It was a busy weekend of boxing action all across the globe, from London to Las Vegas, Macau to Moscow, and many stops in between. Right here, we have a full recap of the entire weekend’s boxing results, beyond the big fight which everyone already witness, Froch vs. Groves II.
Donaire vs. Vetyeka Results
Nonito Donaire became the featherweight champion in rather anti-climactic fashion, defeating Simpiwe Vetyeka via a technical decision. Donaire was cut early on, and the referee apparently ruled it was due to a headbutt, although that never became clear. Donaire then scored a knockdown in Round 3, and then the fight was halted very conveniently one second after the bell was rung for the 5th round.
That allowed the fight to go to the scorecards, and enabled Donaire to win the bout and take the belt. It was all a little suspicious from the outside looking in, and certainly wasn’t helped along by HBO’s coverage of the affair.
The HBO team, dubbing in their calls after the fact from a location halfway around the world, seemed to go along with the verdict as opposed to questioning what transpired. Why/when was the cut ruled to be from a head butt? Why was the bell for the 5th round rung at all?
Walters KOs Darchinyan
In a breakout performance on the undercard of Donaire vs. Vetyeka, Nicholas Walters defended his featherweight strap by knocking out Vic Darchinyan in the 5th round. Walters, a huge and muscular 126-lb fighter simply bulled right through the Raging Bull.
While Darchinyan hasn’t been a dominant force at this stage of his career, he has still been highly regarded, and seen as a legitimate challenge for most anyone. Walters burst onto the scene with the KO win, and now could be in line for a fight against Donaire.
Also on the undercard in Macau, Evgeny Gradovich defended his own featherweight strap with a decision over Alexander Miskirtchian.
Results from Vegas: Fortuna, Rosa & More Win
In the main event at the Tropicana in an HBO Latino televised card in Las Vegas, former featherweight world champion Javier Fortuna had all he could handle as he went to absolute war with Juan Antonio Rodriguez in a hellacious 10-round bout.
Fortuna, now campaigning at super featherweight, got off to a quick start, and dropped Rodriguez in the third. Fortuna’s speed and combination punching were on display and it seemed as though Fortuna was going to make quick work of Rodriguez. As the rounds progressed though, Rodriguez was able to turn the fight into an absolute war.
Fortuna suffered a nasty cut over his right that got worse and worse as the fight wore on. By the 9th round both of Fortuna’s eyes were swollen shut, but somehow he fought on as Rodriguez stalked him around the ring. The 10th and final round was as good a round as any, as Rodriguez desperately tried to score the knockout he needed to win the fight. Fortuna was able to hold on though, and ultimately was awarded the hard-fought and well deserved 10-round unanimous decision, winning by scores of 98-91 across the board.
With the win Fortuna improved to (25-0-1, 18KO’s) while the warrior Rodriguez saw his record fall to (26-5, 23KO’s).
In the co-feature, red hot undefeated prospect Luis Rosa improved to a perfect (17-0) winning a 10-round unanimous in yet another war against WBC #5-rated super bantamweight contender Luis “Orlandito” Del Valle (18-2, 13KO’s).
Round one was a feeling out round for the two Puerto Ricans, but by round two a war began to break out.
There was really good two-way action from both as Rosa stalked Del Valle around the ring, switching between orthodox and southpaw, and landing hard combinations to both the body and head of Del Valle. Del Valle fought well though off his back foot, and landed a number of hard shots of his own.
In the 5th round Rosa opened up a nasty cut on the bridge of Del Valle nose that would bleed for the remainder of the fight. In the same round, with the two exchanging, Del Valle landed a short left hook that sent Rosa to the canvas for the first time in his career. Rosa beat the count easily though and the fast-paced action resumed immediately.
Rosa was deducted a point in the 7th for hitting on the break, and rounds 8-10 saw the two go toe-to-toe with Rosa pressing the action and getting the better of the exchanges.
In the end Rosa was awarded the grueling 10-round unanimous decision, winning by scores of 98-91, 97-91, 97-92.
On the undercard, former WBA junior middleweight world champion and “The Contender” champion Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora improved his record to (26-3-2, 9 KOs), scoring a dominate 5th round TKO over Samuel Rogers (14-2, 8 KOs).
The WBA #10-rated middleweight Mora, got off to a quick start, dropping Rogers with a huge overhand right midway through the first, and then never let off the gas.
Mora had Rogers reeling at the end of the 3rd as he landed two more monstrous right hands.<
Rather than box and move, Mora stayed in the pocket and unloaded bombs with both hands, scoring well to both the body and head of the bigger Rogers.
