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THE BREAKDOWN: Nonito Donaire-Toshiaki Nishioka

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Donaire LA arrival 121008 001aDonaire is in tough against the Japanese vet Nishioki, and will have to be on his game to prevail, according to Lee Wylie. (Chris Farina-Top Rank)

Following Andre Ward's near flawless performance against the universally recognized light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, and Sergio Martinez's stick and move seminar over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. , Nonito Donaire {29-1, 18 knockouts} will be hoping to follow in his fellow pound for pound rival's footsteps when he defends his IBF and WBO junior featherweight titles against wily Japanese veteran Toshiaki Nishioka {39-4-3, 24 knockouts} at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California this Saturday.

It is this writer's opinion that each fighter will be presenting the other with their toughest challenge to date –if you know anything about each fighter's style or how they operate, then you'll know the type of opponent that both men prosper against. Needless to say, neither Donaire or Nishioka will be accommodating one another, which is what makes this fight so intriguing on paper.

Nishioka is very smart and skillful. A southpaw technician with excellent all round capabilities, he can lay back and box cautiously behind his jab, or can press the attack and pour it on in combination if need be. And don't be fooled by his age either. He may be 36 years-old, but Nishioka's shown very little or no signs of slowing down just yet. It's no coincidence that Nishioka hasn't tasted defeat in more than eight years at fighting at an elite level. If Donaire is anticipating his hand raised this Saturday, then he needs to be at his absolute best –fully armed and operational. Speaking of which, Donaire hasn't looked anything like his best in any of his last three outings, at least not anything resembling the chilling knockout artist that we were accustomed to seeing prior to his move up in weight. There are, I believe, three reasons for this.

Firstly, it's very rare that a fighter is able to increase or even maintain the same level of punching power as he/she moves up through the weight classes. Roberto Duran didn't, nor did Alexis Arguello, and despite what many believe, neither has Manny Pacquiao, who's yet to put a fighter weighing more than 140 pounds down and out for the count of ten.

Secondly, Donaire, also reminiscent of Pacquiao recently, is now facing fighters who aren't playing into his style by simply trying to take his head off. On paper, Vic Darchinyan and Fernando Montiel were considered very dangerous. In reality, to those with knowledge of styles and how they mesh, they were tailor-made for the quick trigger, counterpunching Donaire. On the other end of the stylistic spectrum, fighters like Omar Narvaez –cagey and defensive– are almost impossible to find openings against. This is the type of opponent that causes a fighter like Donaire to underperform, not a knockout-seeking head-hunter who loads up on every single punch he throws.

Which brings me to my third and final point. Lately–possibly buying into his own hype–I believe Nonito Donaire has suffered from what I like to call “Mike Tyson Syndrome.” By that, I mean he's fallen in love with his own power, and in particular, his left hook. As I'm sure you're all aware, during his prime, Mike Tyson was so much more than a one handed slugger. Sadly, once the likes of Kevin Rooney were no longer part of his world, that's exactly what Mike Tyson became. Gone were the combinations, the footwork, and the side to side head movement, and in their place? A caricature of his former self, who, while still too strong a puncher for most heavyweights, lacked the creativity to get his punches home on the Evander Holyfield's of this world –all the other flaws in his make up came flooding through as a result. Likewise, Nonito Donaire must get back to setting up his left hook and refrain from loading up with it every chance he gets. The more predictable Donaire becomes with it, the easier it will be for a smart and calculating fighter like Nishioka, who will surely have it scouted, to defend against.

Battle of the left hands.

While both fighters are more than proficient with their right hand –Donaire's uppercuts and straight right and Nishioka's short right hand on the inside– it's the left hand work of both men, that I feel, will likely dominate the fight.

