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Previous Edition of the "Weekend Recap" available here.
2012-11-21 Hisense Arena, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Australia's MainEvent televised 5 bouts, previously reported here. Results only below:
Danny Green UD12 Shane Cameron [IBO cruiserweight title]
Will Tomlinson UD12 Irving Berry [IBO super featherweight title]
Brad Pitt TKO2 Mosese Sorovi
Jeremy Van Diemen TKO3 Lyndon Edney
Brandon Ogilvie MD6 Anthony Taylor
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2012-11-22 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
I found 2 fights from the card on YouTube. As all fights were 4-rounders I really don't know which the main event was, but I took an educated guess.
Naoki Oura TKO4 Masayoshi Kusaka
In a well matched battle of novices Oura and Kusaka put on a show in 4 rounds that included multiple momentum shifts with both guys hurt. Oura applied most of the pressure throughout the fight but Kusaka returned as good as he received. But after a left uppercut in the last round Kusaka lost his legs and tumbled to the canvas before the referee waved it off. Kusaka looked like he wanted to get back up but people quickly rushed into the ring to have him lay back down as a precaution. This was a 4 round war from start to finish, better than most stuff I saw on TV this week.
Takuya Mori KO1 Ryu Horiguchi
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2012-11-22 Arena Roberto Duran, Panama City, Panama
TVMax televised at least the main event of this card.
Luis Concepcion UD10 Pablo Carrillo
Although the first meeting is not what I would call controversial, Concepcion defeated Carrillo once again in the immediate rematch. The Arturo Gatti look-a-like always delivers a fun fight. Carrillo proved 2 fights in a row that he was a game opponent that could take Concepcion's bombs. Despite the futility of his chances Carrillo fought to win and got put on his butt for his troubles in the final round.
This was a WBC Latino flyweight title defense for Concepcion. Concepcion's 1st round TKO loss to Hernan Marquez may look bad but I still wouldn't rule out his chances of beating reigning WBC and lineal flyweight champion Toshiyuki Igarashi. As Concepcion is #2 in the WBC ratings the fight could easily be made. However it's more likely that Igarashi fights #1 rated Edgar Sosa first, who also has a great chance of beating him.
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2012-11-23 PalaMalè, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy
Rai Sport televised the main event.
Christopher Rebrasse RTD7 Andrea Di Luisa
Early on Di Luisa was able to out box Rebrasse according to plan. He could land his jab, follow up with combinations, and parry or slip most of what Rebrasse returned. None of this however seemed to derail the Frenchman's resolve to win. Rebrasse just kept pressing forward behind his high guard, even though he was getting rocked in the process by the 3rd round. But then Rebrasse started getting to Di Luisa in the 4th round. And he got to him some more in the 5th round. Di Luisa was arguably still pitching a shutout but had to sense the tide was turning. For whatever reason as Rebrasse landed more Di Luisa's response was to basically fight back harder. It merely gave Rebrasse more opportunities to land and ultimately he proved to be the more durable of the two.
I actually thought Di Luisa deserved the 6th round outright and was more than competitive in the 7th. Di Luisa was hurt with about 30 seconds to go in the 7th by a series of shots that began with a left hook. Yet 10 seconds later Di Luisa was smiling about it while looking over at whoever was outside of Rebrasse's corner. He did not appear like a fighter who was about to retire in his corner, but that's exactly what happened. And in case the satisfaction of the upset wasn't enough, Rebrasse also picked up the vacant EBU-EU super middleweight title.
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2012-11-23 Club Sportivo Rojas, Rojas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Argentina's DirecTV Sports televised this event, which included an exhibition between a pair of Argentina's most feared fighters from past and present. While that "fight" was easily the highest profiled of the evening it wasn't one of the main events. As low profile as the main events actually were, I decided to recap the co-main because I felt the winner was the only fighter among the 4 who might make noise outside of Argentina someday. Keyword might.
