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Trout Defends Title, Beats LoPorto on ShoBox

Published

9 years ago

November 12, 2011

The Sweet Science

AUSTIN TROUT ROUTS FRANK LOPORTO TO DEFEND

WBA SUPER WELTERWEIGHT TITLE WITH SIXTH ROUND TKO

Michael Oliveira Scores Eighth-Round DQ Win Over Xavier Toliver

Catch the Replay Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME^®

EL PASO, Texas (Nov. 12, 2011) – After three years without national television exposure, undefeated World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight champion Austin Trout dominated Frank LoPorto for more than five rounds before referee Rafael Ramos stopped the fight at 2:32 of the sixth in the main event of ShoBox: The New Generation. In the evening’s co-feature from minor league ballpark Cohen Stadium in El Paso, Texas, the Brazilian-born prospect Michael Oliveira won by disqualification over Xavier Toliver when referee Robert Chapa ended the bout at 1:31 of round eight when Toliver punched Oliveira on the break.

Rich in talent and amateur credentials but lacking in exposure, Trout (24-0, 14 KOs), of Las Cruces, N.M., seized the moment. From the first bell, he outclassed his Aussie opponent with hand speed and boxing acumen. The rugged LoPorto showed heart and toughness in the bout but little else.

Leading with his head in an attempt to pressure the champ, LoPorto found himself on the canvas in the first round after walking directly into Trout’s right hand. When he returned to his feet, it appeared that the fight might not see the second round. Trout upped his work rate to stop the challenger early but LoPorto pushed himself to make it through the opening three minutes.

LoPorto (15-5-2, 7 KOs), of Melbourne, Australia, remained upright for the rest of the championship tilt but failed to accomplish much else. His punches were slow and telegraphed. His legs appeared largely unstable. And his head moved less than most of the hanging curves thrown in Cohen Stadium.

As SHOWTIME boxing analyst Steve Farhood put it during the fight, “Frank LoPorto won’t win this fight with skill. His only chance will be with will.”

Trout successfully removed the will from his game opponent. In addition to the first round knockdown, Trout bloodied the bridge of LoPorto’s nose early and tagged him with shots from all angles. The 154-pound titlist fought quicker, smarter and more effectively in the one-sided scrap. As Trout began to brutalize the 33-year-old LoPorto in the clutches of the neutral corner in the sixth round, the Australian’s trainer tried to end the fight but referee Ramos made the call himself.

“He is a tough guy,” Trout said afterwards. “He just kept coming. I felt like he wasn’t going to quit so I needed to stay busy. I just kept pushing, trying to get that stoppage.”

When asked about the quality of his performance, Trout responded “I felt like I did my thing. If anybody feels like I don’t deserve this belt, please come and take it.”

The win for Trout marked his third title defense.

In the eight-round middleweight co-featured attraction, Toliver (23-8, 15 KOs) stormed out his corner in an attempt to blitz Oliveira. Startled by the ambush, the 21-year-old youngster showed poise and recovered before the end of the round.

As the fight pushed on, it became clear that Toliver – who took the match on very short notice – started so quickly because his conditioning was lacking. Oliveira (16-0, 13 KOs), of Miami, Fla. served up plenty of combinations and the Atlanta-based Toliver ate most of them throughout the night. Early on, Toliver took punches in an attempt to counter his opponent. But by the middle and later rounds, he absorbed punishment while languishing against the ropes without retaliating.

At the end of the seventh, Oliveira bloodied Toliver’s bottom lip and the listless journeyman headed back to his corner exhausted. Toliver’s trainer Eric Williams threatened to stop the bout before the eighth but Toliver insisted that he fight on.

In the final round, the tired combatants were holding one another when referee Chapa broke the action to separate them. As Chapa pried them apart, Toliver caught Oliveira with a right hand to the face. The illegal action caused Chapa to end the fight via disqualification.

Referee Chapa also intervened earlier in the bout when he deducted a point from Toliver for a clash of heads in the fifth, after several warnings.

“This was definitely the hardest fight I’ve ever fought,” said Oliveira. “My conditioning was superior. I’ll be even better next time.”

The event was promoted by Gary Shaw Productions.

The telecast will replay on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME and be available on SHOWTIME On Demand from Nov. 14 through Nov. 27.

Al Bernstein called the action alongside ringside analyst Farhood. The executive producer is Gordon Hall, with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

5 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

5 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

5 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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