Fight Results from Tulsa With One Eye Cocked on Fight Cards Elsewhere

Published

3 years ago

August 14, 2021

Fight Results from Tulsa With One Eye Cocked on Fight Cards Elsewhere

The third time was not a charm for Andrew Moloney who was favored to pick up where he left off in his second meeting with Joshua Franco and return to Australia with the WBA world super flyweight belt cinched around his waist.

A little history: In the first meeting, Franco rallied to win a narrow but unanimous decision. Take away the knockdown that Franco scored in the 11^th round and the contest would have ended in a draw.

In the rematch this past November, Moloney won the first two rounds decisively. It looked for all the world that he would avenge his lone defeat. But the fight was stopped by the ring doctor at the conclusion of round two because Franco’s right eye had swelled shut. Referee Russell Mora believed the injury was the result of an accidental head butt, and the Nevada Commission, after mulling things over for 26 minutes, backed him up even though replays were consistent with the impression that the damage was actually caused by a punch. Ergo, the bout was ruled a “no contest” and the title stayed with Joshua Franco.

Franco-Moloney III afforded the Aussie the opportunity to “rectify the wrong,” but he wasn’t up to the task. He just didn’t hit hard enough to worry Franco who landed the cleaner punches and more of them. In round seven, Moloney scored an apparent flash knockdown. Referee Jack Reiss gave Franco the count and Moloney was back in the fight with a 10-8 round, but a replay showed that Franco went down without being hit and the knockdown was expunged.

The judges were in accord, all three giving the fight to Joshua Franco by a 116-112 tally. A San Antonio native who trains in Riverside, California at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, Franco advanced his record to 18-1-2, 1 NC. It was the 24^th pro fight for Moloney who would be undefeated if he hadn’t crossed paths with Franco.

Co-Feature

In the 10-round co-feature, LA-area junior welterweight Arnold Barboza Jr improved to 26-0 (10) with a lopsided decision over Mexico City’s Antonio Moran (26-5-1). Moran was a willing mixer despite fighting the last eight rounds with a broken nose, but Barboza seldom took a backward step and landed the harder punches. The judges had it 100-90 and 99-91 twice.

Nico Ali Walsh

The pro debut of middleweight Nico Ali Walsh went as expected. Wearing his grandfather’s retro boxing trunks, Walsh bombed out sacrificial lamb Jordan Weeks in the opening round. A right hand over the top knocked Weeks to the canvas and Walsh revved up his attack. With nothing coming back, the referee wisely stepped in. The official time was 1:49.

Weeks entered the bout with a 4-1 record but this was his first fight outside South Carolina. Ali Walsh the boxer is a work in a progress, but the well-spoken, 21-year-old Las Vegas resident has the best backstory in the sport and oozes charisma.

Other Bouts

Andrew Moloney’s twin brother Jason, a bantamweight, upheld the family name with a 10-round unanimous decision over Chicago’s Joshua Greer Jr. Jason Moloney, in his first fight back since last October when he was stopped in the seventh round by the Japanese monster, Naoya Inoue, improved his ledger to 22-2. The scores were 96-94 and 98-92 twice. Greer slipped to 22-3-2.

Las Vegas lightweight Andres Cortes, whose nickname is Savage, stepped up in class and lived up to his nickname, starching former world title challenger Genesis Servania in the opening round. Cortes (15-0, 8 KOs) knocked Servania through the ropes with a left hook moments before the end of the round. After starting the count, referee Jack Reiss waived it off. A Filipino who has taken up residence in Japan, Servania (34-3) hadn’t previously been stopped.

Dignity Sports Health Park, Carson, CA

John Riel Casimero, making the second defense of the WBO world bantamweight title he won with a third-round blast-out of favored Zolani Tete in Birmingham, England, turned away Guillermo Rigondeaux, winning a split decision (117-111, 116-112, 113-115).

Casimero, a Filipino who at age 34 was six years younger than Rigondeaux, was a consensus 5/2 favorite but on paper this was an even match-up between two fighters who won titles in multiple divisions and had a wealth of experience in world title fights

Unfortunately, an “even” fight on paper can be a dull fight and this fight was dull in the extreme as neither man showed any inclination to exchange, in particular Rigondeaux, the two-time Olympic gold medalist who delivered another one of his “snoozers.” Casimero (31-4) had won six straight inside the distance coming in, but never hurt Rigondeaux who declined to 20-2.

The fans deserved better as the chief supporting bout between Gary Antonio Russell and Emmanuel Rodriguez likely established a new world record for the fastest “no contest” in the history of the sport. The bout consumed all of 16 seconds. The queer ending was the result of an accidental head butt that left the Puerto Rican unable to continue.