Sergio Manuel Medina UD10 Sergio Ariel Estrela [vacant WBC Mundo Hispano featherweight title]
Ezequiel Victor Fernandez UD10 Diego Alberto Chaves (98-92, 97-93, 96-94)
While this was clearly the biggest fight in the career of Fernandez, the same couldn't be said of Chaves who fought Carlos Zambrano in his previous bout. Any nerves Fernandez might have had were shaken once he got by the 1st round. Early on Chaves was able to fight his way inside and work the body effectively but as the fight went on Fernandez out boxed him from a distance with more ease. I was impressed with Fernandez's reflexes and overall ring intelligence. My only substantial criticism of Fernandez in this fight was his lack of head control when he came forward. As a result there was quite a bit of headbutting and Chaves took the worst of it. Then again you could argue Fernandez was just making the fight even easier on himself in the process...
With the victory Fernandez extended his record to 13-0 and picked up the vacant WBC Mundo Hispano super featherweight title while Chaves fell to 11-3-2. All of Diego's defeats have come at the hands of undefeated fighters.
Jonatan Edgardo Palacio SD4 Miguel Angel Bogado
Lucas Martin Matthysse EX3 Jorge Rodrigo Barrios
In a fun 3 rounder with headgear Matthysse took it easy on old man Barrios but was given a run for his money in the process. It got me wishing Barrios was still in is prime and these two had a real fight.
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2012-11-23 Club Defensores de Villa Lujan, San Miguel, Tucuman, Argentina
This event was televised by TyC.
Julian Alejandro Salas TKO5 Gustavo David Bermudez
By the end of the 1st round I had the impression that Salas was going to win by KO in the not too distant future. He was crude to say the least but he was hurting his opponent. But then I nearly changed my mind in round 2 until the end when he hurt Bermudez again. The pattern of Salas only looking dominant in spots continued throughout the fight until all was said and done. Up to and including the last round, the fight was about even and Bermudez had clearly won more minutes of the fight if not rounds. But ultimately Salas' power was too much to handle and he emerged victorious, picking up the interim WBC Latino light welterweight title in the process. He should wear the belt proudly as I doubt he can do much better in his career.
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2012-11-24 Kunming City Stadium, Kunming, China
This was a historic day for China as they produced their first home grown world champion in history.
Xiong Zhao Zhong UD12 Javier Martinez Resendiz (116-114, 116-112, 119-110)
In a close, entertaining battle Zhong's cleaner and more effective punches trumped the aggression and output of Martinez. With the victory Zhong captured the WBC minimumweight title which Kazuto Ioka vacated. Zhong kept himself on an angle and fought off the back foot throughout the fight while Martinez was more square and wide with his shots. Zhong got more dominant as the fight went into the late rounds.
The WBC actually paid Denver Cuello a step-aside fee to make this fight possible. There was money to be made in China, and the WBC was sure to get it. But now Zhong "must" make his first title defense against WBC Silver champion Cuello. Cuello, although 5 years younger, made his pro debut before Zhong and is more accomplished at the world class level. I would definitely favor the Filipino if the fight is made.
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2012-11-24 Caliente Racetrack, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Azteca America televised 4 bouts from this card, none of which were the main event where Daniel Rosas apparently stopped Eduardo Garcia in 3 rounds.
Enrique Bernache TKO6 Jesus Lopez
In the "main event" of the Azteca America broadcast Bernache stopped a game Lopez in the 6th round. The shorter Bernache preferred to fight upright and work behind his jab off the back foot, thus putting himself at a stylistic disadvantage although he clearly had the better skill set. So while Bernache definitely landed the superior punches, Lopez could still touch him regularly. Nonetheless I was rather impressed by the boxing lesson Bernache was able to put on regardless. Bernache's punches were fast and crisp, his timing was on the money, and he tricked Lopez into coming to him (giving up his range in the process).
However there was one minor blunder in the fight for Bernache when he was dropped by a jab in the 4th round. To be fair the canvas was pretty slippery and Lopez lost balance himself (but didn't fall). But still, it was a legitimate knockdown. In any event Bernache controlled the rest of the fight and finished his man off 2 rounds later. Prior to the last (and perhaps only real) knockdown of the fight Lopez also slipped and was ruled down. Lopez threw himself off balance with his own missed punch but the referee must have considered the overhand right that landed a few seconds before to be the reason it happened. Lopez didn't protest, either. Less than a minute later Lopez was down again, this time from a left uppercut. Lopez beat the count but the referee waved the fight off.