The counter left hook of Nonito Donaire is, I believe, the most spectacular single shot in all of boxing –it's been said here before that there probably isn't a better shot in boxing that encapsulates both its savagery and artistry simultaneously. Providing Donaire is smart, he could win the fight with it. Performed at its best, Donaire's coup de gras is meticulously prepped. With his lead hand low and his right hand extended out in front of him, which enables him to parry his opponent's jab, Donaire is trying to lull his opponent into thinking it's safe to attack. Looking at Donaire's low left, and extended right, opponents generally think it's safe to lead off…and that's strategic suicide. As they lead, Donaire transfers his weight over to his right side {his head is away from the centre line, not giving away any free targets as he throws} and launches his left hook from outside his opponent's line of vision, pushing off of his lead leg and pivoting on the ball of his lead foot as he throws it, almost giving the impression that he's in reverse as it lands {check out the Vic Darchinyan knockout}. It's all about split second timing and deception. Again, the problem here is if Donaire becomes too predictable and begins telegraphing it or over-using it, then he runs the risk of leaving himself open to counters…and Nishioka could counter his counter.

By contrast, Nishioka's left hand is similar in its deception, but different in its execution. Nishioka likes to step to his left –considered unusual for a southpaw– almost daring his opponent into releasing their right hand, the perceived southpaw kryptonite. As an opponent releases his right hand, Nishioka, similarly to Donaire, shifts his weight back across and counters with a straight left hand. But whereas Donaire's left hand comes wide and from the outside, Nishioka's comes straight up the middle. If there's a left handed gun-slinging contest between the two, it's not hard to imagine Nishioka's straighter and more conventional left hand reaching its target first. The flip side of this argument though, is that Donaire can land his left hook even though his body isn't correctly aligned. Imagine Nishioka, a southpaw, shooting his straight left hand. He'll be looking to get his lead foot outside of Donaires's lead foot, enabling him to land it whilst being out of range for a counter right hand {think of Marquez's right hand positioning against Pacquiao, but in reverse}. The beauty of Donaire's left hook, however, is that it can land from the orthodox stance even though his lead foot may or may not be outside of Nishioka's lead foot. This is how Andre Ward managed to land his left hook over and over against the taller southpaw Chad Dawson. Dawson did everything correctly –his lead foot was outside of Ward's with his body perfectly aligned to land his straight left. But because Ward's a converted southpaw {left handed but fights out of the orthodox stance} he could shoot a left hook from inside of Dawson's range –inside the southpaw jab and with his lead foot INSIDE of Dawson's lead foot.

Having read this, I'm sure a lot of you are thinking that there's a lot of technical mumbo jumbo that probably won't come into play. In many cases you could be right. Sometimes boxing can come down to the simplest of things –Who's quicker? Who's stronger ? Or even who is fitter. However, I believe this is going to be one of those occasions, with plenty of feinting and foot positioning, where geometry will be paramount.

Prediction:

As was mentioned here earlier, on paper, neither man's had it as tough by my estimation. A win here for either would easily be a career best. Speed, reflexes, timing and power seem to go with Donaire, but experience, ring savvy and toughness –Nishioka's been down and got up to win on more than one occasion– are with the Japanese veteran.

I can see this fight going one of two ways. The first, is that Nishioka, a technician who likes to work out angles before implementing his findings in later rounds, can generally be a slow starter. Donaire on the other hand, has been known in the past to be a somewhat fast starter. Merge the two notions together and I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility to suggest that Donaire catches him cold –either with his vaunted left or with his uppercuts– and ends the fight early. The second, is that like in his last fights when he lacked creativity by neglecting the body and refusing to set up his left hand, Donaire becomes a tad predictable and we see a fight with Donaire hitting nothing but arms and elbows with his power shots from the outside. There's no question that Donaire hits hard, which has lead to many of his opponents closing their defensive doors early in fights against him. Should Nishioka experience Donaire's power early enough to decide that opening up isn't worth the risk of being knocked out, then Nishioka may be happy enough to just see out the remainder of the fight. Hopefully, this won't be the case. As Nishioka has a real chance of winning here.

Even though I think Nishioka is a terrific fighter, who's vastly underrated by many, I think Donaire wins. I believe the fact that Nishioka won't have fought in over a year by the time he steps into the ring could play a major part, especially against a younger talent like Donaire, who's probably the most active fighter out of all the pound for pound claimants.