In another bout of note, Brandun Lee, a 22-year-old knockout artist from the California desert community of La Quinta, forged yet another fast knockout, taking apart Argentina’s Ezequiel Fernandez who was blown away in 100 seconds. Lee (23-0, 21 KOs) has now knocked out 13 opponents in the opening round. Interestingly, this was Lee’s first fight in his home state. He had previously fought in Pennsylvania, Arizona, North Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Iowa, Texas, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Connecticut, Washington DC, and Mexico. The shell-shocked Fernandez (28-5-1) hadn’t previously been stopped.

Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas

By all appearances, there was more action in the second round of the fight between Virgil Ortiz Jr and Egidijus Kavaliauskas than in all 12 rounds of the Casimero-Rigondeaux fight. Kavaliauskas hurt Ortiz with a right uppercut, but Ortiz came back to land some harsh punches of his own before the round was finished.

Ortiz, from the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie, was fighting in his backyard. Heading in, he had won all 17 of his pro fights inside the distance and no opponent had lasted beyond the seventh round.

Kavaliauskas, a two-time Olympian for Lithuania, lasted beyond the seventh but just barely. Ortiz had him on the canvas four times in the eighth and five times overall before the bout was halted. It was a performance that stamped him a serious threat in a welterweight division that is very strong at the top, plus bringing him a fringe WBO title. Kavaliauskas, 33, falls to 21-2-1. His other loss came at the hands of Terence Crawford.

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Arne K. Lang

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Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2024

David A. Avila

Floyd-Schofield-Wins-a-Banger-and Gabriella-Fundora-Wins-by-KO

Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

LAS VEGAS-Shades of Henry Armstrong and Baby Arizmendi. If you don’t know those names, look them up.

Floyd Schofield battled his way past Mexico’s super tough Rene Tellez Giron who walked through every blow the Texan could fire but lost by decision on Saturday.

It was a severe test and perfect matchmaking for Schofield who yearns for the big bouts against the lightweight giants roaming the world.

Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) remains undefeated and won the war over thick-necked Mexican Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs) who has never been knocked out and proved to be immune to big punches.

In the opening rounds, the Texas fighter came out firing rapid combinations from the southpaw and orthodox stances. Meanwhile the shorter Tellez Giron studied and fired back an occasional counter for two rounds.

Tellez Giron had seen enough and took his stand in the third stanza. Both unleashed blazing bombs with Schofield turning his back to the Mexican. At that moment referee Tom Taylor could have waved the fight over.

You never turn your back.

The fight resumed and Schofield was damaged. He tried to open up with even more deadly fire but was rebuked by the strong chin of Tellez Giron who fired back in the mad frenzy.

For the remainder of the fight Schofield tried every trick in his arsenal to inflict damage on the thick-necked Mexican. He could not be wobbled. In the 11^th round both opened up with serious swing-from-the-heels combinations and suddenly Schofield was looking up. He beat the count easily and the two remained slugging it out.

“He hit me with a good shot,” Schofield said of the knockdown. “I just had to get up. I’m not going to quit.”

In the final round Schofield moved around looking for the proper moment to engage. The Mexican looked like a cat ready to pounce and the two fired furious blows. Neither was hit with the big bombs in the last seconds.

There was Tellez Giron standing defiantly like Baby Arizmendi must have stood in those five ferocious meetings against the incomparable Henry Armstrong. Three of their wars took place in Los Angeles, two at the Olympic Auditorium in the late 1930s as the U.S. was emerging from the Great Depression.

In this fight, Schofield took the win by unanimous decision by scores 118-109 twice and 116-111. It was well-deserved.

“I tried to bang it out,” said Schofield. “Today I learned you can’t always get the knockout.”

Fundora

IBF flyweight titlist Gabriela Fundora needed seven rounds to figure out the darting style of Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz before firing a laser left cross down the middle to end the battle and become the undisputed flyweight world champion.

Fundora now holds all four titles including the WBO, WBA and WBC titles that Alaniz brought in the ring.

Fundora knocked down Alaniz midway through the seventh round. She complained it was due to a tangle of the legs. Several seconds later Fundora blasted the Argentine to the floor again with a single left blast. This time there was no doubt. Her corner wisely waved a white towel to stop the fight at 1:40 of the seventh round.

No one argued the stoppage.

Other Bouts

Bektemir Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs) didn’t make weight in a title bout but managed to out-fight David Stevens (14-2, 10 KOs) in a super middleweight fight held at 12 rounds.

Melikuziev used his movement and southpaw stance to keep Pennsylvania’s Stevens from being able to connect with combinations. But Stevens did show he could handle “The Bully’s” punching power over the 12-round fight.

