Martinez Scared By Barker, But Gets TKO11 Win..LEVIN RINGSIDE

Published

14 years ago

October 2, 2011

While the main event between Argentine WBC middleweight champ Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez and contender “Dazzling” Darren Barker of England was not a “barnburner,” it was much better and certainly more competitive than most expected—at least on this side of the pond where most paid the Brit short shrift, including the oddsmakers who had him a 15-1 underdog. If you appreciate elite-level chess, this was a fight for you.

Barker made an excellent account of himself against one of the pound for pound best and the “real” middleweight champ but it was not enough. At 1:29 of round 11, a gorgeous right hook to the temple dropped him hard to the canvas. He had no chance of beating the ten-count. Scores at the time of stoppage were all in Martinez’s favor: 96-94, 99-91, 97-94. But don’t let the numbers fool you; this was a nip-and-tuck affair for most of the night.

Martinez ups his mark to 48-2-2, 27 KOs and Barker goes to 23-1, 14 KOs.

“Maravilla” struggled for large portions of the fight against the rangier, smart, technical, confident customer in front of him. But the way he turned up the heat late in the fight (with what has been announced as a broken nose) as his younger (29) foe tired, and then to uncork such a spectacular KO, he secured his greatness.

It didn’t take long into round one to see that Barker might have been one of the best boxers Martinez has ever faced. We weren’t sure if he had all the other qualities to hang in there to the end or possibly pull the upset. But the kid could box; he was hitting and not getting hit. And he was no runner.

In round two Barker was stepping to him. Martinez was trying to figure him out, dropping his hands and snapping jabs that mainly fell on his gloves. Barker had previously spoken of his high boxing IQ; he wasn’t lying. Some of the crowd booed but they shouldn’t have. These were two high level boxers trying to decode each other—a display of sweet science.

More cat and mouse action in the third. Sergio looked to counter, walk him into something. But this was a much more sophisticated boxer than a Paul Williams. A hard round to score, as were the others.

By round four, anyone had to be impressed with Barker. Martinez was bleeding from his nose with crimson all over his chest. Barker was winning the fight in the eyes of many sitting around me.

Round five, Barker continued to step to him without giving up is length. Martinez had both hands at his waist, looking to counter, but Barker not giving him much to work with.

In the next frame it was Barker’s jab versus Martinez’s reflexes. Barker wasn’t taking a backwards step and blocking most of the incoming fire. Martinez found his groove near the end of the round, but still hadn’t solved the Brit.

Sergio began to open up in the seventh. He went to the body a lot and was the busier of the two. But Barker was by no means out of it.

Sergio slipped in the eighth and took his time getting up. One wondered how much his broken nose was affecting him? And while he doesn’t act 36, that is his age. Martinez clearly did more than Barker this round.

The momentum was officially turning in the champ’s favor and Barker had to make a stand to make at this point. Nothing on this night or in his past suggested he had the type of power to change a fight on a single punch—at least not against this man. The fight was incrementally slipping away from.

There was a clash of heads in the ninth. Martinez seemed to lobbying ref Eddie Cotton a bit. There didn’t seem to be much on his punches, either. I thought he sort of stole the round, a la Ray Leonard, by just letting his hands go more than the other guy.

Martinez landed a good left in the tenth but was it a big left? But we quickly learned about Martinez had plenty of pop left. Barker was hurt with a looping right, and covered up for a while but also began to counter and even walk him back. He was hurt for a second but then possibly turned it into possum. Smart guy. Either way, big round for the champ.

In the eleventh, we learned why the handle “Maravilla” fits. He was pot-shotting well and had much more in the tank than Barker. Then came the right hook to the temple. And fast as that, it was over.

Andy Lee came up huge once again on HBO, got his long-awaited revenge against Brian Vera, and likely secured a title shot in 2012 in winning a clear UD by scores of 98-91 and 99-90 twice.

On March 21, 2008 Lee and Vera met for the first time and the undefeated, highly hyped Lee was stopped in the 7^th. It’s been an 11-fight rebuilding process since then. Vera has had his ups and downs since then but has been on the upswing lately, having decisioned Sergio Mora earlier this year. On paper this looked to be a can’t miss affair.

Southpaw Lee boxed well in the first, using his right to keep Vera a range and also did a good job staying off the ropes. Vera looked as fit as ever, having had the longest training camp of his career, and wore his customary smirk whenever Lee landed.