In the 5th Mora sent Rogers to the canvas again with another big right hand that had Rogers in big trouble. Rogers was able to beat the count but he was in bad shape and the end was near. As the action resumed Mora jumped all over Rogers, forcing the referee to call a halt to the contest at 2:55 of the 5th round.
It was a very impressive showing for Mora, and his 2nd consecutive knockout since signing with DiBella Entertainment. Mora has been calling for a title shot with both GGG and Quillin for months and his stock certainly rose with tonight’s showing.
Sturm vs. Soliman II Results
On-again off-again titleholder Felix Sturm is now off again, after losing his rematch with Sam Soliman on Saturday night in Germany. Soliman took home a wide unanimous decision over Sturm, taking home a title strap after an up and down career which includes 11 losses.
Soliman previously defeated Sturm, but the result was changed to a no contest after he tested positive for a stimulant after the match. You can expect Soliman to bring home that belt to Australia for a couple of defenses before seeking a bigger fight.
Dmitriy Chudinov Defeats Patrick Nielsen
Patrick Nielsen (22-1, 11 KOs) was unable to complete his Moscow mission. The 23 year-old southpaw travelled to the Russian capital with the hope of capturing the interim WBA World Middleweight title from undefeated champion Dmitry Chudinov (13-0-2, 8 KOs). However after twelve rounds of action fought in front of a partisan crowd at the Mytishchi Arena the Dane found himself behind on all the judges’ scorecards.
‘’Tonight was not my night,’’ said Nielsen. ‘’I have no one to blame but myself. I was not committed enough in training and I now realise that I need to do a lot more in camp to become a champion. This defeat has made me hungrier and I promise that I will come back stronger.”
Said promoter Nisse Sauerland: ‘’It was a tough fight and Patrick had signs of success, but you could tell that he was not fit for the twelve rounds and that is disappointing. I hope that Patrick learns a lesson from this and dedicates himself in training. I still believe that a fit Patrick beats Chudinov. If he is willing to make the necessary changes we will certainly try to secure a rematch.’’
There was some Danish success in Moscow. Patrick’s younger brother Micki Nielsen improved to 14-0 with the third-round technical knockout of Igor Pylypenko. Having been down in each of the first two rounds, a left-hook to the body in the third proved too much for Pylypenko, whose corner threw in the towel to spare him any further punishment.
Hank Lundy wins at Mohegan
In the main event at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, world-rated contender Henry Lundy took another step towards a long awaited world title shot by stopping the son of legendary Hall of Famer Pipino Cuevas, Gerardo Pipino Cuevas, Jr., at 2:23 of the second round.
Lundy, 138 lbs., Philadelphia, PA, stalked Cuevas, 138 ½ lbs., Mexico City, Mexico, from the opening bell and never let him get comfortable. The win brings Lundy’s record to 25-3-1, 12 KO’s, while Cuevas falls to 17-12, 15 KO’s.
“I am ready for anyone,” said Lundy. “135 is where I want to be but if I have to go up to 140 or even 147, I don’t care, I want a world title belt around my waist.”
World rated WIBA International champion Shelly Vincent, 122 ¾ lbs., New London, CT, returned to the ring for the first time in six months with a unanimous decision win over veteran former title contender Lakysha Williams, 122 ½ lbs., Philadelphia, PA. The win raised Vincent’s undefeated mark to 11-0, 1 KO while Williams falls to a deceptive 9-19-3, 1 KO record.
In the most impressive win of his young career, Jimmy Williams, 152 ¼ lbs., New Haven, CT, scored an impressive first round knockout victory over cross-town rival Christian Lao, 152, New Haven, CT. The time of the stoppage was 1:57 and with the win, Williams upped his record to 6-0-1, 3 KO’s and added the Connecticut State Super Welterweight Title to his resume. Lao falls to 5-3-1, 2 KO’s.
World-rated female welterweight Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes, 144 ¼ lbs., Marshfield, MA, had her hands full with undefeated Althea Saunders, 140 ½ lbs., Atlantic City, NJ, in their six round fight. Both had their moments of success, and it was a very hard fight to score as neither landed any really telling blows. In the end the judges called it a draw, 58-57 Lopes, 58-56 Saunders and 57-57. The draw leaves Lopes with a record of 10-2-2, 1 KO, while Saunders suffers her first blemish at 3-0-1.
