Saturday Global Boxing Results: Odlanier Solis, Jhonny Gonzalez win big

Cancun, Mexico

• Jhonny Gonzalez KO-2 Antonio Davis. Every single one of Jhonny Gonzalez's last nine fights have ended by stoppage, and all have ended within four rounds. Every one of them. This one was no different. Gonzalez (43-7, 37 KO) just keeps plugging along. He's really an old 28 at this point, but the former bantamweight titlist has shown his power goes up to featherweight. He's also a heck of a fighter, one of those guys that people witnessing his career will remember, but who likely winds up forgotten by time a bit. The same will happen, probably, with his countryman Oscar Larios. Davis (26-6, 13 KO) isn't a major feather in the cap, but this was a WBC title eliminator, and now Gonzalez has his spot in line. Davis, 37, has badly lost to the last three good fighters he's faced, being stopped by Humberto Soto in his last fight (TKO-4) and getting widely outpointed by Steven Luevano in 2007. He's at the end of his line, knocked down four times in the second round by Gonzalez in this fight.
  
• Marco Antonio Rubio TKO-2 Jaison Palomeque. Not a credible win, and not even a rebound win. Rubio (46-5-1, 40 KO) had already won two bounce-back fights since freezing like a deer in the headlights against Kelly Pavlik. This is more of a "hey, look, I'm still fighting!" win. Palomeque (12-4-1, 7 KO) is a Colombian with no legitimate wins and all bad losses.

Key West, Florida

• Odlanier Solis RTD-4 Carl Davis Drumond. Solis (16-0, 12 KO) forced Drumond (26-3, 20 KO) to quit after four rounds in the Top Rank Live main event from Mallory Square. Solis raises some interesting questions. He's sort of like the best and worst things about both Alexander Povetkin and Cristobal Arreola. There's no getting around the fact that for a professional athlete, and for a top-tier boxer, he keeps himself in piss poor shape. That's a question of dedication. But he's also extremely talented, an accomplished amateur with power whose skills have translated to the pro game almost effortlessly. I don't want to overrate wins over shot Monte Barrett and Drumond, but if you put Solis and Povetkin head-to-head next weekend, I'm taking Solis. I'd probably take him over Arreola, too, although I hope it would be about as fun as Dan Dority v. Captain Turner from "Deadwood."
• Jorge Diaz UD-8 Alejandro Lopez. A couple of unbeaten, young featherweights. Well, one of them isn't unbeaten now. Diaz (13-0, 8 KO) kept his flawless mark on scores of 76-74 across the board, with the difference in the fight being two knockdowns, one in the first and another in the second. Lopez is now 13-1 (2 KO).

Le Cannet, France

• Jamie McDonnell TKO-10 Jerome Arnould. You may recall that McDonnell won a very controversial decision over Ian Napa in January, while Napa was set up for a shot at the vacant European bantamweight title. Once the scores came back in McDonnell's favor, it was the 23-year-old from Doncaster that moved into the title picture. And now, he's done it, winning the European belt with a 10th round TKO of Jerome Arnould in France. McDonnell (14-2-1, 6 KO) may not ever make it to the world stage at 118 -- in fact, color me very surprised if he does, because anyone in the top ten at 118 right now would eat his lunch -- but if nothing else he's got this little run. Arnould (22-4-1, 14 KO) doesn't have a record that screams quality, and really Napa was probably a better win, but no one can take McDonnell's European title from him, except of course someone who may beat him for the European title. He better hope Wladimir Sidorenko or someone doesn't get any ideas.