After 12 rounds one judge favored Stevens 116-112, while two others saw Melikuziev the winner by split decision 118-110 and 117-111.

Super middleweight WBA titlist Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) pummeled his way to a technical knockout win over southpaw veteran Chris Pearson (17-5-1, 12 KOs) who attempted the rope-a-dope strategy to no avail.

Fulghum floored Pearson in the first round with a four-punch combination and after that just belted Pearson who covered up and fired an occasional blow. Referee Mike Perez stopped the fight at 1:02 of the third round when Pearson did not fire back after a blazing combination.

Young welterweight prospect Joel Iriarte (5-0, 5 KOs) blasted away at the three-inch shorter Xavier Madrid (5-6, 2 KOs) who hung tough for as long as possible. At 2:50 of the first round a one-two delivered Madrid to the floor and referee Thomas Taylor called off the beating.

Iriarte, from Bakersfield, Calif., could not miss with left uppercuts and short rights as New Mexico’s Madrid absorbed every blow but would not quit. It was just too much firepower from Iriarte that forced the stoppage.

Photos credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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Results and Recaps from Turning Stone where O’Shaquie Foster Nipped Robson Conceicao

Published

2 days ago

November 2, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Top Rank was at the Turning Stone casino-resort in Verona, New York, tonight with an 8-bout card topped by a rematch between Robson Conceicao and O’Shaquie Foster with the victor retaining or recapturing his IBF world junior lightweight title. When the smoke cleared, the operative word was “recapturing” as Foster became a two-time title-holder, avenging his controversial setback to the Brazilian in Newark on July 6.

This was a somewhat better fight than their initial encounter and once again the verdict was split. Foster prevailed by 115-113 on two of the cards with the dissenting judge favoring Conceicao by the same margin. Conceicao seemingly had the edge after nine frames, but Foster, a 4/1 favorite, landed the harder shots in the championship rounds.

It was the thirteenth victory in the last 14 starts for Foster who fights out of Houston. A two-time Olympian and 2016 gold medalist, the 36-year-old Conceicao is 19-3-1 overall and 1-3-1 in world title fights.

Semi-wind-up

SoCal lightweight Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) made a big jump in public esteem and moved one step closer to a world title fight with a second-round blast-out of Jose Antonio Perez who was on the canvas twice but on his feet when the fight was stopped at the 1:24 mark of round two. Muratalla, a product of Robert Garcia’s boxing academy, is ranked #2 by the WBC and WBO. A Tijuana native, Perez (25-6) earned this assignment with an upset of former Olympian and former 130-pound world titlist Jojo Diaz,

Other Bouts

Syracuse junior welterweight Bryce Mills, a high-pressure fighter with a strong local following, stopped scrawny Mike O’Han Jr whose trainer Mark DeLuca pulled him out after five one-sided rounds. Mills improved to 17-1 (6 KOs). It was another rough day at the office for Massachusetts house painting contractor O’’Han (19-4) who had the misfortune of meeting Abdullah Mason in his previous bout.

In a junior lightweight fight that didn’t heat up until late in the final round, Albany’s Abraham Nova (23-3-1) and Tijuana native Humberto Galindo (14-3-3) fought to a 10-round draw. It was another close-but-no- cigar for the likeable Nova who at least stemmed a two-fight losing streak. The judges had it 97-93 (Galindo), 96-94 (Nova) and 95-95.

Twenty-one-year-old Long Island middleweight Jahi Tucker advanced to 13-1-1 (6 KOs) with an eighth-round stoppage of Stockton’s teak-tough but outclassed Quilisto Madera (14-6). Madera was on a short leash after five rounds, but almost took it to the final bell with the referee intervening with barely a minute remaining in the contest. Madera was on his feet when the match was halted. Earlier in the round, Tucker had a point deducted for hitting on the break.

Danbury, Connecticut heavyweight Ali Feliz, one of two fighting sons of journeyman heavyweight Fernely Feliz, improved to 4-0 (3) with a second-round stoppage of beefy Rashad Coulter (5-5). Feliz had Coulter pinned against the ropes and was flailing away when the bout was halted at the 1:34 mark. The 42-year-old Coulter, a competitor in all manner of combat sports, hadn’t previously been stopped when competing as a boxer.

Featherweight Yan Santana dominated and stopped Mexico’s Eduardo Baez who was rescued by referee Charlie Fitch at the 1:57 mark of round four. It was the 12^th knockout in 13 starts for Santana, a 24-year-old Dominican father of three A former world title challenger, Mexicali’s Baez declines to 23-7-2 but has lost six of his last eight.

