Boxing Results and Post-Fight Analysis
After the Fact Recap: Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr Upsets Rodrigo Guerrero, Claims IBF 115-Pound Belt
On Saturday night in Los Mochis, hometown underdog Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr outpointed Rodrigo Guerrero to lift the IBF super flyweight title in a pretty big upset. There has been considerable questioning of the scoring out there. Today I got a chance to sit down and watch the fight, and I think the questions are valid.
First of all, the judge who scored it 119-109 for Sanchez (13-1-1, 7 KO) is totally insane. This should not be any kind of surprise, since that judge is Ruben Garcia, the guy who scored Donaire vs Vazquez for Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, somehow. That makes two really, really bad scorecards in two straight fights from Garcia, and it's odd because he's not some greenhorn judge and in his few notable fights in the past, he didn't have these problems. He also scored the Shantall Martinez vs Jackie Nava rematch on January 28, and was right in line with the other two judges.
Vargas vs Plaitis Results: Samuel Vargas Scores First Round KO, Michael Oliveira Struggles to Decision Win
Tonight's card from the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, was a mixed bag for the top fighters on the bill, with the main event over in just one round, and a featured undercard bout far more of a struggle than was expected.
In the main event, Samuel Vargas demolished Manolos Plaitis to win the vacant Canadian welterweight title, knocking out Plaitis violently at 2:49 of the first round. Vargas (9-0-1, 3 KO) has gained a reputation as an action fighter, but not to date as a puncher. Plaitis (17-2-1, 8 KO) hadn't faced much better or worse competition than Vargas had coming into the fight, but was knocked out in two in his only other loss coming into the fight.
But it was quite a knockout, as Vargas simply teed off on Plaitis eventually, sending him staggering into the corner, where Plaitis was out on his feet before an extra shot sent him hard to the canvas.
Vargas, a Colombian native, isn't likely to become a major star in the future, but his action credentials will likely carry him to regional star heights at worst, and if he keeps winning, could certainly come up with some American TV chances in due time.
Boxing Results: Lazarte vs Casimero Riot, Matthysse and Mitchell Win, Friday Night Fights a Dud
Trelew, Argentina
Lucas Matthysse RTD-5 Angel Martinez: In what was a final tune-up bout before he gets his career back on track, Matthysse (30-2, 28 KO) made easy work of 20-year-old Martinez (13-2-1, 9 KO), who did not come out for the sixth round after taking a pretty heavy beating. Matthysse now moves on to face Humberto Soto on May 19, the HBO co-feature to the Lamont Peterson vs Amir Khan rematch.
Mar del Plata, Argentina
Johnriel Casimero TKO-10 Luis Lazarte: We already went over this disgrace with some video clips of the riot insanity after the fight, as a full-scale riot broke out with a gaggle of idiot fans fighting the victorious Filipino side and throwing various objects, including chairs, at Casimero and his team. Lazarte (49-11-2, 18 KO) bit Casimero (16-2, 10 KO) during the fight, and Casimero came back to stop him with a big shot at the end of the ninth that had Lazarte on unsteady legs into the tenth round. Lazarte at one point also reported threatened New York referee Eddie Claudio, who was flown in by the IBF as this was an interim title fight. Lazarte has been firmly planted in the IBF title scene at 108 pounds for a while now, but hopefully this was the end of that. He's a miserable "boxer," a goon, and the dirtiest high-level fighter in the entire sport. He deserves no title consideration anymore. He's a legitimate villain. I'm not saying Casimero is some saint, because he's been a dirty fighter, too, but this is above and beyond. Lazarte can't have a single fight, it seems, that isn't a debacle of some kind.
Friday Night Fights Results: Raymond Serrano Stays Unbeaten With Lackluster Win
Raymond "Tito" Serrano wasn't really impressive tonight in the Friday Night Nights co-feature on ESPN, but he got a clean win over Kenny Abril over ten rounds, winning on scores of 97-92, 97-92 and 95-94. Bad Left Hook had it a wider 99-91 for Serrano. (Maybe a round too wide, in fact.)
Abril (11-5-1, 6 KO) just didn't look there mentally from the beginning, but did score a third round knockdown when he popped Serrano (18-0, 8 KO) with a jab while Serrano was wide open, off-balance, and throwing. It was a pure flash knockdown and wound up making no difference in the fight at all, and Serrano otherwise pretty much dominated a slow round.