Whether Donaire's going to look spectacular while doing so, however, is another thing entirely. When he's on it, I think Donaire's right up there with the very best in boxing. And yet, there remains a distinct possibility that we may have overestimated him slightly, what with his sensational one punch knockouts over good, but upon reflection, tailor made opponents. If Donaire wants to remain among the pound for pound pack, he's in need of that “special look good win” that's going to be comparable with those of Andre Ward and Sergio Martinez which will get people talking about him again. That being said, this could be a case of “win this one and look good next time,” as Nishioka is very hard to look good against. Any win over Nishioka would be a good one, but should Donaire look anything close to spectacular against a technically solid, versatile fighter who's more than proven at this weight class {a weight class that Donaire's yet to look sensational in} then that really would be something to talk about.

Also on the same night, Brandon Rios {30-0-1, 22 knockouts} will be moving up to the 140 pound division where he will face Mike Alvarado {33-0, 23 knockouts} in a WBO title eliminator in a fight that many are quick to slap with fight of the year potential. With my beers already on standby, I'd like nothing more than to bare witness to a fight of the year calibre contest. Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to see one. At least not from Rios and Alvarado.

I won't lie here. I'm a Brandon Rios skeptic, always have been. Upon watching him in the past, I've seen nothing but a fighter who comes in square looking to outpunch his often smaller opponents who had no clue on infighting or how to deal with his size and strength for that weight class. That all changed last year when he faced the unknown to most Richard Abril. Sometimes, bad decisions in boxing get blown out of context –Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley was one such fight in this writer's opinion. But then, there are some decisions that are simply inexcusable. Brandon Rios's gift decision over Richard Abril was one of the worst that I've ever seen. Throughout the fight, Rios was not only dominated from the outside, but he was also mastered in close by a better infighter than himself. All Abril had to do to negate Rios's best weapon, his left hook, was push his left hip into Rios's waist and cover his face with his right glove {the Mayweather inside posture}. Rios had absolutely no idea on how to prevent it from happening or how to land his left hook. Abril chopped Rios up from the opening bell to the last, using his better outside and inside fighting skills. This, I believe, is going to be the deciding factor on Saturday night. I'm sure Rios is going to get his wish at some point by Alvarado meeting him on the inside, but there's more to infighting than walking in with your shoulders parallel to your feet whilst looking to land a wide left hook. Mike Alvarado is technically better, bigger, and stronger than Brandon Rios, inside or out.

I don't mean to be a spoiler here, but I don't think this fight will even be all that close. I think Alvarado is capable of outboxing Rios from range or in close, using the same kind of infighting/outfighting –standing side on behind a high shoulder– that Richard Abril used. Granted, I don't think Alvarado possesses the mobility of Abril, but he probably doesn't need to. Should Alvarado be able to withstand Rios's fire power, which I think he can, and proceed to land combinations on Rios, which I think he will, then we could even see Rios put on the back foot. Rios's physical strength and decent chin are what has won him fights in the past, not his skills. Now he's fighting at 140 pounds, Rios's get out of jail free card is gone by my estimation. Can you imagine how effective Julio Cesar Chavez Jr would be fighting at cruiserweight against actual cruiserweights? I'm guessing he'd probably be as effective as Brandon Rios would be fighting opponents HIS own size too. Now that Rios is fighting a physically bigger man that isn't just going to wilt under his physicality and crudeness, I think we're going to see a lot of indecision in the ring from Rios this Saturday.

I'm not going to beat around the bush here and talk about angles and foot placement. I think Mike Alvarado is better than Brandon Rios no matter where or how the fight takes place. If forced to find an argument in Rios's favour I'd point to his 26 years as opposed to Alvarado's 32 years. But even then, it seems to me that Rios is a very old 26 years-old while Alvarado is a relatively young 32 years-old.

Prediction:

No matter which way I look at it, I can't see anything other than an Alvarado win. I don't think we're going to see the knock down drag out affair that most are anticipating. Alvarado, with his superior boxing ability, doesn't need to fight that way, and even if he does, he'll likely back Rios up, who has no reverse gear, and stop him anyway.

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Thomas Hauser’s Literary Notes: Johnny Greaves Tells a Sad Tale

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Johnny Greaves was a professional loser. He had one hundred professional fights between 2007 and 2013, lost 96 of them, scored one knockout, and was stopped short of the distance twelve times. There was no subtlety in how his role was explained to him: “Look, Johnny; professional boxing works two ways. You’re either a ticket-seller and make money for the promoter, in which case you get to win fights. If you don’t sell tickets but can look after yourself a bit, you become an opponent and you fight to lose.”

