Frampton edges Santa Cruz in a classic..

To say the long awaited Carl Frampton v Leo Santa Cruz championship match was a showstopper would be an understatement. former 122lb champion Carl Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs) dethroned WBA featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 KOs) by majority decision on Saturday night in front of 9,062 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, In a fight that I could only describe as sensational, this great pairing saw some fabulous two-way action from the start, Frampton managing to get the respect of Santa Cruz with a left hook in round two, building on a busy start.. Santa Cruz seemed to struggle with Frampton's mobility, constantly flailing at a moving target. The Irishman maintained an early lead by out manoeuvring the champion, avoiding Santa Cruz's heavy shots with clever head movement, The middle rounds did see a slight shift in control, Santa Cruz began to find his mark as Framptons pace slowed, however both fighters were literally perpetual motion approaching the final sessions..  Santa Cruz managing to find his mark in the 10th with what seemed to be his best punch of the fight, the champion finding his groove a little too late despite grabbing the final four rounds of a fight that could have gone either way...   In the end, scores were 117-111, 116-112, 114-114.

Warrington eyes title shot after 9th round stoppage over Hyland.

Popular Leeds featherweight Josh Warrington outworked tough Patrick Hyland (31/2) before stopping the Irishman in the 9th round In front of huge local support at the First Direct Arena, moving to 24-0 in the process.
The 25-year-old already had Hyland down in the eighth from two big right hands. Warrington dropped the weary Hyland earlier in the round before the stoppage.
Warrington, a former British, European and Commonwealth champion, retained his WBC International featherweight strap and must now be looking at getting his hands on the full version of the title in the near future.
With current WBC champ Gary Russell Jr likely to move up in weight, number one ranked Warrington looks an almost certainty to box for the vacant title, with a domestic money spinner with IBF holder Lee Selby a tempting option.
The International belt was only available to Warrington on this occasion as Hyland came in two pounds overweight at Friday's weigh-in, the struggle to make weight was evident in the fight..
Warrington was too fast and accurate,  landing clean punches throughout the fight, while Hyland laboured behind the jab. A stiff left jab knocked Hyland down early in the ninth, before a follow up combination signalled the end, the referee waving it off...

Huge Leeds undercard sees Campbell and Whyte victorious.

2012 Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell (14-1, 11 KOs) had to climb off the floor from a second round knockdown to secure a comfortable unanimous decision over former IBF super featherweight champion Argenis Mendez (23-5-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday night in Leeds. Crafty veteran Mendez dropped Campbell in the second with a sneak right hand, but struggled to capitalise on his success.. Campbell found his rhythm and outworked the US based import..   Scores were 116-111, 117-110, 115-112. Campbell claimed the vacant WBC silver lightweight belt.

Popular Heavyweight Dillian Whyte (18-1, 14 KOs) laboured to a lopsided ten round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten David Allen (9-1-1, 6 KOs).  Whyte completely out boxed the inexperienced Yorkshireman, switching between southpaw and orthodox to dominate the majority of the bout, Allen sprung to life in the final round but it was too little, too late...
Scores were 100-91, 100-90, 99-91.
Whyte claimed the vacant WBC International title.

20-year-old former WBA interim super middleweight titleholder Vincent Feigenbutz (23-2, 21 KOs) made quick work of Wilmer Gonzalez (19-11-1, 12 KOs), scoring a second round KO. It was Feigenbutz's second win since losing the belt to Giovanni De Carolis in January.

Former world title challenger Frankie Gavin (23-2, 14 KOs) scored a sixth round KO over Ivo Gogosevic (12-17-2, 5 KOs) in his first fight since losing to Kell Brook 14 months ago. Gavin dropped Gogosevic in the first. Gogosevic barely made up the numbers until Gavin finally stopped him in round six.

British super lightweight beltholder Tyrone Nurse (34-2-1, 7 KOs) outpointed Tommy Coyle (22-4, 10 KOs) over twelve close rounds to retain his domestic belt, despite a flash knockdown..  Coyle took the role of aggressor in the early rounds but by round 5, found himself on the end of crisp counters, that closed his left eye and bloodied the nose. The courageous Coyle drove himself forward for the remainder of the bout, but the upper hand was always with Nurse..
Scores were 115-113, 115-113, 116-112.