In the second, a focused Lee boxed continued to box well. His defense and footwork looked improved from his last outing on HBO against Craig McEwan. A nifty check hook was also working for him. With a few seconds left in the round, Lee floored Vera with a straight lead left.

Vera came out as aggressive as ever in the third, determined to make it a dogfight. Vera was getting close in the first half of the round but Lee regained control in latter part, landing a sharp lead left that stunned Vera, as well as a jolting right uppercut to Vera’s jaw at the end of the round.

Lee used his legs in the following round to avoid Vera’s winging blows. Vera was getting close. But Lee countered with a right hook that opened a cut on Vera’s left eye. Adding insult to injury, Lee landed a good one-two at end of round and a right hook upstairs at the bell. I had Lee up four rounds, and an extra point for the knockdown, but nothing suggested that Vera would go quietly.

In the fifth, Vera once again came out with a confidence that suggested short-term memory loss. But Lee would not fully relinquish what he had attained. This was an even round, and Lee’s face was showing the effects of punches and his energy was flagging a bit. Their heads clashed hard at the very end of round.

In the sixth, Lee caught him with a digging shot to the gut and crisp check hook moments later. For the first time in the fight, Andy was smiling back at Vera. But the Texan still had his moments and seemed utterly undeterred. This looked to be a battle of attrition, and Lee was showing the effects of his massive efforts.

Lee wasn’t controlling the center in the seventh as he did early on, his back showing rope burns. This was Vera’s best round by far. He was fighting his fight—roughing Andy up when in close and pushing him back at all times. And also smiling at him as usual! Lee must’ve had flashbacks to the rough night back in March 2008 when Vera proved too much for him by the 7^th.

Vera looked even stronger in the eighth. Indeed, he is much physically stronger than Lee, but he was unable to capitalize on the moment. Lee looked worn but he showed great moxie in countering Vera and doing more than enough to prevent a recurrence of their first encounter in ’08. He has learned a few things since then. And one thing Lee has always demonstrated is toughness. Tonight was no different.

Andy played keep away in the penultimate round, knowing he was up on points and perhaps saving a little for the final frame. Vera, while chasing him, didn’t land anything of consequence. And a good short lead left caught Vera just before the bell.

In the final heat Lee looked to pot-shot and his legs were still spry to carry him around. Vera mauled him and got inside and Lee, taking a break, obliged him. They slugged on even terms and Lee found a home for his uppercuts. Lee took that last round and was sufficiently proud of his efforts that he dropped to his knees afterwards, his arms raised high. “Maravilla” may be next for him.

“This win was immeasurable,” Lee said. “If not for tonight, I would have been haunted for the rest of my life.”

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Adam Berlin

Bombs Away in Las Vegas where Inoue and Espinoza Scored Smashing Triumphs

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2025

David A. Avila

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Japan’s Naoya “Monster” Inoue banged it out with Mexico’s Ramon Cardenas, survived an early knockdown and pounded out a stoppage win to retain the undisputed super bantamweight world championship on Sunday.

Japan and Mexico delivered for boxing fans again after American stars failed in back-to-back days.

“By watching tonight’s fight, everyone is well aware that I like to brawl,” Inoue said.

Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), and Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) and his wicked left hook, showed the world and 8,474 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas that prizefighting is about punching, not running.

After massive exposure for three days of fights that began in New York City, then moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then to Nevada, it was the casino capital of the world that delivered what most boxing fans appreciate- pure unadulterated action fights.

Monster Inoue immediately went to work as soon as the opening bell rang with a consistent attack on Cardenas, who very few people knew anything about.

One thing promised by Cardenas’ trainer Joel Diaz was that his fighter “can crack.”

Cardenas proved his trainer’s words truthful when he caught Inoue after a short violent exchange with a short left hook and down went the Japanese champion on his back. The crowd was shocked to its toes.

“I was very surprised,” said Inoue about getting dropped. ““In the first round, I felt I had good distance. It got loose in the second round. From then on, I made sure to not take that punch again.”

Inoue had no trouble getting up, but he did have trouble avoiding some of Cardenas massive blows delivered with evil intentions. Though Inoue did not go down again, a look of total astonishment blanketed his face.

A real fight was happening.

Cardenas, who resembles actor Andy Garcia, was never overly aggressive but kept that left hook of his cocked and ready to launch whenever he saw the moment. There were many moments against the hyper-aggressive Inoue.

