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Three Punch Combo: Results and Previews of Under the Radar Fights and More

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THREE PUNCH COMBO – With the attention of the boxing world riveted on the big heavyweight title fight in Los Angeles, several fights last week went under the radar. At Huntington, Long Island, former 140-pound champion Chris Algieri (22-3, 8 KO’s) made a successful return to the ring after more than a two year layoff and won a lopsided ten round decision over Angel Hernandez (14-12-2, 9 KO’s). The win helps put Algieri (pictured on the left) back on the map in the junior welterweight division. He made it clear afterwards that he’d like to receive a title shot sometime in 2019 and he may get that opportunity. Maurice Hooker currently holds the WBO title that Algieri once held and may find Algieri – a name fighter who lacks punching power — an enticing opponent if Algieri finds himself cracking the rankings with another comeback victory.

In a battle of undefeated junior welterweights, Kendo Castaneda (15-0, 7 KO’s) scored an impressive ten round unanimous decision over Gilbert Venegas Jr. (10-1, 6 KO’s). The bout took place this past Saturday in San Antonio, TX, and was streamed live on Facebook via FIGHTNIGHT LIVE.

The first three rounds were nip and tuck. Castaneda was the busier fighter working combinations behind his left jab but Venegas had his moments on the inside landing some hard shots of his own.

In round four, Castaneda seized control. He stunned Venegas with a right and picked up the pace while the output of Venegas slowed considerably. The next six rounds played out pretty much the same with Castaneda dominating the action with his fluid movement and combination punching. He consistently beat Venegas to the punch during these rounds and countered effectively, displaying good hand speed if Venegas attempted to throw anything of his own.

This was an impressive performance by Castaneda who took a nice step forward in what is becoming a pretty deep 140-pound weight division.

Looking Ahead

This week’s boxing schedule is headlined by an ESPN card featuring the return of Vasyl Lomachenko as well as the final boxing card on HBO. With those cards grabbing most of the headlines, some other important and intriguing bouts are falling deep under the radar. Here is a look at a pair of contests that won’t receive as much coverage.

Golden Boy Promotions will be live streaming a card on Saturday night from the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA, on Facebook Watch. The event is headlined by an important fight in the 130- pound division between Rene Alvarado (29-8, 20 KO’s) and Carlos Morales (17-3-3, 6 KO’s). This contest is being billed as a WBA world title eliminator.

Simply put, Alvarado-Morales is a well matched fight. Alvarado is an action fighter who is not afraid to take a few punches just to create opportunities to land his own. He relies on constant pressure and a consistent body attack to wear down his opposition. He has won five straight since losing to Yuriorkis Gamboa in March of 2017. This includes wins against then undefeated Roger Gutierrez as well as former world title challenger Denis Shafikov in a bloody war. Alvarado seems to be getting better and better as his career moves forward.

 

Morales is a grinder who will press forward from the opening bell. He throws a high volume of punches and mixes up his attack by constantly changing angles. Given his consistent high motor and shifty style, he has sprung some upsets in recent years as well as given some top level talent harder than expected tests. In his last fight, Morales pushed highly rated prospect Ryan Garcia to the limit in dropping a ten round majority decision. Similar to Alvarado, Morales is getting better and better as his career progresses.

Given their respective styles, we should be in for treat. Expect the action to be crisp throughout the course of this bout. I think this will be the most entertaining fight of the upcoming week.

Also on Saturday, DAZN will broadcast a card headlined by the return of Kell Brook. On that card, top welterweight prospect Josh Kelly (8-0, 6 KO’s) faces his toughest test as a pro when he faces David Avanesyan (23-3-1, 11 KO’s).

Many are high on Kelly, a former amateur standout who competed in the 2016 Olympic Games. Kelly is well schooled given the deep amateur background and very fluid inside the ring. He possesses above average hand speed for the division and is an extremely effective combination puncher. And though he may not be a one punch knockout puncher, he has shown the ability to break down his opponent with his heavy hands.

Avanesyan, a boxer-puncher with solid skills and some slickness to his game, represents a step up in class. It took highly touted welterweight Egidijus Kavaliauskas some time to figure out the Avanesyan puzzle when they fought this past February. This is a good test for Kelly and an impressive showing could propel him into the mix in what is already a loaded welterweight division.

Remembering The Very First “Boxing After Dark” Fight

The final live televised HBO boxing event will be this Saturday night with women in two of the three featured bouts. This iconic series has produced many classics and memorable moments for boxing fans, but it didn’t get off to a rousing start on its maiden telecast from the Great Western Forum on February 3rd, 1996.

While many remember the main event between future Hall of Famer Marco Antonio Barrera and Kennedy McKinney, many have forgotten the opening bout, a WBO 115-pound title fight between champion Johnny Tapia who entered with a record of 33-0-2 and challenger Giovanni Andrade of Brazil who was 17-2.

Tapia, of course, was known as an all-action fighter and seemed to be a great fit for this newly launched series. He was rarely in bad fights regardless of the opponent. Andrade was totally unknown and had no recognizable names on his resume. Frankly, this was meant to be a showcase for Tapia and his all-action style.

Tapia came out as the aggressor in round one and landed some solid combinations. Sensing little resistance from his opponent, Tapia let his hands go even more in round two, looking for an early knockout. About halfway through the round, Tapia landed a low left with not much behind it as the two were tangled up on the inside. Andrade went down in a heap and appeared to be in a lot of pain, but he quickly jumped back to his feet and the round commenced.

Moments later, a sharp right by Tapia to Andrade’s forehead put Andrade on the canvas. Andrade would beat the count and Tapia would be right back on top of him when the action resumed. Going for the finish, Tapia landed a borderline left to Andrade’s belt line. Andrade went down claiming a low blow and flailed his arms to signify he was in tremendous pain. However, referee Raul Caiz Sr. ruled it a knockdown and quickly waived the fight off with Andrade displaying so much apparent discomfort.

This was an awkward start for the new series. Not only was the fight a mismatch from the opening bell but it ended in a bizarre manner with many believing that Andrade gave it his best acting in an attempt to steal a win.

While it didn’t start out on the right foot, HBO’s Boxing After Dark would soon provide us with many memorable fights and hopefully we get a proper send-off on Saturday.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

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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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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

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Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.

Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.

In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.

Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.

Semi-Wind-Up

Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.

This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.

Other Bouts of Note

In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.

In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.

Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.

A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).

Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry

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