By losing, he could make upwards of one thousand pounds for a night‘s work.

Greaves grew up with an alcoholic father who beat his children and wife. Johnny learned how to survive the beatings, which is what his career as a fighter would become. He was a scared, angry, often violent child who was expelled from school and found solace in alcohol and drugs.

The fighters Greaves lost to in the pros ran the gamut from inept local favorites to future champions Liam Walsh, Anthony Crolla, Lee Selby, Gavin Rees, and Jack Catterall. Alcohol and drugs remained constants in his life. He fought after drinking, smoking weed, and snorting cocaine on the night before – and sometimes on the day of – a fight. On multiple occasions, he came close to committing suicide. His goal in boxing ultimately became to have one hundred professional fights.

On rare occasions, two professional losers – “journeymen,” they’re called in The UK – are matched against each other. That was how Greaves got three of the four wins on his ledger. On September 29, 2013, he fought the one hundredth and final fight of his career against Dan Carr in London’s famed York Hall. Carr had a 2-42-2 ring record and would finish his career with three wins in ninety outings. Greaves-Carr was a fight that Johnny could win. He emerged triumphant on a four-round decision.

The Johnny Greaves Story, told by Greaves with the help of Adam Darke (Pitch Publishing) tells the whole sordid tale. Some of Greaves’s thoughts follow:

*        “We all knew why we were there, and it wasn’t to win. The home fighters were the guys who had sold all the tickets and were deemed to have some talent. We were the scum. We knew our role. Give some young prospect a bit of a workout, keep out of the way of any big shots, lose on points but take home a wedge of cash, and fight again next week.”

*        “If you fought too hard and won, then you wouldn’t get booked for any more shows. If you swung for the trees and got cut or knocked out, then you couldn’t fight for another 28 days. So what were you supposed to do? The answer was to LOOK like you were trying to win but be clever in the process. Slip and move, feint, throw little shots that were rangefinders, hold on, waste time. There was an art to this game, and I was quickly learning what a cynical business it was.”

*        “The unknown for the journeyman was always how good your opponent might be. He could be a future world champion. Or he might be some hyped-up nightclub bouncer with a big following who was making lots of money for the promoter.”

*        “No matter how well I fought, I wasn’t going to be getting any decisions. These fights weren’t scored fairly. The referees and judges understood who the paymasters were and they played the game. What was the point of having a go and being the best version of you if nobody was going to recognize or reward it?”

*        “When I first stepped into the professional arena, I believed I was tough. believed that nobody could stop me. But fight by fight, those ideas were being challenged and broken down. Once you know that you can be hurt, dropped and knocked out, you’re never quite the same fighter.”

*        “I had started off with a dream, an idea of what boxing was and what it would do for me. It was going to be a place where I could prove my toughness. A place that I could escape to and be someone else for a while. For a while, boxing was that place. But it wore me down to the point that I stopped caring. I’d grown sick and tired of it all. I wished that I could feel pride at what I’d achieved. But most of the time, I just felt like a loser.”

*        “The fights were getting much more difficult, the damage to my body and my psyche taking longer and longer to repair after each defeat. I was putting myself in more and more danger with each passing fight. I was getting hurt more often and stopped more regularly. Even with the 28-day [suspensions], I didn’t have time to heal. I was staggering from one fight to the next and picking up more injuries along the way.”

*        “I was losing my toughness and resilience. When that’s all you’ve ever had, it’s a hard thing to accept. Drink and drugs had always been present in my life. But now they became a regular part of my pre-fight preparation. It helped to shut out the fear and quieted the thoughts and worries that I shouldn’t be doing this anymore.”

*        “My body was broken. My hands were constantly sore with blisters and cuts. I had early arthritis in my hip and my teeth were a mess. I looked an absolute state and inside I felt worse. But I couldn’t stop fighting yet. Not before the 100.”

*        “I had abused myself time after time and stood in front of better men, taking a beating when I could have been sensible and covered up. At the start, I was rarely dropped or stopped. Now it was becoming a regular part of the game. Most of the guys I was facing were a lot better than me. This was mainly about survival.”

