearly won the first three rounds. But Williams, although winning the rounds, was struggling to figure out the crafty Campillo. His body language didn't look good while the extremely experienced Campillo remained the picture of poise and calm, even when he suffered a cut. But when Williams suffered a bloody nose and cut over his left eye (from a stiff right jab) in the fourth round -- the first cut of his career -- he came unglued and did not know how to handle seeing and feeling his own blood. Williams was on the run in the fifth round as he was severely bothered by the cut. He complained to the referee and seemed to be looking for a way out of the fight. Campillo, meanwhile, kept grinding away and when the round ended, Williams' corner called the doctor into the corner (an unusual move) to look at the eye and he told referee Ray Corona to call off the fight. It was an upset victory for Campillo, who keeps his career alive, and a major setback for Williams.
Andre Dirrell TKO5 Vladine Biosse
Light heavyweight
Records: Dirrell (22-1, 15 KOs); Biosse (15-5-2, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Looks who's back: Dirrell, 30, of Flint, Michigan, who had only had two fights since 2010 coming into the bout. Dirrell, a 2004 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist, was in soft against fellow southpaw Biosse, 32, of Providence, Rhode Island, but dominated in his first fight in 18 months.
Dirrell was a very promising super middleweight contender when he took part in the Super Six World Boxing Classic beginning in 2009.
Dirrell challenged Carl Froch for his world title in their tournament opener and lost a split decision and although Dirrell won his second bout of the tournament in March 2010 when he dominated Arthur Abraham, the victory came after he slipped to the mat in the 11th round and Abraham blatantly hit him while he was down, knocking Dirrell out cold and resulting in a disqualification. Dirrell eventually dropped out of the tournament, claiming neurological issues stemming from the foul and has fought only three times since. He made his return against Biosse after parting ways with promoter Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and rejoining adviser Al Haymon's stable.
Considering the layoff, Dirrell looked pretty sharp. His jab was on point, he was much bigger and faster than Biosse, and he dominated. Dirrell was manhandling Biosse in the fifth round, teeing off on him and knocking him all over the right with nice right hooks. When he nailed him with a left uppercut with Biosse backed into a corner, referee Jeff Macaluso intervened at 2 minutes, 46 seconds.
Dirrell said after the fight that he can fight at either light heavyweight or super middleweight and his goal is to get a rematch with Froch. (Good luck with that.) He said he would also like a shot at super middleweight champion Andre Ward, his Olympic teammate. Biosse has lost three fights in a row, including one just three weeks before facing Dirrell.
Friday at Wolverhampton, England
Leonard Bundu W12 Frankie Gavin
Retains European welterweight title
Scores: 114-113 (twice) Bundu, 115-112 Gavin
Records: Bundu (31-0-2, 11 KOs); Gavin (19-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Gavin, 28, of England, won an amateur world title in 2007 to become the first British boxer to accomplish that feat and then made the 2008 Olympic team, but he did not compete because he failed to make weight and was disqualified from the tournament. As a pro, he has had a slow but steady climb, having won the British and Commonwealth titles before taking the next step, which was to challenge Bundu, 39, a native of Sierra Leone living in Italy, for the European title.
Gavin, a southpaw, was the favorite but Bundu, who still has a lot of spring in his step for an older fighter, made his sixth successful defense as he eked out the split-decision victory in an excellent fight. The decisive moment of the fight came with 30 seconds remaining in the sixth round when Bundu, who was being outboxed to this point, landed a digging left hook to Gavin's liver, sending him to the deck face first. Gavin barely beat the count, but bought a few extra seconds of recovery time when referee Daniel Van de Wiele called timeout to have Gavin's corner put his mouthpiece back in as it had come out on the knockdown. Bundu went on the attack as soon as the fight resumed, smothering Gavin with punches, but the round ended before he could do any more real damage. Bundu continued to pour it on in the seventh round, opening a cut over Gavin's right eye but Gavin is nails-tough and hung in to make it to the final bell, even winning some of the later rounds.
Also on the card, Australian heavyweight Lucas Browne (21-0, 18 KOs), who is 35 but did not turn pro until 2009, won a unanimous decision -- 117-112, 116-112, 115-113 -- against Andriy Rudenko (24-1, 16 KOs), 30, of Ukraine, in a hard-fought and competitive bout. Browne's heavier punches carried the day against the busier Rudenko, who opened cuts over both of Browne's eyes on accidental head-butts.
