GUYNABO, PR, Aug. 28
SEGURA was relentless. / Photo: SUMIO YAMADA
The long unbeaten run of Ivan Calderon had to end sometime, and as often happens when a long-reigning champion loses, the finish was brutal and dramatic. Calderon gave his all, but he was a physically and mentally broken-down fighter when he sank to one knee to be counted out in the eighth round against Giovanni Segura in their 108-pound championship unification bout in Puerto Rico on Saturday.
After 19 consecutive title bouts in two weight classes without a defeat, Calderon’s skills and great experience just weren’t enough to overcome the relentless pressure and brutal body attack of the implacable aggressor from Mexico.
MONTREAL, Aug. 14
You could put Saturday’s light-heavyweight title bout between Jean Pascal and Chad Dawson into the “What if” category of contest, as in “What would have happened if Dawson had fought with more fire?” or “What would have happened if the head clash hadn’t ended matters in the 11th round?”
Something similar happened in March when Arthur Abraham lost by disqualification against Andre Dirrell, also in the 11th round and with Abraham making a late charge.
ONTARIO, CA, Aug. 13
Although Chris Arreola battered his way to victory over Manuel Quezada on Friday Night Fights I think we can say that this was a disappointing performance by the heavyweight contender — there were even some boos from a restless home-area crowd in the sluggish middle rounds.
The finish of the fight was somewhat exciting, with Arreola dropping Quezada twice in the ninth and flooring him again in the last round. Far from the improved performance that Arreola had promised, I thought I saw signs of decline.
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 7
CLOUD landed heavy shots. / Photo: SUMIO YAMADA
Two good, tough 12-round title fights on HBO on Saturday night — that’s what fans like to see. Tavoris Cloud was a bit too young and powerful for Glen Johnson, but, as ever, the 41-year-old Jamaican from Miami put up a sterling effort and at times seemed on the brink of turning things around in this entertaining light-heavy title bout. In the main event, Devon Alexander had one of those life-and-death struggles with a very tough and determined Andriy Kotelnik, and although the unbeaten junior welter champion deservedly won in front of the hometown fans in St. Louis he was pushed to the limit.
The Cloud versus Johnson fight was one of those gruelling old-school wars of attrition. Johnson was busier but Cloud, a very determined 28-year-old from Tallahassee, FL, landed the bigger shots.
Grand Casino, HINCKLEY, MN, Aug. 6
MARTIN couldn't miss with the left hook. / Photo: TOM CASINO, for Showtime
Master against pupil, man versus boy, call it what you will, but there was no doubt that Christopher Martin outclassed bantamweight prospect Chris Avalos in the main event on ShoBox on Friday night. The fight wasn’t even close, yet it will go down in the records as a split decision win for Martin.
The scorecard of judge John Mariano that had Avalos winning by 98-94 was, for me, the worst scorecard in a bout held in the U.S. since Nevada judge Doug Tucker gave Jose Navarro every round in a fight with Cristian Mijares, with Mijares deservedly winning on the other two judges’ cards.
Mandalay Bay, LAS VEGAS, July 31
MARQUEZ was superior in every department. / Photo: SUMIO YAMADA
Rematches of dramatic fights can equal the original or prove to be disappointing. The return lightweight title bout between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz on Saturday night was well fought and pleasing while never reaching the heights of the initial meeting.
Last time, Diaz tried to overwhelm Marquez with fiery, fists-pumping aggression, and his tactics, while bringing early success, were ultimately unsuccessful.
Mandalay Bay, LAS VEGAS, July 31
JACOBS looked anxious under pressure. / Photo: SUMIO YAMADA
The big surprise on Saturday night’s PPV show wasn’t so much that Dmitry Pirog defeated Danny Jacobs but the way that he did it. Most people— me included — thought that if Pirog won it would be by outworking and outlasting the New York boxer. A one-punch knockout win by Pirog definitely wasn’t expected.
Pre-fight opinion was split on the title bout between unbeaten middleweights. Jacobs was generally seen as being the puncher in the fight. Instead, it was Jacobs who always looked in danger of getting knocked out.
Tachi Palace casino hotel, LEMOORE, CA, July 23
SHUMENOV punched, UZELKOV covered up. / Photo: SUMIO YAMADA
That was a curious contest between Beibut Shumenov and Viacheslav Uzelkov on Friday Night Fights. Dropped by a left hook in the opening round, Shumenov proceeded to win every other round — maybe every other minute — of the fight.
I was impressed with Shumenov in a light-heavyweight title defence that was expected to be much tougher. He was strong, disciplined and very determined. He fought a perfect winning fight — keep moving, keep punching, keep putting rounds in the bank.
TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico, July 17
MONTIEL'S left hooks were devastating. / Photo: SUMIO YAMADA
The big hits of this past weekend were KO winners Fernando Montiel, Alfredo Angulo and Denis Lebedev. They took care of business in a combined total of less than six rounds.
Montiel looked tremendous in his third-round destruction of Rafael Concepcion in their bantamweight title fight televised on Fox Sports Espanol.
This was Montiel’s first bout since his upset stoppage victory over Hozumi Hasegawa in Japan, and he went out to make a statement in front of the Mexican crowd.
SCHWERIN, Germany, July 17
LEBEDEV couldn't miss. / Photo: Eroll Popova, Universum
Everyone knew that Denis Lebedev was one tough son of a gun and an excellent fighter. Still, I don’t think that anyone could have foreseen a two-round blowout for the Russian boxer when Lebedev met Alexander Alexeev in a cruiserweight championship eliminator in Germany on Saturday.
The meeting of southpaws looked, on paper, like being intensely competitive. Sometimes, though, one fighter lives up to expectations and the other, in boxing parlance, doesn’t show up.