Both fighters pack power and both looked to find the right moment. But after Inoue was knocked down by the left hook counter, he discovered a way to eliminate that weapon from Cardenas. Still, the Texas-based fighter had a strong right too.

In the sixth round Inoue opened up with one of his lightning combinations responsible for 10 consecutive knockout wins. Cardenas backed against the ropes and Inoue blasted away with blow after blow. Then suddenly, Cardenas turned Inoue around and had him on the ropes as the Mexican fighter unloaded nasty combinations to the body and head. Fans roared their approval.

“I dreamed about fighting in front of thousands of people in Las Vegas,” said Cardenas. “So, I came to give everything.”

Inoue looked a little surprised and had a slight Mona Lisa grin across his face. In the seventh round, the Japanese four-division world champion seemed ready to attack again full force and launched into the round guns blazing. Cardenas tried to catch Inoue again with counter left hooks but Inoue’s combos rained like deadly hail. Four consecutive rights by Inoue blasted Cardenas almost through the ropes. The referee Tom Taylor ruled it a knockdown. Cardenas beat the count and survived the round.

In the eighth round Inoue looked eager to attack and at the bell launched across the ring and unloaded more blows on Cardenas. A barrage of 14 unanswered blows forced the referee to stop the fight at 45 seconds of round eight for a technical knockout win.

“I knew he was tough,” said Inoue. “Boxing is not that easy.”

Espinoza Wins

WBO featherweight titlist Rafael Espinosa (27-0, 23 KOs) uppercut his way to a knockout win over Edward Vazquez (17-3, 4 KOs) in the seventh round.

“I wanted to fight a game fighter to show what I am capable,” said Espinoza.

Espinosa used the leverage of his six-foot, one-inch height to slice uppercuts under the guard of Vazquez. And when the tall Mexican from Guadalajara targeted the body, it was then that the Texas fighter began to wilt. But he never surrendered.

Though he connected against Espinoza in every round, he was not able to slow down the taller fighter and that allowed the Mexican fighter to unleash a 10-punch barrage including four consecutive uppercuts. The referee stopped the fight at 1:47 of the seventh round.

It was Espinoza’s third title defense.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Undercard Results and Recaps from the Inoue-Cardenas Show in Las Vegas

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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The curtain was drawn on a busy boxing weekend tonight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas where the featured attraction was Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue appearing in his twenty-fifth world title fight.

The top two fights (Inoue vs. Roman Cardenas for the unified 122-pound crown and Rafael Espinoza vs. Edward Vazquez for the WBO world featherweight diadem) aired on the main ESPN platform with the preliminaries streaming on ESPN+.

The finale of the preliminaries was a 10-rounder between welterweights Rohan Polanco and Fabian Maidana. A 2020/21 Olympian for the Dominican Republic, Polanco was a solid favorite and showed why by pitching a shutout, punctuating his triumph by knocking Maidana to his knees late in the final round with a hard punch to the pit of the stomach.

Polanco improved to 16-0 (10). Argentina’s Maidana, the younger brother of former world title-holder Marcos Maidana, fell to 24-4 while maintaining his distinction of never being stopped.

Emiliano Vargas, a rising force in the 140-pound division with the potential to become a crossover star, advanced to 14-0 (12 KOs) with a second-round stoppage Juan Leon. Vargas, who turned 21 last month, is the son of former U.S. Olympian Fernando Vargas who had big money fights with the likes of Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya. Emiliano knocked Leon down hard twice in round two – both the result of right-left combinations — before Robert Hoyle waived it off.

A 28-year-old Spaniard, Leon was 11-2-1 heading in.

In his U.S. debut, 29-year-old Japanese southpaw Mikito Nakano (13-0, 12 KOs) turned in an Inoue-like performance with a fourth-round stoppage of Puerto Rico’s Pedro Medina. Nakano, a featherweight, had Medina on the canvas five times before referee Harvey Dock waived it off at the 1:58 mark of round four. The shell-shocked Medina (16-2) came into the contest riding a 15-fight winning streak.

Lynwood, California junior middleweight Art Barrera Jr, a 19-year-old protégé of Robert Garcia, scored a sixth-round stoppage of Chicago’s Juan Carlos Guerra. There were no knockdowns, but the bout had turned sharply in Barrera’s favor when referee Thomas Taylor intervened. The official time was 1:15 of round six.

Barrera improved to 9-0 (7 KOs). The spunky but outclassed Guerra, who upset Nico Ali Walsh in his previous outing, declined to 6-2-1.