Saturday at Atlantic City, N.J.
Sergey Kovalev TKO2 Blake Caparello
Retains a light heavyweight title
Records: Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs); Caparello (19-1-1, 6 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: This was like boxing's equivalent of a WWE squash match -- when the overwhelming favorite (Kovalev in this case) annihilates a hapless, unknown challenger (Caparello) and further enhances his reputation as an unbeatable destroyer.
That is exactly what happened as Kovalev -- living up to his "Krusher" nickname -- retained his title for the third time as he blitzed the unqualified Caparello, a 27-year-old Australian southpaw with zero résumé or business being in a world title fight (on HBO, no less).
Caparello talked a good game, but he was no match for the powerful Kovalev, who walked straight to him, appearing almost disdainful of his ability. Although Caparello scored a knockdown on a straight left hand in the first round, Kovalev was not hurt at all, merely going down because he was off balance after Caparello stepped on his foot. It at least made the otherwise gross mismatch (on paper and in the ring) mildly interesting until Kovalev destroyed Caparello in the second round, dropping him three times.
The first knockdown came on a right hand to the pit of the stomach. Caparello never really recovered from it as Kovalev, 31, a native of Russia living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, dropped him for a second time moments later when he buckled Caparello, forcing him to touch his knee to the mat. Seconds later, Kovalev was all over Caparello and landing all kinds of heavy blows to force him to the mat again as referee Sparkle Lee called off the fight at 1 minute, 47 seconds as Kovalev notched his ninth knockout in a row.
As uninteresting as the fight was, it at least became more interesting the day before it happened when, in a bit of a surprise, Kovalev and unified titleholder Bernard Hopkins signed for a November fight -- one that was contingent upon Kovalev retaining his title against Caparello. So Hopkins was ringside to begin the buildup for the fight, which likely will take place Nov. 8 at either Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, or the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Many thought Hopkins would be facing champion Adonis Stevenson in a fall unification fight after Stevenson ducked Kovalev and walked away from an HBO deal on the table to take a deal at Showtime in March, a move that got him sued by Kovalev promoter Main Events, which claimed the sides had a verbal agreement for Stevenson-Kovalev. But, according to Hopkins, the Stevenson side was dragging its feet to finalize a fight with him and the Kovalev camp was aggressive, leading him to make the deal for the fight and return to HBO.
Kovalev is much younger and more powerful than Hopkins, who will be two months shy of his 50th birthday when they meet. There are many think Kovalev will crush Hopkins and end his career by handing him his first knockout loss. But Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs), still looking good at 49 and coming off a dominant unification victory against Beibut Shumenov on April 19, is a supreme defender and has awesome ring intelligence. He has also made a career out of proving the naysayers wrong and pulling huge upsets, as he did against Felix Trinidad, Antonio Tarver and Kelly Pavlik. It is just silly to count the old man out. The matchup should make for a fascinating fight come November.
Saturday at Las Vegas
Brandon Rios W-DQ9 Diego Chaves
Welterweight
Records: Rios (32-2-1, 23 KOs); Chaves (23-2, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Thank you, referee Vic Drakulich, for single-handedly ruining an otherwise excellent fight with odd point deductions and a miserable decision to ultimately disqualify Chaves for no apparent reason at 1 minute, 26 seconds of the ninth round of their scheduled 10-rounder.
Drakulich has often been an overzealous referee, and never did it show more than during this fight that, while a bit chippy with some rough tactics, certainly did not rise to the level of having three point deductions (two from Chaves, one from Rios) and then a DQ.
Rios, 28, of Oxnard, California, a former lightweight titlist, got back in the win column of two straight losses last year -- decisions to Mike Alvarado in their hellacious rematch and a one-sided drubbing by Manny Pacquiao -- and a five-month suspension for testing positive for a banned stimulant following the fight with Pacquiao. But he was not happy with the way he got the victory.
