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Carl Froch Wins UD Over Mikkel Kessler in London

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Carl Froch did the same thing in this rematch that he did in his first scrap with Mikkel Kessler: he threw more punches than the Dane. This time, the judges rewarded his efforts. The Brit Froch, who kept Kessler from getting untracked with a persistent jab, won by scores of 118-110, 116-112, 115-113 in the main event at O2 Arena in London on Saturday night, and on HBO.

Things got a tad hairy late, when Kessler went for broke in 11 and 12, but Froch’s beard didn’t betray him.

According to CompuBox, Froch went 261-1034 to 194-497 for the loser. Froch had better luck in the power punch department, as well, 135-90.

Froch said his rangey jab and work rate were the differences, to Max Kellerman afterwards. He said he watched tape of Andre Ward, and his jab, and used that to his benefit. Was he getting rocked or simply taking punches well, Max asked? He said he got caught a few times, but nothing bad, and cheekily asked Kellerman what he thought. Froch said in the first fight he was backing up too much and made an effort to tweak his strategy for the re-do. It paid off, it goes without saying… In the 11th, he said he got lazy. He’d do another Kessler fight, he said, or would do another Ward fight. He said Ward is a boxing purist, and doesn’t have an entertaining style, so that diminishes his desire to meet him again. He said he didn’t want to heap insults on Ward, noting that he’d already done too much of that, but he basically out and out called Ward boring. He seemed to consider that a Ward sequel would be best for his bank account, then. “Let’s get him to the United Kingdom, next,” he said.

The IBF super middle champ Froch (turns 36 in July; 30-2 with 22 KOs entering) was 167.9 pounds, while the WBA super middle champ Kessler (46-2 with 35 KOs; age 34) was 166.74 on Friday.

The two men had battled in 2010, with Kessler winning that one, via decision, on his home turf. They are actually phone friends, and chat on their cells every so often, but no one figured that would diminish their eagerness. For the record, Froch threw 961 to 682 punches in the first scrap.

Froch was making the second defense of the crown he took when he mugged Lucian Bute in May 2012. Kessler was on a four-fight winning streak, with his last loss coming in 2009, against Andre Ward.

Ward, who has wins over both, helped Jim Lampley call the bout, along with Max Kellerman.

In the first, Froch maybe stole the round with two rights late. He jabbed a bunch, not overly effectively while Kessler wasn’t that busy.

In the second, a one-two slightly buzzed Kessler at 1:10.

In the third, Kess went with left and rights to the body but again wasn’t busy enough. Again, the jab from Froch was persistent. It wasn’t all that sharp but it was ever-present. Kessler’s face was a bit marked, his forehead, his right eye.

In the fourth, the slow starting Kessler still didn’t get untracked, not until the last third. Then his jab was a bit stiffer and came more frequently. In the fifth, a right got to Froch. He stepped it up in response to be the busier man in the last two thirds. Kessler outlanded him 15-14 in the round.

In the sixth, a left went low and the ref spoke to Kessler. Froch took a breather. He collected himself and again was busier overall. No flashy power shots but he was just being the harder worker. A sharp left hook maybe gave the round to Kessler. Harold Lederman had it 4-2 Froch.

In round seven, a right scored for Froch. Kessler held a bit and Froch stepped it up. In the eighth, a clean right at 2:05 scored for Froch. Four or so more clean blows then smacked Kessler, who looked like he might be caving. He landed a few of his own sharp blows, though. But he simply reacted to power shots better than the Dane did, by and large.

In the ninth, the Froch jab was the signature punch. Both scored a couple power shots, but Froch’s looked a bit more telling. In the 10th, Froch kept the distance and pace he wanted, with his jab. In the 11th, rights buzzed Froch, for real. He looked precarious but held his legs. In the 12th, both men landed clean shots in a really stellar round. The ref almost pulled the plug on Kessler late.

We went to the cards.

Follow Woods on Twitter.

SPEEDBAG A note from CompuBox:

5s

Froch’s 1034 punches thrown vs Kessler are the most he’s thrown in 10 of his fights tracked by CompuBox

 

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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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