*        “Was my brain f***ed from taking too many punches? I knew it was, to be honest. I could feel my speech changing and memory going. I was mentally unwell and shouldn’t have been fighting but the promoters didn’t care. Johnny Greaves was still a good booking. Maybe an even better one now that he might get knocked out.”

*        “Nobody gave a f*** about me and whether I lived or died. I didn’t care about that much either. But the thought of being humiliated, knocked out in front of all those people; that was worse than the thought of dying. The idea of being exposed for what I was – a nobody.”

*        “I was a miserable bastard in real life. A depressive downbeat mouthy little f***er. Everything I’ve done has been to mask the feeling that I’m worthless. That I have no value. The drinks and the drugs just helped me to forget that for a while. I still frighten myself a lot. My thoughts scare me. Do I really want to be here for the next thirty or forty years? I don’t know. If suicide wasn’t so impactful on people around you, I would have taken that leap. I don’t enjoy life and never have.”

So . . . Any questions?

****

Steve Albert was Showtime’s blow-by-blow commentator for two decades. But his reach extended far beyond boxing.

Albert’s sojourn through professional sports began in high school when he was a ball boy for the New York Knicks. Over the years, he was behind the microphone for more than a dozen teams in eleven leagues including four NBA franchises.

Putting the length of that trajectory in perspective . . . As a ballboy, Steve handed bottles of water and towels to a Knicks back-up forward named Phil Jackson. Later, they worked together as commentators for the New Jersey Nets. Then Steve provided the soundtrack for some of Jackson’s triumphs when he won eleven NBA championships as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.

It’s also a matter of record that Steve’s oldest brother, Marv, was arguably the greatest play-by-play announcer in NBA history. And brother Al enjoyed a successful career behind the microphone after playing professional hockey.

Now Steve has written a memoir titled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Broadcast Booth. Those who know him know that Steve doesn’t like to say bad things about people. And he doesn’t here. Nor does he delve into the inner workings of sports media or the sports dream machine. The book is largely a collection of lighthearted personal recollections, although there are times when the gravity of boxing forces reflection.

“Fighters were unlike any other professional athletes I had ever encountered,” Albert writes. “Many were products of incomprehensible backgrounds, fiercely tough neighborhoods, ghettos and, in some cases, jungles. Some got into the sport because they were bullied as children. For others, boxing was a means of survival. In many cases, it was an escape from a way of life that most people couldn’t even fathom.”

At one point, Steve recounts a ringside ritual that he followed when he was behind the microphone for Showtime Boxing: “I would precisely line up my trio of beverages – coffee, water, soda – on the far edge of the table closest to the ring apron. Perhaps the best advice I ever received from Ferdie [broadcast partner Ferdie Pacheco] was early on in my blow-by-blow career – ‘Always cover your coffee at ringside with an index card unless you like your coffee with cream, sugar, and blood.’”

Writing about the prelude to the infamous Holyfield-Tyson “bite fight,” Albert recalls, “I remember thinking that Tyson was going to do something unusual that night. I had this sinking feeling in my gut that he was going to pull something exceedingly out of the ordinary. His grousing about Holyfield’s head butts in the first fight added to my concern. [But] nobody could have foreseen what actually happened. Had I opened that broadcast with, ‘Folks, tonight I predict that Mike Tyson will bite off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear,’ some fellas in white coats might have approached me and said, ‘Uh, Steve, could you come with us.'”

And then there’s my favorite line in the book: “I once asked a fighter if he was happily married,” Albert recounts. “He said, ‘Yes, but my wife’s not.'”

“All I ever wanted was to be a sportscaster,” Albert says in closing. “I didn’t always get it right, but I tried to do my job with honesty and integrity. For forty-five years, calling games was my life. I think it all worked out.”

 Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His next book – The Most Honest Sport: Two More Years Inside Boxing – will be published this month and is available for preorder at:

https://www.amazon.com/Most-Honest-Sport-Inside-Boxing/dp/1955836329

         In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

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In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.

The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.

But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.

Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.

Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.

As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.

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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

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In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.

What do they feed these guys?

Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.

From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.

It was savage.

Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.

Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.

Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.

But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.

Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.

Interim IBF Lightweight Title

The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.

Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.

Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.

Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.

There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.

Muratalla was brief.

“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”

Perla Wins

Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.

Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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