In the lid-lifter, a 10-round featherweight affair, Muskegon Michigan’s Ra’eese Aleem improved to 22-1 (12) with a unanimous decision over LA’s hard-trying Rudy Garcia (13-2-1). The judges had it 99-01, 98-92, and 97-93.

Aleem, 34, was making his second start since June of 2023 when he lost a split decision in Australia to Sam Goodman with a date with Naoya Inoue hanging in the balance.

Check back shortly for David Avila’s recaps of the two world title fights.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Canelo Alvarez Upends Dancing Machine William Scull in Saudi Arabia

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who has acquired a new nickname – “The Face of Boxing” – is accustomed to fighting on Cinco De Mayo weekend, but this year was different. For the first time, Canelo was fighting outside the continent of North America and entering the ring at an awkward hour. His match with William Scull started at 6:30 on a Sunday morning in Riyadh.

In the opposite corner was 32-year-old William Scull, an undefeated (23-0) Cuban by way of Germany, whose performance was better suited to “Dancing With the Stars” than to a world title fight. Constantly bouncing from side to side but rarely letting his hands go, Scull frustrated Canelo who found it near-impossible to corner him, but one can’t win a fight solely on defense and the Mexican superstar was returned the rightful winner in a bout that was a fitting cap to a desultory two days of Saudi-promoted prizefighting. The scores were 115-113, 116-112, and 119-109. In winning, Canelo became a fully unified super middleweight champion twice over.

Terence Crawford was in attendance and HE Turki Alalshikh made it official: Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) and Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) will meet in the Fight of the Century (Alalshikh’s words) on Sept. 12 in Las Vegas at the home of the city’s NFL team, the Raiders. For whatever it’s worth, each of Canelo’s last seven fights has gone the full 12 rounds.

Semi-wind-up

In a match between the WBC world cruiserweight title-holder and the WBC world cruiserweight “champion in recess” (don’t ask), the former, Badou Jack, brought some clarity to the diadem by winning a narrow decision over Noel Mikaelian. One of the judges had it a draw (114-114), but the others gave the fight to “Jack the Ripper” by 115-113 scores.

A devout Muslim who is now a full-time resident of Saudi Arabia, the Sweden-born Jack, a three-division title-holder, had the crowd in his corner. Now 41 years old, he advanced his record to 29-3-3 (17). It was the first pro loss for Mikaelian (27-1), a Florida-based Armenian who was subbing for Ryan Rozicki.

The distracted CompuBox operator credited Mikaelian with throwing 300 more punches but there was no controversy.

Tijuana’s Jaime Munguia, a former junior middleweight title-holder, avenged his shocking loss to Bruno Sarace with a unanimous 12-round decision in their rematch. This was Munguia’s first fight with Eddy Reynoso in his corner. The scores were 117-111 and 116-112 twice.

Surace’s one-punch knockout of Munguia in mid-December in Tijuana was the runaway pick for the 2024 Upset of the Year. Heading in, Munguia was 44-1 with his lone defeat coming at the hands of Canelo Alvarez. Munguia had won every round against Surace before the roof fell in on him.

Surace won a few rounds tonight, but Munguia was the busier fighter and landed the cleaner shots. It was the first pro loss for Surace (26-1-2) and ended his 23-fight winning streak. The Frenchman hails for Marseilles.

Heavyweights

In a 10-round heavyweight match fought at a glacial pace, Martin Bakole (21-2-1) and Efe Ajagba (20-1-1) fought to a draw. One of the judges favored Ajagba 96-94 but he was outvoted by his cohorts who each had it 95-95.

Bakole, a 7/2 favorite, came in at 299 pounds, 15 more than he carried in his signature win over Jared Anderson, and looked sluggish. He was never able to effectively close off the ring against the elusive Ajagba who fought off his back foot and failed to build on his early lead.

The fight between the Scotch-Congolese campaigner Bakole and his Nigerian-American foe was informally contested for the heavyweight championship of Africa. That “title” remains vacant.

In a 6-rounder, heavy-handed Cuban light heavyweight Brayon Leon, a stablemate of Canelo Alvarez, was extended the distance for the first time while advancing his record to 7-0 at the expense of Mexico’s Aaron Roche (11-4-1). Leon knocked Roche to the canvas in the fourth round with a right-left combination, but the Mexican stayed the course while eating a lot of hard punches.

Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry Promotions

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