Unbeaten bantamweight Ryan Burnett (14-0, 9 KOs) outpointed Cesar Ramirez (12-2, 6 KOs) over ten rounds to claim the WBC International 118lb title. Scores were 100-89, 99-90, 99-90.

Unbeaten Commonwealth super bantamweight titleholder Gamal Yafai (10-0, 4 KOs) won a twelve round unanimous decision over Josh Wale (20-9-2, 11 KOs). Scores were 118-111, 117-112, 117-112.

Welterweight Sam Eggington 18-3, 10 KOs) scored a quick first round TKO over Daza Usher (9-7, 3 KOs).

Adonis Stevenson outguns brave Thomas Williams in 4.

WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson (28-1, 23 KOs) scored a decisive fourth round Knockout over WBC #8 ranked Thomas Williams Jr (20-2, 14 KOs) on Friday night at the Videotron centre in Quebec City, Canada. Stevenson had Williams on the floor in round one with a straight left, but the challenger revived himself to rally in round two landing big shots of his own.. Both fighters unloaded with huge shots in the third, Williams deciding to roll the dice, regardless of risk and getting countered for his troubles.  Williams tried to build on earlier success in the fourth, but a close quarter exchange saw Stevenson attack the body of the challenger,  a desperate Williams fired a wild counter and Adonis timed him with a devastating short left, rendering Williams unconscious, making it a 7th successful defence of the championship he won against Chad Dawson in 2013..   Time was 2:54.

Unbeaten WBC #1 contender Eleider Alvarez (20-0, 10 KOs) scored a solid ten round unanimous decision over late sub Robert Berridge (27-5-1, 21 KOs). Alvarez outclassed the tough stand-in, whose never really made the match competetive, an uneventful fight saw Alvarez win by a decisive 99-90, 98-92, 98-92.
Berridge replaced former world champion Chad Dawson, who was forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury. Next up for Alvarez could be a world title tilt for Alvarez against stablemate Adonis Stevenson.

Undefeated middleweight Immanuwel Aleem (16-0-1, 9 KOs) and Demond Nicholson (17-1-1, 16 KOs) battled to an eight round majority draw. Aleem seemed to win the early rounds while Nicholson rallied to boss the middle rounds.. The final 9 minutes saw great exchanges from both guys, Aleem having a 7th round knockdown ruled as a slip as the fight went to the scorecards..
Scores were 77-75, 76-76 and 76-76.

Is Stevenson a bridge too far for Top Dog Williams?

Can Thomas Williams Jr upset the odds on Saturday against WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson?  Throughout his whole 21 fight career so far, Thomas has never faced an unbeaten opponent, in fact Williams has been on the floor twice in his last 6 fights, a statistic that doesn't bode well when preparing to face a noted world class puncher like Stevenson...The son of a former DC heavyweight contender  of the same name, who served time in jail for fight fixing in 2004, Williams remained unbeaten through the first 4 years in the paid ranks, appearing destined for great things. In 2014 Williams entered his 18th pro fight, hoping to defend his WBO, NABO light heavyweight titles against former world champion Gabriel Camillo, the fight should have been a perfect opportunity to shine against a proven opponent, instead Williams was exposed and unraveled under pressure, the fight was stopped by the ringside physician due to a cut at the end of the 5th, yet Williams looked on the cusp of quitting regardless..  This defeat remains the only blemish on an otherwise impressive record, 20/1 (14 Kos.) The Campillo fight gives us a small insight as to how this fight could go for Thomas, the one factor he had issues with on that occasion was pressure, he wasn't necessarily under heavy fire just pushed beyond his comfort zone by a proven operator, and if he struggled with the pressure of a Gabriel Campillo, he's going to have to adopt an alternative attitude when facing Stevenson, who is levels beyond Campillo..   In 2010 Stevenson himself faced his first defeat, a second round stoppage at the hands of journeyman Darnell Boone, six fights later in 2013 Adonis avenged this loss setting him up for the biggest fight of his life against the then Champion Chad Dawson..  In a huge upset Stevenson knocked Dawson out with a single shot in the opening round, becoming the most unlikely of champions in his 22nd pro outing...  Since beating Dawson, Stevenson has made 6 successive defences, 4 by knockout, arguably against mixed opposition..  He did find himself on the floor in his 2014 points win over Andrezej Fonfara, more a flash lapse in concentration in a relatively one sided fight..  Stevenson is dangerous when he takes aim at a standing target, but can appear frustrated when extended, nonetheless, the guys Adonis has disposed of are hugely superior of those Williams has beaten of late..   Tavoris Cloud and Tony Bellew were only once beaten by the time they faced Stevenson, Fonfara had only two losses and has since proven himself by beating JC Chavez jr..   Bellew himself a WBC champion, Cloud a still live former champion, an example of the gulf in class Williams is stepping into..   An impressive knockout of Edwin Rodriguez in April may have been an appropriately timed audition for his title shot although an less than flattering outing 5 months earlier against Umberto Savigne saw Thomas dropped in the first round of a bout that should have proved routine..  
Stevenson v Williams on paper is an acceptable defence by the now established champion against an impressive (albeit on paper) upcoming prospect..   In all honestly, I think it's come a little too soon..