Chaves, 28, of Argentina, is a former interim welterweight titlist who put on a good performance two fights ago when he came to the United States and was stopped in the 10th round of his interim title loss to Keith Thurman last year. The fight with Rios shaped up as a classic slugfest but almost was called off because of a computer crash that was holding up visas around the world for travelers to the United States. Ultimately, Chaves got his visa at the last minute and made it to Las Vegas on Thursday morning following a 15-hour journey and two flights.
It looked like fans would be rewarded for the efforts to get Chaves into the country because the fight started very, very quickly as they both charged to each other in an intense first round.
But when the rough stuff started, Drakulich took a point from Chaves in the third round for holding Rios' arm. Drakulich had warned Chaves once before but the deduction was unwarranted since there had been only one previous warning (usually there are two before a deduction) and it seemed like a normal clinch.
Rios and Chaves continued to fight head-to-head and chest-to-chest, although Chaves did better when he stayed on the outside and fired straight punches at Rios. In the fifth round, Drakulich again over-officiated when he took a point from Rios after Chaves went down the mat off a clinch. But Rios did not appear to purposely push him down. It was another uncalled-for deduction.
When Rios and Chaves were battling inside during the sixth round, Chaves butted Rios, who was throwing rabbit punches. Drakulich called timeout, called them together and warned them to knock off the rough stuff or he would disqualify somebody. After the warning, Chaves landed two tremendous right hands and the round ended with Rios having a bloody nose. At some point, Chaves also suffered a cut over his left eye in a fight that was very, very close.
In the eighth round, they were in close again and Chaves rubbed the wrist area of his glove against Rios' face and shoved him, eliciting another point deduction from Chaves. At this point, Drakulich had lost total control of the fight and you could sense a DQ coming.
In the ninth round, they both wound up on the canvas after a clinch and when the fight resumed they wound up in another clinch. Nothing particular happened during the clinch and when Drakulich broke them up, he disqualified Chaves even though no foul had occurred at that moment. It was bizarre.
Chaves was ahead 75-74 on two scorecards with Rios ahead 75-74 on the third card at the time of DQ. Chaves seemed dumbfounded as to why he was disqualified. Rios was angry, claiming that Chaves had continually rubbed him in the eyes and was sent to the hospital for an MRI after complaining of a headache and dizziness, and also have his left eye checked. The MRI was clear. It was just another weird night at the fights, with Drakulich due in the Nevada State Athletic Commission office on Monday to review the video and explain his actions, which were responsible for marring a good fight.
Jessie Vargas W12 Anton Novikov
Retains a junior welterweight title
Scores: 118-111 (twice), 117-111
Records: Vargas (25-0, 9 KOs); Novikov (29-1, 10 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In April, Vargas, 25, of Las Vegas, claimed a secondary title with a debatable decision against Russian southpaw Khabib Allakhverdiev. Making his first defense, Vargas beat another Russian southpaw in the 26-year-old Novikov.
While the decision wasn't controversial -- Vargas did deserve it -- the scorecards were laughable. For the judges to only give Novikov two or three rounds is an insult to the excellent work Novikov did. With the way the judges have treated Vargas at home, good luck beating him in a close fight.
Vargas was facing a much bigger man. While both made the 140-pound limit, Novikov, who was officially 139½ at Friday's weigh-in, came in at 157 pounds on fight night while Vargas, 140 at the weigh-in, rehydrated only to 148. So the fight was functionally a welterweight against a middleweight, but that did not deter Vargas, who landed a lot of good jabs and left hooks to the body while Novikov got in several solid straight left hands. Both fighters came forward and it made for an entertaining fight waged at a crisp pace.
They both landed combinations and applied pressure. Vargas seemed to be in command through the first half of the fight and should have been ahead 4-2 in rounds. In the sixth round, he landed his best shot of the fight, a terrific right hand that buckled Novikov, who amazingly did not go down. Novikov continued to pressure Vargas in the middle rounds and appeared to even the fight up by the end of the eighth round. Both guys showed excellent chins as they each took some clean shots. In the end, Vargas took the 12th round, which was good enough for a 115-113 victory on the scorecard of HBO unofficial scorer Harold Lederman, one of the all-time great judges in the sport. He was spot on.
Vargas, who landed 191 of 783 punches (24 percent) to Novikov's 223 of 812 (27 percent), according to CompuBox, deserved the victory. That was not controversial. The wide scores, however, are what gave many pause and once again called into question the judging.