In his first fight in over a year, Kevin Cobbs, 183 lbs., Willimantic, CT, used his superior reach and conditioning to ward off the relentless charge of Willis Lockett, 189 lbs., Tacoma Park, MD, in their four round fight. Lockett landed some big shots, but Cobbs was able to answer back every time. In the end Cobbs walked away with the unanimous decision by scores of 39-37, 40-36 and 39-37. Cobbs’ record now stands at 8-1, 2 KO’s while Lockett falls to 13-14-5, 5 KO’s.
In the evening’s opening professional fight, Joe Wilson, 151 ½ lbs., Hartford, CT, and Ethan Pena, 153 lbs., Providence, RI, battled hard in their four round encounter, but in the end it was the slick boxing and defense of Wilson that won the judges over. Pena had success, especially to the body, but Wilson was the busier of the two in pretty much every round. Final scores were 39-37, 39-37 and 40-36. The win pushed Wilson’s record to 2-1, while Pena falls to 2-2, 1 KO.
The card was presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports and the matchmaker was Ted Panagiotis. CES Boxing returns next Friday, June 6th at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI. That show is headlined by a New England light heavyweight championship fight between two former title challengers, Rich Gingras and Jaime Velazquez. Tickets are available by calling 401-724-2253 or visiting CESBoxing.com.
Amateur Results:
Anthony Marsella, Jr., Smithfield, RI – W3 – Scott Sullivan, New Bedford, MA
Gary Balletto, Jr., Providence, RI – W3 – Eric Anderson, New Haven, CT
Khiary Gray-Pitts, Worcester, MA – W3 – Ray Oliveira, Jr., New Bedford, MA
Miguel Teo, Marlboro, MA – W3 – Godfrey Campbell, New Haven, CT
Isaac Perez, Providence, RI – W3 – Danny Pena, Providence, RI
Results from Philly
In the main event of a show at the Pennsylvania Sheet Metal Workers Hall in Philadelphia on Friday night, Derrick “Take it to the Bank” Webster (17-0, 8 KOs) used a methodical approach over six rounds to cruise to a unanimous decision victory over the gritty Michael Gbenga (19-14, 19 KOs). Webster had to deal with some adversity to achieve the win, suffering the first cut of his career after repeated headbutts from his Ghanaian opposition, but final scores of 59-55 (twice) and 58-56 officially added another victory to his perfect professional resume.
“He was an awkward guy, pretty tough,” Webster said of Gbenga. “A lot of headbutts, but I knew going into the fight that he could get a little dirty. I had him frustrated in the fight. I actually had him hurt a couple of times, but I lost my vision in my left eye due to a headbutt. But I did what I needed to do to get through the rounds and proceed to get the win.”
Webster used the opening round of this bout to figure out what type of strategy that Gbenga would be presenting to him, and he used that in-action research throughout the remainder of the fight. In the second frame, he began to stab more frequently with the jab, repeatedly finding his way through the guard of his opponent and snapping his head back with crisp shots.
The third round saw Webster begin to open up more, as the southpaw began to follow up the jab with more straight left hands. He was looking very comfortable in the ring, using solid defense and body movement to continually avoid the wildly awkward angles that Gbenga used on his punches. Midway through the frame, Webster unloaded a nice flurry that set the stage for the second half of the bout.
Webster was in complete control over the final three rounds of this contest, perfectly reading his opposition when he threw punches and immediately countering with hard left hands before Gbenga was able to get his hands back to protect himself. In the closing seconds of the fourth frame came the headbutt that opened up the left brow of Webster, which seemed to only ignite the Glassboro native. As soon as the bell started the fifth round, he came charging forward and unloaded a multi-punch combination that put Gbenga on his heels, then using slick head and body movement to completely frustrate his opponent because he was unable to land any shots.
In the final round, Webster turned up the tempo as he looked to get rid of his Ghanaian counterpart, but he was unable to find much room to work as Gbenga continually lunged forward head-first before jumping into the clinch.
When all was eventualy said and done, the ringside judges all saw it in favor of Webster, who elevated his perfect professional record to 17-0 with the win.
“17-0 without a promoter,” stated Webster, who is still a free agent for some mind boggling reason. “I’m blessed, and I climbed my way here. Nobody gave it to me.”
The cut Webster endured from the Gbenga headbutts will sideline him for at least a month due to Boxing Commission regulations, but Webster only had the immediate future on his mind as he was leaving the venue on Friday night.
“I’m out,” he stated. “I have some cupcakes at home waiting on me.”