Chagaev stripped.. WBA heavyweight picture in disarray..

The WBA World Championship Committee has stripped it's Regular heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev of its title. Chagaev was handed back the title that he appeared to lose by knockout in March to Lucas Browne, but when Browne failed a drug test Chagaev was reinstalled as beltholder..  Unfortunately Ruslan took too long in finalising a mandated defence (rematch) with Fres Oquendo, the governing bodies number one challenger, so relinquishing his claim on the title. The exact details as to why the negotiations failed are vague, yet the finer points did included Chagaev catching up on WBA past-due sanctioning fees. 

The WBA's plans of a heavyweight tournament to establish a single champion now look a little sketchy, If the scheduled placements in the tourney plan remain as they are, the 43-year-old Oquendo would now make the final sometime in mid 2017, possibly without any actual ring action in any of its rounds.

The other half of the draw should feature WBA interim champion Cubas Luis Ortiz against Minsk's Alexander Ustinov on September 17th, however this pairing is too suffering its setbacks, both camps failing to tie up the red tape thus far, leaving yet another portion of the tournament hanging in the balance..   Finally the rematch between WBA Super champion Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko is set to go ahead on October 29th, a rescheduled date following Tyson Fury's recent ankle injury. The bout will still take place at the Manchester arena, the winner in theory would ascend through the tourney to meet the Ortiz-Ustinov winner, should both fights proceed according to plan...  Victorious fighters would then hold the right to face Oquendo in the final..  

In the event that Ustinov falls out of the Ortiz match, replacing him with Oquendo would seem the logical solution, in which case the tournament could be moved along  as proposed..   All is never as simple as first anticipated..

Oscar Valdez claims vacant WBO featherweight title, heads action packed MGM undercard..

Unbeaten WBO #1 rated featherweight contender and two-time Olympian Oscar Valdez (21-0, 18 KOs) destroyed previously unbeaten #2 Matias Rueda (26-1, 23 KOs) to claim the vacant WBO featherweight world title. Valdez unleashed a brutal attack that staggered Rueda in round one. Valdez continued to punish Rueda in the second, dropping him twice with body shots to close the show..  A fabulous display by Valdez.
Time was 2:18.

WBA #2 rated welterweight Jose Benavidez, Jr (24-0, 16 KOs) defeated Francisco Santana (24-4-1, 12 KOs) via ten round unanimous decision. Benavidez caught Santana convincingly in the early rounds but the rugged Santana toughed it out .. Benavidez won by scores of 100-90, 96-94, 98-92.

WBC #6, rated light heavyweight and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Oleksandr Gvozdyk (11-0, 9 KOs) had an early scare but regained his composure to stop two-time world title challenger Tommy Karpency (26-6-1, 15 KOs) in round six of a clash for the NABF championship. Karpency dropped Gvozdyk and had him hurt in round one, but Gvozdyk regrouped, turning the tables, systematically outgunning the Canadian. The end came in the 6th, with Karpency heavily marked along with severe  nose damage, Gvozdyk would send Tommy to the canvas where he was counted out. Time was 2:21.

2012 Olympic middleweight gold medalist Ryota Murata (11-0, 8 KOs) demolished George Tahdooahnippah (34-3-3, 24 KOs) in the first round. A body shot by Murata sent Tahdooahnippah to the canvas. He got up, but Murata completed the job several moments later..   Referee Benji Estevez called a halt at 1:52.