In an interesting side note, Novikov's trainer is Ernie Zavala, who went 21-5 in his pro career, which ended by a sixth-round knockout to Vargas in 2010.
The undercard featured several Top Rank prospects, including junior featherweight Jessie Magdaleno, 2012 U.S. Olympian and junior welterweight Jose Rodriguez and middleweight Shane Mosley Jr., all of whom scored victories.
Magdaleno (19-0, 15 KOs), 22, of Las Vegas, dropped Carlos Rodriguez (18-15-4, 10 KOs), 30, of Mexico, three times en route to a seventh-round stoppage. Ramirez (11-0, 8 KOs), 21, of Avenal, California, cruised to a shutout eight-round decision (80-72, 80-72, 80-71) against Alfred Romero, 35, of Denver. Mosley (2-0, 2 KOs), 23, of Pomona, California, the son of three-division champion Shane Mosley (who is his trainer), knocked out Jerome Jones (1-1-1, 1 KO), 29, of Spokane, Washington, in the first round.
Saturday at Chetumal, Mexico
Sergio Thompson W10 Adones Aguelo
Junior lightweight
Title eliminator
Scores: 97-92, 96-93 (twice)
Records: Thompson (30-3, 26 KOs); Aguelo (21-10-2, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: While the fight was billed as an official title eliminator, that is odd given that it was only a scheduled 10-round fight; formal eliminators are supposed to be 12 rounds. But what else would you expect from the WBC? The bout was supposed to serve as an eliminator for which the winner, Thompson, would move a step close to a mandatory title shot against 130-pound titlist Takashi Miura.
Thompson, 30, who was fighting in his hometown, lost a decision to Miura for his belt last August in Cancun, Mexico, getting knocked down twice in a unanimous decision loss (in which he also floored Miura). Thompson has now won three fights in a row, however, after outpointing Aguelo, 26, of the Philippines, who has lost two of his last three fights and had no business being in a title eliminator in the first place.
The stronger Thompson consistently beat Aguelo to the punch in a fight that was entertaining all the way -- like most Thompson fights. Thompson, who had swelling under his left eye, had a big sixth round, rocking Aguelo with various shots to the head and body. A clean right hand to the jaw dropped Aguelo with about 18 seconds left in the round, bringing the crowd to its feet. Aguelo beat the count and Thompson got in another big right hand before the round ended. From there, Thompson was in control of the fight.
Friday at Shelton, Wash.
Gabriel Campillo TKO5 Thomas Williams Jr.
Light heavyweight
Title eliminator
Records: Campillo (24-6-1, 10 KOs); Williams Jr. (17-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Make no mistake: This was supposed to be a victory for Williams, the fine 26-year-old prospect from Washington, D.C., and move him a step closer to a mandatory shot at one of the 175-pound title belts that Bernard Hopkins currently holds. Campillo, a 35-year-old southpaw from Spain and a former world titleholder, was viewed by most as an old, shot fighter with little left in the tank who was ripe for the picking. He came into the fight having lost three of his last five bouts, including getting destroyed in three rounds by Sergey Kovalev, who later won a world title, and knocked out in the ninth round by Andrzej Fonfara two fights ago.
Williams, also a southpaw, meanwhile, was on a good run, having scored three nice wins in a row against decent veteran opponents in Enrique Ornelas (by third-round knockout in April), Cornelius White (in a wild first-round KO win in January) and Yusaf Mack (on points in November). Williams' career was on a major upswing. But that's why they fight the fights.
Campillo's camp called the fight his "last tango," meaning a loss would probably spell retirement. And early on it did not look good for Campillo as Williams clearly won the first three rounds. But Williams, although winning the rounds, was struggling to figure out the crafty Campillo. His body language didn't look good while the extremely experienced Campillo remained the picture of poise and calm, even when he suffered a cut. But when Williams suffered a bloody nose and cut over his left eye (from a stiff right jab) in the fourth round -- the first cut of his career -- he came unglued and did not know how to handle seeing and feeling his own blood. Williams was on the run in the fifth round as he was severely bothered by the cut. He complained to the referee and seemed to be looking for a way out of the fight. Campillo, meanwhile, kept grinding away and when the round ended, Williams' corner called the doctor into the corner (an unusual move) to look at the eye and he told referee Ray Corona to call off the fight. It was an upset victory for Campillo, who keeps his career alive, and a major setback for Williams.