Bernache currently has 4 losses but he's a decent super bantamweight prospect that kind of reminds me of Fernando Montiel.
Jorge H. Rodriguez TKO2 Eduardo Arcos
Mario Lara SD6 Maximino Flores
Jose Iniguez UD4 Gregorio Ronquillo
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2012-11-24 Club Huracán, Villaguay, Entre Rios, Argentina
TyC televised the full card, including a world title main event.
Debora Anahi Dionicius UD10 Michelle Preston (100-90, 99-91, 100-90)
The 24 year old, 10 fight Dionicius was served up a soft touch in order to claim the vacant IBF female super flyweight title. After being shut out on 2 official scorecards and winning 1 round on the other, Prescott left the fight with as many losses and she has wins. But at least Preston was experienced against top opposition (Susie Ramadan, whom Preston fought 3 times). Preston was a proper step up fight for Dionicius. A world title just shouldn't have been on the line. Did I mention she has red hair? The parallels to Canelo Alvarez just can't be overlooked...
Anyways, as for the fight itself Dionicius showed good boxing skills but is still a bit raw. You'd expect as much from a 24 year old touted prospect with now 11 fights. Problem is she's not a prospect anymore, she's a world champion. But I digress... Preston may have lost every round but she put on a respectable performance regardless. Preston pressed the action and landed clean straight shots on Dionicius in every round, just not enough of them. Dionicius on the other hand found success with just about every punch save the uppercut. In the final minute the two women just traded bombs until the bell rang. Once the bell did ring Dionicius fell to her knees and cried in ecstasy. That didn't surprise me. However when she walked across the ring to give Prescott a drink out of a chalice, I found that a bit odd.
Did I mention the official decision hadn't even been announced yet? I know it was a forgone conclusion, but still. Once the cards were read Dionicius cried some more as she received her belt and a bouquet of flowers. Can you blame her? No. But I do blame the IBF...
Roamer Alexis Angulo SD6 Jose Maria Caffarena
Marcelo Esteban Coceres UD4 Gustavo Hernan Rios
Carlos Daniel Aquino TKO2 Juan Ignacio Negrete
Jonathan Brian Oliva UD4 Alexis Alejandro Leon
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2012-11-24 Yunost Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia
Boytsovskiy Klub broadcasted the full card.
Anton Novikov UD12 Karlo Tabaghua (120-108, 120-108, 120-107)
Unbeaten but relatively untested Novikov impressively shut out the experienced Tabaghua and captured the vacant WBC Silver welterweight title. In the previous 4 highest profiled bouts of Tabaghua‘s career he came up short 3 times but won his last big fight against Jackson Osei Bonsu.
As the fight got into the later rounds Tabaghua faded and pretty much took a beating. Novikov was the better conditioned fighter and let his hands go consistently from beginning to end. Punching in combination was Novikov's key to victory. Referee Daniel Van de Wiele deducted a point from Tabaghua in round 10 (not 9) for repeated low blows. There didn't appear to be a big difference in the amount of skill each fighter had, but the better man clearly won.
Aslanbek Kozaev TD9 Behzod Nabiev [vacant WBC CISBB & WBC Baltic welterweight titles]
Rauf Aghayev UD10 Yuriy Voronin [vacant WBC Baltic super bantamweight title]
Murat Gassiev UD6 Ivan Serbin
If a bout is not mentioned which took place on one of the above cards it’s most likely because I haven’t got around to watching it yet. In the event that I do watch such a bout at a later time it’s still unlikely I will update this recap. My recaps will be posted on Mondays and/or Wednesdays, devoted to cards that most casual American boxing fans haven’t seen or heard of. For available footage of the previously reported bouts follow @sweetboxing on twitter. You may also email the author of this piece at rgbivins@gmail.com