IBF #7, jr welterweight Lenny Zappavigna (35-2, 25 KOs) scored an explosive sixth round TKO over IBF #10 IK Yang (18-2, 13 KOs). Yang started fast, but Zappavigna got more comfortable with the pace as the bout progressed. Zappavigna hurt Yang badly in the 6th, badly enough to cause referee Vic Drakulich to call it off. Time was :43. The bout was originally an IBF eliminator, but was changed to just a welterweight bout at Yang’s request.

Welterweight Edward Williams (12-1-1, 3 KOs) thrashed out a six round unanimous decision over Christon Edwards (6-2, 3 KOs). Scores were 59-55, 59-55, 58-56.

Junior middleweight Stanyilav Skorokhod (11-1, 8 KOs) scored a six round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Hakim Bryant (6-1, 4 KOs). Skorokhod dropping Bryant twice in round one but was extended to go the full six. Scores were 59-53, 60-52, 60-52.

Unbeaten light heavyweight Steve Nelson (3-0, 3 KOs) scored a fourth round TKO over Tim Meek (5-3-1, 3 KOs). Nelson dropped Meek at the end of round one and punished Meek until the bout was stopped at 32 seconds of the 4th.

Crawford outclasses Postol to become two belt champion.

In a highly anticipated unification clash, undefeated WBO jr welterweight champion Terence Crawford (29-0, 20 KOs) scored a decisive 12 round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten WBC super lightweight champion Viktor Postol (28-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Crawford boxed a tactical fight in the early rounds, outmanoeuvring Postol, making the Ukrainian miss widely. Crawford found his measure by round 4, not allowing the rangy Postol to get set, outgunning the WBC champion with clusters of shots on the move..  In round 5 Crawford made the breakthrough, scoring two flash knockdowns, making the demoralised Postol look alarmingly pedestrian..  Crawford moved through the gears, out scoring the desperate Ukrainian round after round before again stunning Postol in the 9th..  The late rounds spurred Postol into a final rally, an attempt to draw the skilful southpaw into a fight, Postol was warned and penalised for rabbit punching in the 11th, it was too little too late, Crawford even granting Postol the luxury of a toe to toe slugfest in the closing minutes, a finale to a concise Crawford victory..  Postol and trainer Freddie Roach both offered huge praise to the now two belt champion, expressing how they definitely underestimated Crawfords speed, the main contributing factor in their fighters inability to get a foothold in the bout..  Crawford enjoying his first official Ppv, displaying the skills that have ultimately stacked him at the head of his division on a broader platform..  

Scores were...  118-107, 118-107, 117-108.

Vernon Forrest.. One of life's givers..

Vernon Forrest remains one of the forgotten great champions from the 1990s, apart from winning world titles in two divisions (welterweight and light middleweight) and beating Sugar Shane Mosley three times, handing Shane his first two losses in his pro career and once as an amateur, Vernon was an outstanding amateur, running a 225 / 16 record, he was a silver medalist at the 1991 world amateur championships at welterweight losing only in the final to the great Kostya Tszyu then winning the US amateur championships the very next year..  Al Mitchell put Forrest on the Olympic squad in 1992 for the Barcelona games, his place earned with a victory over future professional foe Shane Mosley. Forrest was the gold medal favourite going into the games, with only the Cuban fighter Hector Vinent (Reining gold medalist) to be concerned about..   However disaster struck, days prior to his first round bout, Forrest had been complaining about stomach pains, it turns out he had contracted severe food poisoning whilst eating out in the Olympic village..  Forrest would still box, but lose to Peter Richardson, a man he'd easily beaten in the 1991 championships..    Forrest put the pain of Barcelona behind him, moved away from his native Augusta Ga to turn pro, relocating to Las Vegas..  Vernon would debut in the November of 1992 but by 1996 he was already 15 / 0 with 13 stoppages..  Forrests first championship tilt would come in 2000, against Raul Frank for the IBF welterweight belt, where a clash of heads would result in a no contest. A rematch in New York would see Vernon win his first title unanimously..   A year later Vernon would challenge the highly regarded WBC Champion Shane Mosley, the rest in history..  Forrest would be regarded as the lineal champion by Ring Magazine. Vernon would suffer devastating setbacks with back to back losses to Ricardo Mayorga and being plagued with rotator cuff and elbow injuries, resulting in two years away from boxing..
2005 Vernon Forrest was back and in 2007, after three comeback fights
he would pick up the WBC light middleweight title by outpointing Carlos Baldomir in Washington,  defend once against Italian Michele Piccirillo before once again losing his title to Sergio Mora. However six months later in Las Vegas Vernon would regain his title in the rematch in what would be the last time he would lace on gloves.
With a record of 41 / 3 (29 knockouts) Forrest retired from boxing, satisfied with his accomplishments with his family in Georgia, a devout Christian, Forrest would work tirelessly with local charities, giving back to a community from where he came..