Andre Dirrell TKO5 Vladine Biosse
Light heavyweight
Records: Dirrell (22-1, 15 KOs); Biosse (15-5-2, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Looks who's back: Dirrell, 30, of Flint, Michigan, who had only had two fights since 2010 coming into the bout. Dirrell, a 2004 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist, was in soft against fellow southpaw Biosse, 32, of Providence, Rhode Island, but dominated in his first fight in 18 months.
Dirrell was a very promising super middleweight contender when he took part in the Super Six World Boxing Classic beginning in 2009.
Dirrell challenged Carl Froch for his world title in their tournament opener and lost a split decision and although Dirrell won his second bout of the tournament in March 2010 when he dominated Arthur Abraham, the victory came after he slipped to the mat in the 11th round and Abraham blatantly hit him while he was down, knocking Dirrell out cold and resulting in a disqualification. Dirrell eventually dropped out of the tournament, claiming neurological issues stemming from the foul and has fought only three times since. He made his return against Biosse after parting ways with promoter Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and rejoining adviser Al Haymon's stable.
Considering the layoff, Dirrell looked pretty sharp. His jab was on point, he was much bigger and faster than Biosse, and he dominated. Dirrell was manhandling Biosse in the fifth round, teeing off on him and knocking him all over the right with nice right hooks. When he nailed him with a left uppercut with Biosse backed into a corner, referee Jeff Macaluso intervened at 2 minutes, 46 seconds.
Dirrell said after the fight that he can fight at either light heavyweight or super middleweight and his goal is to get a rematch with Froch. (Good luck with that.) He said he would also like a shot at super middleweight champion Andre Ward, his Olympic teammate. Biosse has lost three fights in a row, including one just three weeks before facing Dirrell.
Friday at Wolverhampton, England
Leonard Bundu W12 Frankie Gavin
Retains European welterweight title
Scores: 114-113 (twice) Bundu, 115-112 Gavin
Records: Bundu (31-0-2, 11 KOs); Gavin (19-1, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Gavin, 28, of England, won an amateur world title in 2007 to become the first British boxer to accomplish that feat and then made the 2008 Olympic team, but he did not compete because he failed to make weight and was disqualified from the tournament. As a pro, he has had a slow but steady climb, having won the British and Commonwealth titles before taking the next step, which was to challenge Bundu, 39, a native of Sierra Leone living in Italy, for the European title.
Gavin, a southpaw, was the favorite but Bundu, who still has a lot of spring in his step for an older fighter, made his sixth successful defense as he eked out the split-decision victory in an excellent fight. The decisive moment of the fight came with 30 seconds remaining in the sixth round when Bundu, who was being outboxed to this point, landed a digging left hook to Gavin's liver, sending him to the deck face first. Gavin barely beat the count, but bought a few extra seconds of recovery time when referee Daniel Van de Wiele called timeout to have Gavin's corner put his mouthpiece back in as it had come out on the knockdown. Bundu went on the attack as soon as the fight resumed, smothering Gavin with punches, but the round ended before he could do any more real damage. Bundu continued to pour it on in the seventh round, opening a cut over Gavin's right eye but Gavin is nails-tough and hung in to make it to the final bell, even winning some of the later rounds.
Also on the card, Australian heavyweight Lucas Browne (21-0, 18 KOs), who is 35 but did not turn pro until 2009, won a unanimous decision -- 117-112, 116-112, 115-113 -- against Andriy Rudenko (24-1, 16 KOs), 30, of Ukraine, in a hard-fought and competitive bout. Browne's heavier punches carried the day against the busier Rudenko, who opened cuts over both of Browne's eyes on accidental head-butts.
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I'm guessing you're not going to Barclays. Danny/Fletcher could be good.
fullcourtpress
Banned
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When is Khan's next fight?
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Likely December against Alexander the Great or Ghost. Khan/Brook would do numbers in the UK.
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I still chuckle at a mere con 
whoever came up with that is hilarious
whoever came up with that is hilarious
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