Mitchell vs Lora Results: Kevin Mitchell Cruises Past Hopeless Foe in London
Lightweight contender Kevin Mitchell set out to "get in rounds" today against easy tune-up opponent Felix Lora, and that's exactly what he did, lounging his way to a 10-round unanimous decision victory on a 98-92 score from referee Richie Davies.
Mitchell (33-1, 24 KO) came in with the intention of tuning up and nothing more, but had to work extra hard to run around the ring enough to make sure he got the amount of rounds he wanted. Lora (14-9-5, 8 KO) posed no challenge whatsoever, as the crude, haymaker-throwing Dominican (now based in Spain) had little to offer against a world class opponent, but did at least try to make it a fight.
Boxing Results Roundup: Chavez and Donaire Win in San Antonio, Hernandez New Cruiser Champ, Quigg Survives, and More
It was the first truly busy weekend of the year, and it was a pretty good one overall with a lot of telling fights, some questions raised, and maybe even a couple actually answered.
San Antonio, Texas
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr UD-12 Marco Antonio Rubio: I said at one point that the fight appeared to be drowning in Ambien but fighting to stay away. I didn't mean that to say it was a terrible fight or anything -- it was doing sort of what was expected, but slower and without the oomph. The last two rounds were very good, and Chavez kept his undefeated record and his WBC title belt. After the fight, Rubio unfortunately threw a PEDs accusation toward Chavez, but I think it's pure bunk even more than just sour grapes, since Chavez freely admitted he was out of shape and it bothered him. [ Chavez vs Rubio Recap ]
Nonito Donaire SD-12 Wilfredo Vazquez Jr: It's certainly not that Donaire was perfect in this fight, but the split decision verdict was shocking. Judge Ruben Garcia has some splainin' to do with his 115-112 Vazquez card. Donaire injured his left hand early in the fight, and word going around the gossips after was that there was a double fracture. [ Donaire vs Vazquez Recap ]
Vanes Martirosyan TKO-3 Troy Lowry: I've had my pretty hate-filled say about this sham of a fight twice already, so I won't go into it again. [ Undercard Recap / Video Highlights ]
Wale Omotoso TKO-6 Nestor Rosas: Rosas has fought once in six years, so this was a true step back for Omotoso from his last fight against the credible Lanardo Tyner. It wasn't particularly impressive, but Rosas took a good shot and had to be thankfully pulled out by the referee when it became totally pointless.
Chavez vs Rubio Results: JCC Jr Overcomes Weight Issues, Stays Unbeaten in Close Fight
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr clearly had his struggles with making weight, which he admitted last night, but he won tonight's fight against Marco Antonio Rubio despite a mediocre performance. Chavez won by unanimous decision in San Antonio on scores of 118-110, 116-112, and 115-113. Bad Left Hook scored it 115-113 for Rubio, whose activity was as valuable as Chavez's bullying tactics, but it was a close fight that really could have gone either way. (118-110 was far too wide, however.)
[ Related: Donaire Not Thrilling in UD Win ]
Chavez (45-0-1, 31 KO) just didn't have the same power and energy he usually does tonight. He was able to muscle the smaller Rubio, but often didn't do anything once he did get him to the ropes or into the corner. Rubio (53-6-1, 46 KO) kept pumping his hands, but to be entirely fair to Chavez, Rubio didn't do a ton of damage in the fight, and his activity was greater than his effectiveness in some ways.
Truthfully, neither Chavez nor Rubio looked particularly impressive tonight, and until the final two very spirited rounds, the fight was surprisingly dull.
Donaire vs Vazquez Results: Nonito Donaire Wins, But Lacks Flash Again
Our live coverage continues at Bad Left Hook, with the Chavez vs Rubio main event coming up next.
Nonito Donaire captured the WBO super bantamweight title via split decision over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr tonight in San Antonio, though the split decision part is more than a little dubious. Official scores were 117-110 and 117-110 for Donaire, and 115-112 for Vazquez. Bad Left Hook scored it 117-110 for Donaire.
Donaire (28-1, 18 KO) wasn't thrilling tonight, and knew it after the fight, saying he wasn't happy with his performance, and that he was no longer looking to quickly shoot up through the weight classes, instead planning to stay at 122 pounds for the time being. A stunning win was thought to open up the possibility of a move to featherweight, but this win was anything but exciting.
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