Tragically, on July 25, 2009, Forrest stopped at a gas station in the neighbourhood of Mechanicsville Georgia, with him was his 11-year-old godson. As the boy went inside the gas station, Forrest went to the back of his car to add air to a low tire. As this occurred, a man robbed him at gunpoint and fled. Forrest, who was armed, went after the man and shots were exchanged. After a short distance, Forrest gave up the chase and began talking to a second man, It was this man that shot Forrest seven to eight times in the back, the shooter and a second person left the scene in a red Pontiac. Forrest was pronounced dead at the scene and the death was ruled a homicide. Atlanta Police would arrest and later charge 25-year-old Jquante Crews, 20-year-old Demario Ware and 30-year-old Charman Sinkfield for his murder. It is believed that Sinkfield was the shooter, Ware was the robber, and Crews was the driver. All three are currently serving life sentences.

Dillusional yet comical, heavyweight character Paul Bradshaw..

Charismatic Arizona heavyweight Paul Bradshaw was a highly active sparring partner in the 80s and 90s..  He turned pro in 1984, losing his first 7, albeit to decent company, Joe Hipp, Billy Wright and Mike Gans..  Yet in 1989 Paul enjoyed a 6 fight winning streak, remaining unbeaten until a loss to David Bey in 1990 started another 6 fight losing streak, this time facing Russians Alex Popov and Yuri Vaulin, Swedish Haakan Brock and tough Jerry Halstead... Retiring in 1992..   Paul stayed relatively active following his retirement, continuing his career sparring a who's who of champions and contenders..  Paul told me in 1996 that he was employed as chief sparring partner to Herbie Hide for the Bowe fight..  In Bradshaws words, he was such a nuisance to Herbie giving the WBO champion serious trouble in the gym, a factor Bradshaw is convinced contributed to Hide's dramatic loss in 1995...  Bradshaw still wore a Bowe v Hide cap as a reminder to his feat..   Paul comically reeled off an Ali style rhyme after his trying routine..  "Float like a butterfly , Sting like a Bee...  Herbie couldn't hang with the vicious Paulie B.."    
In 2003, Bradshaw attempted a comeback in Hollywood California against the unbeaten Damien Wills, son of former contender Mark Wills..  Paul lost a first round knockout and never boxed again..  

Shumenov.. "Lebedev is holding his WBA title hostage."

It has been more than a month since WBA regular cruiserweight champion Beibut Shumenov (16-2, 10 KOs) appealed to the WBA to either declare a purse bid for a fight between him and WBA Super champion Denis Lebedev, or remove Lebedev's claim on the title..  At the end of March the WBA issued an ultimatum that the winner of the Lebedev vs Victor Emelio Ramirez WBA/IBF unification fight in May must fight Shumenov within 120 days of the Shumenov’s May 21 stoppage victory over Junior Wright. However word has it that Lebedev’s promoter Andrei Ryabinsky supposedly has a deal in place for Ledebev to defend the IBF title he acquired in May first..
The Shumenov camp firmly accuse Lebedev of holding his version of the WBA title “hostage," leaving themselves unable to schedule any dates for Beibut until the WBA resolves..   Shumenov doesn't quite understand why a fighter with such a proven track record as Lebedev's is unwilling to step forward to the challenge..    Meanwhile WBO champion Krzysztof Glowacki of Poland has stepped to the plate to defend against the hugely avoided Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in Gdansk on September 17th, Usyk aiming to beat the record of Evander Holyfield and secure a world championship  inside of 11 fights..   The final piece of the cruiserweight riddle sees Liverpools newly crowned WBC champion Tony Bellew show interest in a BJ Flores match, in a first defence. Bellew recently made it very clear that following the Povetkin drug scandal, he would never consider travelling to Russia to fight Lebedev or Grigory Drodz..