In his most impressive showing to date, Damian Knyba, a six-foot-seven Pole, knocked out paunchy Richard Lartey at the 2:10 mark of round three. A right-left combination knocked Lartey into dreamland, but it was the right did the damage and this was of the nature of a one-punch knockout. Referee Ricky Gonzalez waived the fight off without starting a count.

Knyba, 28, improved to 14-0 (8 KOs). A native of Ghana coming off his career-best win, a fourth-round stoppage of Polish veteran Andrzej Wawrzyk, Lartey declined to 16-7 with his sixth loss inside the distance.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: Spotlights on Lightweights and More

Published

3 days ago

November 1, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-303-Spotlights-on-Lightweights-and-More

Those lightweights.

Whether junior lights, super lights or lightweights, it’s the 130-140 divisions where most of boxing’s young stars are found now or in the past.

Think Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.

Floyd Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) a Texas product, hungers to be a star and takes on Mexico’s Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs) in a 12-round lightweight bout on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotion card that includes a female undisputed flyweight championship match pitting Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz and Gabriela Fundora.

Like a young lion looking to flex, Schofield (pictured on the left) is eager to meet all the other young lions and prove they’re not equal.

“I’ve been in the room with Shakur, Tank. I want to give everyone a good fight. I feel like my preparation is getting better, I work hard, I’ve dedicated my whole life to this sport,” said Schofield naming fellow lightweights Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

Now he meets Mexico’s Tellez who has never been stopped.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” said Tellez.

Even in Las Vegas.

Verona, New York

Meanwhile, in upstate New York, a WBC junior lightweight title rematch finds Robson Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) looking to prove superior to former titlist O’Shaquie Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank fight card.

Last July, Conceicao and Foster clashed and after 12 rounds the title changed hands from Foster to the Brazilian by split decision.

“I feel that a champion is a fighter who goes out there and doesn’t run around, who looks for the fight, who tries to win, and doesn’t just throw one or two punches and then moves away,” said Conceicao.

Foster disagrees.

“I hope he knows the name of the game is to hit and not get hit. That’s the name of the game,” said Foster.

Also on the same card is lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) who fights Mexico’s Jesus Perez Campos (25-5, 18 KOs).

Perez recently defeated former world champion Jojo Diaz last February in California.

“We’re made for challenges. I like challenges,” said Perez.

Muratalla likes challenges too.

“I think these fights are the types of fights I need to show my skills and to prove I deserve those title fights,” said Fontana’s Muratalla.

Female Undisputed Flyweight Championship

WBA, WBC and WBO flyweight titlist Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs meets IBF titlist Gabriela Fundora (14-0, 6 KOs) on Saturday Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. DAZN will stream the clash for the undisputed flyweight championship.

Argentina’s Alaniz clashed twice against former WBA, WBC champ Marlen Esparza with their first encounter ending in a dubious win for the Texas fighter. In fact, three of Esparza’s last title fights were scored controversially.

But against Alaniz, though they fought on equal terms, Esparza was given a 99-91 score by one of the judges though the world saw a much closer contest. So, they fought again, but the rematch took place in California. Two judges deemed Alaniz the winner and one Esparza for a split-decision win.

“I’m really happy to be here representing Argentina. We are ready to fight. Nothing about this fight has to do with Marlen. So, I hope she (Fundora) is ready. I am ready to prepare myself for the great fight of my life,” said Alaniz.

In the case of Fundora, the extremely tall American fighter at 5’9” in height defeated decent competition including Maria Santizo. She was awarded a match with IBF flyweight titlist Arely Mucino who opted for the tall youngster over the dangerous Kenia Enriquez of Mexico.

Bad choice for Mucino.

Fundora pummeled the champion incessantly for five rounds at the Inglewood Forum a year ago. Twice she battered her down and the fight was mercifully stopped. Fundora’s arm was raised as the new champion.

Since that win Fundora has defeated Christina Cruz and Chile’s Daniela Asenjo in defense of the IBF title. In an interesting side bit: Asenjo was ranked as a flyweight contender though she had not fought in that weight class for seven years.

Still, Fundora used her reach and power to easily handle the rugged fighter from Chile.

Immediately after the fight she clamored for a chance to become undisputed.

“It doesn’t get better than this, especially being in Las Vegas. This is the greatest opportunity that we can have,” said Fundora.

It should be exciting.

Fights to Watch

Sat. ESPN+ 2:50 p.m. Robson Conceicao (19-2-1) vs O’Shaquie Foster (22-3).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Floyd Schofield (17-0) vs Rene Tellez Giron (20-3); Gabriela Alaniz (15-1) vs Gabriela Fundora (14-0).

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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